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Bayer dots the i's and crosses the t's December 31, 2003
Bayer has now completed the formalisation of its new structure. The Bayer Group has become a holding company and Bayer MaterialScience AG (formerly the Bayer Polymers business area), Bayer Business Services GmbH and Bayer Industry Services GmbH & Co OHG have now been registered as separate legal entities.
Bayer MaterialScience is expected to report sales of around Eur 7·4 billion for 2003 and will concentrate primarily on innovation-driven products, focusing on polycarbonate and polyurethanes as key technologies. H C Starck and Wolff Walsrode, two separate subsidiaries, will be transferred from Bayer Chemicals to Bayer MaterialScience during 2004.
The rubber and rubber chemicals, styrenics and semi-crystalline thermoplastics activities, which were formerly assigned to the Polymers business area, the subsidiary RheinChemie and the fibres operations are to be combined with Bayer Chemicals and listed on the stock market as a separate company with a new name by early 2005 at the latest.
Bayer Business Services is the service centre for business support, IT and scientific services within the Bayer Group, formed from Bayer's former central service divisions.
Bayer Industry Services owns and operates the largest chemical park in Germany, comprising Bayer's sites in Leverkusen, Dormagen and Krefeld. The company also provides services extending beyond the chemical park.
Dow to increase PET price December 29, 2003
Dow Europe is increasing the price of its Lighter PET by Eur 60/tonne on January 1. The company says supply remains tight due to continuously strong demand from processors, and the current pricing of PET does not allow for sufficient margins.
SABIC plans Yanbu expansion December 23, 2003
SABIC - Saudi Basic Industries Corporation - is to expand its Yanbu site on the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia with an additional 3·15 million tonnes of petrochemicals. It is to build a cracker with an annual output of 1·3 million tonnes, an 800,000 tonnes polyethylene plant, 700,000 tonnes ethylene glycol plant, and 350,000 tonnes polypropylene plant. The cracker is expected to come on stream in 2007.
Temperature control equipment supplier PTA Precisa-Therm has changed its name to Tool-Temp Ltd to reflect the fact that it is the sole UK/Ireland supplier of the Tool-Temp equipment made in Switzerland. The web address is now www.tool-temp.net.
Basell to make PP compounds in China December 22, 2003
Basell is to build a polypropylene compounding plant in China, starting construction in January, with start-up planned for early 2005. The plant, at the Suzhou Industrial Park near Shanghai, will be built in stages, ramping up to a final capacity of 55 - 60,000 tonnes.
PP compounds represent a substantial part of Basell's Advanced Polyolefins business, and the company has plants in 14 countries.
Eurocell Profiles (UK) of Alfreton in Derbyshire, a window and door profile extruder belonging to the Plastics Converting Division of the Belgian Tessenderlo Group, is investing £4 million in a new extrusion hall, which will be operational by the end of 2004. The extension will increase both production and storage space.
Eurocell Profiles is part of Fairbrook plc, in which Tessenderlo bought a majority stake in 1998, and reckons to be the third largest window frame profile manufacturer in the UK. It makes profiles under the brand names Eurocell and Pinnacle.
Demand for better lower pentane grades of expandable polystyrene has led to a change in feedstock used by Nova Chemicals at its Beaver Valley plant in Pennsylvania, USA. The new feedstock has a lower molecular weight and a different additive package. It is compatible with Nova's Ultra Low grades (less than 3·5 per cent pentane) and also improves its existing EPS resins.
Nova says customers can expect performance enhancements, including improved expandability and moulding cycle times, with minimal changes required to processing conditions. There are no block density or moulded part appearance issues.
The company says it will be able to optimise its EPS product line, making greater volumes of smaller bead size grades to meet growing customer demand. Shape moulding customers will have an improved and consolidated five-grade product slate. Two other grades will be discontinued due to low sales volumes. Nova's Dylite Cup and Container product line will not be affected by the feedstock change.
SIG Corpoplast and AgrTopWave have started a joint marketing operation for Agr's PET preform and bottle quality monitoring systems to be built into SIG Corpoplast's stretch blow moulding machines.
The agreement covers two systems, the Vision Preform Inspector (VPI) and PETWall Plus. VPI is an on-line, high-speed system which monitors the quality of the preforms before they enter the blow moulder and ejects those that are faulty. By ensuring that only good preforms are fed to the blow moulder, the output of acceptable bottles is increased and downtime caused by faulty preforms is reduced.
