Ruibai Group Revives LCY Chemical’s MIBK and Paraformaldehyde Assets in China
Henan Ruibai New Material Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China’s Ruibai Group, has successfully acquired and relocated major chemical production lines from Taiwan-based LCY Chemical Corp. The acquisition includes a 50,000-ton-per-year methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK) unit and a 60,000-ton-per-year paraformaldehyde (PFA) unit.
Relocation and Modernization Strategy
Operations at LCY’s Zhenjiang site were halted in December 2022 due to environmental compliance issues. In response, LCY partnered with Ruibai Group in mid-2023 to relocate and rebuild production across two new facilities:
- Henan Ruibai New Materials Co.: Now running LCY’s patented one-step acetone process for MIBK, already in trial production.
- Anhui Ruibai New Materials Co.: The new PFA unit is EIA-approved and expected to launch in 2025.
This move signals a strategic shift to environmentally compliant production and positions Ruibai as a key domestic supplier in the specialty chemicals sector.
Company Profiles: LCY Chemical and Ruibai Group
LCY Chemical Corp
The business scope of LCY includes the production of isopropyl alcohol (IPA), formaldehyde solution (320,000t/a), paraformaldehyde (30,000t/a, relocated), dimethoxymethane (111,000t/a), methyl isobutyl ketone/MIBK (50,000t/a, relocated), and diisobutyl ketone/DIBK (900t/a).
Ruibai Group
Ruibai Group is mainly composed of Taizhou Ruibai Chemical Co., Ltd., Anhui Ruibai New Material Co., Ltd., and Henan Ruibai New Material Co., Ltd. It also owns construction and installation companies Shanghai Ruibai Construction Engineering Co., Ltd. and Chongqing Zhonghao Chemical Co., Ltd.
Anhui Ruibai has established a production capacity of 450,000 tons of acetate products (including methyl acetate, ethyl acetate, propyl acetate, and butyl acetate) and 400,000 tons of formaldehyde series products (formaldehyde, dimethoxymethane, and paraformaldehyde). In 2024, the company achieved a production value of RMB 2.117 billion, marking a 57.71% increase.
