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Company News

Thai company on PET acquisition trail
Thailand-based Indorama will become the world's largest producer of PET after it acquires US company Invista's more than a million tonne capacity business for US$420 million as well as a 406,000 tonnes/year facility from Guangdong Shinda UHMWPE in China.
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Total in coal olefins project in China
France-based Total Petrochemicals and Chinese energy group China Power Investment Corporation (CPI) are conducting a feasibility study on a world-scale coal-to-olefins petrochemical plant in coal-rich Inner Mongolia. An investment of up to EUR3 billion is expected for the 1 million tonnes/year polyolefins site and will mark a major step for Total in China.
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Taminco enters Chinese market with acquisition
Belgian amines supplier Taminco will acquire 50% equity of Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company (MGC)'s methylamines and derivatives facility in Nanjing, China. This will also be in line with MGC's future strategy to expand speciality derivatives out of methylamines in the rapidly growing Chinese market.
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In Brief

Ashland opts out of distribution
US-based Ashland is selling its distribution business, which distributes plastics, composites and other chemicals in China, US and Europe, to focus on its speciality chemicals business. Of the group turnover of US$8 billion in 2009, the distribution unit accounted for 37% of the sales. The business will be sold to buyout group TPG Capital for US$930 million.

Chemtura revisits Great Lakes
US additives supplier Chemtura is going back to its Great Lakes Chemical's roots by renaming its flame retardants business as Great Lakes Solutions. The latter will also include Chemtura's brominated performance products and fumigants business units. Along with the new brand, the company introduced a new series of what it says are greener flame retardant products. The Emerald series includes polymeric, combination and halogen-free flame retardants and a curing agent for non-halogen PCB epoxy laminates.

Styron new owner of Sumitomo Dow
US-based Styron has taken over the 50% equity that was formerly owned by Dow Chemical in its PC joint venture company with Sumitomo. The transaction is consistent with Dow's divestiture of Styron to Bain Capital Partners in June this year. The 50:50 joint venture is now owned equally by Sumitomo Chemical and Styron. It will operate under a new name that will be announced at the end of this year and will continue to be headquartered in Tokyo. Its PC resins are sold under the trade names of Calibre and Polyca.

More antioxidant capacity and Indian tie-up for Songwon
South Korea-based Songwon Industrial will expand its antioxidants capacity by 15,000 tonnes to 70,000 tonnes next year. The expansion is the result of the consolidation of the Songnox 1076 production into its new fully backward integrated Maeam plant. It will also introduce a new product, Songnox 1076 SB, featuring upgraded critical properties making it more robust and easier to handle. In other news, Songwon has tied up with Indian additives producer HPL Additives to produce in the country.

Teknor Apex closes Sarlink deal
US-based Teknor Apex has completed the acquisition of Sarlink's thermoplastic vulcanisate (TPV) business from former owner DSM. The parties declined to specify the purchase price. The Sarlink operation, including employees, technologies, compounding capabilities and sales operations on three continents, has now become part of Teknor Apex's thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) division.

Healthcare products processor eyes India
German processor of plastic and glass packaging for the medical and pharmaceutical industry, Gerresheimer has opened a representative office in Mumbai, India, to cash in on the country's growing packaging and drug delivery systems markets. The company says the Indian pharma market is gaining in significance as demand for medicines increases, due to the country's improved healthcare system, which gives people greater access to medications. International pharmaceutical groups are now also manufacturing more products in India for both the domestic and export markets. The company also says that its objective is to double its growth in the emerging markets, where it currently generates 10% of its revenue. It has a base in China, where it has seven facilities. Globally, Gerresheimer has operations at 40 sites in Europe, North and South America and Asia.

Nova opts out of jv
Canadian Nova Chemicals has sold its 50% equity in the Ineos Nova joint venture that manufactures PS to its partner Ineos Group, it said in its third quarter earnings report. The company did not disclose the sale price but said it does not expect to record a material gain or loss related to the transaction. The sale will close in the first quarter of 2011. In the third quarter results, the joint venture reported a higher income compared to the period last year, mainly due to higher demand for PS in North America and Europe and improved European demand for expandable polystyrene (EPS) that led to increased margins and sales volumes.

Materials News

Braskem on course with green PP and uses Ineos PE technology
With conceptual studies having been completed, Braskem's 30,000 tonnes/year green PP plant in Brazil is targeted to start up in 2013. Basic engineering studies will be done on the US$100 million plant next year. In other news, Braskem will use Ineos's technology for its HDPE and LLDPE plants in Mexico
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Teijin enters HPPE market
To complete its portfolio of ultra high-performance materials, Japan-based Teijin will enter the high-performance polyethylene (HP-PE) market by establishing its first facility in Emmen, the Netherlands, with start up in 2011. The company says it is targeting a global market share of 15% to 20% by 2015.
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Fibre composite for wind blades comes to Asia
In a bid to enter the European and Asian markets, US-based WebCore Technologies has appointed Belgian fibreglass company 3B to distribute its fibre-reinforced core material solution for utility scale wind blades.
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Santoprene gets global medical push and Vistamaxx for packaging in Japan
US-based ExxonMobil Chemical has appointed another US company PolyOne to market its Santoprene thermoplastic vulcanisate (TPV) medical grades. In other news, ExxonMobil's Vistamaxx elastomer has been approved for food contact applications in Japan.
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Europeans fight product piracy
With product piracy on the rise, Euromap, the European organisation for plastics machinery and mould manufacturers, as well as VDMA, the German machine manufacturers association, are working towards defeating this daunting phenomena that is causing huge losses to affected parties. Meanwhile, Germany-based Polysecure has introduced a solution in the form of chemical markers that are incorporated into materials.
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Label varnishing comes under scrutiny
While analysing stability data of a particularly potent drug stored inside an HDPE bottle, a US scientist discovered that a molecule of a benzophenone, a compound used in the varnish coating of a bottle's label had travelled on its own - through the label and the bottle - before coming to rest on a tablet inside.
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Arkema outlines growth plans until 2015
At its recent Investor Day, French chemicals supplier Arkema detailed its its growth strategy for the next five years with a target of achieving EUR1 billion EBITDA from its vinyl, industrial chemicals and performance product segments, and upping its sales to EUR7.5 billion from the current EU5.8 billion. It expects growth to come from Asia with an increase of 60% sales.
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In Brief

