The Marl facility is the flagship production site of Vestolit GmbH (an Orbia company), located at Paul-Baumann-Straße 1, 45772 Marl, within Chemiepark Marl (Marl Chemical Park) in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest fully integrated PVC production complex in Europe, with a total capacity of 400,000 t/yr of PVC and approximately 1,000,000 t/yr of monomer products. The plant employs approximately 792 people (as of September 2023) and has been in operation for over 75 years, since Vestolit GmbH was carved out as a 100% subsidiary of Hüls AG on 1 January 1995.
The Marl site is a fully integrated facility — starting from the two primary raw materials rock salt (sourced as brine via pipeline from a salt dome at Epe/Westphalia) and ethylene (supplied by pipeline), all intermediate production steps are performed on-site:
Neither chlorine nor VCM is traded externally — all intermediates are consumed internally within the integrated chain.
Production Capacities
| Unit |
Product |
Capacity |
Notes |
| Chlor-alkali electrolysis |
Chlorine |
265,000 t/yr |
Membrane cell technology |
| |
Caustic soda (NaOH, 50%) |
294,000 t/yr |
8 electrolyzers
× 180 cells each |
| |
Hydrogen |
By-product |
Internal energy use |
| EDC plant |
Ethylene
dichloride |
630,000 t/yr |
Chlorination + oxychlorination |
| VCM cracker |
Vinyl chloride monomer |
400,000 t/yr |
Thermal cracking
of EDC |
| Emulsion polymerization |
Paste/dispersion PVC |
Included in 400,000 t/yr PVC total |
New 40,000 t/yr drying line added 2017 |
| Suspension polymerization |
S-PVC incl.
HIS-PVC |
Included in 400,000 t/yr PVC total |
|
| Total PVC |
PVC (all grades) |
400,000 t/yr |
|
| By-products |
Methyl chloride |
Confirmed |
External sales |
| Ethyl chloride) |
Confirmed |
External sales |
| HCl (100%) |
Confirmed |
External sales |
Technologies
| Process Unit |
Technology |
Notes |
| Chlor-alkali electrolysis |
Membrane cell (8 electrolyzers × 180 cells) |
Upgraded from older diaphragm/mercury cell technology; r2 recoating of membranes documented |
| EDC synthesis |
Direct chlorination
+ oxychlorination
of ethylene |
Standard balanced process |
| EDC cracking |
Thermal cracking of EDC to VCM + HCl |
HCl recycled to oxychlorination |
| Emulsion polymerization |
Emulsion/micro-suspension process |
Produces paste PVC for plastisol applications |
| Suspension polymerization |
Aqueous suspension process |
Produces S-PVC incl. proprietary HIS-PVC (High Impact Suspension PVC) for weather-resistant window profiles |
| VCM stripping/recovery |
Degassing and VCM recycle |
Zero-loss VCM recovery system |
Products
| Product |
Type |
Main Applications |
| Paste PVC (emulsion/dispersion) |
Specialty |
Flooring, wallpaper, tarpaulins, automotive underbody protection, artificial leather, medical gloves |
| S-PVC (suspension) |
General purpose |
Window profiles, pipes, cable sheathing, sheets, roofing membranes |
| Caustic soda (NaOH) |
By-product |
Textile, aluminium, pulp/paper, food industries |
| Hydrochloric acid (HCl, 100%) |
By-product |
Food industry, metalworking, water treatment |
| Methyl chloride (MCl) |
By-product |
Silicones, methylcellulose, butyl rubber |
| Ethyl chloride (ECl) |
By-product |
Catalyst for polyolefin production, metal alkyls, ethyl cellulose |
| Hydrogen |
By-product |
Internal energy use |
Certifications & Environmental
The Marl site has been certified under EMAS since 1996 (now EMAS III), ISO 14001:2015 (environment), ISO 50001:2018 (energy), ISO 45001 (occupational safety), and ISCC (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification — covering electrolysis, VC plant, and polymerization units). 90% of raw materials are delivered via pipeline . Site infrastructure (fire brigade, wastewater treatment, energy supply, emission monitoring) is shared with Chemiepark Marl, operated by Evonik Operations GmbH.
