SUGAR LAND (MarketWatch) -- Construction has begun on a $175 million expansion of the E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Company (DuPont) (Wilmington, Delaware) plant in Circleville, Ohio, that includes the installation of a Tedlar film line, which will increase the production capacity of solar-panel films. KBR Incorporated (Houston, Texas) was selected to provide consulting services for the new line.
LONDON (ICIS news) -- Equipolymers is still operating below capacity at its Schkopau, Germany, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plant due to ongoing technical problems after its restart following a brief shutdown earlier this month, a company source said on Wednesday.
The plant, which has a capacity of 335,000 tonne/year according to ICIS data, went down unexpectedly in early June because of a power outage.
Another Equipolymers' facility, a 170,000 tonne/year plant in Ottana, Sardinia, was also forced to close for a few days earlier this month following a power outage. The Italian site was only operating at half its capacity, however, due to a lack of feedstock.
(BASF) -- BASF is buying specialty chemicals company Cognis, which is owned by Permira Funds, GS Capital Partners and SV Life Sciences, in a deal valued at ┬3.1bn.
The companies expect the deal, which is subject to regulatory clearance, to go through by November 2010 at the latest.
BASF said it wants to achieve a leading position in personal-care ingredients through the Cognis acquisition, while also strengthening its position in value-added products for home care and establishing a strong position in health and nutrition products.
MRCMRC 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.
23 June 2010 17:15 [Source: ICIS news]
TORONTO (ICIS news)--Chemical, automotive and other exports are leading Germany out of the recession, two economics institutes said on Wednesday in updating their 2010 growth forecasts for Europe's largest economy.
Germany, because of its high dependency on exports, had been hard hit by the recession, said Munich-based Ifo institute. However, now as the global economy was strengthening, Germany was benefiting over-proportionally, the institute said.
Ifo noted strong export demand from markets in Asia, in particular China. Meanwhile, Germany's exports to the US were also improving because of the weakening of the euro against the US dollar since the beginning of the year, it said.
However, demand from eurozone countries - the largest export market for Germany's chemical industry - would remain ⌠restrained because of debt problems and fiscal tightening in southern Europe and the UK, the institute said.
The institute forecast Germany's export growth at 10.8% for 2010, after a 14.5% decline in 2009 from 2008.
Overall, Germany's GDP would grow by 2.1% this year, Ifo predicted - higher than the 1.9% growth the country's central bank, the Bundesbank, forecast in its most recent outlook. Last year, Germany's GDP fell 4.9% from 2008.
Also on Wednesday, Essen-based economic research group RWI said it boosted its 2010 GDP forecast for Germany to 1.9%, from previously 1.4%, largely because of stronger export markets. RWI projected Germany's exports growth at 11.4% this year.
However, both Ifo and RWI said German exports would slow in 2011, largely because of government budget cuts in Europe.
According to Germany's chemical producers group VCI, the country's chemical production will increase 8.5% this year, after a 10% decline in 2009 from 2008.
23 June 2010 10:48 [Source: ICIS news]
SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Saudi Aramco has sold by tender 50,000 tonnes of naphtha for loading from Jubail on 18-19 July, traders said on Wednesday.
The cargo fetched a premium of $8.00/tonne (┬6.48/tonne) to Middle East quotes FOB (free on board), they said.
Asian naphtha crack spread tumbled to $86.68/tonne against Brent crude futures on Wednesday, the lowest since 14 April, ICIS data showed.
($1 = ┬0.81)
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