CEO Rahbar Davoodnejad said the new products – general purpose
polystyrene (GPS) and high impact polystyrene (HIPS) – are produced at the
company’s newly launched plant and will be showcased at this year’s fair,
Iran’s largest petrochemical industry gathering.
“IranPlast offers companies a platform to present their latest
achievements and exchange experiences with other domestic players,” Davoodnejad
told state petrochemical news agency NIPNA. He said Entekhab’s stand this year
is larger in scale, both in space and staffing, to highlight the new portfolio.
HIPS, which is widely used in electronics, automotive parts, household
appliances and packaging, is central to the company’s strategy to substitute
the material for acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). ABS is largely imported
and more expensive, Davoodnejad said, while high-quality HIPS can offer similar
performance at a lower cost.
“Most of Iran’s ABS demand – around 70,000 to 80,000 tonnes annually –
is met through imports,” he said. “By developing specialized HIPS grades, we
can reduce dependency on imports, lower costs for downstream industries and
achieve significant foreign currency savings.”
The CEO noted that only a handful of local producers, including Basir
and Tabriz Petrochemical, supply ABS domestically, while the rest is imported.
On IranPlast’s future, Davoodnejad said international expansion of the
exhibition hinges on easing sanctions. “For this event to become a truly global
exhibition, we need the participation of major foreign companies, which
requires sanctions relief,” he added.