During the 45th anniversary celebration of the Malaysian Plastics Manufacturers Association (MPMA), held in Kuala Lumpur on 23 June, President Lim Kok Boon said that local makers can profit from exports as long as they can match high quality with low costs. MPMA also launched its anti-litter campaign and promoted its 3Rs policy.

Malaysia’s state oil company Petronas is undertaking a US$4.7 billion takeover of its Canadian joint-venture partner Progress Energy Resources to gain control of the vast shale gas reserves and advance plans to ship fuel to lucrative Asian markets.

The 26th of June was a proud day for Malaysia as the JEC Asia Composites show, held from 26-28 June in Singapore, honoured the country for its contribution to the composites market. Not only did the ex-Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, receive a lifetime achievement award but so did CEO of CTRM (Composites Technology Research Malaysia), Datuk Rosdi Mahmud, who received a business achievement award. Meanwhile, DK Composites and Petronas Research received innovation awards for their composite innovations.

Speciality chemicals company Perstorp has finalised the set up of the joint venture with Thailand-based chemical producer PTT Global Chemical for the manufacturing and sales of products for the PU industry. PTT Global Chemical holds 51% and Perstorp 49% of the new joint venture named Vencorex Holding.

Japanese firm Kuraray has set up its new PVOH (Polyvinyl Alcohol) resin production facility at its US subsidiary Kuraray America (a wholly owned subsidiary in Houston, Texas).

Rising costs and regulatory challenges are the biggest issues facing European companies in China, according to an annual survey conducted by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China.

German chemical firm Evonik has started construction of its latest production plant for the manufacture of isoprene and isophorone diamine in the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP). Worth EUR100 million, the new plant is expected to come on stream in Q1 2014.

US-based energy company ExxonMobil Corp plans to build a multi-billion dollar chemical plant in Texas to take advantage of cheap North American shale gas. According to news reports, the plant, which could be online as soon as 2016, would sharply crank up the company’s chemical production capacity and help it compete more effectively with rival Dow Chemical.

Belgian firm Solvay’s Thai affiliate Vinythai will build a facility for epichlorohydrin in Taixing, China, to meet the growth of 8% for the chemical in the market. The plant with an initial capacity of 100,000 tonnes/year requires an investment of EUR155 million and should go on stream in H2 2014.

Saudi Arabia’s Petrochemical Industrial (NatPet) has forged a joint venture deal with US firm A. Schulman to produce PP compounds near NatPet’s PP manufacturing complex at Yanbu with a capacity of 100,000 tonnes/year. To be built in two phases, the first phase will cost US$70.9 million of which 40% of it will be funded through equity while the remainder through debt from sources including the Saudi Industrial Development Fund as well as other local banks.

Swiss speciality chemicals company Clariant will continue to implement its profitable growth strategy during the next three years. The company’s main goal is to increase its EBITDA margin from 13.2% in 2011 to above 17% in 2015 and to achieve a return on invested capital (ROIC) that is above peer group average. Clariant will in future generate more than 70% of its sales with core non-cyclical business units.

Japanese firm Teijin DuPont Films, a joint venture between Teijin and E.I. du Pont de Nemours will establish a wholly owned subsidiary, Teijin DuPont Films Korea to market and sell polyester films in the South Korean market.

Chemical company Lanxess is expanding to Turkey with a new subsidiary – Kimya Ticaret. The company said that the country’s geographical location between east and west is an important growth driver for the company.

Victrex Polymer Solutions and Tissa Glasweberei AG have co-developed innovative composite fabrics to be marketed under Tissa’s brand name Tixpref. Made of unidirectional tapes formed from S2-glass or carbon fibres with Victrex Peek polymer, the fabrics assist customers in drastically reducing the cycle time up to 50%.

To prevent industrial accidents, the European Union has imposed tougher management standards on plastic companies. The Seveso III directive, commissioned by the European Parliament, the European Commission and the EU Council of Ministers, will include new safety rules for companies handling toxic chemicals and metallic ingredients in plastics and oil and petrol.

Solvay-owned Rhodia Engineering Plastics has unveiled a new heat-performance Technyl range specifically for injection and blow moulded parts in turbo-charged engines. The PA 6, 6 grades enable engine parts to resist temperatures of up to 210°C, higher than previous grades which were resistant up to 200°C.

Sabic has unveiled its first PC building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) panels for roofing, cladding and glazing applications. Sabic worked with SolbianEnergie Alternative, a flexible PV production company. Lexan BIPV panels combine Lexan Thermoclear PC sheet with flexible PV laminated crystalline cells from Solbian and are available in a broad range of structures, configurations and colours.

