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Husky agrees private equity sale September 28, 2007
Husky is to be bought by a private equity company. The Canadian manufacturer of injection moulding machines and hot runner systems put itself up for sale or merger in March this year after founder and chairman Robert Schad decided to sell his shares.
The announcement today that Husky was supporting a bid of Cdn$8·18 per share from Onex Corporation of Toronto values Husky at around Cdn$960 million (nearly Eur 680 million) and nets Robert Schad and his wife nearly $Cdn423 million for their 44 per cent. Robert Schad, recently listed as Canada's 45th richest man, arrived in Canada in the early 1950s with $25 in his pocket and founded Husky in a garage in 1953 making a snowmobile called the Huskymobile. The Huskymobile did not succeed but the name remained with Robert Schad when he built a mould for making plastic coffee cups. The mould was capable of running faster than existing machines could, so in 1961 Husky designed and built its first injection moulding machine.
Husky expects to hold a meeting of shareholders to consider the proposal in early December and if approved, to complete the sale by mid-December.
Bayer also cutting jobs in Antwerp September 28, 2007
Alongside Lanxess's decision to outsource jobs at its Antwerp, Belgium site announced a couple of days ago, Bayer is also to cut staffing at the site for reasons of improved cost effectiveness. It is to shed 155 jobs and move another 50 or so people to other jobs elsewhere in the business. The site currently employs 900 people and makes Makrolon polycarbonate.
Forward pricing for Dow PE September 28, 2007
Dow Europe is moving into a forward pricing position with its polyethylenes. From November 1 prices will be established with customers before any product is shipped. Dow says that by changing to a forward price setting mechanism, it will be able to tackle the rapid change of feedstock cost more proactively. Forward pricing has been in force for some time for Dow's polypropylenes and polystyrenes.
DSM plans elastomers sell-off September 27, 2007
DSM is planning to dispose of its elastomers and thermosets businesses as part of an accelerated move into life sciences and performance materials. In a restatement today of its Vision 2010 strategy DSM outlined a plan to move 'non-core' businesses into separate units for divestment.
In a strategy not unlike that pursued by Bayer over the past five years DSM is positioning itself in the nutrition, pharmaceutical and performance materials businesses in sectors where it has market-leading positions, and where it can build on its strengths in chemistry, process technology, biotechnology and materials science.
'Those businesses which do not fit with the strategic thrust will be carved out and divested, during the course of the Vision 2010 period, to new owners for whom there is a stronger strategic fit and under whose ownership they can prosper further,' says the company in today's announcement.
Initially these businesses will be grouped in a new Base Chemicals & Materials cluster and include:
Melamine, urea, fertilisers and energy, currently within Industrial Chemicals and with around Eur 700 million sales in 2007; elastomers, currently within Performance Materials and with some Eur 500 million sales this year; special products (Nutrition, Eur 100 million); and maleic anhydride and its derivatives (Pharma, Eur 75 million). DSM Fibre Intermediates, currently within Industrial Chemicals and which provides backward integration for DSM Engineering Plastics, will join a new division Polymer Intermediates.
DSM's new structure from 2008 will be: Life Sciences (nutrition and pharma), Materials Sciences (performance materials and polymer intermediates), and Base Chemicals & Materials. The company says it expects its 'portfolio adjustments' to be completed during the course of the Vision 2010 programme. The aim is to derive 60 per cent of the company's total revenues from specialty businesses, remaining only in those businesses formerly within the Industrial Chemicals cluster where backward-integration provides a competitive advantage.
Alongside its planned divestments DSM will seek acquisitions in its core business areas to achieve external growth. Internally it expects to achieve an additional 1 billion in sales from innovation by 2010, and has raised its organic sales growth target to more than 5 per cent annually and increased its expectations from China by half to forecast sales in 2010 up from a $1 billion target to $1·5 billion.
Sale of its non-core businesses will give DSM a reduced presence at the Chemelot site at Geleen in the Netherlands and DSM says it will review its options how it can best support the further development of that site into a successful industrial park. In addition, it will continue to invest in its R & D campus infrastructure on the site.
'First new polymer this millennium' from DSM September 27, 2007
'The first new polymer to be introduced in the new millennium' has been announced by DSM. It is a polyamide 4T, and while no details of its chemistry have been given, it must be assumed to be closely related to DSM's unique PA46, Stanyl.
PA4T has a balance of properties which includes dimensional stability, compatibility with lead free soldering, high stiffness and mechanical strength at elevated temperatures, high melting point, and good flow with a wide processing window.
Applications foreseen are in electronics, as memory card connectors, CPU sockets, high temperature bobbins, and notebook computer memory module connectors because of its suitability for lead-free surface mount technology and its dimensional stability, and in automotive under-bonnet applications in electrical systems, fuel delivery, and cooling components.
DSM has filed patents on the new polymer, developed compounds and held initial investigative trials with potential users. It says results to date have been 'impressive' and it is currently constructing a market development plant at the Chemelot site in Sittard-Geleen, the Netherlands, which will provide quantities of the polymer for pre-marketing. The market development plant will become operational in the first quarter 2008.
The announcement today is more than coincidental with DSM's increased focus on performance materials reported in our previous story.
DuPont links with Plantic in biopolymer collaboration September 27, 2007
Two major players in biopolymers have joined forces in a collaborative venture to develop applications for starch-based polymers. DuPont Packaging and Industrial Polymers and Australia's Plantic Technologies are to collaborate in the development and sale of renewably sourced polymers made with Plantic technology. This will include the development of new polymers and sheet materials based on high-amylose corn starch for applications including food packaging trays, caps and containers, cosmetics and personal care.
In addition to co-developing these new materials, DuPont will sell Plantic's starch-based materials and sheet products under the DuPont Biomax name. This covers the sale of injection moulding materials in all markets except Australia and New Zealand, and sheet materials for trays and rigid packaging applications in North America - Plantic already covers Australia and Europe. The adoption of the Plantic-based materials will be part of a growing suite of products being marketed under the DuPont Renewably Sourced Materials initiative.
Plantic sources its high-amylose corn starch feedstock from annual harvesting of specialised hybrid corn. In addition to being renewably sourced, materials are biodegradable and compostable.
Plantic Technologies has won international awards for achievement in science and has built an international network of corporate customers, distributors and research and development partners. It recently listed on the London Stock Exchange Alternative Investments Market.
DuPont has a target of doubling revenues from non-depletable resources to $8 billion by 2015 through a combination of internal development and strategic partnerships.
