This page is an archive of news and news background stories. Stories are placed here when they expire from the news pages and are filed in date order, most recent on the top. Go to the most recent or browse through the headline links.
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Borealis to absorb its melamine-producing sister company December 29, 2006
Europe's leading melamine producer - and the world's number two - is to become part of Borealis in the first half of 2007. Agrolinz Melamine International is owned equally by oil and gas group OMV and OMV's main shareholder International Petroleum Investment Company. OMV and IPIC own 35 and 65 per cent respectively of Borealis, and the reshuffle of ownership is part of a refocus on core activites by OMV. As well as its position in melamine, AMI is also a supplier of plant nutrients.
US/Japanese joint venture to supply automotive rubber compounds in China December 29, 2006
The former PolyOne elastomer and additives business, bought in 2004 by Lion Chemical and renamed Excel Polymers, has joined with Mitsui of Japan to set up a rubber compounds company in China, with 61 per cent owned by Excel. Mitsui says it is considering expanding into other parts of Asia and elsewhere in co-operation with Excel.
The new company, Exlp Global (Foshan), will operate in 'the automotive centre of China', Shunde District, Foshan City in Guangdong Province. Japanese car companies including Toyota, Nissan and Honda have moved into Guangdong Province, where they have a current annual production capacity of around 600,000 vehicles. This is forecast to pass 1 million vehicles per annum by 2010.
With the car makers have come a number of Japanese automotive-focused rubber moulders, and Exlp (Global) aims to supply them with up to 20,000 tonnes of compound annually from the end of 2007.
Bidders battle for SIG while the EC mulls the effects on competition December 27, 2006
The hostile bid by Ferd - which owns Norway-based Elopak - and CVC Capital Partners of Luxembourg to buy Swiss packaging equipment group SIG (which owns PET machinery brand Corpoplast) has attracted the attentions of a New Zealand financial group, and the European Commission. The original bid was made at the end of September and dismissed by SIG directors as 'inadequate'. Ferd and CVC upped their offer but the SIG board rejected that again and put the company up for auction.
Just before Christmas Rank Group of New Zealand, which already has worldwide interests in packaging, came in with a higher bid, valuing the group at SFr2·4 billion. Now Ferd/CVC have trumped that, offering SFr2·6 billion. SIG's board has yet to comment on either bid.
Meanwhile, the European Commission has opened an investigation into the anti-competitive repercussions of a Ferd/CVC takeover. It is interested in the carton business rather than SIG's other packaging equipment operations - such as Corpoplast. The Commission describes the European carton market as having 'a rather exceptional concentrated market structure with one large (Tetra Pak) and two smaller suppliers (SIG and Elopak) accounting for virtually 100 per cent of the sales'. The EC has until May 15 to decide whether concentrating the carton market further would adversely affect consumers.
Promens gets Polimoon and Polimoon gets bigger December 27, 2006
The takeover battle for Polimoon is over, with the Star Acquisition Co subsidiary of Promens achieving acceptances of its offer for 99·85 per cent of the shares.
While its own control was being fought over, Polimoon has been consolidating its operations. In November it sold non-core rotational moulding subsidiary Bjørkelangen, and now has achieved total ownership of two companies in Russia and Slovakia. In Russia it has bought Novoplast, a subsidiary of Kalina Concern, one of the largest producers of personal care products in Russia, with which it had shared the supply of personal care packaging to Kalina. By buying Novoplast Polimoon has secured business with Kalina, and at the same time set up a springboard into Russia. Polimoon plans to upgrade and expand the Novoplast operation.
The Slovakian takeover is a buy-out of its partner Sluzba in an automotive/electronics components supplier. The joint venture was part of the Plastohm business which Polimoon bought in the summer of this year. Polimoon is planning 'to invest significantly' to expand capacity as automotive manufacturers set up plants in Slovakia.
SABIC joins in Turkish PS joint venture December 27, 2006
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) has formed a polystyrene joint venture with Baser Petrokemya of Turkey. SABIC will hold 70 per cent, with Baser holding the remainder.