German materials firm Bayer MaterialScience (BMS) has helped enhance the official European Championship soccer ball with materials. The Adidas ball is said to have improved properties, allowing for faster acceleration and better control of the ball. The surface texture of the official European Championship ball feels like denim, allowing for better ball control.

Toho Tenax, a core company of the Teijin Group’s carbon fibres and composites business is planning to develop and market carbon fibre fabrics for India’s composite industry in collaboration with Hindoostan Technical Fabrics, a carbon and aramid textile manufacturer. This will be the first time Toho Tenax will partner with a textile manufacturer in India’s carbon fibre sector.

At the general assembly on 21 June 2012 in Bonn the representatives of the member firms of the Plastics and Rubber Machinery Association elected a new Board for the period 2012 to 2015; the new Board members are: Jürgen ARNOLD, battenfeld-cincinnati Germany, Bad Oeynhausen Günter BACHMANN, Coperion GmbH, Stuttgart Michael BAUMEISTER, Brückner Maschinenbau, Siegsdorf Dr. Karlheinz BOURDON, KraussMaffei Technologies, Munich.

US-based Nordson will acquire screw/barrel maker Xaloy for US$200 million purchase price, subject to adjustment, will be financed with available credit facilities. The transaction is expected to conclude during Nordson’s third quarter pending customary closing conditions and regulatory reviews.

Auxiliary equipment supplier Piovan’s latest Lybra doser series, for feeding all types of products, comprises continuous weight-loss gravimetric dosing units, which stand out for their high precision, advanced controls and intuitive user interface.

Japan’s Sumitomo Heavy Industries is investing EUR20 million in the facilities of Sumitomo (SHI) Demag Plastics Machinery in Schwaig and Wiehe in Germany. The investment will allow the company to modernise production systems for injection moulding machines.

AkzoNobel has signed an agreement to supply its pioneering Continuous Initiator Dosing (CiD) technology to Mexichem, one of the world's largest PVC manufacturers. The deal involves three Mexichem plants (two in Mexico, one in Colombia), which will be supplied with organic peroxide by AkzoNobel's Los Reyes site, where EUR9 million is being invested to boost the existing manufacturing capacity.

US extrusion sheet manufacturer Processing Technologies International (PTi) has sold a sheet extrusion system to Aserpet, based in Gaziantep, Turkey, a PET recycler and soon-to-be manufacturer of PET sheet roll stock. The recently completed sale is PTi’s first in Turkey.

Against the backdrop of the Eurozone crisis, next year’s triennial plastic event K2013 is expected to be bigger than the previous event says the show organiser. To be held from 16-23 October in Düsseldorf, Germany, the number of Asian manufacturers from China, Taiwan and India is expected to increase.

Automotive Tier 1 supplier Faurecia has opened a major R&D centre in Pune, India. Equipped with 800 automotive engineers, the new centre will cater for three of its four business groups – interior systems, automotive seating and automotive exteriors.

Injection moulding machine maker Engel Austria’s turnover for fiscal year 2011/2012 reached EUR834 million higher compared to last fiscal year’s EUR358 million. According to the company, two factors in particular have contributed to the upsurge – the introduction of the energy-saving Engel Ecodrive option and the consolidation of system solutions.

Petrochemical company Sabic awarded the KraussMaffei Group a major order – to equip the new Sabic Plastics Applications Development Centre (SPADC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with machines from the KraussMaffei and KraussMaffei Berstorff ranges.

Wittmann Robot has set up a new facility in Nuremberg to meet the strong demand for automation solutions and complete systems. The new building, scheduled to go on stream at the turn of the year, has an area of more than 12,000 sq m.

Interior automotive components manufacturer Johnson Controls (JCI) is providing door panels, seat structures and instrument clusters for the new BMW 3 series, made using a combination of natural fibres and PP that is 20% lighter than conventional components. The parts are said to help reduce fuel consumption, while using renewable materials.

Strengthening its presence in Asia, Rosti has established a subsidiary, Rosti Integrated Manufacturing Solutions (IMS), located in Senai in southern Malaysia.

Indian firm Jain Irrigation Systems will invest US$375 million over the next few years to build sustainable agriculture that will improve income of small farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.

BOPP producer Taghleef Industries has acquired Applied Extrusion Technologies (AET), a US-based manufacturer of specialised BOPP films.

Sabic has shipped its first consignment of ethanolamines and ethoxylates from its manufacturing plant in Jubail, Saudi Kayan, making Saudi Arabia

Rome-based Assobioplastiche and Bangkok-based Thai Bioplastics Industry Association have formed a five-year agreement to carry out R&D of bioplastics.

US-based specialised polymer materials provider PolyOne announced the opening of its innovation centre in Shanghai, China.