Domo Polypropylene BV became Ducor Petrochemicals BV.

(Domo chemicals) -- As from July 1st, 2011, Domo Polypropylene BV becomes Ducor Petrochemicals BV. Ducor Petrochemicals, a joint venture between Domo Chemicals and Carmel Olefins, offers a wide range of polyolefins (polypropylene homopolymers, polypropylene block copolymers, polypropylene random copolymers and low density polyethylene) as well as refinery products, such as paraffin wax.

The core business remains unchanged as Ducor Petrochemicals continues to be a market oriented producer of polypropylene. The production in Rozenburg, The Netherlands, guarantees a flexible, customer oriented supply of a wide range of polypropylene products.

The strategic alliance with Carmel Olefins, part of the Oil Refineries Group, enables Ducor Petrochemicals to offer both complementary and supplementary polyolefins as well as other petrochemical products.

MRC

(Plastics Today) -- Rapid prototyping is increasingly helping General Motors accelerate the creative process and reduce the time and money spent on clay modeling and molding of expensive prototype parts for aerodynamic, test track, and on-road evaluations, effectively doubling testing capacity for the OEM over the last two years.

GM says its use of selective laser sintering (SLS) and stereolithography (SLA) have allowed its designers to quickly and inexpensively go from computer models to one-off parts for wind-tunnel testing, for example, so more iterations can be tested in less time. In this case, aerodynamics engineers can put a current production vehicle into the wind-tunnel and quickly swap out RP bumper covers, grilles, spoilers, and mirrors between test runs.

GM points out that in the past, modelers would carve a rough approximation of the front structure and the engine from foam or wood to evaluate the air flow through the engine bay, while today, GM's 3D prototyping lab can generate a fully detailed model including the engine, transmission, brake lines, drive-shafts, exhaust system, suspension, and other components under the car.

MRC

(CENS) -- Formosa Plastics U.S.A. will expand the annual capacity of ethylene of its naphtha cracking complex by 800 KT, from the original plan of 450 KT, with the investment amount exceeding USD 1.5 bln, much higher than USD 900 mln originally, said Li Chih-tsun, chairman of Formosa Plastics, yesterday (July 28).

The expansion project is for the third naphtha cracker of Formosa Plastics U.S.A., which embraces shale gas as raw material, different from the first and second naphtha crackers, which use naphtha as raw material. Following the completion of the expansion project, by 2015 at the latest, Formosa Plastics U.S.A. will boast annual capacity of 2.42 million metric tons of ethylene and 1.24 million metric tons of propylene, compared with 3 million metric tons of ethylene and 2.37 million metric tons of propylene of Formosa Plastics Group`s petrochemical complex in Mailiao offshore industrial zone, Yunlin County.

The expansion project will take place at the Point Comfort production base in Texas and is expected to be approved by 2012. In addition to ethylene and propylene, it also involves the production of downstream EVA.

MRC

(ICIS-MRC) -- ICIS and specialist Russia-based benchmark price provider Market Report Company (MRC) have joined forces again to bring you a weekly polystyrene (PS) price report for the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and international markets. The report combines MRC knowledge of local CIS markets and ICIS expertise on European and Asian markets, giving local and global insight.

The PS price report includes an aggregated price for the product that can be used for settling contracts, as well as detailed information by brand. The report covers domestic prices, import prices, market news, report methodology, 12 month price history for Russia and Ukraine as well as market commentary on each CIS market Europe and Asia.

Now the Russian market of HIPS and GPPS are mostly provided by domestic producers. The market of EPS is presented mostly by the Asian products, as per MRC analyst Roman Lugovskoy. He says, that separate Russian producers intend to substitute a part of import supplies in the nearest time.

The report is available in both English and Russian, with domestic and import price assessments provided by locally-based editors in touch with all key players in the market.

The reports are best used to understand price drivers and fluctuations in domestic CIS markets, and on a global scale, as well as the resulting impact on the CIS market, also to develop detailed analysis from price history, data and graphs to support commercial decision-making.

The joint portfolio of ICIS and MRC also includes: PE, PVC and PP.

MRC

(ICIS) -- Asia's benzene values hit the highest seen in almost three months on the back of rising downstream styrene monomer (SM) prices in this region and an overnight hike in US benzene prices, said traders and producers on Friday.

Spot benzene values were assessed at USD 1.210-1.220/tonne (EUR 847-854/tonne) FOB (free on board) Korea at 12:00 hours Singapore time on Friday, USD 15-20/tonne up from the previous day's close and the highest seen since early May 2011.

Two deals were reported on Friday morning at USD 1.210/tonne FOB Korea for September and at USD 1.220/tonne FOB Korea for October shipment. Bids for prompt September cargoes reached USD 1.205-1.210/tonne FOB Korea, amid limited offers.

The spike in US prices could be also due to expectations about the tightening of supply later this quarter, following limited exports from Asia in June-July, said some traders. The US market is also watching the hurricane season closely and its possible impact on production there, they added.

Meanwhile, sentiment in the Asian benzene market was well supported by the spike in the region's SM values to above USD 1.500/tonne CFR (cost & freight) China, said traders. Some are hoping this price increase will translate to better demand from this key sector in the near term, they added.

MRC