Borealis (Vienna / Austria; www.borealisgroup.com) has announced the establishment of a new sales entity in Johannesburg / South Africa. The office will enable "improved customer service thanks to a balanced mix of direct and indirect sales activities."

South Africa is an expanding market with growth opportunities in plastics, the company says, and it wants to capitalise on this potential by increasing its sales activities, focusing on the Pipe and Consumer Products segments. Sourcing will continue from both Borealis in Europe and its joint venture Borouge (Ruwais / UAE; www.borouge.com) in the UAE. The new legal entity that is registered and located in Johannesburg will be headed by Andrew Pienaar, formerly from Polysaf Chemical (Johannesburg).

Borealis has been active in the South African market for over two decades by way of its agent, Chemimpo, which became part of the IMCD Group (Rotterdam / The Netherlands; www.imcdgroup.com) in 2013. This partnership, which is strong in the Energy segment, now has a new distribution agreement. Borealis and IMCD will work with existing local customers, who will benefit from short lead times.