PETWall Plus is built in to the blow moulder and performs real-time, non-contact measurements of the wall-thickness distribution at up to four measurement locations across the height of the bottles. Any material distribution changes in the process can be detected and remedied more quickly than by correcting the process on the basis of sample quality checks. The wall-thickness measuring system uses the infrared absorption technique, which is not influenced by bottle colour or the presence of water vapour. Results are related back to each bottle's blowing station and transport mandrel so that deviations in the overall process as well as wear at individual blowing stations can be detected and can be traced back immediately.
Although the system is primarily designed for process monitoring and optimisation, it also offers savings potential in that the heating profile of the oven can be optimised and an ideal material distribution may permit a reduction in the preform weight. Material savings might be only a few tenths of a gram per bottle, but given the high production numbers and the fact that the raw material accounts for about 75 per cent of the costs of a PET bottle, this adds up to significant cost savings, says Agr.
SIG Corpoplast Blomax machines are already running with VPI systems in Europe and North America and the first PETWall plus for a Blomax machine will be installed in the second quarter of 2004.
PolyOne to build Chinese rubber compounding plant December 19, 2003
PolyOne's Elastomers & Performance Addives Group, one of three businesses being considered by the company for disposal, is to build a rubber compounding plant in China. The plant, near Shanghai, will supply compounds to current PolyOne customers based in China for use in printing and industrial rollers, as well as serve US-based companies that are beginning to manufacture automotive parts and industrial products in China. The plant will also serve new customers in the wider Asian market.
The plant will process a variety of elastomers, including natural rubber, fluoroelastomers, NBR, EPDM and SBR, and will initially include two finishing lines and one calendering line. It is being built to allow for subsequent expansion, as part of a four-phase programme to enhance the Elastomers & Performance Additives Group's operations in Asia. Production is scheduled to begin at the end of the first quarter of 2004.
The new plant will be PolyOne's sixth plant in Asia and fourth in China.
Bayer to expand MDI capacity in the US and Europe December 19, 2003
Bayer is planning further increases in its worldwide capacity for MDI. It currently has a capacity of around 800,000 tonnes from seven sites around the world, and is to add 70,000 tonnes to its 230,000 tonnes capacity at Baytown in the USA, and 50,000 tonnes to its 100,000 tonnes at Tarragona in Spain, giving it a capacity of 920,000 tonnes by 2006.
The company - now referring to itself as Bayer MaterialScience since the announcement of its new structure last month - is also building MDI and TDI plants in China which will add a further 230,000 tonnes of MDI and 160,000 tonnes of TDI, underlining the company's position as the world leader in polyurethane raw materials.
Husky plans Luxembourg PET tool expansion December 19, 2003
Husky is planning to build a dedicated PET preform mould making factory at its Dudelange site in Luxembourg. At present PET moulds are made in the same plant as the company's hot runner systems. By separating the two manufacturing operations Dudelange will have greater capacity for growth in each sector, and delivery times should be improved. The new plant will make preform mould inserts - the existing plant will continue to make mould bases for PET tools.
Husky will spend around Eur 46 million on the plant and equipment and take on around 80 more workers. The factory is scheduled to open in the spring of 2006.
Takeover bid for Celanese signals better fortunes for European chemical companies December 17, 2003
Coincidental with Ticona's sale of its nylon business to BASF (see next story) to concentrate on its core activities comes a friendly takeover bid for Ticona's German parent, Celanese. Blackstone Capital Partners, part of the American Blackstone Group investment company, has offered Eur 3·1 billion. The bid is supported by the Celanese management and accepted by Celanese's largest shareholder with 29 per cent, Kuwait Petrochemical Corporation.
The takeover is seen by some commentators as reflecting increased interest in European chemical companies by private equity firms as analysts predict an upturn following this year's problems of weak demand, high oil prices and a strong Euro. Blackstone senior managing director Chinh Chu told the Reuters news agency: 'We are definitely going to pursue other chemical assets in the region. We believe chemicals represent an attractive sector with the imminent rebound in the economy'.
The bid, via a German affiliate of Blackstone, BCP Crystal Acquisition, is described as the largest public-to-private offer yet made in Germany and at Eur 32·50 per share represents more than double the Celanese share price when the company became public in 1999 as it was hived off from Hoechst. Blackstone believes that taking Celanese private will give it more flexibility for growth, and has secured credit facilities to provide the necessary liquidity for expansion.
Blackstone does not intend to take on any operating responsibilities, but will work with the existing management team. According to the Financial Times, Hanns Ostmeier, head of Blackstone Group Germany, said the company was likely to seek an exit in five years at the earliest, giving Celanese time to make and integrate any purchases.
Celanese sales last year were Eur 4·3 billion.
The offer is subject to regulatory approvals and other conditions such as a minimum acceptance of 85 per cent of the outstanding shares.
