PVC rigid compounds imports from Russia to decrease

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Imports of rigid compounds from Russia in 2009 amounted to less than half of 2008 volumes (29,6 kt) - according to MRC "PVC in Russia - 2010" Annual report.

Before 2008, growing imports of stable dryblend had been observed; in 2008 the volumes reached 61 kt. During the pre-crisis decade compound imports in the Russian market went up 23 times. The last year was a turning-point: Imports barely exceeded 29,6 kt, in H1 2010 - 13 kt.

MRC analysts consider that the market of imported compound is not going to recover to the level of of 2008. In 2008-2009, big converters were increasing their blending capacities (Profine Rus, PK Proplex, DKS etc.). In 2009, Deceunink Rus and Gealan Rus, being the biggest dry blend consumers from their European divisions, also installed their own PVC blenders.

MRC

More detailed analysis of processing capacities and PVC consumption by sectors, markets, finished goods and converters is available in "PVC in Russia - 2010" Annual report.

Formosa's compensation offer accepted

(plastemart) -- Residents in the vicinity of Formosa Plastics Group's naphtha cracker in Mailiao, Yunlin County, have accepted the company's compensation offer at a meeting chaired by the county government.


The residents of Mailiao and of nearby Taihsi accepted FPG's offer to compensate for the damage from the fire to their crops and fish. The county government's agriculture department is to prepare the application procedure and other necessary measures to ease the payments by the company. Yunlin County Magistrate has agreed to the compensation amount at a meeting with FPG top managers, but local residents maintained their demand for a NT$30,000 (US$939) work safety payment per person.

MRCMRC Reference

Formosa

The share in the Russian market in 2008:
PVC-S - 3.0%;

PP - 0.4%.

Annual growth sales in Russia :
PVC - 79 % (over the last year) ;

PP - 272 % (over the last 3 years).

Supply by processing technologies:
profile extrusion

film extrusion

New geotextile line opened in Russia

(prw) -- Italian roofing insulation specialist Freudenberg Politex has invested $1.6m to install a new geotextile nonwovens line at its plant in Zavolzhie, in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod region.


The plant's second line, producing material for the firm's Drenotex' geotextile products to a capacity of more than 3,000 tpa, began operating in July 2010. At the same time, the Novedrate, Italy-based firm has increased its local workforce by 10.

The line, which uses raw material from post-consumer PET waste, recycled by Freudenberg Politex, turns out material 6 metres wide in a range of 100g/m2 to 800g/m2. This fabric is destined to be used as geotextile for various construction and hydraulic engineering applications such as road reinforcement, ground drainage and for an anti-contamination layer in waste landfill sites, the company stated.

MRC


Sabic wins contract to supply feedstock for new light bulbs

(Sabic) -- Lighting manufacturer Osram approached Sabic when looking for a new material for its new line of compact fluorescent light (CFL) light bulbs.
Osram selected Sabic's LXD PC resin for the new bulbs, which offer a longer life and 80% lower energy consumption than conventional incandescent bulbs.

Martin Bachler, head of marketing at Osram, said: ⌠We knew Sabic offered the best and broadest portfolio of resins for lighting applications. Not only did Sabic develop a specialised grade of Lexan that met all our requirements for aesthetics and performance, they also provided 10 custom colour choices.

A 20watt CFL delivers the same output as a 100W incandescent and lasts 20 times longer.

MRC

MRC Reference

Sabic. The share in the Russian market in 2008:
PE - 0.2%;
PP - 0.4%;
PS - 0.2%.

Annual sales growth in Russia over the last 5 years:
PE - 33%;
PP - 62%.


La Seda de Barcelona to decrease PET capacity 2 times

(plastemart) -- Spanish PET producer La Seda de Barcelona SA plans to halve its PET capacity by disposing off non-core polymer and raw material plants in Italy, Portugal, Greece, Turkey and Spain as part of a radical restructuring plan. The vertically integrated group that saw rapid growth with a series of major European acquisitions has decided to hive off non-strategic operations, sell excess land and reduce overall workforce by another 300 to adjust to the planned reduced PET capacity. With this, the company will reposition itself as a leading PET solutions company, and focus largely on its PET packaging business. The company has started to negotiate layoffs at its PET and raw material plants at El Prat de Llobregat and Tarragona in Spain. Plans are being considered to close its PET plant at La Roque, Spain unless it gets agreement to a plan to a "considerable reduction in labor costs" as well as savings in the cost of raw materials and energy to ensure its future viability. This plant faces mounting competition from the Middle East.

MRC