Australia’s largest plastics and chemicals manufacturer has gone bankrupt with around 700 jobs at stake.
Qenos was plunged into voluntary administration on Wednesday, leaving the future of its manufacturing plants in Victoria and New South Wales up in the air.
The staff revealed that they were informed about the latest developments in several meetings.
Qenos operates two facilities: one in Altona, in Melbourne’s west, which is Australia’s largest petrochemical and plastics production center and employs 450 workers, and another in Botany, in Sydney, where 250 workers work.
The future of workers at Qenos manufacturing plants in Victoria and New South Wales is at stake
The company’s Botany facilities will close their doors, although they have not been operational since February 2023 due to the collapse of their cooling towers
The company’s Botany facility is scheduled to close, although it has not been operational since February 2023 due to the collapse of its cooling towers.
In their websiteQenos claims to be “the only polyethylene and polymer manufacturer in Australia”.
“If you see or use plastic in your household items, we probably made it,” it reads.
“We directly contribute more than $1 billion a year to the Australian economy.”
Sky News business editor Ross Greenwood said “Qenos is one of the key companies in Australia.”
“I think the only thing that’s strategically important are the pipes that carry the water and wastewater,” he said.
Greenwood added: ‘Well, the main ingredient for this is ethylene or polyethylene; The only company that manufactures it is Qenos.
High gas prices in recent years, combined with the closure of Exxon’s Altona fuel refinery in 2021, are believed to be contributing factors to the company’s collapse.
Qenos was recently sold by its Chinese owner, China National Chemical, to property developer Logos.
A spokesman for Industry Minister Ed Husic said the government was “actively monitoring the situation” and what it meant for workers and any potential impact on supply chains.
700 Qenos workers in Victoria and New South Wales face uncertain future after company collapses
Experts warned that the collapse of Qenos would make it impossible to create an end-to-end plastic recycling industry in Australia.
The National Plastic Plan 2021 establishes a recycling goal of 70 percent of plastic packaging for next year.
2GB broadcaster Mark Levy said the closure could alter the objective.
“They can forget about this if Qenos closes,” Levy said.
‘In 2022, Qenos launched a feasibility study with Cleanaway to break down 1,000 tonnes per year of packaging into its chemical components and then convert it back into resin for future use.
‘(That) is the same weight as two Sydney Harbor bridges, which is a lot of recycled plastic.
“Those 100,000 tons of plastic will now end up in landfills.”