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Bayer MaterialScience has sold part of its unsaturated polyester resins business to Veneziani of Italy. The products sold are used primarily for the formulation of wood finishes and no longer fit in with Bayer's overall long-term portfolio.
Bayer's unsaturated polyesters are grouped under the name Roskydal. Neither this brand, nor any production assets are involved in the transaction, and the business will be continued by Bayer's subsidiary Viverso.
Eastman to sell Workington PET plant December 25, 2007
Eastman has agreed to sell its 155,000 tonnes PET plant at Workington to Asian polyester producer Indorama. The sale includes Eastman's PET and PTA facilities at Rotterdam in the Netherlands and is valued at around Eur 226 million - substantially more than the Eur 65 million which was being speculated earlier this month.
The deal is the final stage in Eastman's disposal of its non-integrated PET polymers assets outside the USA which brought the sale of its Spanish PET business to La Seda de Barcelona, part of the Portuguese group IMG, earlier this year and more recently its Mexican and Argentinian businesses to ALFA of Mexico.
The Workington site was founded as Ectona Fibres in 1969 making acetate tow in a joint venture between Eastman Kodak and Bunzl. Later, Eastman bought out Bunzl and the company became Eastman Chemical Ectona. PET production started in 1988. The acetate tow business continues at the site and is not part of the deal with Indorama.
The Indorama Group was built on a spun yarn business set up in Indonesia in 1976 and today has plants in seven countries making a range of industrial products including polyethylene and polypropylene, polyesters and intermediates (purified terephthalic acid, PET polymer, filament yarns and staple fibre), spun yarns, cement and fabrics. Turnover in 2007 will be around US$1·6 billion.
The Eastman plants are expected to be integrated with Indorama Polymers Europe, which opened a 198,000 tonnes plant in Lithuania last year. Indorama also has 180,000 tonnes of PET capacity in Asia and a US subsidiary, StarPet which has 450,000 tonnes of PET and APET. Its plan for 2009 is to have 553,000 tonnes of PET in Europe, 657,000 tonnes in the USA and 270,000 tonnes in Asia, a 145 per cent increase over the next two years which it says will make it second in the world to M&G.
Huhtamaki has sold its Portadown thermoforming plant in Northern Ireland to the Kingspan building products company and has called for 40 voluntary redundancies from the 105 staff there. Staffing at the plant was halved two years ago.
Kingspan will move in operations of its Titan subsidiary, which makes plastic heating tanks, in July alongside the continuing Huhtamaki operation. Huhtamaki has agreed a lease with Kingspan for an indeterminate period.
The sale is part of a wider strategic realignment of Huhtamaki's European rigid packaging business in Europe which will see a reduction in staffing of around 100. The restructuring will be responsible for much of the Eur 103 million write-down that Huhtamaki expects to make in the fourth quarter. The company says the cost of its 100 job cuts will be covered by the sale of the Portadown plant, and thereafter will save around Eur 2 million a year.
New polyester barrier polymer to go into production in the USA December 21, 2007
A polyester with a gas barrier '100 times higher than that of PET' is to go into production in the USA with its initial target as use in multi-layer PET bottles. Kureha Corporation of Japan is building the plant to make polyglycolic acid (PGA) at the DuPont site in Belle, West Virginia. The investment cost is around $100 million. Construction of the plant is scheduled to start in early 2008, with polymer production to begin in early 2010.
PGA blocks both oxygen and carbon dioxide and combines its barrier properties with controllable hydrolysis and high mechanical strength. It is also said to give 10 times the oxygen barrier performance of PA-MXD6. The material was revealed by Kureha in 2002 with a 100 tonnes pilot plant and samples of PET/PGA bottles. Kureha says the use of PGA in carbonated soft drink and beer bottles could reduce the amount of PET used in these bottles by more than 20 per cent, while maintaining the equivalent barrier against CO2 loss.
The material's hydrolytic properties are said to make it highly compatible with widely practised industrial PET recycling processes, ensuring the material does not interfere with the purity and quality of recycled PET.
Kureha has also tried PGA as a barrier with PLA and says it enhances the gas and moisture barrier of the construction.
Kureha is estimating the potential business volume for the material at more than $1 billion, and expects the pilot plant being built as the first phase of the US investment to turn over more than $100 million.
Kureha says it is the only company to have developed a process for large scale production of PGA. The lack of a cost-effective process has limited PGA production to small-scale operations for the manufacture of surgical sutures.