The joint venture will take over all of Baser's polystyrene assets in Turkey, including an Adana-based plant with a capacity of 40,000 tonnes. SABIC will market the joint venture's entire product.
SABIC is already involved in polystyrene through wholly owned affiliate Petrokemya, while another affiliate, SADAF, produces styrene.
Dow buys Bayer cellulosics business December 27, 2006
Dow Chemical is buying the Wolff Walsrode cellulose products business from Bayer. Dow will add the business to the Water Soluble Polymers group in its performance businesses portfolio as a measure to reduce the cyclical effects of the bulk polymer and chemicals markets on its earnings. The addition of Wolff Walsrode - which turned over more than $400 million in 2005 - will push Dow's performance plastics and chemicals over $1 million a year.
Wolff Walsrode was put on the market by Bayer in March of this year. Proceeds from the sale will contribute to the purchase of the Schering pharmaceuticals business.
Financial musical chairs at MPM December 27, 2006
Top management is moving at Mannesmann Plastics Machinery. Chief financial officer Dr Holger Engelmann, a member of the board since 2002, is leaving 'in an amicable agreement in order to meet a new professional challenge'. He will be replaced by Peter Sassenfeld, currently the CFO of MPM subsidiary Krauss-Maffei Kunststofftechnik. The new CFO and managing director of Krauss-Maffei will be Stefan Neumann, who since May 2005 has been CFO of another MPM subsidiary, Demag Plastics Group USA.
Trelleborg buys pipe repair business December 27, 2006
The latest acquisition by Sweden's Trelleborg rubber company is a pipe sealant business based in Germany, with a subsidiary in St Albans. Epros and Epros International specialise in trenchless repairs of pipe systems, sealing leaking pipes and improving structural stability in pipe systems with impregnated polyester fabrics and EPDM.
Bayer votes with its feet for development centre site December 27, 2006
A global centre for footwear development has been set up by Bayer MaterialScience, not in Germany, but in China. The Global Footwear Competence Center has been sited in Shanghai because China is the world's largest footwear producer. According to Bayer: 'China accounts for more than 60 per cent of global footwear production. In 2005, more than 7 billion pairs of shoes were made in China, which is more than one pair of shoes for every person on the planet.'
The GFCC is situated in Bayer's Polymer Research and Development Center at the Jinqiao Industrial Processing Zone in Shanghai. It is equipped with injection moulding machines for both polyurethane and thermoplastic polyurethane applications, casting machines and a pre-polymer and polyol formulation pilot plant. It will be closely integrated with Bayer's worldwide network of polyurethane systems companies.
D-M-E cuts costs of tooling components in China December 27, 2006
A Chinese logistics centre has been opened by Milacron's mould components subsidiary D-M-E. D-M-E Trading (Shenzhen) Company is a wholly foreign-owned enterprise, a complex legal entity in China, and has taken around a year and a half to set up. It will offer distribution, quality assurance and warehousing from early next year and will eliminate many of the import expenses for products sold in China, which often account for as much as 20 to 30 per cent of overall costs, says D-M-E.
GTMA absorbs PMMMA December 27, 2006
Two toolmaking trade associations have joined forces. The Pattern Model and Mould Manufacturers Association has become part of The Gauge and Toolmakers Association, while retaining its own identity.
Basell buys German ethylene cracker December 27, 2006
Basell has secured ethylene supplies for its new HDPE plant at Münchsmünster in Germany by buying a cracker at the site from the Ruhr Oel joint venture between Deutsche BP and Venezuelan state-owned oil company PdVSA. As well as securing the supply of ethylene to the Hostalen Advanced Cascade Process HDPE plant, the purchase strengthens Basell's position in propylene and other cracker products.
The new HDPE plant is scheduled to start up in early 2009 and will replace the plant that was damaged by an explosion and fire in December 2005. It will have an initial capacity of 120,000 tonnes and will be expandable to 150,000 tonnes.