Steam heat and cold water make mouldings look better and easier to mould September 27, 2007
New technology for surface improvement in injection moulding has been introduced by Oxford Moulding Technology through Gas Injection Worldwide - both companies chaired by gas injection pioneer Terry Pearson who founded Gas Injection Ltd and later merged it with Cinpres.
The new Rapid Temperature Cycling process builds on the improved surface gloss and integrity that can be achieved by running the mould surface at near the melt temperature of the material. The problem with moulding this way, of course, is the extended cycle times from having to wait for the moulding to cool down to a temperature at which it can be ejected. And this is a result of the thermal inertia within the mould tool.
Rapid Temperature Cycling is, as its name suggests, a way of heating and cooling the mould rapidly, and is achieved by building the mould using a robotically controlled metal spraying technique which makes distortion-free components and cuts down the mass of metal in the mould. This is allied with conformal cooling/heating techniques which run the temperature control channels around the contours of the cavity.
Oxford Moulding Technology, which has input from both Oxford and Swansea universities, has worked with steam specialist Spirax to develop energy-efficient ways of steam-heating the mould. An installation includes tooling, steam generation equipment and the control technology for pulsing steam and cold water around the mould.
Surface improvements claimed for the process include high gloss, elimination of flow lines and streaks, and polymer-rich surfaces over glass fibre and other filled materials, with other benefits from reductions in moulded-in-stress and therefore freedom from distortion after moulding, greatly extended flow paths, and lower in-mould pressures reducing clamping force requirements and consequent operating costs.
Ethylene oxide increase from BASF September 27, 2007
BASF is increasing capacity for ethylene oxide - used to make polyols among other things - across Europe. Total capacity is to go up from 705,000 to 845,000 tonnes during scheduled shutdowns in 2008 and 2009, with the Ludwigshafen, Germany, capacity rising to 345,000 tonnes and Antwerp, Belgium, to 500,000 tonnes. When the work is completed, the Antwerp plant will be the largest in Europe and will be one of the largest production manufacturing facilities with integrated derivative production in the world.
Solutia sees an end to Chapter 11 September 27, 2007
US nylon manufacturer Solutia - once part of Monsanto - expects to be out of bankruptcy by the end of the year following acceptance of a revised version of its reorganisation plan made earlier this year under which creditors can buy discounted shares to raise $250 million of new investment.
K-Tron buys US pneumatic conveying company September 27, 2007
US-based materials handling equipment specialist K-Tron International has bought Rader Companies of Alpharetta, Georgia, USA for $15·945 million. Rader makes pneumatic conveying systems, mainly for the wood pulp and paper industries, but also makes the EDK feeder/delumper which is used worldwide in manufacturing polypropylene and polyethylene.
Bayer names Antwerp for new PMPO plant September 26, 2007
The new polymer-filled polyether polyols plant planned by Bayer MaterialScience is to be built at Antwerp in Belgium, where Bayer already makes polyether polyols. The 60,000 tonnes, Eur 40 million plant will be commissioned late in 2008.
Polymer-filled polyether polyols, or PMPOs, are used mainly for flexible foam with applications in furniture, mattresses and car seats. The new plant will use a new process developed by Bayer which produces materials with very low levels of volatile organic compounds that Bayer says were impossible to achieve with the technologies used to date. In addition to improved product properties, Bayer MaterialScience expects a reduction of 25 per cent in plant construction costs and in lower energy consumption.
Jobs go to secure future of Lanxess's Antwerp plant September 26, 2007
More than 120 jobs are to be outsourced at the Lanxess plant in Antwerp, Belgium, in a reorganisation intended to improve competitiveness. The reorganisation is part of a restructuring package announced in 2006. Lanxess says the cuts are necessary to offset steep rises in energy and materials costs and competition from Asia and that 'the management is confident that a viable solution will be found that will secure Antwerp's long-term future and be in the best interests of both the employees and the company.'
Lanxess has two production sites in Belgium employing some 1,500 people. Antwerp is second only to its German sites in importance, and manufactures raw materials for plastics, glass fibre and rubber chemicals for sale worldwide.
Back to the black for Battenfeld September 26, 2007
The new owner of Battenfeld Injection Moulding Technology is predicting a return to break even by the end of its 2008 financial year. Adcuram bought Battenfeld a year ago from the SMS group, for whom the company was losing money. Now after a reorganisation of its management and staffing and an anticipated 10 per cent increase in sales in 2007 the company is heading back to profitability.
Conair buys extrusion downstream manufacturer September 26, 2007
Supply of extrusion downstream equipment has become a separate business unit at Conair in the USA with the acquisition of equipment manufacturer Michigan Plastics Machinery. Conair entered the extrusion downstream business almost 20 years ago, when it acquired Gatto Machinery. Now, through alliances with extruder manufacturers and tooling suppliers, Conair says it can provide a complete downstream solution for almost any pipe, profile or tubing application anywhere in the world.
Besides its North American activities, Conair has this year installed downstream extrusion systems in France, Belgium, Greece, Saudi Arabia, India and Qatar. A demonstration line is now running at the new Conair facility in China and there are plans for similar installations in Europe and Mexico in 2008.
The new Conair Extrusion unit will continue to manufacture downstream products in Franklin, Pennsylvania, and in the MPM facility in Kawkawlin (near Bay City), Michigan.
TPVs save costs by processing faster September 26, 2007
A family of Santoprene TPVs that can be processed 20 - 30 per cent faster than other grades has been introduced by ExxonMobil Chemical. The new M500 materials have potential to replace thermoset rubbers and TPEs in thick, chunky applications such as plugs, bumpers, grommets, gap fillers, spacers and motor mounts. They have a higher crystallisation temperature, allowing faster de-mould and so cutting the cooling time which typically represents 30 - 80 per cent of the moulding cycle.
Santoprene TPV M500 is available in three levels of hardness (Shore 55, 65 and 80), in UV-stable black.
Exxon extends the shorter cycle time benefits to increased moulding capacity with existing equipment and tooling; reduced tooling costs as fewer cavities are needed to produce the target volumes; reduced overall part cost by requiring less machinery time per part; and postponement of capital investment in new machinery because of increased production.
The colour concentrates plant being built in Poland by PolyOne opens tomorrow (September 27) with production starting immediately afterwards. The plant, at Kutno, will support PolyOne's expansion into Central and Eastern Europe. Initially the 6,000 m² factory will house four production lines but it has been built with potential for expanding capacity for other PolyOne products.
The new plant is PolyOne's second manufacturing facility in Central Europe - the first was built in Györ, Hungary, in 1998 - and is the company's ninth colour concentrates plant in Europe. The others are in Belgium, Denmark, France (two plants), Germany, Hungary, Spain and Sweden.