DuPont says the siting of the Kureha plant at its Belle facility 'is a great synergistic fit' with its own operations, and will support the infrastructure at the site to make all of its businesses more competitive.
Singapore plant to turn waste plastics to diesel fuel December 21, 2007
What is claimed as the world's first large-scale commercial plastic-to-fuel plant is to open in Singapore next year. The Enviro-Hub plant will process 30,000 tonnes of plastics waste a year. The waste is heated with a catalyst at 350 degC when it starts to depolymerise, and is 'cracked' into 85 per cent low sulphur diesel fuel, 10 per cent liquid petroleum gas and 5 per cent coke.
The plant, which uses technology developed in India, will cost around US$10 million to build and will start operation by the second quarter of next year, with plans in place for expansion to 50,000 tonnes/year by the end of 2008. 30,000 tonnes of plastics waste are expected to yield 20 million litres of diesel, four to five million kilograms of gas and 1,500 tonnes of coke.
Enviro-Hub Holdings, whose main business is in the reclaim of precious metals from electronics waste, is also investing in a Cayman-based company called Enviro Energy which is examining the potential for a similar plant in Thailand.
Arkema to buy Repsol's acrylic business December 21, 2007
Arkema is planning to buy Repsol YPF's acrylic sheet and block business, which it says will 'boost our leading position in PMMA sheet in Europe'.
The business currently operates from sites in Bronderslev, Denmark, and Polivar, Italy. It employs 125 people, and has annual sales of around Eur 30 million.
Arkema subsidiary Altuglas International says it has 20 per cent of PMMA world production with eight production sites worldwide, making acrylic as Plexiglas in the Americas and Altuglas in the rest of the world.
PVC processors asked to fund Vinyl 2010 December 21, 2007
A new funding process for the Vinyl 2010 Sustainability Initiative aims to spread the cost across the whole PVC process, from manufacturers to converters. Producers of PVC products such as pipes and window profiles who contribute to the new Vinyl Foundation will be able to use a logo which shows that the company is supporting the future of Vinyl 2010 and sustainable development.
The Vinyl Foundation has been set up as an independently managed trust to provide a mechanism that is transparent and yet maintains commercial confidentiality, to fairly collect contributions from the whole European converting industry.
Raw material producers have agreed to provide data to the trust's administrator, accountant KPMG, on the tonnage of PVC sold to their customers. KPMG will issue payment requests to converters, compounders and traders on behalf of the Vinyl Foundation. The process will be confidential and the foundation's trustees, themselves converters, will not have access to the tonnage figures.
The PVC producers already contribute 70 per cent of the costs of Vinyl 2010 based on the amount of PVC they manufacture. The new scheme aims to raise the remaining 30 per cent of the costs. Contribution levels per tonne supplied have been set to reflect funding already being made by some product types to well-established national schemes, which will continue in parallel.
These rates are: flexible PVC products: Eur 1·25/tonne;
rigid PVC products Eur 0·35/tonne; PVC traders and compounders Eur 1·00/tonne.
Converters who produce products just for export can request an exemption from contributions to the Vinyl Foundation. The same applies to producers of PVC packaging sheet, which already have an effective national collection and recycling scheme in place in the EU.
Second Chinese PP compounds plant for Basell December 21, 2007
Work has started on a second polypropylene compounding plant at Basell's Guangzhou Basell Advanced Polyolefins Co site at Guangzhou Nansha in China. The new line will have an initial capacity of 15,000 tonnes and will supply polypropylene composites and alloy materials to the South China automotive and appliances industries. It has the potential to be expanded to more than 50,000 tonnes. Production is expected to start in 2008. Last month Basell increased its position in PP compounds in the USA by buying Solvay's business.
Cereplast anticipates having the world's largest biopolymer plant December 21, 2007
American biopolymers producer Cereplast is expanding its capacity by around 223,000 tonnes with a new plant in Indiana in the US Midwest - the country's main grain growing region. The plant will start operating in January, and the site will be fully developed by 2010, when the company says it will be 'the world's largest bio-plastic resin production facility'.
Cereplast makes highly bio-sourced plastics in its Compostables range, and partially bio-sourced materials to reduce hydrocarbon content in its Hybrid Resins series, to which it recently added Biopropylene polypropylene.