BASF to buy another US nylon business December 16, 2003
BASF is buying itself a better position in the North American nylon 66 market by taking over the Ticona Celanese nylon 66 business. It is only buying intellectual property rights, licenses and customer lists - it will not acquire any manufacturing sites, equipment or related assets. Financial details of the transaction, which becomes effective on December 31, have not been disclosed. In 2002, the business generated sales of around Eur 45 million.
Ticona will compound nylon 66 for BASF from its Bishop, Texas, and Florence, Kentucky, sites for a while after the sale.
Ticona has sold the nylon 66 business because it is not a world scale player, and the sale continues its policy of focusing on those products in which it is.
This is BASF's second shopping foray into the US this year. In January it did a deal with Honeywell, acquiring Honeywell's engineering plastics business - including nylon 6 and 66 - in exchange for its own nylon fibres business and a cash adjustment.
Sale hopes for Birmingham moulder in receivership December 15, 2003
Birmingham-based injection moulder Birmingham Plastics has entered receivership as a result of 'cheap imports coupled with the minimum wage plus red tape'. Receiver PKF West Midlands has made 30 of the 49 staff redundant, but says it has been inundated with interest and hopes to sell the business as a going concern.
Birmingham Plastics is approved to BS EN ISO 9002 for injection and compression mouldings and specialises in security, lighting and electrical product mouldings.
More capacity planned at Borouge December 15, 2003
The Borouge joint venture between Borealis and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) is planning to expand. The first step will be a $40 million debottlenecking of the existing Borstar polyethylene facility from 450,000 to 580,000 tonnes, due for completion by mid-2005.
This expansion will involve Borouge taking total output from the 600,000 tonnes ethylene cracker at the Ruwais, Abu Dhabi, site. ADNOC and Borealis have also taken the first steps in expanding ethylene availability with the signing of a memorandum of understanding earlier this year to evaluate the construction of a new cracker and downstream polyolefin plants. The feasibility study is expected to be complete next year, and if the go-ahead is given, the new plants would start up in 2008. Demand for polyolefins in the Middle East and Asia is expected to grow annually between 6 and 8 per cent until 2010.
Owens-Illinois reviews the future of its blow moulding plants December 15, 2003
US-based glass and plastic packaging group Owens-Illinois is planning 'a strategic review of certain of its blow-moulded plastics operations in North America, South America and Europe' which could see parts of the blow moulding business sold off. The affiliated ACI Packaging is already conducting a similar strategic review of its Australian and New Zealand plastics packaging businesses.
Owens-Illinois is the largest manufacturer of glass containers in North America, South America, Australia and New Zealand, and one of the largest in Europe. Its worldwide plastics packaging operations - both blow and injection moulded - include sites in North America, South America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
In Europe the company has PET blow moulding plants at Kft Gyor in Hungary, Etten-Leur in the Netherlands and in Britain at Chalgrove, in Oxfordshire.
Gillette to cease razor manufacturing in Britain December 15, 2003
Gillette is shutting two razor manufacturing and packaging plants in the UK and shifting operations to Eastern Europe - just where will not be decided until early next year. It will also be moving production of some razor lines to the new plant from Berlin, and from its Jevicko plant in the Czech Republic to St Petersburg in Russia.
The Isleworth manufacturing plant in the UK will close by 2007 with the loss of some 400 jobs. The distribution plant at Hemel Hempstead is run for Gillette by Sonoco. This will cease to handle Gillette business in 2005, but Sonoco hopes to continue it with other customers.
New structure for Dow Chemical December 11, 2003
Dow Chemical has restructured its global operations into three business groups. Plastics includes polyethylene, polypropylene, PET, polystyrene, engineering thermoplastics, fabricated products; automotive, wire and cable; and rubber and elastomers. Performance Chemicals and Thermosets includes polyurethanes, polyurethane systems, epoxy, Dow Latex (emulsion polymers & UCAR emulsion systems), industrial chemicals, specialty polymers (excluding acrylates), water soluble polymers, custom and fine chemicals, and licensing.
The third group is Chemicals and Intermediates which includes organic intermediates, solvents and monomers, oxide derivatives, chlor-vinyls, chlorinated organics, cal/mag, propylene oxide/propylene glycol, and acrylates.
Distrupol becomes Matrix distributor in Benelux December 11, 2003
Distrupol has tied up with independent masterbatch producer Matrix Plastics and is to distribute Matrix products in the Benelux countries. Distrupol has worked with Matrix in the UK for some years, and the Benelux distribution deal gives Matrix wider access to the market through Distrupol's existing Benelux customer network, and its existing customers there will benefit from the local technical and application development support provided by Distrupol.
