TPi January 2015

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business & market news
22 Tube Products International January 2015
New look for Hub Le Bas website
Hub Le Bas has updated its web
presence with a new site that features
a modern interface, in-depth product
information, improved navigation and a
branch locator.
The company is a stockist and distributor
of steel products in the UK, serving
clients such as shop fitters, material
handling specialists, tube manipulators,
construction and civil engineering
businesses, fabricators, and sports and
leisure equipment manufacturers. Its
range includes over 8,000 steel product
lines, including precision steel tubes,
conduit and fittings, steel merchant
bar, spiral welded tubes and structural
hollow sections.
As part of its ongoing plans for growth,
Hub Le Bas decided to upgrade its
website to better reflect its current online
strategies and ambitions for the future.
The new site, which features a more
intuitive, contemporary design and a
modernised company logo, is also in
line with the increased importance of
the digital customer for the business.
“As our client base is changing, so must
we,” said managing director Martin
Benbow. “We are a forward-looking
business that is increasingly embracing
new cutting-edge technologies, and we
wanted our online presence to reflect
this. More and more of our customers
come into contact with us for the first
time though our site; it’s very important
that they get the right first impression.”
Improvements to the website go
beyond aesthetics. Business users
expect to obtain a large amount of
information online (eg sizes, finishes,
steel grades, delivery information,
technical specifications and add-on
services), and the new site caters to
these requirements.
A major new feature is the branch
locator, which is an improved way for
prospective buyers to contact their local
depot. “We have six branches across
the UK – Bilston (West Midlands),
London, Bristol, Manchester, Leicester
and Wakefield,” said Mr Benbow. “We
want to make sure that customers make
contact with the right depot as quickly
as possible and get the real person
support they are looking for.”
Hub Le Bas – UK
Inauguration of major Russian PVC
production facility
The RusVinyl PVC production facility
in Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod region,
ranking among Russia’s largest
petrochemical investment projects, has
been inaugurated.
Russian president Vladimir Putin
attended the opening ceremony, along
with Alex van Meeuwen, Belgian
ambassador to Russia; Valery Shantsev,
governor of Nizhny Novgorod region;
and senior representatives of SIBUR
and SolVin.
RusVinyl is a joint venture between gas
processing and petrochemical company
SIBUR and SolVin, and was created
to construct a new PVC production
site that could meet a significant part
of domestic demand. It is one of the
largest PVC producers in Russia, with
an annual production capacity of 330kt
of PVC and 225kt of caustic soda. It
will benefit from the nearby supply of
ethylene, a key raw material for PVC,
from SIBUR-Kstovo’s steam cracker,
expanded to 360kt especially for the
RusVinyl site. Salt, the other feedstock
for PVC production, will be provided
from Belarus and from the Astrakhan
region of Russia.
RusVinyl will provide its products to the
under-supplied Russian market, and
aims to further develop downstream
operations and consumption of
petrochemicals.
Leonid Mikhelson, chairman of SIBUR’s
board of directors, said, “SIBUR has
increased its production capacity of
ethylene in Kstovo, which guarantees
the supply of the raw material to the
new PVC complex. This has ensured
the creation of a new, competitive
and cutting edge industrial facility. The
best global practices and technologies
have been introduced to the Russian
market due to the realisation of the
latest large-scale investment project.
The new petrochemical facility will
beneficially impact Russia’s economic
development by meeting the challenge
of import substitution.”
“SolVin is proud to have successfully
completed this project, which is among
its biggest industrial achievements ever.
SolVin’s experts from across the globe
pulled together with SIBUR’s team
made this the most modern and most
environment-friendly, fully integrated
PVC production plant in the world,” said
Jacques van Rijckevorsel, chairman of
the board of SolVin.
The project, with an investment
exceeding RUB60bn, entirely complies
with Russia’s strictest environmental
regulations.
Each section of the facility has
multi-tier safety systems, and an
advanced membrane method prevents
hazardous substances from being
formed during electrolysis. RusVinyl
also uses a patented technology that
makes electrolysis completely waste-
free.
RusVinyl is included in Russia’s Oil and
Gas Chemical Development Framework
through to 2030. It is also on the List of
Priority Projects of the Russian Ministry
of Industry and Trade, and has been
given priority status by the Government
of the Nizhny Novgorod region.
SIBUR – Russia
SolVin – Belgium