Elasto plans to begin compounding and marketing its plastics in China

(PlasticsToday) -- Thermoplastic elastomer supplier Elasto already has two production facilities in Europe, but its third will be located further afield as the company has announced plans to begin compounding and marketing its plastics in China. The decision to build there comes just seven months after the TPE compounder signed a distribution agreement with another company for China.

Elasto is the former thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) business of the Vita Group, which it sold to Hexpol in April 2010. Hexpol is a compounder of thermoplastics and TPEs as well as a processor of wheels made from polyurethane, other plastics and rubber. The company is headquartered in Sweden but has a global footprint.

The new China compounding operation is expected to come on-stream in the second half of 2012. It will initially focus on producing exactly those materials mentioned in the distribution agreement with Telko Shanghai. The new compounding facility will operate from Hexpol's existing site near Guangzhou.

MRC

(PlasticsToday) -- C&J Industries (Meadville, PA) now has three Class VIII cleanrooms housing a total of 25 injection molding machines following the completion of a two-phase $6 million plant expansion that boosted production capabilities for the pharmaceutical and medical contract manufacturing firm by more than 50%. The injection molding machines that were added range in size from 20 tons, with a .56-oz shot, to 390 tons, with a 37.5-oz shot. All but one of the presses are Toshiba all-electrics.

C&J has also opened a new and expanded QA lab, as part of the expansion, fully equipping it to accommodate both new tooling and program development, as well as on-going surveillance and monitoring of existing production. The third phase of the building expansion will include the transfer of 17 presses from the general molding room to a nearly finished 12,000-sq-ft addition. That expansion will be a white room and house machines ranging in size from 55 tons, with a 2-oz shot, up to 720 tons, with a 102-oz shot.

The final stages of the expansion, Phases IV and V, entail expansion and renovation of the current contract manufacturing room, converting it into a white assembly room. Once complete, C&J will have a Class VIII medical device assembly room, with updates on these phases to be announced in the next 2-3 months.

MRC

(BASF) -- The Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter (FOM) in the Netherlands and BASF are to start another joint research programme on magnetocaloric materials. This new class of materials may help to make today's cooling systems more efficient and quieter. This is the second joint research project between FOM and BASF and it has a duration of four years. "We aim to achieve an even better understanding of the fundamental magnetocaloric principles, which will help us to develop new materials with improved properties and we will investigate the best routes for large-scale production," says programme leader Prof. Dr. Ekkes Bruck (Delft University of Technology).


FOM and BASF started their cooperation in 2008. The previous research programme yielded new insights into the physics underlying the giant magnetocaloric effect. Together with their industrial partners the researchers are working on the market introduction of the first devices based on magnetocaloric materials.


Magnetocaloric materials heat up in a magnetic field and cool down again when they are removed from it. A heat pump based on magnetocaloric materials may therefore be an ideal alternative for traditional cooling cycles. Cooling systems based on the magnetocaloric effect could significantly reduce energy consumption. "Theoretical considerations reveal an energy savings potential of up to fifty percent," explains Dr. Thomas Weber, managing director of BASF Future Business GmbH.

MRC

(Plastemart) -- Taiwan's businesses have called for the government to lift its ban on Taiwanese investment in naphtha crackers in China. There is an increasing pressure on the government to lift the ban since the planned Kuokuang Petrochemical Technology Co. naphtha cracker complex got scrapped under pressure from environmentalists.

However, as reported by CNA, the minister of economic affairs said that before it reviews its policy, the government will want to see "whether the other side will show some flexibility first." The government views China's restrictions on foreign investment in the petrochemical industry as the key problem. Under Beijing's rules, foreign investors are not allowed to build naphtha crackers in China unless they cooperate with local enterprises, with the Chinese side holding a controlling stake in any joint venture.

MRC

(Arabian Oil and Gas) -- The Ministry of Oil of Iraq has signed an implementation agreement for the construction under BOO terms of the Refinery of Karbala with RKC (Refinery of Karbala Corporation Ltd.) The new refinery will have a daily capacity of 200,000 barrels of crude oil and will produce high quality, high octane gasoline (regular and premium) as well diesel fuel for the domestic market.

⌠Karbala Refinery will be located 100km south of Baghdad on a 6 square kilometer plot of land, and will be the most advanced state of the art refinery with almost full conversion rate and with an estimated cost of USD 6.5 billion said Dean Michael, CEO of Karbala Refinery Corporation.

The Italian Company Saipem will be providing the processing and the technical aspects of the project. Such a Refinery is due to become the most technically advanced Refinery in Iraq with the use of the latest available technologies that will ensure almost full conversion of Crude to final products in line with new Iraqi Laws in Refining and the Environment.

MRC