Bayer/DuPont open shared PBT plant December 11, 2003
The DuBay Polymers Bayer-DuPont joint venture PBT plant at Hamm-Uentrop, Germany, has been officially opened. Its initial capacity is 80,000 tonnes making it the biggest of its kind in the world, and it has cost its two owners some Eur 50 million.
Consumption of PBT in Europe in 2002 was around 140,000 tonnes. Global demand will grow in the next few years at an above-average rate of somewhere between six and eight per cent a year. Supplying PBT at competitive prices in Europe is only possible with large plants.
Neither DuPont nor Bayer can justify such a plant on their own. The joint operation enables both companies to use the straight polymer and compound it into products for their own PBT ranges - Crastin from DuPont, and Pocan from Bayer.
The new plant was built in just under two years, and has high standards in terms of environmental protection and occupational safety. No solvents are used to manufacture the plastic, and the only by-product, methanol, is fully returned to the production process.
PolyOne is to shut another plant in its programme to improve profitability. It is to close its Burlington, New Jersey, USA Engineered Films plant in mid-February. In October PolyOne named Engineered Films as one of three business operations being considered for divestment.
The Burlington plant makes vinyl calendered film for applications such as decals, window shades and wallcoverings, as well as other thin-film products. PolyOne will move many of these products to other plants with excess capacity at Lebanon, Pennsylvania, and Winchester, Virginia.
Shutting the plant is expected to save PolyOne $5·5 million gross annually.
New boss for Shell urethanes December 11, 2003
David Loughman has been appointed vice president of Shell Chemicals' styrene monomer/propylene oxide and urethane chemicals businesses from January 1. Since May this year he has been Shell's regional exploration director, EP Americas, with responsibility for all exploration and pre-development activities in North and South America. He replaces Jan van der Eijk, who recently became executive vice president, technology.
European Commission fines organic peroxides cartel members December 11, 2003
The European Commission has fined five suppliers of organic peroxides nearly Eur 70 million for operating the longest running cartel it has ever discovered. The companies are Atofina, Peroxid Chemie, Laporte (now Degussa UK Holdings), Perorsa and AC Treuhand who, the Commission says, conspired between January 1971 and the end of 1999 to raise prices and share out markets for organic peroxides, or double oxygen bond organic chemical products for the production of plastics and rubbers.
The fine would have been much higher had not Akzo, which also participated in the price-fixing agreement, received full immunity for being the first to confess its existence to the Commission.
AC Treuhand is not a producer but a Swiss-based consultancy company. Because it played a key role in the cartel from the end of 1993, organising meetings and hiding incriminating evidence, it was also found to have violated EU law.
Of the nearly Eur 70 million total fines, Atofina was fined Eur 43·47 million and Degussa UK Holdings and Peroxid Chemie together Eur 16·73 million 'to take into account that this is not the first time that they have been caught in cartel agreements'. Atofina was involved in four other cartels before: peroxygen products (decision of November 23, 1984) polypropylene (decision of April 23, 1986), LDPE (decision of December 21, 1988), and PVC (decisions of December 21, 1988 and of July 27, 1994). Laporte (now Degussa UK Holdings) and Peroxid Chemie were also part of the peroxygen cartel.
Akzo Nobel Chemicals was the first to approach the Commission in early 2000 with decisive information on the cartel and, therefore, escaped a fine. Atochem (Atofina) also approached the Commission with information but could not receive full immunity because it was not the first to do so. Instead it got a reduction of the fine as did other participants for co-operating in the Commission's investigation.
Avon sells crawler track subsidiary December 11, 2003
Avon Rubber has sold one of its French subsidiaries to an Italian company. Avon Spencer Moulton, which makes moulded rubber crawler tracks for construction equipment and components for the railway industry, has been sold to NOVA Participations for Eur 4·47 million. Its turnover is Eur 12·1 million.
GE starts Chinese compounding expansion December 11, 2003
GE Plastics is investing $60 million in an expansion of its Chinese engineering plastics compounding and film extrusion plant at Nansha, Guangdong Province with eight new production lines. Completion is expected in November next year.
Tesco introduces biodegradable plastic carrier bags December 10, 2003
The Tesco supermarket chain is to start using biodegradable plastic carrier bags following a six months pilot trial. The bags will be made using Environmental Products' technology from Canada in which proprietary TDPA (Totally Degradable Plastic Additives) are added to the PE or PP film during production to render it degradable and ultimately biodegradable in a suitable disposal environment such as landfill or in soil. Before disposal bags can be reused or recycled without degrading.
