Braskem

Braskem S.A. (nyse|BAK)the largest Brazilian petrochemical company with head office in São Paulo. The company was formed in 2002 as part of a major restructuring of the Brazilian petrochemical industry which saw Copene merge with petrochemical companies controlled by Odebrecht, a heavy engineering and construcution company owned by the Odebrecht family, and another family-owned conglomerate, the Mariani Group.

Braskem operates 13 chemical plants with a production capacity of 5 million tons per year of chemical and petrochemical products. Many of the plants are located in three major complexes - at Camacari in Brazil's northeastern Bahia state, at Triunfo in Rio Grande do Sul, and in São Paulo State. There are also plants in Alagoas. While the company's main business focus is on the thermoplastic resins polyethylene, polypropylene and polyvinyl chloride, it makes around half of Brazil's output of basic petrochemicals and solvents.

Odebrecht owns just under half of Braskem's stock, which is traded on Bovespa, where it is part of the Ibovespa index. Petrobras, state owned Brazilian oil company, controls a significant part of Braskem.

External links

* [http://www.braskem.com.br The company's home page in Portuguese]
* [http://www.braskem.com.br/site/portal_braskem/en/home/home.aspx The company's home page in English]