Amcor announced a major expansion of PP bottle capacity in the U.S and Canada

(amcor) -- Amcor Rigid Plastics, the world's leading producer of rigid plastic packaging, has announced a major expansion of extrusion blow molded PP bottle capacity in the Midwest, Southwest, and Canada in response to strong market demand for packaging for food and nutritional supplements.

The multi-million-dollar expansion at production facilities in Batavia, Ill., Fort Worth, Texas, and
Brampton, Ontario, also enables Amcor to shift its manufacturing footprint closer to key customers to deliver key
sustainability advantages including improved logistics and reduced transportation costs.

The new capacity is primarily for production of multilayer polypropylene (PP) containers - a product line acquired
in August 2010 from Ball Plastics Packaging Americas - along with HDPE containers with PCR content for
personal care and household uses. "Since the acquisition, we've taken a business rich in know-how and
innovative technology to a new level," said Laurel Spencer, Vice President of marketing for Amcor Rigid Plastics
North America, Diversified Products.

"Our strategy is to invest in new manufacturing to support growth in leading markets while meeting the needs of our customers in these key regions."

MRC

(polyestertime) -- Porex Corp. of Fairburn, Ga., introduced its antimicrobial Barrier Technology-brand alloy containing a porous base polymer and the chemical antiseptic chlorhexidine. Porex intends to start performance testing with a
medical-device maker en route to commercial sales, said William Midgette, president and CEO.

The microbicidal media kills microbes in liquid and gas streams on contact and can be integrated into porous
media for venting, filtrating, wicking and diffusing applications.

Barrier Technology addresses increasingly more-specific demands posed by infections, and questions about the
level of effectiveness of current technologies including silver ion-based antimicrobial agents, said Rusty Martin,
Porex global manager of advanced solutions.

Hospitals want an alternative to antibiotics in treating infections. Since 2010, Porex has invested several
hundred thousand dollars and the time of a dozen employees in pursuing the Barrier Technology concept.
MRC

(polyestertime) -- Danone has followed Coca-Cola in partnering with bio-technology developer Avantium, who will produce ecofriendly bottles for the global drinks manufacturer.

The partnership between Avantium and Danone Research will see bottles produced from polyethylene furanoate
(PEF), a 100% biobased alternative to polyethylene terephthalate (PET), for use by Danone in its bottled water.
Avantium did not disclose the scale or timeline of water bottle production for Danone, but the news comes
months after Coca-Cola agreed a contract with Avantium as one of three research firms looking at replacing
purified terephtalic acid (PTA) in its eco-friendly PlantBottle with plant-based materials.

PEF is made using Avantium's YXY technology, which converts carbohydrates from plants, grains, energy crops,
lignocellulosic matter, waste streams, waste paper or agricultural residues, into a variety of bio-based polymers.
The bio-sourced material can deliver superior light weighting, barrier and thermal properties versus conventional
PET technology, according to the Netherlands-based company.
MRC

(hydrocarbonprocessing) -- Westlake Chemical has opened an office in Singapore this week, the US-based petrochemicals and polymers firm said, seeking to increase its global presence.

The official opening ceremony for the office was attended by Westlake chairman James Chao and other company officials. "We are excited to open this new office in Singapore to serve as a platform for our greater Asian and global strategy, Mr. Chao said.

⌠Our company has a strong historical presence in the region and this office will further strengthen our operations and our ability to compete on a global basis."

The office will be led by Mr. David Chao, director of business development in Asia for Westlake. It will focus on nurturing existing and historical relationships and seeking new opportunities for growth and expansion in the region, the company said.

Westlake's range of products includes ethylene, polyethylene, styrene, propylene, caustic, VCM, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resin and PVC building products including PVC pipe, windows and fence.
MRC

(hydrocarbonprocessing) -- A consortium of Toyo Engineering and Egypt's state-run ENPPI has won a USD600 million contract to build a 460,000 tpy ethylene plant and a 20,000 tpy butadiene extraction plant as part of Ethydco's petrochemical complex to be established in Alexandria, Egypt.

This will be Toyo's second ethylene plant in Egypt after 300,000 tpy ethylene plant was completed in 2001 for Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals Co. (SIDPEC), the company said.

Toyo and ENPPI, based on the advanced ethylene technology of Lummus Technology of US, will execute the EPC and commissioning under a lump-sum turnkey contract.

Toyo will lead the entire project execution, undertaking project management, basic engineering, a part of detailed engineering, and procurement of key equipment, it said.

ENPPI will be in charge of joint project management, detailed engineering and procurement of other equipment and materials. The plant is scheduled for start-up in early 2015.

Reflecting growing demand for petrochemical products under economic growth in the country, the Egyptian Government in 2001 announced a 20-year petrochemicals master plan to develop the industry under the sponsorship and supervision of the Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Co. (Echem).

MRC