Braskem is a Brazilian petrochemical company and the largest producer of thermoplastic resins in the Americas. It describes itself as the biggest polypropylene producer in the United States and the leading polyethylene producer in Mexico, and it holds a global position in bio-based polymers through its I'm green range. Around 8,000 people work for the group, which runs industrial units in Brazil, the United States, Germany and Mexico and serves customers in more than 70 countries.
Product slate and integrated operations
Braskem's output falls into two connected blocks. The basic chemicals side produces ethylene, propylene, butadiene, aromatics, benzene, toluene and solvents from naphtha, natural gas and ethane, while the polymers side turns those intermediates into polyethylene, polypropylene and PVC resins, intermediates and specialties. The company presents itself as the only fully integrated first- and second-generation producer of thermoplastic resins in Brazil, an integration it says brings scale and operating efficiency. Feedstock includes renewable and recycled inputs alongside fossil ones: ethanol for its bio-based polyethylene and post-consumer plastic waste for recycled grades.
Industrial footprint across four countries
In Brazil the group operates units in Alagoas, Bahia, Rio Grande do Sul, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Its United States assets are in West Virginia, Texas and Pennsylvania, its German sites are at Wesseling and Schkopau, and its Mexican operation, Braskem Idesa, is in Veracruz state. Company materials put the total at about 40 industrial units in 10 countries, with offices and plants across the Americas, Europe and Asia and a global marketing platform supported by the Singapore sales base. The reporting segments are Brazil, the United States and Europe, and Mexico.
Ownership and the 2026 financial restructuring
Braskem was created in August 2002 by combining six companies belonging to the Odebrecht organisation and Grupo Mariani, and it now has 797,207,834 shares outstanding according to a shareholding statement dated 3 June 2026, made up of ordinary shares, class A preferred shares and a small class B tranche. A new shareholders' agreement was disclosed in a material fact on 23 April 2026, with a first amendment announced on 5 June 2026. The company's investor relations site maintains separate sections for an extrajudicial reorganisation process, a public offer for its shares, and the Alagoas matters linked to subsidence in Maceió. Brazilian press coverage in late September 2026 continued to report court decisions and negotiations involving creditors and the company's reference shareholders, while Braskem has kept publishing operating and financial disclosures.
Bio-based and circular products
The I'm green bio-based polyethylene line is made from sugarcane ethanol of fully renewable origin, and the company describes itself as a pioneer in renewable plastics. Its circular economy work is carried out with partners: in March 2024 it worked with Shell Chemicals to bring bio-attributed and bio-circular propylene and certified polypropylene to the North American market, and it signed an agreement with Shell to produce polypropylene from plastic waste in Germany. In June 2024 it agreed a plastics recycling partnership with the Dutch research organisation TNO and imported recycled plastic panels to help rebuild roads in Rio Grande do Sul after the floods in that state.
Contact and compliance channels
Braskem's general contact page is a web form covering customer enquiries, donations, sponsorships and plant visits rather than a published mailbox. Media enquiries go through regional communications mailboxes, including [email protected] for the Americas and [email protected] for Europe and Asia, alongside agency contacts listed on the press page. Investor enquiries are handled through [email protected]. The company also operates an ethics line, a supplier portal and a customer area, and its website carries a 2026 copyright notice.