The plant, which is launching after completing construction in October, gives Latin America’s largest petrochemical company an expanded Texas presence after buying plants from Sunoco and Dow Chemical beginning in 2010.

This is the first time Braskem will produce its “UTEC” ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene in the U.S., said Chris Gee, Braskem’s global business director. The plastic is a stronger, specialty version of the world’s most common plastic, polyethylene, to serve more industrial purposes and compete with steel.

“It’s a big deal because Braskem has largely been a regional player,” said Gee, who’s based out of Philadelphia. “It’s one of Braskem’s ambitions to keep growing in the U.S.”

Like many other petrochemical companies, Braskem looked to expand in the Houston area because of the easy access to cheap natural gas and to the Houston Ship Channel, he said.

Braskem made its first big move into the U.S. in 2010 when it bought Sunoco’s polypropylene plastics plants in La Porte, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The new La Porte plant is located on the same property as the original Sunoco footprint.

Braskem continued growing in Texas a year later when it bought polypropylene plants in Freeport and Seadrift from Dow.

There’s a small global market for the UTEC polyethylene product of about 200 kilotons annually, Gee said. Because of the small but competitive market size, Braskem won’t release the production capacity of the new plant or the project costs.

Most of the products will be sold in the U.S., although some will get exported to Asia and other markets, Gee added.