Gas bottle wins blow moulding award September 26, 2007
A plastics gas bottle has won this year's Horners' Bottlemaking Award. The BP Gas Light cylinder from Ragasco in Norway is made from filament-wound glass fibre GRP composite with a blow moulded HDPE inner liner. The outer casing is a two part plastic moulding, making it non-corrosive and weighing half that of steel bottles containing the same gas volume. The easy grip handles combined with its reduced weight make it more manageable for distributors, filling operators, deliverymen and users. In a fire it will react with a controlled burn-out instead of an explosion.
Bio-sourced polyols are commercialised by Dow September 25, 2007
The work done at Dow Chemical over the past 10 years on making polyols from plant-based materials has culminated in a new commercialised process, Renuva Renewable Resource Technology. Dow is sourcing its polyols from soybean oil, but says it will continue to explore other vegetable oil options. The process reacts the broken-down and functionalised soybean oil molecule with traditional polyurethane components, creating natural oil-based polyols 'with consistent performance' that 'rival petroleum-based polyols'.
Dow says it has overcome the past performance problems of bio-based polyols, particularly the unpleasant odour associated with high levels of renewable content, and expects to have commercial quantities available in the last quarter of this year. Polyols made with the Renuva technology are said to use 60 per cent fewer fossil fuel resources than conventional polyols and to be greenhouse gas neutral. They are being pitched at products in the furniture and bedding, automotive, carpet and CASE (coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers) markets, enabling users to create 'green' products that contain high levels of renewable content.
Other manufacturers turning plants into polyurethanes are
DuPont with 1,3 propanediol from sugar and Elastogran with castor oil.
Two-pronged Chinese investment by Arkema September 25, 2007
On its way to its goal of raising the proportion of its sales in Asia from today's 13 per cent to 20 per cent by 2012 Arkema has made two further investments in China. It is to build a PVDF plant and to double production of heat stabilisers.
The Kynar PVDF production facility, including VF2 monomer, will be built on an existing Arkema manufacturing site at Changshu, just north of Shanghai. Detailed engineering will start in the first quarter of 2008, for a start-up planned in 2011. As well as aiming for growth in China, the new plant is part of a plan to expand the Kynar family of products into new construction and industrial applications.
The new plant will give Arkema full manufacturing capabilities on three continents. Arkema already produces Kynar in Pierre-Bénite (France) and in Calvert City (USA) where a further 25 per cent capacity expansion will be completed during the first quarter of 2008.
Expansion of Arkema's heat stabiliser plant in Beijing will double capacity at the site to 12,000 tonnes for production of the full range of tin-based heat stabilisers, and make it the single largest production facility for tin stabilisers in Asia. The extension is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2008.
Dow sells PE foam business September 25, 2007
The Ethafoam polyethylene foam business is being sold by Dow Chemical. Sealed Air Corporation is buying it in a package which will include a license to process technology, customer contracts, trademarks, and some production and process equipment. As well as Ethafoam, the deal comprises the Envision, Synergy, Equifoam and Lamdex trade marks. Dow will supply products to Sealed Air for up to 18 months from its in Hanging Rock, Ohio, USA and Drusenheim, France following the close of the transaction. Then Sealed Air will make the products at its own facilities.
Solvin expands in PVDC latex September 25, 2007
The Solvay/BASF joint venture Solvin is to build a new production line for polyvinylidene chloride latex at its Tavaux site in France where it has full upstream integration. PVDC latex is a speciality barrier material used as a coating in packaging applications where the integrity of the goods is critical, especially in the food and pharmaceutical sectors.
The new line will add an annual capacity of 10,000 tonnes and is expected to be operational by mid-2009.
Haitian steps up its ambitions in world injection moulding machine sales September 21, 2007
Chinese injection moulding machine manufacturer Ningbo Haitian has been restructured in a move to increase machine sales outside China and it is relaunching and rebranding its machines. At the end of last year Ningbo Haitian hived off its injection moulding machine business into Haitian International which, at the end of August bought Zhafir Plastics Machinery of Germany. This is the company set up last year to design and build an advanced all-electric machine in Germany to sell in China.
Zhafir was not a direct subsidiary of Ningbo Haitian, but was owned by three senior executives of Ningbo Haitian Group: chief executive Zhang Jianming, Zhang Jianfeng, and Helmar Franz, the former Demag Plastics Machinery chief executive who joined Haitian at the beginning of 2006. The three men bought the company towards the end of 2005 and it was in the following May that Zhafir was unveiled as the vehicle for Haitian's development of advanced electric machines. The first Zhafir machine was planned for announcement at K2007 - although there was no confirmation that an actual machine would be shown - with production starting early in 2008. Meanwhile Haitian unveiled its own all-electric range, the HTD series, at Chinaplas in 2006.
Now the three owners of Zhafir have sold 91 per cent of the company to Haitian International - chief executive Professor Franz has retained 9 per cent of his 20 per cent original holding - and the proposed Zhafir machine has been integrated into the revised Haitian range. The Haitian HTD machine has been uprated to improve its performance for a more international audience and will be sold as the Zhafir Venus series, built by a new company, Ningbo Zhafir Plastics Machinery Co. Haitian estimates annual demand within China of 5 - 6,000 machines of this class, with a further 2,500 machines potential outside Asia.
The development of the original Zhafir machine continues at the company's Ebermannsdorf headquarters in Germany as the Zhafir Mercury series which is understood to introduce new patent-pending technology in the injection unit. Assembly of both ranges 'will be installed in Ebermannsdorf in the near future'.
The planetary theme has been extended to the rest of the Haitian machine range. The energy-saving J5 hybrid with on-demand servo-motor drive of the hydraulic pump becomes the Mars; the two-platen HTK becomes the Jupiter; the general purpose HTFW and HTFX machines are now the Saturn series; the HTS two-component machine based on the Saturn is appropriately named after Saturn's third moon, Lapetus; the short-cycle high-speed HTH becomes the Uranus; and the basic small-to-medium size Tian Jian series is now the Pluto.
Last year Haitian sold around 18,000 machines, with some 30 per cent of them exported to 80 countries. This year it is budgeting for a 20 per cent increase in international sales. It is clearly the world's most prolific manufacturer in terms of units, while Engel of Austria reckons to be the biggest in terms of sales value. But 'it is our vision to lead the world market, in turnover as well as in the number of units', according to chairman Zhang Jingzhang. Another step in that direction was taken in July with the opening of HT Deutschland as an exclusive marketing and service agency in Thuringia, Germany, soon to move to Schwäbisch Gmünd in Southern Germany. The company is already installing its first machines.