The TDPA technology - which is also licensed to Ciba Specialty Chemicals for worldwide agricultural applications under the brand name Envirocare - differs from that in other biodegradable films in that the additives can be added at the machine throat, generally at letdown ratios of 2 - 3 per cent, and work by accelerating the oxidation of the plastic. The reaction is triggered by heat or UV light, and enhanced by mechanical stress and moisture.
Once the plastic begins to oxidise it becomes brittle and susceptible to the usual agents of degradation, such as moisture and microbes. Oxidation can start in five or six weeks.
Other biodegradable plastics use organic starch additives which can be digested by micro-organisms, but leave the plastic molecules. The action of these additives is triggered by moisture, which EPI says leaves them open to unplanned degradation. The EPI oxo-biodegradation process is triggered by light, heat or stress, but, says EPI, occurs at a rate tailored to the buyer's requirements, breaking down over months or years.
The Tesco contract follows market development by EPI's former UK agent Symphony Plastics which earlier this year conducted trials with Tesco and Safeway on EPI-treated rubbish bags.
Symphony broke away from EPI during the summer to concentrate on its own d2w additive technology - although EPI claimed that it terminated the contract because Symphony had fallen short on its agreed uptake of EPI additives. Subsequently Symphony signed an agreement to supply its additives to a retailer in North America, and for a distributor to sell them in Brazil.
The new chief executive of packaging giant Rexam will be Stefan Angwald, who succeeds Rolf Börjesson after the annual general meeting on May 25. Rolf Börjesson will become non executive chairman and Jeremy Lancaster, the current chairman, will retire.
Mr Angwald was until recently the chief executive officer of SCA Hygiene, a global consumer goods business with a £3·5 billion turnover and the largest division of international paper, packaging and hygiene products group SCA. He has spent the majority of his career in SCA's hygiene business.
Wittmann starts building Chinese robot factory December 10, 2003
Austrian-based automation and materials handling company Wittmann is building a factory in China and is expecting a number of large robot supply contracts in China for the automated moulding of automotive textile parts from international plastics moulders as well as local companies.
The new plant is located in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province in the greater Shanghai area, on a site of approximately 28,000 m². The first phase of building will involve approximately 2000 m² construction. The new plant will produce a range of robots, dryers and mould temperature control units, and the first phase of robot production - 300 beam robots per year - is expected to start next September.
Wittmann is initially investing some $3 million in the Chinese operation. The company already has subsidiaries in Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and China. Expansions into other markets are under consideration.
Dow raises PU prices December 10, 2003
Dow Chemical is increasing prices for toluene diisocyanate and flexible and rigid polyols in Europe by Eur 100/tonne from January. For systems products (building and refrigeration applications), prices will rise by Eur 150/tonne. Similar price increases are being implemented in the Middle East, Africa and the Indian subcontinent.
Sumitomo Chemical of Japan is to start making thermoplastic elastomers in the USA. Its wholly-owned US subsidiary Sumitomo Chemical America is to build a thermoplastic olefin elastomer plant in Georgia, scheduled to begin operation in the second half of 2004, with a production capacity of approximately 5,000 tonnes.
M-Base to continue Omnexus material data centre December 6, 2003
Another part of the fragmenting polymer trading site Omnexus has found a home. On Thursday we reported that SpecialChem had taken over the site's content platform. Now Campus software creator M-Base of Germany has announced that it is to run the Omnexus Material Data and Applications Center, a research tool for materials data and integrated applications.
The plastics materials database, which M-Base helped to develop, gives engineers and researchers full property data access to more than 8,000 grades representing around 80 per cent of plastics products worldwide, from more than 35 suppliers, distributors and compounders. The research tool also has an integrated applications database that allows users to search by industry segment and polymer type to view application photographs and data sheets.
The Material Data and Applications Center gives full access to the most current sources of ISO Campus, ASTM and applications data in a single location. Users can search across 210 material properties and switch between SI or English units of measure. Search options allow users to view data sheets, or conduct product comparisons by customised tables or overlaid multi-point graphs.
Husky starts Chinese hot runner production December 5, 2003
Husky has started building hot runner systems in China. It is using the facilities of its Shanghai Technical Center - which doesn't open officially until June next year - to supply local mould makers and parts manufacturers, to enable them to supply their customers faster. This is of particular importance in the electronics sector where Husky says one-week deliveries are expected of it. Results for the Canadian injection machine and tooling systems manufacturer for the quarter ended October 31 (the company's first financial quarter) showed sales down 10 per cent at $US133·6 million, while orders rose 17 per cent to $US207·1 million, the difference being attributed to a lower opening backlog because of the company's weaker second half in the 2002 - 2003 financial year.
