Indorama to invest in three new plants in India

(polyestertime) -- Singapore-based Indorama Corporation plans to invest up to Rs 1,000 crore within three years in India to set up three manufacturing facilities to produce spandex fibre, used in various applications like stretch denims and sportswear.


The company, which is present in India through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Indorama Industries Ltd, has already invested Rs 400 crore for its first plant at Baddi in Himachal Pradesh. Two new units will come up at the same location.

"In the next three years, when all the three plants are completed the investment will reach Rs 1,000 crore," Indorama Corporation Managing Director Amit Lohia said. The company would fund the expansion process through a mix of debt and equity, he added.


The Baddi plant, which will be commissioned next month, has a capacity of 5,000 tonnes per annum to produce its branded spandex product 'Inviya'. "With the commercialisation of three plants, our total capacity to produce Inviya will treble to 15,000 tonnes per annum over the next three years," Lohia added.

The company, which exports polyester yarn to India, is looking to cash in on the high growth of
spandex utilisation in the country. According to the company estimates, the consumption of spandex in India is nearly 6,000-7000 tonnes per annum, all of which is imported.

MRC

(arkema) -- Arkema Coating Resins has introduced Celocor opaque polymer, a voided latex product that imparts hiding and functions as a partial replacement for titanium dioxide (TiO2). Compared to competitive opacifiers with similar functionality, Celocor opaque polymer offers a more balanced approach to performance attributes such as tint strength, gloss development, burnish resistance and scrub resistance.

"We recognize that the cost and availability of TiO2 are among the most important issues that coatings formulators are facing today," Eric Kaiser, Global Marketing Director for Arkema Coating Resins, explained. "Celocor opaque polymer gives paint developers more formulating options in their approach to TiO2 reduction."

Celoco opaque polymer provides an effective way to reduce raw material costs and improve hiding in a wide range of products, including interior or exterior coatings from flat to semigloss. Additionally, this product meets the standards of Arkema Coating Resins EnVia program and is designed to help formulators achieve their sustainability and regulatory goals in finished coating products.
"Everything we do is based around the needs of the formulator," Kaiser said. "In speaking with our customers, we found that they are very interested in having more options for TiO2 reduction while maintaining a good balance of performance attributes in their products. Our new Celocor opaque polymer meets that need."



MRC

(3sigma) -- 3 Sigma is installing a wide-format specialty coater, with production trials beginning in the first quarter of 2012. The new coater, designed and built to 3 Sigma specifications, will accommodate 76-inch web materials and can apply multiple coatings and/or adhesives on both the front and back of the web. A laminating station produces pressure-sensitive constructions with liner or multi-layered product designs.

Announcing the new capability, Mike Sotzing, 3 Sigma Vice President of Operations, said, ⌠This new 3 Sigma specialty coater will be our most versatile piece of equipment.


With it, 3 Sigma will be able to produce more complex applications and constructions for specialty and niche markets, as well as those we now serve. When installation is complete, 3 Sigma will operate 14 coating lines. We saw significant growth in 2011 and expect another major leap forward in 2012 by virtue of this expanded capability.

Since 1980, 3 Sigma has been a fast-growing, resourceful innovator of specialty top-coating and pressure-sensitive adhesive coated products. 3 Sigma offers expertise in solvent, emulsion, and hot melt technologies, to provide the optimum solution for any label need.

MRC

(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