More Western investment in Chinese polymer production September 21, 2007
Two more joint ventures are being set up to supply the Chinese polymer markets. DuPont Packaging & Industrial Polymers is linking with Chinese petrochemical giant Sinopec to make EVA, while Italian engineering plastics compounders RadiciGroup and Lati Industria Termoplastici are joining forces in a Chinese compounding plant.
The DuPont/Sinopec joint venture, Beijing Hua Mei Polymer Company, will have a capacity of around 60,000 tonnes at the Sinopec Beijing Yanshan Company plant in Beijing with start-up planned for late 2008. Sinopec owns 55 per cent with remaining shares owned by DuPont.
Output from the plant is intended for markets such as packaging, adhesives, printing, wire and cable, footwear, and clothing.
Sinopec Beijing Yanshan Company is a large petrochemical complex producing 99 kinds and 449 grades of petrochemical products. It is said to be China's major producer of synthetic resins, synthetic rubbers, phenol and acetone.
The plant will be the first in China to make DuPont's Elvax EVA.
RadiciGroup and Lati have signed a letter of intent to set up a 50:50 joint venture in Suzhou, 80 km from Shanghai, at the RadiciPlastics Suzhou Co compounding plant, started up by RadiciGroup in April of this year.
The joint venture will make engineering compounds under both companies' brand names for sale in the South East Asian market, particularly China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. It will also sell all the compounds of both parent companies which cannot yet be made at the plant.
Lati makes high performance compounds and is a specialist in self-extinguishing materials for the electrical and household appliance sectors, and RadiciGroup is vertically integrated in nylons and polyesters, with an emphasis on automotive, electrical/electronic, industrial equipment and packaging applications.
Public/private switch saves Yorkshire recycler September 21, 2007
Intervention by Recycling Action Yorkshire has prevented the closure of a plastics recycling facility handling nearly 1,300 tonnes a year of waste plastics.
Intruplas was part of the Green Business Network, a social enterprise, operating alongside a composting facility as part of the reclamation of a steel works site in Sheffield. The owner of the site, metals conglomerate OSL, sold it for redevelopment unexpectedly forcing both operations to close. The Intruplas equipment was to be sold to pay the costs of decommissioning the composting site.
However Lynwood Group of Halifax, which makes products such as outdoor furniture from recycled plastics, offered space for Intruplas to continue and Recycling Action Yorkshire paid the £60,000 needed to move Intruplas' large scale shredder, blender and associated equipment to Halifax.
Intruplas is now running as a commercial operation alongside Lynwood, which has some off-take of material from Intruplas - the two companies are not totally interdependent as Intruplas processes mixed waste, while Lynwood moulds from PP and HDPE compounds incorporating reclaimed materials. RAY expects that the throughput at Intruplas will increase to nearly 2,000 tonnes by the end of 2008 and plans to extend the company's catchment to farm plastics and post-producer food packaging.
Bobst to buy F & K September 21, 2007
Bobst, the Swiss packaging machinery group that owns Atlas, General and Titan in Britain, is to buy flexo press manufacturer Fischer & Krecke in Germany. The Grautoff family - majority shareholder of Fischer & Krecke - has agreed to sell its shares 'reluctantly' as the best solution to protect the future of the company. Fischer & Krecke's factory at Bielefeld will be retained, and will be 'strengthened by adding new activities'.
Nylon seals electronics against oil and water September 21, 2007
A grade of nylon intended as an injection moulded primer for over-moulding metals has been developed by BASF. Ultramid Seal-Fit is a transparent, non-reinforced copolyamide that has very good adhesion to both metals and to plastics such as nylons and PBT.
BASF is pitching the material at electronic components that could malfunction due to contact with moisture or oil. It says that until now, the limited adhesion of the housing plastic to the metal, as well as the differing thermal expansion of these two materials, have made it difficult to attain a really tight covering of metal inserts, calling for complicated sealing methods involving silicone adhesives, hot melts, impregnation or pre-coating of the metal.
Ultramid Seal-Fit is used in a two-shot process. The insert is initially over-moulded with Ultramid Seal-Fit and the housing is then moulded in the second shot. Metal parts over-moulded in this way are sealed against water, oil and gas, and have been confirmed as such by the Plastics Institute in Lüdenscheid, Germany using temperature-shock tests.
Among potential applications BASF lists automotive mechatronic components such as transmission and brake controls, sensors and plug-in connectors.
Major investments planned by DuPont in aramid fibres September 20, 2007
DuPont is planning to invest more than $500 million expanding its Kevlar para-aramid fibre production by 25 per cent by 2010. It will be the largest increase in capacity since Kevlar was introduced in 1965.
Between 2000 and 2006 DuPont expanded fibre production at its Richmond, USA and Maydown, Northern Ireland, facilities four times. The latest expansions incorporated a proprietary New Fiber Technology developed and patented by DuPont. In August 2006, DuPont said it expected to invest more than $100 million in a three-phase capacity expansion that would raise Nomex aramid fibre and paper capability by approximately 10 per cent.
Expansion of Kevlar polymer capacity at Richmond will start later this year and the first phase of the Nomex expansion is also scheduled to go on-line later this year. Details of remaining expansion work will be announced later.
Lanxess tightens its focus on performance products and profit September 19, 2007
With the sale of its Lustran ABS business to Ineos Lanxess is positioning itself as a speciality chemicals group with just three divisions, Performance Polymers, Advanced Intermediates and Performance Chemicals. Its remaining plastics interests - Durethan nylon 6 and 66 and Pocan PBT - will be part of the Performance Polymers division alongside butyl and polybutadiene rubbers and technical rubber products, and the Engineering Plastics division will cease to exist.
The new structure, which comes into effect on October 1, is in line with Lanxess's continuing pressure on profitability and the substantial improvement in its financial position since its formation in 2004 from what many considered Bayer's reject businesses. The company has set a lower threshhold of 5 per cent profitability for its businesses: those that were not going to achieve this have been sold, and others have been shaken up to improve their performance.
Chief executive Axel Heitmann told a meeting in London today that when Lanxess was formed 70 per cent of its business were 'non-performing'. Now no more than 5 per cent of the company's businesses have a margin below 5 per cent and three quarters are earning more than 10 per cent. The company's plan was to have got all its businesses over the 5 per cent line by 2009, but Dr Heitmann said that this, and other financial targets, would be met a year early.