All the growth came from non-PET business, and much of it was in sales of Hylectric hybrid machines, often to new customers. Husky says that European orders were 'up sharply' in all regions: PET demand increased in Eastern Europe due to demand in carbonated soft drink, water and beer applications and European non-PET orders also increased substantially, with strong Hylectric demand in packaging applications.
For the future Husky says that global markets for injection moulding equipment remain weak, and there are no indications currently pointing to a rapid turnaround in these markets. The company does not expect its sales for 2004 to be any more than in 2003.
Now Krauss-Maffei bales out of Interplas December 4, 2003
Only two days after Engel (UK) announced that it would not be going to the next Interplas, Krauss-Maffei has also announced that it will not be at Britain's premier polymer exhibition in 2005.
The reason given is virtually the same as by Engel - K-M is planning a series of customer-specific events over the next two years and feels its money is better spent funding these. UK managing director Glyn Isaac said that Interplas could no longer be the main focus of the company's marketing activities 'as the cost benefit relationship does not stack up in the current UK market'. 'The development cycle of new technologies is very much focussed at the K show and we will be encouraging our UK customers to attend', he added.
Mr Isaac said that the UK market is showing some encouraging signs of improvement and this has been generally at the higher technology-driven end in two-component applications, the medical field generally and new applications in the automotive sector. Krauss-Maffei therefore prefers a technology-orientated message which can be better realised by in-house presentations and seminars focussed on specific customers.
Jim Hughes of Interplas commented that despite these two announcements, 'the show is ahead of what it was in 2002 in terms of contracts issued and returned'. 'We still have the support of the majority of the major machinery suppliers in the UK.' He added that visitors to the show could still expect to see a full range of machinery and materials from major suppliers.
SpecialChem takes over Omnexus content December 4, 2003
Part of the Omnexus plastics speciality website has been bought by additives website SpecialChem. Omnexus announced its closure last month because the trading in materials and machinery it facilitated had not reached the necessary levels. SpecialChem, which was founded at around the same time as Omnexus, in April 2000, has bought the 'content resource platform' - the part of Omnexus supporting newsletters and seminars, but not associated with electronic trading - and plans to develop new features.
The SpecialChem site has already been expanded beyond its original plastics additives and colours content to cover adhesives and sealants, and paints, coatings and inks and claims more than 40,000 users worldwide. It will relaunch Omnexus at the original address - www.omnexus.com - on December 8.
Plant opening gives Bayer a platform to warn Germany about its attitude to chemicals December 4, 2003
Bayer has completed the expansion of its toluene diamine plant at Dormagen in Germany which it began last year. TDA is a precursor for toluene diisocyanate, used the production of polyurethane foams - for which Bayer claims world leadership. Some Eur 200 million has been invested in the project, and, with a capacity of 200,000 tonnes a year, the plant is the biggest of its kind in the world.
Bayer currently has two sites for the production of TDA: Dormagen, and Baytown in the USA. TDI is produced at Baytown, New Martinsville (USA), Dormagen, Brunsbüttel (Germany) and, from 2009, Shanghai in China.
The Dormagen site will in future supply Brunsbüttel with TDA. Baytown supplies the New Martinsville site. According to a recently signed agreement, any quantities of TDI intermediates (TDA and dinitrotoluene) that are produced over and above the current needs will be marketed worldwide by Air Products and Chemicals.
Polyurethanes will be a key plank in the MaterialScience business alongside polycarbonate in the new structure of the Bayer Group announced last month. The worldwide consumption of polyurethanes in 2002 was about 9·2 million tonnes, and volume growth is expected to average 5 per cent a year until 2006. Bayer produces all the raw materials needed to produce polyurethanes: the isocyanates TDI and MDI, and polyols. Bayer MaterialScience accounts for about a quarter of world production of TDI and is the market leader with a total production capacity of 425,000 tonnes.
The new plant at Dormagen is Bayer's single biggest investment in Germany this year, but is dwarfed by the current investment programme of Eur 3·1 billion at the chemicals complex in Caojing, China, which has been described as 'the most significant single investment in the history of Bayer'. The company took the opportunity of the Dormagen dedication ceremony to fire a couple of warning shots at both local and national levels of German government over actions which could undermine its future manufacturing in Germany. Werner Wenning, chairman of Bayer's management board, emphasized that Bayer was continuing to stand by Germany, and particularly North Rhine-Westphalia, as a production location but said 'It is becoming increasingly difficult for industry to maintain this commitment'.
