Suspended projects in Map Tha Phut will not change location

(plastemart) -- The Thai Administrative Court has ordered termination of the operating permits of only two industrial projects in the Map Ta Phut, allowing 74 other earlier-suspended projects to go ahead. The two suspended projects are expansions - An ethylene-glycol (EG) plant by TOC Glycol, a unit of PTT Chemical PCL, and a vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) plant by an affiliate of Siam Cement PCL. To get a new licence, the company will have to conduct new environmental and health impact assessments. The two operators have decided not to move location as the long-awaited environmental regulations have shown clarity. The court noted that the two projects might be included in the list of 11 harmful activities recently approved by the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry. Thai Plastic and Chemicals Plc (TPC), a unit of Siam Cement Group, expects the HIA and EIA of its vinyl chloride monomer capacity expansion will be completed by the end of this year. TPC's project to increase capacity by 40,000 tpa is expected to be ready for operation in the Q3-2011.

MRC

Chevron Phillips announces senior management changes

(plastemart) -- Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC (Chevron Phillips Chemical) has announced several senior management changes affecting its joint ventures in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The changes became effective September 1, 2010. Said M. Bajodah has been appointed executive president of Saudi Chevron Phillips Company (SCP) and Michael F. (Mike) Zeglin has been named executive president of Jubail Chevron Phillips Company (JCP). Both SCP and JCP are often collectively referred to as ⌠S-Chem. David E. Morgan will continue to serve as executive president of Saudi Polymers Company (SPCo).


Bajodah and Zeglin are replacing Elija Andjelich, who previously headed the S-Chem organization. Andjelich will transfer to Chevron Phillips Chemical's Dubai office to serve as vice president of business development for the Middle East. Bajodah previously served as senior vice president of finance and administration for S-Chem. Zeglin previously headed the manufacturing organization for S-Chem. To continue to achieve efficiencies and avoid duplication, both organizations will utilize a series of service agreements for operation and staff functions.

MRC

Dow extends pernership with Univar

(prw) -- Univar, a leading global chemical distributor, has announced that the legal entity it established in Greece at the end of July is now fully operational and has signed a distribution agreement with Dow Corning.


The company invested in the territory in order to service an expanded agreement with Dow, with an initial emphasis on selling products for personal care, household and industrial cleaning, coatings and general industrial applications throughout Greece. The agreement will come into effect on 1 October 2010.

Univar already has experience selling into Greece through exports from France and the UK.

MRC

German machine makers report sharp increase in orders in H1

(prw) -- German plastics and rubber machinery makers posted an 85% increase in orders for the first half of 2010, according to the latest data from the sector's representation group within the VDMA German machinery makers association.

Orders from within Germany were up by 26%, while demand from export markets grew by 117%. The Euro-zone economies posted a 51% gain. Order books have now filled out to 6.3 months, compared to just four months at the same time last year, said the VDMA.

While orders are up overall sales for the period from January to June 2010 are lagging 3% below the previous year's total, which the VDMA attributes to a relatively high level of domestic sales in the first half of 2009 (23% down against a 7% increase in export sales). The association is predicting that the rise in order intake during the first half of this year will see the sector achieve sales growth of 11% by the end of the year.

MRC

New method for producing thermoplastic fibre composite developed

(prw) -- Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology (FICT) at Pfinztal, Germany, have developed a new method for producing thermoplastic fibre composite materials designed for large-scale vehicle construction.


Once these materials have reached end of life, says FICT, they can be shredded, melted down and reused to produce further high-quality parts. The materials are also claimed to perform significantly better in crashes than current materials - thermoplastic components reinforced with textile structures absorb the forces generated in a collision through viscoelastic deformation of the matrix material without splintering.

MRC