3i buys Azelis on the route to flotation December 17, 2006
Plastics and chemicals distributor Azelis is eyeing a possible flotation. The company - which describes itself as 'Europe's fastest growing distributor of specialty chemicals, polymers and related services' - has been sold by Cognetas to 3i, which Azelis chief executive Dr Udo Wenzel says is 'a suitable partner to support us over the next five years which will be the lead up to possible flotation'.
Cognetas - formerly Electra Partners Europe - bought a 57 per cent stake in Azelis in November 2003 for Eur 135 million and has now sold it to 3i for around Eur 315 million.
Azelis' growth has been through a series of acquisitions - in the UK it has bought Chance & Hunt, Pan Polymers, and most recently, Polymers Direct. The group was established in 2001 through the merger of Novorchem in Italy and Arnaud in France and now comprises around 23 companies in 22 European countries plus an office in Shanghai, China. Turnover rose from Eur 348 million in 2001 to Eur 840 million in 2005. Polymer applications represent around 20 per cent of its turnover.
Solutia to take control of Flexsys rubber chemicals December 17, 2006
Solutia is planning to buy out its partner in rubber chemicals producer Flexsys. Flexys is a 50:50 joint venture between Solutia and Akzo Nobel and says it is the world's leading supplier of chemicals to the rubber industry. It had sales last year of around $600 million and employs more than 1,000 people worldwide. Flexys is based in Brussels, Belgium, and has 15 manufacturing plants - eight in Europe, three in North America, two in South America and two in Asia. Also included in the deal - which has reached the agreement-in-principle stage - is that Solutia should buy Akzo Nobel's toll manufacturing operation for Flexsys at its Kashima site in Japan.
Rohm and Haas joins Chinese additives JV December 17, 2006
Rohm and Haas is to set up a joint venture to make plastics additives in China. It is joining with Weihai Jinhong Polymer Company in Jinhong Rohm and Haas Chemicals Company (JinHaas) to make additives for the building and construction and PVC packaging sectors.
The joint venture, to be based at Jinhong's Weihai City plant, will produce methacrylate butadiene styrene, acrylic impact modifiers and acrylic processing aids for distribution in China and other emerging markets. Jinhong is puting in its plant and Rohm and Haas will contribute cash. Rohm and Haas will hold 51 per cent of the company which is expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2007. Rohm and Haas expects to double its plastic additives sales in China by 2010.
European MDI expansion by BASF and Bayer December 17, 2006
BASF is to increase the size of its MDI plant in Antwerp, Belgium, making it the largest MDI plant in the world. The existing 450,000 tonnes plant is to be expanded to 560,000 tonnes in the second quarter of 2007. The company is also to build two plants at the site for the MDI precursors aniline and mononitrobenzene, with capacities of 180,000 tonnes (aniline) and 280,000 tonnes (mononitrobenzene) scheduled to start up at the same time as the MDI expansion. BASF estimates global expansion in MDI demand as 6 per cent annually.
Bayer MaterialScience has increased capacity at its Tarragona, Spain, plant by half to 150,000 tonnes, taking its global capacity to nearly 1·1 million tonnes. The company has also added capacity for the intermediates carbon monoxide and methylene diphenyl diamine. During the summer Bayer expanded its Krefeld-Uerdingen MDI plant in Germany by 36,000 tonnes to 200,000 tonnes.
Both companies are also pushing up Chinese MDI capacity. In August this year BASF and its partners started up an integrated isocyanates complex at the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park in Caojing, and are considering a further MDI plant in China that would start production in 2010. Bayer is currently building a 350,000 tonnes plant in Shanghai due to start operating in 2008 to supply customers in the Asia-Pacific region. A splitter used to extract monomeric and polymeric MDI from crude MDI that has an annual capacity of 80,000 tonnes went into operation there in June this year.