Key to Lanxess's strategy is 'price-before-volume', and this is reflected in the Performance Polymers division by a target of supplying the higher performance sectors of its target markets. In nylons it emphasises its metal hybrid technologies and reinforced compounds, while its performance rubbers are focused on high performance tyres rather than the general tyre business: applications where it can charge a premium price.
Alongside price-before-volume Lanxess has stood firm on raw materials and energy costs, passing them on to its customers while at the same time holding on to benefits from internal cost reductions and efficiency improvements. Its ability to resist price pressures has been in part through operating in sectors where it has few competitors and where barriers such as capital and technology intensive processes force existing suppliers to be cautious and discourage the entry of new market players. Lanxess has also built internal buffers for some of its businesses such that, for instance, its world-scale position in caprolactam supports its nylon business, while increasing output of nylons reduces its market exposure on caprolactam. The need for upstream integration identified for the ABS business was a key factor in its sale to Ineos, which has all the upstream components.
Weeding out the dead wood has given Lanxess greater financial strength to invest in new businesses and expand existing capacities. It has expanded capacities across its performance rubbers plants, in its nylon and PBT compounding plants in China, and in its PBT joint venture with DuPont. Over the next three years it expects to spend a further Eur 1 billion on organic growth, of which 60 per cent will be on capacity expansion. One major project will be a Eur 400 million butyl rubber plant to be sited in Malaysia, Thailand or Singapore for 2010 start-up - the exact location will probably be determined by the end of this year.
Lanxess is also in the market to buy businesses to expand or add to its present portfolio. Any such acquisition is likely to be a smaller rather than a larger business as, according to Dr Heitmann, 'there are no potential large-scale acquisition opportunities that fit our strict value creating criteria.' He managed to avoid using the word 'Degussa' despite being questioned directly about Lanxess's well-publicised abortive bid to buy the RAG subsidiary, which is now the cornerstone of the soon-to-be floated Evonik Industries.
New Ineos cracker project dropped because of cost September 19, 2007
A new ethane cracker to be built at the Ineos site in Wilmhelmshaven in Germany has been cancelled because of spiralling costs. Ineos says that capital costs rose by more than 30 per cent over the past 12 months, making the project in its current form no longer economically viable.
The plan had been to use ethane from a gas separation unit to be constructed by Statoil and E.ON Ruhrgas in Dornum, in a new ethane steam cracker. Accompanying investments were planned in a new membrane chlorine cellroom along with major upgrades to existing VCM and SPVC plants. In addition, Ineos was to construct an ethylene pipeline from Wilhelmshaven to the ARG pipeline in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Ineos says it remains committed to investing in its operations in Lower Saxony, 'but this cannot be achieved at any cost'.
New IMM sales chief for KM September 19, 2007
New head of worldwide injection moulding machine sales at KraussMaffei is Hans Stadler who has held management posts in high-tech companies, including Psion Teklogix and Siemens Nixdorf. Head of the injection moulding division and chairman of the board Joseph Märtl left KM at the end of July.
Eastman sells again in PET September 18, 2007
Another step has been taken by Eastman Chemical to improve the financial performance of its PET polymers business by selling its non-integrated assets. It is to sell its PET polymers production facilities in Mexico and Argentina and the related businesses to ALFA of Mexico. Earlier this year Eastman sold its Spanish PET business to La Seda de Barcelona.
The sale will include Eastman's PET manufacturing facilities in Cosoleacaque, Veracruz in Mexico, and Zárate (near Buenos Aires) in Argentina which have capacities of 150,000 and 185,000 tonnes respectively.
The Mexican plant is next to ALFA's PTA facility, bringing logistical benefits, and ALFA says that the Argentinian plant also has strategic advantages in access to its PTA.
Dow adds Danish PU systems business September 18, 2007
Dow Chemical is buying a Danish polyurethanes systems company to expand Dow Polyurethane Systems. The acquisition of Edulan, based in Aarhus and with a British subsidiary, Edulan UK, in Salford, will strengthen the presence of Dow Polyurethane Systems in Northern Europe.
Edulan sells polyurethane systems mainly into the rigid foam market, as well as elastomers for speciality applications. By establishing a base in Denmark, Dow says it will be well positioned to meet customer demand for customised polyurethane systems in the Nordic countries, as well as capture emerging demand in the growing economies of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Dow Polyurethane Systems has a continuing policy of acquisition and joint ventures. In August last year it formed a joint venture with Izolan of Russia and in May this year it acquired British Vita's British-based polyurethane systems business Hyperlast.
KM steps up PU process development September 18, 2007
A new laboratory for reaction process machinery and systems development is to be opened at KraussMaffei's Munich-Allach plant in December. The new laboratory will have a bigger machine park than the existing laboratory, with systems that can be used to produce any type of multi-layer polyurethane composite product for joint developments with raw materials suppliers, plastics processors and mouldmakers.
The 600 m² laboratory will be sub-divided to give confidentiality and security and enable several projects to be carried out at any one time. The existing lab will continue to operate, mainly as a prototyping and sampling lab
Cargill expands soy polyol production September 18, 2007
Manufacturing capacity for soy-based polyols has been opened in Brazil by Cargill as a step in a global plan to make bio-sourced polyols. Cargill currently has capacity to make large volumes through toll processing in the Midwestern United States, but as volume grows it plans to open a dedicated US manufacturing plant and is considering locations in Europe and Asia. The company is now making its BiOH polyols for South American polyurethane cushioning manufacturers at one of its existing vegetable oil lubricant sites at Mairinque in São Paulo state.
Cargill says that preliminary life cycle analysis indicates that replacement of petroleum-based polyols with BiOH polyols results in 36 per cent lower global warming emissions, a 61 per cent reduction in non-renewable energy use, and a 23 per cent reduction in the total energy demand. For every 450 tonnes of BiOH polyol produced to replace petroleum-based polyols, about 2,200 barrels of crude oil are saved.
Degussa to become Evonik September 18, 2007
The Industrial Group of German conglomerate RAG - which includes plastics maker Degussa - has moved to the next stage in its intended public flotation with a new identity, Evonik Industries. The move separates the chemicals, energy and real estate businesses of RAG from the coal mining operations and is the last step before entering the capital market. The Degussa and other corporate brands are to be dropped in favour of the Evonik name.
Evonik says it plans to grow by exploiting its strength in innovation - it has more than 20,000 patents and more than 35 research locations worldwide and the chemicals sector of its business generates 20 per cent of its revenues from products that are less than five years old - and in particular will focus on energy efficiency.