He was referring at local level to the planned introduction of a new water supply surcharge law which would cost Bayer an extra Eur 7 - 8 million a year. This not only makes the international competitive situation worse than it is already, he said, but would also disadvantage North Rhine-Westphalia in comparison with other German states, particularly in terms of investment by the chemical industry with its water- and energy-intensive sites.
At national level Mr Wenning was concerned about a new proposal on chemicals put forward by the parliamentary parties of the SPD and Alliance 90/The Greens which he said 'goes even further than the demands of the European Union'. Continuing discussions between the chemicals industry and the German government had defined a sustainable chemicals policy in which ecological, economic and social aspects are given equal consideration. The new motion, he said,
was diametrically opposed to many key aspects to this jointly developed approach and contained proposals that had a distorted environmental bias, were at odds with the jointly developed approach, and, on top of all that, went well beyond the legislation proposed by the EU Commission.
Consequently, he said, the competitiveness of the entire industry in Germany was being put at risk.
£25 million CD-R plant extension completed near Newcastle December 4, 2003
A 70,000 sq ft, £25 million addition has been completed at the Europa Magnetics optical disk plant at Cramlington, near Newcastle. Around 60,000 sq ft of this is clean room and support areas for CD-R manufacturing.
The clean room, built by Daw Technologies, is currently two thirds full, with 18 lines capable of producing 16 million CD-Rs per month. It employs 240 people with 25 support personnel and the company expects this to increase with the addition of another six production lines.
Because of the heat given off by the 42 injection moulding machines, the company had to install an air exchange system capable of dissipating the heat not only from that number of machines, but from a projected further eighteen. As a result, the quality of air in the cleanroom is significantly higher than that required for a class 10,000 clean room. In addition, the dye manufacturing area holds a 1,000 classification.
The plant is also fitted with multi-jet HEPA filtered air showers, which have been found to be particularly effective in removing microscopic dust particles from the protective suits worn by staff.
Europa Magnetics is a subsidiary of CMC of Taiwan, which has 11 CD-R factories across Taiwan, with additional plants in Mexico, Ireland, China and Hong Kong. The Cramlington plant produces not only the CD-Rs - for which it is averaging 120 per minute on 1·8 second cycles - but also the jewel cases, wrapping and inserts.
Aerogel-filled PC sheet to improve building construction December 4, 2003
Cabot Corporation and GE Structured Products are to co-operate in the development of an energy-saving polycarbonate glazing panel intended to bring increased thermal insulation and light transmission levels between two and four times higher than currently available alternative products.
The idea is to fill GE's Lexan Thermoclear multi-wall PC sheet with Cabot's Nanogel translucent aerogel. Nanogel is a waterproof, lightweight, nanoporous insulation material that can be produced in a range of particle sizes to optimize appearance and window performance. In a 25 mm section panel, it delivers up to 40 per cent light transmission and provides thermal insulation down to 0·8 W/m2-K. It also provides acoustic insulation of up to 5 dB.
Combining Nanogel with Lexan Thermoclear is expected to bring a range of benefits to building applications including the ability to use larger panels for significantly improved light diffusion, without shadows and without the need for sunshades; reduced energy costs due to the improved thermal insulation; improved comfort due to better sound damping; and better aesthetic effects when viewed from outside or inside a building.
Engel will not be at the next Interplas December 2, 2003
Engel, which reckons to be the most prolific builder of injection moulding machines in the world, has decided not to exhibit at Interplas in 2005.
The decision, taken by Engel UK and supported by its Austrian parent, releases funds for 'alternative marketing activities'. The company has already set up a users group for its machines and is planning a programme of technology events both at its Warwick headquarters and at other locations during next year. These will be application- or technology-specific, with the aim of making them more effective than a general open house event or the demonstration of a range of equipment at an exhibition.
One of the drivers for this decision is that, according to managing director Graeme Herlihy, this year Engel has won its best ever share of the combined UK and Irish markets. 'Most of our business this year has been in the high-tech sector, and so it is important for us to maintain a very high visibility in the applications technology field. This is much better achieved through events which are aimed at one particular discipline, than through any event aimed at a more general audience,' he told British Plastics & Rubber On-Line.
Xaloy Europe bought by Italian screw specialist December 2, 2003
Screw and barrel manufacturer Xaloy Europe has been sold by its parent company Saurer Group of Switzerland to an Italian consortium with a holding in screw and barrel manufacturer OMG and heat treatment specialist Spreafico Group. It will be combined with OMG and Spreafico's operations to trade as Bernex Bimetall Holding - Bernex was the sister company to Xaloy,
which was combined with Xaloy by Saurer in 2000 and is still a trade name used by Saurer's other surface treatment company Ionbond.