Bio-ethylene to make PVC December 21, 2007
PVC is the latest material to get bio credentials with an investment plan by Solvay. Its Brazilian affiliate, Solvay Indupa, is to build a plant to produce ethylene from ethanol originating from sugar cane and use this in PVC production at its Santo Andre plant. Solvay says this would be the first industrial project in the Americas implementing renewable resources for the production of PVC.
This $135 million project is the second stage of the expansion of Santo Andre - the first was announced in August 2006. Solvay Indupa's aim is to complete the expansion of Santo Andre by 2010. The plant would then have an installed capacity of 360,000 tonnes of PVC; 360,000 tonnes of vinyl chloride monomer, 235,000 tonnes of caustic soda and 60,000 tonnes of bio-ethylene.
Methanol to PP plant planned for the Caribbean December 21, 2007
The Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Tobago are aiming to build up a plastics industry as part of a policy of downstream diversification of their natural resources, and through local energy companies are planning to link with Basell to build a polypropylene plant.
The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago and the National Energy Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago have entered into a memorandum of understanding with Basell to build a 450,000 tonnes Spherizone PP plant which will capitalise on the islands' substantial methanol resources. A fourth signatory to the MoU is Lurgi, the industry leader in methanol and methanol-to-propylene technology, which will be involved in the building of a methanol plant and a methanol-to-propylene unit.
Start-up of the complex is expected in 2012.
Top changes at Milacron December 21, 2007
Milacron has split the management of its global plastics machinery by promoting two managers to handle North America and Europe separately. Robert Simpson, who joined Milacron a year ago as vice president of global plastics machinery is leaving the company.
David Bertke, general manager of Milacron's global extrusion business, is now responsible for all of Milacron's North American-based machinery businesses, including injection moulding, extrusion and blow moulding, as well as the company's machinery operations in Asia.
Guy Moilliet, managing director of Ferromatik Milacron, is now responsible for all of Milacron's injection moulding and blow moulding machinery operations in Europe.
Tinschert changes horses December 21, 2007
New managing director at Battenfeld Kunststoffmaschinen responsible for sales, service, processing technology, marketing, quality management, purchase and administration is Georg Tinschert, who moves from a board position at another Austrian injection moulding machine producer, Engel.
JV planned for Romanian EPS production December 21, 2007
Ineos is to join with SEEA Polymers of Romania in a 50:50 joint venture to build an expandable polystyrene plant in Romania. The plant will have a capacity of 100,000 tonnes and is expected to start operations by late 2009. It will be located on a site owned by SEEA Polymers in Medgidia, near the Black Sea.
Growth rates for EPS consumption in the region are projected to continue to be more than 10 per cent per year, while the cost of operating the plant would be relatively low: Ineos Nova managing director Martin Pugh said: 'We expect this plant to be the lowest cost producer of EPS in Europe'.
Dow pools commodity plastics with PIC of Kuwait December 21, 2007
Dow Chemical is forming a joint venture with Petrochemical Industries Company of Kuwait into which it is putting its polyethylene, polypropylene and polycarbonate businesses and production of ethyleneamines and ethanolamines. It will sell to PIC a 50 per cent stake in these five businesses for $9·5 billion, and both companies will then pool the assets into the joint venture, in which they will each hold 50 per cent.
PIC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, and the deal effectively gives Dow access to KPC's oil and PIC's petrochemicals as feedstocks for its polyolefins. It provides more potential for growth for Dow's Basics business, reduces its asset base in line with its policy of reducing its capital intensity, and provides cash which can be invested in Dow's other business sectors. For PIC the deal brings expansion in petrochemicals and adds value to Kuwait's hydrocarbons production.
The joint venture will have its headquarters in the USA and is expected to have sales of more than $11 billion.
DSM invests in polymers-from-CO2 technology December 21, 2007
DSM has taken another step towards renewable sourcing of performance polymers with an investment in American catalyst company Novomer through DSM Venturing. Novomer's technology enables polymers and other chemicals to be made from carbon dioxide and other renewable materials. Alongside the investment, the two companies are to sign a co-operation agreement.
Lanxess buys a bigger stake in South America December 21, 2007
Lanxess is increasing its penetration of Latin America by buying a majority stake in Brazilian synthetic rubber producer Petroflex. The 70 per cent share is costing around Eur 198 million and includes the holdings of the current major shareholders Braskem and Unipar.