Degussa sets up European PEEK sales December 17, 2006
A sales network for small quantities of its new Chinese-made PEEK material is being set up by Degussa. Grässlin KBS, will handle distribution in Germany while Austria and Switzerland will be served by Dolder in Switzerland. Lati in Italy will handle sales in Italy, France, Spain and Portugal. Large quantities of the Vestakeep material will be sold directly by Degussa through its High Performance Polymers Business Unit in Marl, Germany.
Vestakeep is initially being offered in two viscosities as granules and powders. In addition there are three compounds based on these products with 30 per cent glass fibres, 30 per cent carbon fibres and a combination of 10 per cent carbon fibres, 10 per cent graphite and 10 per cent PTFE.
BPF to manage Faraday Plastics' communications with the industry December 17, 2006
The industry interface with Faraday Plastics has been taken on by the British Plastics Federation following the change in structure at Rapra Technology. Faraday Plastics is part of the DTI-funded Materials Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN), one of 22 such networks, which are designed to 'stimulate innovation in the UK's key technology sectors by promoting collaboration, best practice and knowledge sharing between industry and academia'.
The British Plastics Federation will look after Faraday's communications and events and help to raise the visibility of Faraday Plastics and the Materials KTN to the industry. It will also give Faraday access to its 19 business groups.
The new chairman of Faraday Plastics is Colin Richards, a retired member of BP's senior management who has had previous involvements in other industry bodies and committees. A new board is to be formed, and Faraday Plastics intends to 'actively embrace the rubber industry'.
PolyOne has opened a business development office in Mumbai, India, to support global companies who are expanding in the region. The office is part of PolyOne's expanding globalisation plan under which it expects to generate 30 per cent of its revenues outside North America by 2010.
Ciba expands flame retardant production December 17, 2006
A new production plant for Melapur 200 melamine polyphosphate halogen-free flame retardant has been opened by Ciba Specialty Chemicals at its Lampertheim production site in Germany. Melapur 200 was originally developed to suit the high processing temperatures associated with compounding glass fibre reinforced polyamides. However, its high thermal stability and low water solubility have shown it to be effective in a variety of other polymer substrates, either on its own or as a synergistic component in flame retardant formulations.
Long fibre compound capacity increased December 17, 2006
Increased capacity for long fibre reinforced engineering plastics has gone into production at TechnoCompound in Germany, adding another 14,000 tonnes/year. The company's TechnoFiber range includes PP, PA, PET, PBT and PPS with glass fibre reinforcement added through pultrusion giving, says the company, full encapsulation of each fibre in the polymer matrix, with pellet lengths - and hence fibre lengths - of 10, 15 and 20 mm. PP compounds are made with from 20 to 60 per cent glass, enabling a single compound to be used rather than combining a long fibre concentrate with unreinforced PP.
Haitian bids for Russian injection machine supremacy December 17, 2006
China's Ningbo Haitian Group, the most prolific builder of injection moulding machines in the world, is aiming to be the market-leading brand in Russia by 2010. It is already reckoned to be in third place behind Demag of Germany and LG of Korea. Haitian has already claimed 10 per cent of the European market and set 2010 as the date for increasing this to 15 per cent.
To improve its position in Russia, Haitian is establishing a joint venture with the Plastic-Centre of Moscow for sales, application support, training and service to exclusively consolidate the former work of different independent agents operating in the Russian market.
Last year Haitian sold 140 machines in Russia and the former CIS states. It built 14,000 machines of which 3,000 were exported, and this year expects to have upped this to 17,000 machines with 3,500 exports.
Fujitsu adds nylon 11 to its bio-material armoury December 17, 2006
To extend its use of bio-sourced polymers Fujitsu of Japan, with Fujitsu Laboratories, has been working with Arkema of France on a polymer derived from castor oil. At the root of the work is Arkema's Rilsan polyamide 11: itself a biopolymer in that it is made by a polycondensation reaction from 11-aminoundecanoic acid, which is produced from castor oil derived from the seeds of the castor bean.
