VESTOLIT®

VESTOLIT is the brand name introduced by the former Chemische Werke Hüls AG (Hüls Chemical Works) for polyvinyl chloride, which is better known by its abbreviation: PVC.

VESTOLIT comes from Vest Recklinghausen, a mediaeval territorial designation and lit, which is the traditional final syllable for PVC products of the I.G. Farben industrial group. In 1949 VESTOLIT production started at the site in Marl. It was intended to change the factory’s manufacturing base, as British authorities had forbidden the production of Buna, a synthetic rubber.

In the course of changes made to the product portfolio for the Chemische Werke Hüls AG in 1995, the manufacture and marketing of VESTOLIT was hived off in the independent company VESTOLIT GmbH & Co. KG. Since 1999 the company belonged to a syndicate lead by Candover plc, London. In 2006, VESTOLIT became part of a fund managed by Strategic Value Partners including the company’s management.

As before, below its former owners, VESTOLIT is supplied mainly to the construction and automotive sectors. It is used in PVC window frames and for PVC in paste form for producing floor coverings, tarpaulin fabric and underbody coating for passenger vehicles. Marl Chemical Park is a fully integrated site for the production of VESTOLIT, which means that all the intermediate products are manufactured in one plant.