WACKER expands polymer site in China and builds two new production facilities

(wacker) -- Wacker Chemie AG is expanding its Chinese polymer activities by investing around EUR40 million in building two new production facilities at its Nanjing site.

As announced by the Munich-based chemical group today, it is expanding the site's existing facilities for vinyl acetate-ethylene copolymer (VAE) dispersions by adding a new reactor with an annual capacity of 60,000 metric tons. This measure will double Nanjing's VAE dispersion capacity to approx. 120,000 metric tons per year, making the complex one of the biggest of its kind in China.

The new reactor is scheduled to come on stream in mid-2013. At Nanjing, WACKER is also building a new plant to produce polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) solid resins with an annual capacity of 20,000 metric tons. This plant is due for completion in early 2013.
MRC

(bpipoly) -- Sales increased to GBR508 million (2010: GBR478 million) and operating profit, before net restructuring, increased to GBR21.6 million (2010: GBR17.9 million) reflecting another excellent performance from our European operations.

Adjusted profit before tax (before net restructuring gains* and net pension financing) rose by 21% to GBR19.1 million (2010: 15.8 million). Adjusted diluted earnings per share were 46.92p (2010: 38.31p), an increase of 22.5%.

On a statutory basis, the profit before tax was GBR19.2 million (2010: GBR16.7 million). Diluted earnings per share were 50.25p (2010: 51.07p).

Final dividend per share increased to 8.50p per share (2010: 7.85p), making a total for the year of 12.5p per share (2010: 11.5p). Net borrowings reduced to GBR31.0 million (2010: GBR45.6m).

British Polythene Industries (BPI) is one of Europe's largest producers of polyethylene packaging. It's also one of the largest recyclers, touting its firsts in recycling techniques for polyethylene scrap. The company's wares include packaging for consumer care products, frozen foods, snacks, cigarettes, and candy. BPI also makes film products including shrink, stretch, laminate, and coated films designed to protect goods in transit. Industrial products include heavy-duty sacks used by the chemical, horticulture, aggregate, and animal feed industries. BPI's recycled products division makes such items as molded outdoor furniture, refuse and recycling sacks, agricultural, and construction films.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Kazanorgsyntez announced the increase in contract prices of coloured PE100 by Rb1,500/tonne. However, despite the beginning of March, many Russian converters are in no hurry to form additional stock inventories of pipe PE, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

Due to the cold February the demand for pipe PE was weak in the Russian market last month. There was a slight revival in the market in early March, mostly resulted from the traditional spate of feedstock purchases in the beginning of each month. The supply of PE was also tight in the market.

Kazanorgsyntez announced an increase in contract price of black PE100 by Rb1,500/tonne, excluding VAT from 5 th of March. The company plans to suspend temporarily the production of black PE100 in the second half of the month. Spot quotations of PE2NT11-9 at the end of last week were at Rb66,000-67,000/tonne, VAT, FCA Kazan.

Despite such a significant rise in prices of the Russian Black PE100, many converters do not hurry to form additional stock inventories. A losing February, the absence of significant orders for finished pipe in March, as well as the presence of uncoloured PE100 (so-called uncoloured matrix) hold back many market participants. Companies are not ready to buy a more expensive colored material.

The March prices in the foreign markets grew more significantly. European producers have raised export prices of black PE100 for delivery in the current month to EUR1,400-1,500/tonne, FCA. Asian producers offer coloured PE100 for March on average for USD1,650-1,680/tonne, FOB.

MRC

(plastemart) -- Last week, local PE prices in Southeast Asia moved higher, following the increases in import prices on announcement of higher March prices from overseas producers last week.

Sellers cited firm costs and relatively limited supply as support for their price increases while demand was said to be regular in the region. In India, domestic producers began the month by announcing price hikes for LLDPE, HDPE and LDPE, with LLDPE seeing the largest hikes and LDPE the smallest. These increases came on top of the price increases implemented during the month of February for HDPE and LLDPE.

Domestic producers in Malaysia have also announced their initial March PE prices with significant hikes from February, with LDPE and LLDPE prices seeing larger increases than HDPE prices. Higher ethylene costs were cited as the main factor pushing sellers to revise their price for March.

In Indonesia, domestic producers opened the week by announcing increases on their domestic HDPE and LLDPE offers, with their LLDPE price hikes being relatively higher than their HDPE increases. "We lifted our prices in accordance with firmer upstream costs and limited availability following a small production hiccup at our plant," a producer source reported.

A plastic bag manufacturer in the Philippines reported receiving higher prices for locally-held import HDPE and LLDPE film this week, commenting that the increase amounts for LLDPE and HDPE have been similar.

In Thailand, distributors and converters report that prices for locally-held material have been stable to slightly firmer over the past week. ⌠Local supply for most PE products is tight these days and we are struggling to secure enough material to cover our needs, a plastic bag manufacturer in the country stated. Another converter commented, "Supply is tight and we are having a difficult time securing sufficient stocks these days. We are a bit worried about our end product business as it becoming increasingly difficult to maintain profitable operations in the face of persistently rising raw material costs."



MRC

(Reuters) - An accident at the PKN-Orlen-owned Lietuva refinery in Lithuania on Friday caused an explosion, killing two workers, the refinery said in a statement.

"During an accident which occurred today at the Deep Conversion Complex (KT) two persons died when a portable vacuum tank exploded," the statement said. The statement gave no information about whether production at the refinery had been affected.

PKN ORLEN operates 7 refineries, of which 3 are located in Plock, Trzebinia and Jedlicze (Poland), another 3 in Litvinov, Kralupy and Pardubice (the Czech Republic) and 1 in Mazeikiu (Lithuania). The total deep processing capacity of the refineries reaches 31.7 million tonnes per annum (PKN ORLEN share).

MRC