Fujitsu has been using bio-sourced plastics in its electronic equipment since 2002 when it moulded the chassis of its FMV-Biblio notebook computer from polylactic acid. Last year Fujitsu put on sale a notebook computer with a housing moulded from PLA, but to achieve mechanical performance this had to be blended with a petroleum-sourced plastic. Fujitsu's aim is to increase the bio-content of the plastics it uses and so needs to improve their intrinsic mechanical performance. Hence its work with Arkema's Rilsan.
One of the requirements for Fujitsu's applications is a flexibility beyond that naturally achievable with PA 11. The new material has improved flexibility by weakening the interaction of the chain molecule in PA 11 and relaxing the stereo-regularity of the molecular organisation. Fujitsu says this has resulted in a material with sufficient flexibility to withstand repeated bending without causing the whitening that often occurs when such materials are strained.
The company has moulded prototype PC cover components with a bio-content of 60 - 80 per cent. Fujitsu says that even after adding high-density fillers to increase strength, the polymer maintains good impact-resistance and it is hoped that the material could eventually be used in PC chassis and other larger components.
US corn sugar plastic plant comes a step nearer December 17, 2006
Work has begun on the 50,000 tonnes PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoate) plant planned by Metabolix in the USA. PHA is a long chain polyester made from a corn sugar fermentation process. Metabolix is building the plant, at Clinton, Iowa, in a joint venture with agricultural processing and fermentation specialist Archer Daniels Midland.
Metabolix calls its material Natural Plastic, and is proposing applications such as coated paper, film or bags, and thermoformed and moulded goods. The Natural Plastic plant will be located adjacent to ADM's corn wet mill in Clinton and will use starch from the mill's existing corn grind capacity as raw material.
New committee for the PMMDA December 17, 2006
The Polymer Machinery Manufacturers and Distributors Association has a new chairman, Colin Brookes of Boston Matthews. The previous chairman, Paul Goodhew from Sepro Robotique, has stood down from the committee after five years. Ted Waller of Conair and Colin Taylor of Uniloy Milacron also left the committee this year while Nigel Flowers of Demag Hamilton, Karl Miller of Colortronic and Andy Gibbens of Motan have joined it.
New company members of the association are Piovan UK, Tool-Temp, Plastics Ancillaries, D & M Machinery, and Farrow Machinery.
Bartuf expands in Leeds December 17, 2006
Sheet fabricator Bartuf Systems has opened a new factory in Leeds which will enable it to increase output by 25 per cent. The company, which works in the retail display market, will leave its sales, accounts, design and specialist project functions at its existing Holbeck premises and the new 20,000 ft² facility at Armley will enable it to offer customers stockholding, and will improve efficiency by reducing movement time between production areas.
Cabelec for Distrupol December 17, 2006
Distrupol has been appointed a distributor of Cabot Corporation's Cabelec series of conductive compounds.
Arkema expands new EVA plant December 17, 2006
Arkema has increased the capacity of the Evatane high content EVA plant at Balan in France, opened only a year ago, by 15 per cent.
Ashland plans fight-back as Dow gives notice in North America December 4, 2006
A question mark has been thrown up over Ashland's continuing distribution of Dow Chemical plastics in Europe. Ashland has been given notice in North America that Dow will terminate its distribution agreement on March 1. Ashland is emphasising that this termination only affects its North American customers but says 'Ashland Distribution also has a plastics distribution contract with Dow in Europe...which could at some point be impacted'.
Ashland bought $170 million of Dow materials in the USA and $60 million in Europe during this year, and in the USA Dow materials represented some 5 per cent of Ashland Distribution's total materials purchases.
To bridge the gap and hang on to its global customers for Dow materials Ashland is planning to offer 'a range of conversion options to meet their performance, quality and delivery needs', and says 'while a substantial number of customers may choose to continue using Dow plastics, especially initially, Ashland will aggressively pursue retention of these customers, with the support of its plastics manufacturer partners'.
Asahi to nearly double ETFE production December 4, 2006
Asahi Glass is to nearly double its output of ethylene tetrafluoroethylene from the first quarter of 2008. It is investing ¥2·5 billion at its Kashima plant in Japan under its JIKKO-2007 programme which is positioning fluorine and specialty chemicals as a growth business.