In the first half of this year sales rose 3 per cent to Eur 7·565 billion generating pre-tax profits up 26 per cent at Eur 788 million.
Buy a name for yourself on the web September 18, 2007
Want a distinctive web address? A really distinctive web address? polymers.com is up for sale. It is owned by Plastics.com in the USA whose plastics.com was set up as a pioneering plastics portal in 1994.
Polymer.com came from Phoenix Polymers in the USA which added the Poly-Links plastics portal to its web site in 1994. Its popularity was such that it was spun off into polymers.com in the following year, and with it went some of the Phoenix management to carve out a career in plastics related internet ventures.
In 2000 polymers.com became plastics.com - perceived as a better name for directly serving the plastics market - and polymers.com has remained active, pointing to plastics.com, to take advantage of search engine rankings and links. According to Plastics.com, Googling 'polymers' brings up www.polymer.com in the first five of more than 30 million results. (Trying it today put it in sixth, and interestingly Googling 'polymer' didn't bring the site up in the first 10 pages of more than 48 million results. British Plastics & Rubber On-Line, however, came fourth when Googling 'polymer' but not in the first 10 pages when Googling 'polymers'. Such is the fickleness of internet searching.)
Alongside polymer.com Plastics.com is aiming to sell polymers.cn and polymers.name. Its similar plastics domains are not for sale.
A Google search reveals that there are quite a few other web sites named 'polymers' with top level domains - www.polymers.co.uk, www.polymers.co.yu, www.polymers.com.au, www.polymers.cz, www.polymers.dk, www.polymers.ir, www.polymers.nl, www.polymers.ws, not to mention the more singular www.polymer.ca, www.polymer.co.nz,
www.polymer.de, www.polymer.ms, www.polymer.org, and www.polymer.org.au.
Omani company plans instant domination of the APET sheet market September 17, 2007
An APET sheet specialist set up last year in Oman with 20,000 tonnes capacity is building a 300,000 tonnes integrated PET polymer and sheet plant to come on stream in May next year.
Octal is spending $300 million on the plant, next to Salalah Port in Salalah, Oman, which it describes as 'the first to be developed that is dedicated fully to APET production from resin to sheet...in contrast to the existing state of the industry, where resin engineered primarily for beverage bottles is also used for thermoforming.' According to William Barenberg, chief operating officer of Octal at the company's global sales centre in Dallas, Texas, USA 'growth of APET as a packaging material has been strong, but lack of reliable capacity and inefficiencies in the manufacturing and logistics of delivering the finished package, have held its growth well below potential.' Octal puts worldwide growth in demand for APET at 10 to 12 per cent a year, with total sales of approximately $2·25 billion in 2006.
Octal has focused its sheet production so far on accurate gauge control to improve the cost efficiency of thermoforming. 'When gauge is held to less than one per cent variation, packaging manufacturers know exactly how many trays they will produce per metric ton of APET sheet. That also means that they don't have to worry about unpredictable thin spots, making it possible to further reduce the sheet's gauge to save cost', said Mr Barenberg. 'Taken together, this can mean savings from three to eight per cent.'
The site of the plant in Oman means that 'deliveries of APET sheet can be made to virtually any port in the world within 12 to 18 days'. Distribution, sales and customer service operations have been set up in the United States, Europe and Asia.
In advance of its big plant coming on stream Octal is augmenting its initial 20,000 tonnes sheet capacity with a further 10,000 tonnes, due on line this month. When all its production is switched on Octal says it will be five times larger than the next merchant producer of APET sheet and the largest PET manufacturer in the Gulf region with a capacity representing nearly 20 per cent of total industry output of APET sheet.
And the company will not be pausing long. By mid-2008 it expects to have sales of $500 million a year as a base from which to double capacity within 20 months.
Second increase in flame retardant capacity in a year September 17, 2007
Capacity for Albermarle Corporation's Saytex 8010 is to be increased again, this time by nearly 20 per cent at the company's Magnolia, Arkansas, USA facility with completion by January 2008. Capacity was expanded earlier this year. Altogether the company is investing more than $8 million.
DSM to expand UHMWPE into orthopaedics September 16, 2007
DSM is planning to build on its position as a supplier of ultra high molecular weight polyethylene to increase the capabilities of its Biomedical division. It is to develop applications of UHMWPE in total joint arthroplasty and other medical devices alongside other polymer biomedical applications such as the use of its Dyneema high performance PE fibre in orthopaedic implants. As yet DSM's Stamylan UH is not used in arthroplasty.
To further this aim, DSM Biomedical says that in the coming years it will make 'significant investments in a research and development programme focused on UHMWPE grades with optimised material properties, specifically aimed at currently unmet clinical needs in this orthopaedic segment.' DSM's activity in the Biomedical Emerging Business Area is an important part of its Vision 2010 - Building on Strengths strategy.
UHMWPE is used as a bearing material for joint arthroplasty. It is applied in, for example, artificial hips, knees, shoulders, elbows, wrists, ankles and spinal discs. These devices require bearing materials that are strong, have a high resistance against abrasion and are of the highest purity for application inside the body. DSM says as a result of the ageing population and other demographic factors such as growing obesity problems, the market for orthopaedic devices including artificial joints is one of the fastest growing segments in the industry.
Lanxess to increase EVA capacity September 16, 2007
Lanxess is to invest Eur 10 million to expand capacity for Levapren and Levamelt EVA at its Dormagen site in Germany. It has a permit for a maximum capacity of 15,000 tonnes and says it could reach this by 2009.
Dow buys three companies to expand Epoxy Systems September 13, 2007
The systems business launched by Dow Epoxy earlier this year is being expanded with three acquisitions. Dow is to buy UPPC in Germany and Poly-Carb and GNS Technologies in the USA. All three acquisitions should be complete in 30 - 45 days.
Dow's Epoxy Systems business focuses on special applications in areas such as civil engineering, specialty protective coatings, composites, and wind energy. The three companies it is buying operate in niche areas: Poly-Carb in systems that combat infrastructure erosion and enhance the safety of bridges, highways and other structures; GNS Technologies supplies customised thermoset systems for civil engineering, industrial maintenance and steel structure coatings applications; and UPPC makes hardeners for epoxy systems.
Automotive seating fabric is totally bio-sourced September 13, 2007
An automotive seating fabric made entirely from polylactic acid (PLA) has been developed in Japan and will be used for seat covers and door trim in the new Mazda Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid to be shown at the Tokyo Motor Show in October.
The fabric has been developed by Mazda Motor Corporation in collaboration with Teijin and Teijin Fibers. It does not contain any oil-based materials, but meets requirements for durability, resistance to abrasion and damage from sunlight, and is also flame retardant.
