Arya Sasol plans maintenance shutdown at 1 mln tpa cracker at Assaluyeh

(plastemart) -- Iran's Arya Sasol Petrochemical has planned a maintenance shutdown at its 1 mln tpa cracker at Assaluyeh. Scheduled to start mid-April, the shutdown is expected to last for two to three weeks and are expected to lead to reduced exports this month. Additionally, Morvarid Petrochemical is in the process of restarting its 500,000 tpa cracker at Assaluyeh after an unplanned shutdown in late March for technical modification works. The cracker had come on stream after mid-March this year and was to supply output as feedstock to Arvand Petrochemical Co's complex at Bandar Imam, which was in the commissioning process.

MRC

(BASF) -- BASF is repositioning its global pigments business. Following the Ciba acquisition, the chemical company now has the broadest product portfolio worldwide as well as a unique range of technologies and production know-how when it comes to pigments. After an in-depth analysis of the combined operations, the company will eliminate specific products and adapt production capacities to market developments. As a consequence, approximately 500 of the current 2,900 jobs in the global pigment production will be redundant. The measures, which mainly concern azo pigments and phthalocyanines, will begin this year and are expected to be completed by 2013. BASF currently operates 22 production sites for pigments worldwide.

In Europe, about 320 positions will be cut by 2013. This will mainly affect the sites in Paisley, Great Britain, and in Grenzach, Germany. About 90 positions will be cut at the South American site in Guaratingueta, Brazil. The redundancies at North American sites in Louisville, Kentucky, and Elyria, Ohio, will total about 80 positions.

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MRC Reference

BASF. The share in the Russian market in 2008:
PS - 9.1% (GPPS - 5.9%, ABS - 11.4%, EPS - 10.6%).

Annual sales growth in Russia over the 5 years:
PS - 15%.

Imports by polymers processing technologies:
foaming;
injection molding.

PVC-S output in January - February exceeded the same index of the previous year by 19%, and moved at 95.03 kt. Nearly all feedstock volumes were shipped to the domestic market. Only 40 tons of resin were exported in January - February.

Awaiting drop in PVC-S supply, many converters began to build up stocks already at the end of March. In February consumption in window profile and vinyl siding sectors increased. Stronger demand was also observed in the sector of PVC compounds. Plans of Sayanskkhimplast and Kaustik to suspended operations for scheduled maintenance in May turned out to be an additional reason for converters to build up stocks.

Despite continuously weak demand for finished goods made of PVC, importers increased feedstock supply in Russia in February. Suspension imports went up by 65%, comparing with January, and moved at 10.83 kt.

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More detailed information about PVC market can be found in MRC Monthly reports.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.(BUSINESS WIRE) -- Cereplast, Inc., a leading manufacturer of proprietary bio-based, sustainable plastics, today announced the launch of the new investor relations platform of the Company's website.

"Cereplast's new investor relations section shows that the Company is making continuous efforts to promote its brand and better communicate with investors and the analyst community," said Mr. Frederic Scheer, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Cereplast, Inc. "Cereplast's new investor relations page offers improved functionality and features that allow users to obtain a better understanding of the Company's strategic vision while granting easy access to detailed financial information about the Company."

The new investor relations section on the Company's website developed by shareholder.com, a NASDAQ OMX company, offers better navigation and provides visitors with user-friendly information in a variety of downloadable and printable formats. The website also allows visitors to register and receive the latest information about the Company, enhancing the Company's transparency and responsiveness to investors.

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(prw) -- Korean additives and materials company Songwon Industrial has strengthened its customer support in the UK and Ireland by appointing Elastomerics as the distributor of its polymer stabilisers portfolio. ⌠The UK and Ireland is one of our core European markets and demand for Songwon products continues to strengthen said Dieter Morath, executive vice-president EMEA/SEA, Songwon International.

⌠Elastomerics will allow us to offer customers experienced and highly skilled support. Their knowledge of the market and products extends beyond additives and they have built a reputation based on technical capability and quality of service. Gordon Cook, managing director of Elastomerics, added: ⌠Our partnership with Songwon is of tremendous value to both of us. More importantly, it will deliver greater value to customers.

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