China's Shen Hua shuts butadiene rubber plant on poor demand

(chemnet) -- China's Shen Hua Chemical Industrial shut its butadiene rubber plant in Nantong on Wednesday for about a month, a source close to the company said Thursday.

High butadiene feedstock costs and poor domestic demand were among the factors leading to the shutdown of the 72,000 mt/year BR plant.

A decision to shut the plant was made late December.

Several domestic tire producers have been operating their plants at reduced rates, citing poor demand from overseas markets such as the US and Europe, and as a result, tire and rubber inventories have increased, industry sources said.

Several BR rubber producers were operating their plants at about 60-70% of capacity, a producer said.

Rubber stocks are estimated at about 250,000 mt in Qingdao, of which 220,000 mt comprise natural rubber and 30,000 mt synthetic rubber, a rubber dealer said Wednesday.

Butadiene costs have risen as end-users have sought to secure their feedstock requirements ahead of turnarounds, both locally and overseas.

For instance, Sinopec Maoming plans to shut its No. 1 naphtha-fed steam cracker in southwestern Guangdong province over February 13-25 for scheduled maintenance.

The cracker supplies crude C4 feedstock to a 50,000 mt/year butadiene extraction unit, which will run at an undisclosed reduced rate as a result of the shutdown.

MRC

(styron) -- Styron Europe GmbH and its affiliate companies in Europe announced price increases for all polystyrene and copolymers grades. Effective immediately, or as existing contract terms allow, the prices for the products listed below will increase as follows: general purpose polystyrene grades (GPPS) by 140 Euro/tonne, high impact polystyrene grades (HIPS) by 150 Eur/tonne, ABS resins by 160 Eur/tonne, SAN resin by 125 Eur/tonne.


The price increase responds to the accelerating costs associated with the manufacturing of polystyrene and copolymers grades in Europe.

Styron is a leading global materials company, dedicated to innovate and deliver for its customers. Styron's unique and balanced product portfolio brings together plastics, rubber and latex businesses that share feedstocks, operations, customers and end users.

The company benefits from global scale, a long-standing tradition of unrivaled customer relationships and a robust innovation pipeline. Styron has approximately USD 5 billion in revenue, with 20 manufacturing sites in all geographies.

Styron's 2100 employees are committed to listen to customers' needs and provide them with innovative and sustainable solutions in markets such as appliances, automotive, building and construction, carpet, commercial transportation, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical and lighting, medical, packaging, paper and paperboard, rubber goods and tires.

MRC

(dsm) -- DSM is to make further investments in its Kaohsiung polymerization facility in Taiwan to upgrade and develop the company's Specialty Polyamide capabilities for its Novamid and Akulon Polyamide engineering plastic business. The Kaohsiung site has been a part of DSM since 2010 and already produces specialty Polyamide 6 and 6/66 materials for its Novamid product line.

Construction has already begun and the investment is expected to be completed by the last quarter of 2012. This investment is in line with DSM's strategy of focused growth and part of the continued expansion of its Akulon and Novamid Polyamide product lines. It also demonstrates how DSM, as a leading supplier of engineering plastics, is committed both to Asia and to the specialty polymers market.

In May 2010 DSM added Novamid to its portfolio through a swap deal with Mitsubishi Chemical Company. The Novamid product line gave DSM not only a foothold in the Polyamide 6 business in the Japanese market but also added Polyamide copolymers and other specialties to the DSM Polyamide portfolio.

"These new capabilities at our Kaohsiung facility will provide a sustainable supply chain for our Polyamide specialties globally" said Richard Pieters, Global Business Director for Polyamide at DSM.

⌠We are extremely committed to the polyamide business. This is crucial to our strategic intent of building a sustainable leadership position in Asia, being one of the High Growth Economies. said Jayant Dhobley, President, DSM Engineering Plastics Asia Pacific.

The exact amount to be invested has not been disclosed.

MRC

(binaniindustries) -- Binani Industries Limited, the holding company of USD 1.6 billion Braj Binani Group, today announced the acquisition of 3B - The Fibreglass Company (3B'), a Europe-based major in fibreglass products and technologies. Binani Industries Limited is one of India's leading global diversified business houses, with interests in cement, zinc, glass fibre, composites and ready-mix concrete.

The Braj Binani Group has acquired a 100 per cent equity interest in 3B from Platinum Equity.

Headquartered in Battice, Belgium, 3B is Europe's leading manufacturer of fibreglass for reinforcement of thermoplastics and thermoset polymer applications, and is a preferred supplier to global leaders in industries including automotive and wind energy.This acquisition is part of Braj Binani Group's strategy to expand its footprint in the global fibreglass market. It further augments the Group's technological and marketing capabilities in the fibreglass business.

Mr Braj Binani, Chairman, Binani Industries Limited, said, ⌠The acquisition, costing us EUR 275 million, will strengthen our group's core operations at a global level.

The group is present in fast-growth business segments, of which fibreglass is one. We are among one of the few groups globally that has a robust presence in this niche segment and we are working to accelerate our fibreglass operations further over the coming years. 3B is therefore a perfect match. We look forward to leveraging its expertise, strong R&D and excellent customer network.

MRC

(celanese) -- Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company and a North American leader in Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA) polymers, announced today that its subsidiary, Celanese EVA Performance Polymers Inc., will increase the price of all grades of Ateva EVA by USD 0.10/pound and all grades of LDPE by USD 0.06/pound, effective March 1, 2012 or as contracts allow.

Customers should contact their Celanese sales representative for more details.

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of specialty materials and chemical products which are used in most major industries and consumer applications.

Celanese products, essential to everyday living, are manufactured in North America, Europe and Asia. Known for operational excellence, sustainability and premier safety performance, Celanese delivers value to customers around the globe with best-in-class technologies. Based in Dallas, Texas, the company employs approximately 7,600 employees worldwide and had 2011 net sales of USD 6.8 billion, with approximately 73% generated outside of North America.

MRC