Rapra pensioners take their grievances to Westminster September 12, 2007
Former employees of Rapra Technology Ltd have enlisted the support of two local MPs to investigate the collapse of the company last year which has hit pensioners hard. Owen Paterson, Conservative Member of Parliament for North Shropshire and Daniel Kawczynski, the Conservative Member for Shrewsbury & Atcham, recently met pensioners and their representatives in Shawbury and heard their concerns about the reluctance of the administrator, the liquidator, the Pension Protection Fund, the DTI (now the Department for Business Enterprise & Regulatory Reform) and the pension fund trustees to address issues that the Rapra Pensioners Action Group says question the very basis of administration.
An estimated pension scheme shortfall of £10 million triggered the move into administration and pitched Rapra's pensioners into the safety net of the Pension Protection Fund - to their considerable detriment. But according to the action group the figure of £10 million has never been substantiated, and it says that the financial statement of affairs that is a requirement of the Insolvency Act has not been forthcoming. The complex structure of the various companies named 'Rapra' has left around £3 million in the hands of Rapra Ltd, which the pensioners say should be available to the pension fund.
The action group questions the financial basis of the management buy-out of Rapra in 2002 which it claims 'dramatically destabilised the pension fund by shifting it from a comparatively asset-rich company to one that had no resources to cover a pension fund deficit', apparent conflicts of interest among the management team, and the actions of the administrator in selling the company to The Smithers Group of the USA and for allowing the repayment of an inter-company loan 'apparently unaware that it had been written off'.
The action group says that having heard its concerns, Owen Paterson and Daniel Kawczynski both feel there is a case to answer and they intend to relay the pensioners' questions to the appropriate authorities.
Bayer researches giant MDI plant for Europe September 12, 2007
Bayer MaterialScience is examining the case for a 400,000 tonnes methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) plant in Europe for 2012 start-up. It has started a feasibility study and expects to make a decision next year. Such a plant would bring Bayer's worldwide capacity up to 1,850,000 tonnes - including the 350,000 tonnes currently being built at Shanghai in China.
European demand for MDI is estimated to be growing at 6 per cent annually and to keep pace Bayer last year increased its capacities at Krefeld-Uerdingen in Germany and Tarragona in Spain to 200,000 and 150,000 tonnes respectively. More improvements to existing capacity are scheduled before the new plant would be completed.
The new European plant would be the first to use a phosgenation process to cut investment costs, energy consumption and emissions. Bayer is already implementing its gas-phase phosgenation process to produce TDI in China. It would also be a fully-integrated plant, incorporating the production of the precursors nitrobenzene, aniline and diphenylmethane diamine (MDA).
'Prices must go up' say plastics converters September 12, 2007
EuPC, the Brussels-based trade body for plastics converters, has warned of the need for a further 15 - 20 per cent on the price of plastic products over the next few months because of steadily rising raw material prices and shortage of raw materials in Europe.
The organisation says that since December 2006 the prices of polymers and additives have reached record levels or are close to doing so. Prices have increased by 50 per cent (for PP) to 100 per cent (for PS) since the beginning of 2004.
Alexandre Dangis, EuPC's managing director, commented: 'Converters will not be able to recover their own raw material cost increases. This will put further pressure on profitability. Recovering raw material price increases is absolutely necessary to guarantee the appropriate levels of investment and innovation by plastics converters'. He said that converters had done much to counter price increases through productivity efficiencies, energy savings, product innovation and new market developments, 'however, these efforts don't make up the increase in raw material prices and wages.'
EuPC is also concerned about the uncertainty of polymer supplies with'force majeure' being declared regularly by the raw material suppliers, while 'the partial delivery of 80 to 90 per cent of the purchase orders for certain raw materials is a widely accepted fact of life.'
Dow to increase US polyurethanes capacity September 11, 2007
An extra 59,000 tonnes of speciality mix polyols capacity is to be added at Dow Polyurethanes' plant at Freeport, Texas, USA. The additional capability will support growing demand for end-use polyurethane products and polyurethane systems formulations in North America.
According to the North American Free Trade Agreement, polyols consumption in North America is estimated at 1·3 million tonnes with an annual growth rate comparable to Gross Domestic Product. Growth is driven primarily by demand in automotive, coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers (CASE), specialty foams for the furniture and bedding industries and appliance applications. At the beginning of this year Dow announced plans to expand MDI production in Freeport by 50 per cent over the next three years, adding 110,000 tonnes of MDI capacity.
EC to take a second look at Ineos' takeover of Hydro PVC business
September 10, 2007
The European Commission has put a hold on Ineos' acquisition of the Norsk Hydro PVC business now known as Kerling. It has opened an in-depth investigation into the takeover because of the strong position it would give Ineos in suspension PVC, particularly in the British market.
The Commission's decision for a further review is based on its initial findings that the S-PVC market appears to be national, rather than Europe-wide. If this is the case, it says that Ineos would be in such a strong position in certain states, in particular the UK, Norway and Sweden, that other suppliers from Continental Europe would be unable to exert sufficient competitive pressure to prevent Ineos from increasing prices.
During the first phase of the investigation ahead of the takeover, Ineos submitted undertakings aimed at removing the competitive concerns identified by the Commission. However, says the Commission, 'in light of the market test and the analysis carried out by the Commission, these undertakings proved to be unsatisfactory and insufficient as they failed, in particular, to eliminate competition concerns in the UK S-PVC market.'
The Commission's second phase investigation - which could take until January 11, 2008 - will focus on the UK S-PVC market, but will also analyse the impact of the transaction in other national markets, in particular Norway and Sweden, as well as the impact on the market for caustic soda, S-PVC compounds and rigid PVC films.
Ineos described the EC's decision as 'disappointing' but said it was confident it would be able to work through the process and provide the Commission with the information it needs to ensure completion of the acquisition.
Wavin makes even more money from extrusion September 10, 2007
Dutch pipe maker Wavin continued its rapid rise in turnover and profits in the first half of this year. Turnover rose 12·3 per cent to Eur 824·4 million and pre-tax profit to Eur 107·7 million up 19·8 per cent on the first half of 2006, a year in which it achieved record figures.
Within its business sectors Wavin increased sales of hot and cold systems by 24·8 per cent to Eur 161 million, cable ducting by 23·8 per cent to Eur 34·9 million and water management by 20·2 per cent to Eur 81 million. Business in Central and Eastern Europe increased 35 per cent.