Sudarshan to expand pigment capacity
Indian pigments supplier Sudarshan Chemical Industries will invest US$15 million to expand capacity at its Pune facility. The company says it will more than double some of its production lines to keep up with demand in Europe, the US and China. The products are marketed under the Sudaperm brand. The company has wholly owned subsidiaries in Europe, the US, South America and Asia.

Avery Dennison to increases production anew in its Pune plant
US-based Avery Dennison is expanding capacity and production of pressure-sensitive materials for labelling and packaging at its plant in Pune, India. This is the third time the company has expanded capacity at Pune since it opened the plant in 2008. Avery Dennison has experienced double-digit annual growth in India since entering the country in 1997 and Indian retail sales are projected to grow by more than 50% over the next five years as the country transitions to a more organised retail sector, says research firm Business Monitor International.

Machinery News

Lohia upgrades its converting machinery
Having added the automatic changeover feature on its Autoroto tape winder in 2007, India-based woven sack machinery producer Lohia Starlinger has sold 6,000 of these to date worldwide. Lohia also introduced an upgraded Baby Lofil HT, a yarn making machine for bag makers, at the K show in Germany last month.
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Chinese company buys Macro
Canada-based extrusion machinery producer Macro Engineering & Technology has been sold to DXS International Enterprises, a Canadian corporation owned by Chinese public-listed Dalian Rubber & Plastics Machinery, for C$8.5 million it was reported in DalianNews.
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Higher output from preform cooling system
W. Amsler Equipment, a Canadian manufacturer of all-electric, reheat stretch-blow moulding machines, reports that its new preform cooling system has achieved 13% higher output for production of thickwall PET liquor containers when installed by Canadian blow moulder Westbridge.
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Thermoformer with small footprint and deep draw
US-based GN Thermoforming Equipment has introduced a compact plug-assist thermoformer in response to greater demand for deep-draw parts. The new larger cut-in-place model has 762 mm x 533 mm forming area and expands GN's line of plug-assist machines.
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Gloucester looks to a brighter future
US-based extrusion machine maker Gloucester Engineering is targeting to exit from bankruptcy at the year end, given that it has won approval of its disclosure statement in support of its plan of reorganisation. Its European subsidiary emerged from bankruptcy recently.
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Exhibition News

Packaging show in China receives good response
China will see the first largest showing of a packaging and beverage technology exhibition, Sino-Pack/Drinktec 2011, next year from 9-11 March 2011 in Guangzhou. In fact, the organiser, Adsale, says packaging side of the show is sold out.
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Rubber Journal Asia

Vystar secures latex deal in India
US-based Vystar Corporation, which licenses the low antigenic protein-containing Vytex latex, has secured a three-year agreement with India's KA Prevulcanised Latex, to capture the growing Indian market.
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Lanxess strengthens its rubber business
Speciality chemicals company Lanxess will acquire two rubber chemicals businesses from Flexsys, a division of US-based Solutia, and will invest US$9 million to expand its ethylene vinyl acetate co-polymer (EVM) capacity, at its Dormagen site, by 30% to 15,000 tonnes/year. The new capacity will be available in 2012.
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Single platform for Silplus
Speciality chemicals company Momentive Performance Materials has launched a uniform global platform for its Silplus heat cured rubber (HCR) products.
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Eliokem's Chinese latex plant and new Sunigum grade
French chemical company Eliokem has opened its US$25 million Chinese Pilocord latex plant for the production of tyre cords. Together with its French facility, the company has a capacity of 50,000 tonnes/year making it the largest producer for this type of latex in the global market. The company also recently launched an enhanced grade of Sunigum P2100 for gasketing applications.
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Companies cater to silica growth in Asia
While Wacker Chemie and Dow Corning recently inaugurated their joint integrated silicone manufacturing site in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu province, China, Evonik Industries is planning to increase its silica (precipitated silicic acids) capacity by 25% over the next four years in Europe and Asia.
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. Injection Moulding Asia

Rigid packaging ousts glass and metal
A market analysis commissioned by German injection moulding and thermoforming tooling specialist Marbach Werkzeugbau reveals that rigid packaging remains a highly sought after and value-driven alternative to traditional materials like glass, metal and paperboard for a range of consumer applications.
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