Asahi says global demand for ETFE is increasing sharply, at more than 10 per cent annually, particularly in areas such as the automotive, aeronautics industries and membrane structures - where the company's ETFE film has been used in the construction of the main stadium and swimming pool for the Olympic Games in Beijing. Asahi Glass says it was the first company to manufacture ETFE commercially, in 1975, and currently has more than half the world market.
Hydraulic oil, yours for a lifetime December 4, 2006
Engel says it has become the first injection moulding machine manufacturer to offer permanent oil filling ex-works complete with a guarantee. A synthetic machine oil has been developed specially for injection moulding machines in collaboration with the Austrian mineral oil group OMV, and is rated for a permanent duty of at least 40,000 hours - extending the oil change interval to eight years. OMV's guarantee is subject only to the user sending an oil specimen once a year for analysis. If the condition of the oil fails to meet the required quality standard, OMV will replace the oil filling free of charge.
At present Engel is offering the long-life oil on its Victory hybrid machines, and expects to extend it to all-hydraulic machines 'at some time in the future'.
Carbon nanotubes to go into mass production December 4, 2006
Production of Bayer's Baytubes carbon nanotube material is to be ramped up to 3,000 tonnes annually. Baytubes offer high performance in conductivity and mechanical properties, and Bayer claimed a breakthrough in making their manufacture affordable when it revealed its process a year ago. At present Baytubes are still being made on a 30 tonnes pilot plant but Bayer has now confirmed it plans to build an industrial-scale plant - although it hasn't said where or when.
Synthetic rubber producers fined for price-fixing December 4, 2006
Five synthetic rubber producers have been fined by the European Commission for taking part in a price-fixing cartel, the total penalty constituting the second largest in the Commission's fight against restrictive trade practices.
The companies penalised were Bayer, Germany; Dow, USA; Eni, Italy; Shell, Netherlands; Unipetrol, Czech Republic; and Trade-Stomil, Poland. They were between them fined more than Eur 519 million for fixing prices of butadiene and emulsion styrene butadiene rubbers and exchanging information on customers from at least 1996 to 2002.
Eni, Bayer and Shell were fined an extra 50 per cent because they were repeat cartel offenders, having been involved in the past in fixing the prices of polypropylene, PVC and citric acid. However Bayer received total immunity for having been the first company to reveal the cartel to the Commission. After an unannounced inspection at Dow the company also admitted its involvement and had its fine reduced by 40 per cent. Shell also later admitted its involvement, but received no reduction in its fine.
Major materials handling order for Colortronic December 4, 2006
A turnkey materials handling system worth nearly £250,000 is to be installed by Colortronic UK at an undisclosed company in the UK. The system will comprise drying, conveying, gravimetric and volumetric blending equipment and complete pipework, cable, installation and training.
Ticona to move as Frankfurt airport expands December 4, 2006
Ticona is to close its Kelsterbach headquarters and production plant in Germany to make way for an extension to Frankfurt airport. The company is currently looking for a new site and expects to move to it by 2011. The decision comes at the end of several years of legal wrangling between Ticona and the airport planners, and brings with it a Eur 650 million contribution from the airport to Ticona's moving costs.
Anglo-Chinese moulder expands in Malaysia December 4, 2006
An Anglo-Chinese injection moulding and extrusion company is planning to double moulding capacity with a new plant in Malaysia. Avantis International has a British design arm - Avanco Design (UK) in Cannock - and Asian manufacturing. The new 27,500 ft² plant for Ovantis Hightech (Malaysia) is costing more than £1 million and will employ 145 people at Sungai Petani in northern Malaysia. It will be fully automated and house injection moulding machines up to 600 tonnes.
The company has further imminent expansion plans, with a 45,000 ft² plant scheduled next year to make PVC products to supply UK demand.
Avantis, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Gorda which operates in five countries, has contracts with a number of British manufacturers of building products and also has clients in the automotive, electrical components and domestic appliance sectors.
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