Yara reveals unacceptable payments in Swiss JV

(reuters) -- Yara International, one of the world's largest fertiliser companies, said it had uncovered "unacceptable payments" at its joint venture in Switzerland after an external investigation into possible corruption it initiated last year.

Yara said on Friday it had told Norwegian police about the findings, which follow last year's discovery of possible offences in connection with the establishment of Yara's Libyan Norwegian Fertiliser Company.

Yara has also been charged with suspected corruption involving a possible USD1 million bribe in India during efforts to create a joint venture.

Norway's white-collar crime unit, Oekokrim, is still investigating these matters, Yara said. "We will get to the bottom of this. Such breaches of Yara standards are unacceptable," said Yara's president and chief executive, Joergen Ole Haslestad, in a statement.

The company declined to comment further.

"The suspicions that have arisen concern serious offences and in general it is important for Oekokrim to get to the bottom of these types of affairs," public prosecutor Marianne Djupesland.

"As of today it is too early to say where this will end up in the criminal sense. When it comes to the India and Libya cases, we have come far but there still remain a few issues," she said.
MRC

(plasticker) -- South Korean plastics extruder and waste management firm Mecen IPC is launching commercial production at a newly established joint venture low density polyethylene foam insulation plant in Serbia.

The Seoul-based company linked up with the local firm Evropa-Inex of Novi Banovci, Serbia to invest around ┬4m in the new facility in Nova Pazova. It will serve markets including construction, automotive and air-conditioning systems.

Production equipment to turn out the foam insulation material was installed in the newly built plant, the workforce began training and trial manufacturing began during February. This month (March) saw the start of full production at the new unit.

The joint venture Mecen Evropa Tech will employ a total of 35 during the first year of operation while it plans to recruit a further 60 employees within the next two years.
MRC

(borealisgroup) -- Borealis and Borouge, the world's leading providers of innovative, value-creating solutions for the wire and cable industry, have launched Borlink a technology platform offering a complete global package of power materials, experience, knowledge and support.

Borlink is a wire and cable industry-wide platform cross-linking the technology, products and expertise to connect networks and grids as well as people and their access to energy.

The establishment of Borlink represents another step change innovation, specifically for the wire and cable power industry. It underlines Borealis and Borouge's commitment to the industry as it provides an outstanding resource to help meet the challenges the industry faces in the future. By establishing Borlink, Borealis and Borouge have elevated their total network of support to a new level by helping to facilitate the linking of different grids and energy sources together both regionally and globally.

Borealis and Borouge are recognised throughout the wire and cable industry as trendsetters for innovation in technology and products. With more than 45 years of experience, they are the reliable partners of choice in offering high quality polyolefins for a wide variety of power transmission and distribution cables as well as electrical and fibre optic communication applications.
MRC

(canplastics) -- In a bid to expand its footprint in India, Australia-based PET packaging supplier Amcor Ltd. has acquired Uniglobe Packaging Private Ltd. for USD20.7 million.

Uniglobe is based 150 km north of Mumbai, and produces flexible packaging for the food, personal care, and health sectors.

Amcor is a global packaging company that manufactures PET containers for beverages, flexible packaging for the food and healthcare markets, tobacco packaging, and corrugated boxes. The company has operations across 30 countries and 89 plants; with this deal, it will increase its facilities in India from three to five plants.

⌠This is an important opportunity to expand Amcor's footprint in the high growth Indian market, said managing director and CEO Ken MacKenzie. "The Uniglobe business comes with a strong management team, and a track record of delivering significant annual sales growth."

The purchase is Amcor's second this month: the company also acquired The Aperio Group, producers of flexible packaging products with 13 manufacturing facilities across Australia and New Zealand.
MRC

(canplastics) -- Not-for-profit industry association the American Chemistry Council (ACC) has turned to Facebook to help consumers learn more about plastics recycling.

The Washington, D.C.-based group's Recycle Your Plastics site is intended to be "an educational community devoted to sharing plastics recycling news and information," the ACC said. "Users can look forward to receiving updates on tips, trends and opportunities in plastics recycling quickly and on a regular basis."

"We've seen a steady increase in opportunities to recycle more plastics over the past several months, and we want to make sure people are aware of these developments, said Steve Russell, the ACC's vice president of plastics. ⌠Facebook is a great way to connect people with information, so that we can all do our part for our communities and the environment. Used plastics are a valuable resource, and it's never been easier to recycle many of the plastics we use every day."

MRC