Saurer says the sale price 'corresponds to the book value'. Xaloy's barrel, screw, chill roll and other operations in North America and Asia are not included in the deal, and are still for sale. Saurer put Xaloy up for sale earlier this year because it did not fit in with its core textile machinery business.
The two parts of Xaloy have had conflicting fortunes. Overall the market for plastics machinery components has been contracting. Europe remains a regional, tough, slow-growth market for the company, but in the USA and Asia the company has become market leader, with the help of the acquisition of the New Castle Industries business in the USA in August for $17 million, and a year ago the acquisition of Spirex Corporation's twin barrel business.
Despite the slow going in Europe, the region had the highest percentage increase in sales for the company this year, with a rise of 26 per cent, compared with growth of 17 per cent in North America and 18 per cent in Asia. Sales of Xaloy Europe, which has plants in Switzerland and the Czech Republic and employs 183 people, are around 30 million Swiss Francs. Bernex Bimetall holding will have 290 employees and sales of 50 million Swiss Francs.
Croda is to increase the price of its Crodamide additives from January 1 because of increasing prices for high erucic rape oil (HERO) and fatty acids. HERO prices have increased 25 per cent over the past 12 months. The increases are $0·3/kg for erucamide slip agents and $0·2/kg for oleamides.
Permabond's epoxy, acrylic and UV-curing adhesives are to be integrated with the Bondmaster Adhesives business following the sale of its cyanoacrylate and anaerobic adhesive range and the Permabond name to the Grossi family of Italy. The adhesives left with Permabond and being integrated into Bondmaster will now be branded with the Bondmaster name. Both companies are owned by National Starch & Chemical, itself part of ICI Group.
Demag and Schöttli pitch for Chinese closures business December 2, 2003
Demag Ergotech has joined forces with Swiss mould maker Schöttli to sell a production system for closures in China. It comprises an Ergotech El-Exis S fast-cycling injection moulding machine and multi-daylight moulds for screw caps to a design said to offer material and energy savings, shorter cycle times, and to give a faster return on investment.
The Schöttli cap is made of HDPE for disposable PET bottles and at 2·45 - 2·65 g is said to be 20 per cent lighter than conventional screw caps. Moulds are available with 16, 24, 32, 48 and 64 cavities and in stack mould form with 48 + 48 cavities and are equipped with a Schöttli-made hot runner system with all nozzles fitted with individually controllable heater bands.
Clamps are used instead of slides to form the ligaments in the tamper-evident ring which is said to reduce the space required for the individual cavities, permitting the use of a smaller moulding machine, and to minimise maintenance costs.
The cooperation is expected to broaden Schöttli's market presence in China where Demag Ergotech has established sales and service structures. Demag Ergotech expects to enhance its market penetration and to strengthen its position as a system provider with packaging producers.
PolyOne and Merquinsa co-operate on TPUs December 2, 2003
PolyOne is expanding its range of thermoplastic elastomer compounds through a development and distribution agreement with Spanish thermoplastic polyurethane specialist Merquinsa. Under the agreement PolyOne will introduce OnFlex-U TPU compounds based on Merquinsa's Pearlthane TPU specialty elastomers for applications such as cable sheathing, automotive wiring, power cables, hose, conveyor belts, gaskets and profiles, and the technology of both companies will be used to develop a range of compounds for extrusion and injection moulding. PolyOne currently makes TPE-S (OnFlex-S and Bergaflex) and TPE-V (OnFlex-V) compounds.
The production of OnFlex-U compounds will begin in Europe and Asia during 2004.
Distrupol nails down BP polystyrene December 2, 2003
Distrupol has hardened up its position as a polystyrene distributor with the formalising of an exclusive agreement to distribute BP Chemicals' Empera crystal and high impact PS in the UK and Ireland. It has been selling Empera on a non-exclusive basis for the past 10 years. In October Distrupol added the Benelux countries to its Nova Chemicals polystyrene agency.
Atofina plans more Asian acrylic December 2, 2003
Atofina subsidiary Atoglas is to expand production of acrylic at its Jinhae, South Korea site in May next year. The site's current capacity of 17,000 tonnes will increase to around 40,000 tonnes. The expansion will meet increasing demand from Asia, and especially from China.
Atoglas reckons to be the world's largest producer of PMMA, with around 20 per cent share of the global PMMA market. Its acrylic resins and sheet are sold under the Altuglas brand name in Asia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East and as Plexiglas in North and Latin America. Polycarbonate sheet is marketed as Tuffak worldwide.
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