Petroflex was founded in 1962 as part of Petrobras and has three sites - at Cabo in Pernambuco State, Duque de Caxias in Rio de Janeiro State and Triunfo in the State of Rio Grande do Sul. Its 2007 output will exceed 400,000 tonnes of 70 brands of rubber from solution rubber to emulsion rubber. A third of its output is exported worldwide.
Lanxess says the market for rubber in Latin America is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years, with the major global tyre manufacturers spending around Eur 1 billion to increase their production capacities.
Lanxess currently has around 400 employees in Brazil. In 2006 Petroflex employed some 1,300.
Chemtura looks to the future December 21, 2007
Chemtura Corporation has started a review of options to enhance shareholder value which could go as far as selling the company. Merrill Lynch & Co has been appointed as financial adviser to consider a range of alternatives which could include business divestitures, acquisitions, changes to the company's capital structure, or a possible sale, merger or other business combination involving the entire company.
New deal in hot runners December 21, 2007
Gammaflux, who used to provide the hot runner controllers for Husky hot runner systems but found itself adrift after Husky bought Moldflow's MSI controller business, has now tied up with Synventive Molding Solutions. The two companies
have reached a private label manufacturing agreement whereby Gammaflux will supply its LEC and TTC hot runner temperature control systems to Synventive.
Global EPP in administration December 21, 2007
After only three months as Global EPP, the former semi-finished materials producer Nylacast Materials has run out of money and called in the administrator.
Global EPP aimed to make a splash in the supply of products such as cast nylons and extruded PA, POM and PET with an internet-based commercial structure intended to ease ordering, stock holding and delivery for its distributors.
Lanxess invests in rubber chemicals December 21, 2007
Lanxess's Rubber Chemicals business unit is investing Eur 10 million in its plant in Antwerp in Belgium. The investment will be on the implementation of a new production process for accelerators as well as other technical upgrades.
Raise the quality of waste, and it ceases to be waste December 21, 2007
The Environment Agency and the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) have put together a proposal which they say could free a third of all plastics consumption from waste regulations to encourage more recycling.
They want to introduce a Quality Protocol for non-packaging waste which would define the standards required to collect, transport, store, recycle and reuse non-packaging plastic. The aim is to change the perception of non-packaging waste away from the concept of rubbish and towards that of a material with potential for re-use.
The two organisations argue that a Quality Protocol would save businesses time and money through not having to work within waste regulations and could take out a potential million tonnes or more of plastics from the waste stream.
Axion Recycling's Roger Morton put his finger on the problem. 'Recycled plastic is currently defined as waste before it has been extruded. So selling PVC chip as a product not only saves a melting process - and therefore precious energy - but it increases its perceived value and quality to purchasers, as well as reducing the need for virgin materials.'
He added that the proposed protocol puts some tight restrictions on the specifications and data sheets that must be used if the material is to be sold as a product. 'The data sheets we supply must comply with the EU REACH legislation and the specifications must comply with a new European standard that has been developed for recycled plastics. It will not be possible for the traders who currently export rough plastic shred to China to comply, so they will still have to export their material as waste.'
Former Dow Hyperlast managing director Matthew Miller is to join Rosehill Polymers as managing director at the start of the new year.
Non-ozone depleting foam agent adopted for Styrofoam December 21, 2007
A new process for foaming polystyrene developed by Dow Building Solutions for its Styrofoam insulation material has replaced the HCFC 142b foaming agent with a non-ozone depleting compound. HCFC 142b has to be phased out in North America by 2010 under the terms of the Montreal Protocol.
Dow has begun converting its North American production facilities as part of an overall optimisation and expansion process which includes a new plant at LaPorte in Texas and an expansion of the plant at Varennes in Quebec.
Million up December 21, 2007
In December alone Colortronic (UK) says its installation and engineering team has installed and commissioned more than £1 million of work.
Also celebrating a million in business - although in Euro - is UPM Machinery Sales which took orders for six infra red drying systems at K2007 worth more than Eur 1 million. These are to go to Portugal, France, Germany and Holland, boosting the 50 plus installations worldwide over the past three years, mainly for APET sheet extrusion and thermoforming food packaging.
Flame retardant gets EU approval December 21, 2007
The brominated flame retardant Deca-BDE, which has been under a health risk assessment by the European Union since 1994, has been approved as safe by the EU Competent Authorities for chemicals policy. This will provide a complete basis for registration of Deca-BDE under REACH.
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