New head for DSM Elastomers September 10, 2007
The new business director of DSM Elastomers from January 1 will be Jan Paul de Vries, taking over from Bob Hartmayer who has been appointed business group director of DSM Pharmaceutical Products. Mr de Vries is currently chief marketing officer and corporate vice president of communications.
Coca-Cola aims to recycle all its PET bottles in the USA September 6, 2007
Coca-Cola is emphasising its green credentials in the USA with a plan to build the world's largest bottle-to-bottle recycling plant, and the introduction of a lighter weight PET bottle. A lighter bottle is also being introduced in Britain this month.
The company's goal in the USA is to recycle all its plastic bottles, and it expects to spend around $60 million on building the recycling plant at Spartanburg in South Carolina in association with United Resource Recovery Corporation. URRC is the company that developed the Hybrid UnPET process for chemically super-cleaning PET flake for food grade packaging in 1994. In 1996 it entered a five-year development program with The Coca-Cola Company to commercialise the process by producing food-grade quality PET chip for bottle-to-bottle recycling.
The new Coca-Cola recycling plant is intended to have a capacity of 45,000 tonnes, equivalent to around 2 billion 20 oz bottles. It will open in 2008 and should be fully operational in the following year. Coca-Cola has also invested in recycling facilities in Switzerland, Mexico, Austria and the Philippines and uses recycled content in more than 17 countries. In Britain Coca-Cola Enterprises adopted reclaimed PET for bottle use after trials with other high street notables early last year.
Last November Coca-Cola Enterprises, the largest Coca-Cola bottler in North America, and The Coca-Cola Company formed Coca-Cola Recycling to recover and recycle packaging materials used within the Coca-Cola system in the US, including PET, aluminium, cardboard and plastic film. CCR will develop solutions for reclaiming used beverage containers and will establish centralised recycling centres throughout the USA.
Coca-Cola is also involved with kerbside collection organisations. It will be expanding its partnership in RecycleBank which operates a reward scheme in southern New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania and will be launching a service in up-state New York, Vermont and Massachusetts this autumn. RecycleBank plans to be in 100,000 homes by the end of 2007. Additional investment from Coca-Cola will support a national roll-out of the RecycleBank programme by 2009. Since its launch in 2003, RecycleBank has driven recycling rates in Philadelphia from 15 per cent to more than 50 per cent, and household participation from 30 per cent to 90 per cent.
The lighter weight 20 ounce bottle newly introduced in the USA reduces plastic content by 5 per cent and will be in use nationwide by early next year. The lighter 500 ml bottle being introduced in Britain cuts weight by around 7 per cent and initially will reduce annual consumption of PET by Coca-Cola by 700 tonnes, with potential to double that if it were adopted across all the company's bottle production sites in Britain.
Solvay names Thai Epicerol site September 6, 2007
The 100,000 tonnes glycerine-to-epichlorohydrin plant Solvay is planning to build in Thailand will be sited in Map Ta Phut and will be operational by the end of 2009. It will use the company's proprietary Epicerol process to make epichlorohydrin from the glycerine by-product of biodiesel production. A 10,000 tonnes pilot plant was started up in Tavaux in France in April using glycerine derived from rapeseed oil.
Epichlorohydrin is a feedstock for the production of epoxy resins. Solvay says demand for epichlorohydrin has significantly outpaced the growth of the world economy in recent years and is currently expanding by more than 20 per cent per annum in China. Dow Chemical is planning to build a 150,000 tonnes plant in China also using glycerine as a feedstock.
ExxonMobil to go ahead with new Singapore ethylene complex September 5, 2007
ExxonMobil Chemical is to proceed with a second world-scale steam cracker complex in Singapore. The company has completed a detailed study, started in 2005, and now confirmed that the project will go ahead. The first Singapore cracker, with what was then the largest single reactor polyethylene plant of its type in the world at 480,000 tonnes, was opened in 2001.
The new plant, which will be located at the existing facility, will include a million tonnes ethylene steam cracker, two 650,000 tonnes polyethylene units, a 450,000 tonnes polypropylene unit, a 300,000 tonnes specialty elastomers unit, an aromatics extraction unit to produce 340,000 tonnes annually of benzene and an oxo-alcohol expansion plant of 125,000 tonnes. Project start-up is expected in early 2011.
Bayer adds more capacity for carbon nanotubes September 5, 2007
Another step on the way to industrial scale production of carbon nanotubes has been taken by Bayer Materialscience with the opening of a 30 tonnes plant at its former subsidiary company - sold to fund the Schering acquisition last year - of H C Starck in Laufenburg on the German-Swiss border. The new plant doubles Bayer's capacity at Laufenburg, but is still a long way from the 3,000 tonnes plant that is Bayer's declared aim.
Carbon nanotubes have been particularly difficult to produce because of the high costs of synthesis and the relatively large quantities of unwanted impurities in the product. But Bayer has developed a process for its Baytubes material which it says makes it one of the few manufacturers able to offer commercially relevant quantities of CNT with consistent material purities well above the 95 per cent mark. The new automated closed-loop plant at Laufenberg is intended to provide experience to feed into the next scale-up of the process.
Clariant and EMB swap businesses September 3, 2007
Clariant Masterbatches Benelux and the European Masterbatches subsidiary of Sioen Industries are to exchange some aspects of their colorant businesses. Clariant will purchase Sioen-EMB masterbatches, currently being produced in Bornem, Belgium, while EMB will acquire from Clariant Masterbatches (St Jeoire) PVC pigment pastes made by Clariant in St Jeoire, France.
The deal includes customer and product portfolios and some manufacturing equipment, but not personnel or properties. Both companies will move manufacturing to their own sites. 'Both our companies saw their respective businesses as fitting better into the other's portfolio,' said Thomas Bernhardt, head of Clariant Masterbatches Europe West Business Unit.
Hasco taken over by Austrian industrial company September 3, 2007
The tooling standards and hot runner specialist Hasco of Germany has been taken over by Berndorf of Austria, which makes steel conveyor belts, process plants, oilfield equipment and swimming pools. Berndorf has bought a 74·9 per cent stake in the company, leaving the remaining shareholding with the families of Dr Rolf and Thomas Hasenclever.
Franz Viehböck, who has run Berndorf's largest plant, Berndorf Band in Lower Austria, has taken over at Hasco as managing director. Another Berndorf manager, Christoph Ehrlich, will join Hasco later this year.
Hasco expects sales of around Eur 150 million this year from its production and sales offices in 40 countries, employing 1,100. It says there is potential to increase both sales and profits, and under Berndorf control it will be re-aligned towards innovation and growth.
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