PetroSA, China's Sinopec partner to build new refinery

(downstreamtoday) -- South Africa's national oil company PetroSA and China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. (SNP), known as Sinopec, will build a refinery that could process several hundred thousand barrels of oil a day and cost several billion dollars to construct.

PetroSA Group Chief Executive Nosizwe Nokwe said Monday that by teaming up with the Chinese company it would enable the national oil company to complete the "mega" project, which has been in discussion since 2008 but has struggled to find sufficient funding.

China's resource companies are driving much of the country's foreign investment on the continent. In 2011, Standard Bank estimates merger-and-acquisition activity from China on the continent totaled USD5 billion.

China has also become Africa's biggest trading partner and the new refinery could play a role in helping China's ambition to expand global resource trading by being a destination for crude oil.
MRC

(thefinancialexpress) -- India has emerged as a growing market for local woven polypropylene (WPP) bags, which industry owners attributed to huge demand of the world class packaging materials in the neighbouring country's cement sector.

They said India has a large cement market which is expanding day by day, but it has no adequate packaging material factories to meet up their growing demand. So they are gradually depending on Bangladeshi WPP cement bags (adstar bags).

Nearly 5,000 tonnes of WPP cement bags are being used in the fast growing developing country monthly. Local Bengal Plastic Industries Ltd, Madina Polymer Industries Limited, and Akij Group export plastic WPP bags in the South Asian country.

The export prospect of the product in the European Union and USA has also become bright following the anti -dumping duty and wage hike of workers in China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.

Now EU and USA are importing nearly 75 per cent of the local WPP bags.

Once China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand would meet up the Eurozone demand but now they are reducing production following the wage hike, said industry people.

MRC

(basf) -- BASF recently gained a further TUV certificate ( DIN Certco) for the previously certified compostable adhesive Epotal ECO.

The water based biodegradable adhesive by BASF is now even more powerful. Higher adhesion levels can be reached by combining the adhesive dispersion with a special curing agent.

Epotal ECO is a water based adhesive that first gained the certificate for compostable additives, granted by DIN Certco, in 2010. Test results show that within 70 days Epotal ECO is decomposed by 90 percent. After decomposition Epotal ECO leaves no toxic residues nor shows any negative effects on the environment. In addition, Epotal ECO retains all the advantages of water based adhesives: high green strength, absence of any toxic substances and thus enables an immediate subsequent processing.

Together with Epotal ECO, all usual biodegradable materials can be adhesively bonded. It is particularly suitable for the production of completely compostable packaging based on plastics. First prototypes such as candy-, coffee- and instant soup-packaging demonstrate that suitability in practice. Interest in compostable materials is growing in other fields of application, for instance shoe-, carpet-, clothing- and sporting goods-industries. Epotal ECO is realizing new product ideas in all of these industries.

MRC

(kuraray) -- Kuraray Co., ( Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo) has agreed to acquire MonoSol, LLC., a U.S. based manufacturer of polyvinyl alcohol film, in support of Kuraray's strategy to expand its "Vinyl Acetate Chemical Chains Business" which is one of the core businesses of Kuraray, and has reached an agreement with MonoSol Holdco, LLC, the parent company of MonoSol, regarding this transaction.

MonoSol is a leading manufacturer of poval films for various industrial applications such as packaging films for unit dose detergent products as well as agrochemicals and dyes, mold-release films for synthetic marble and so on.

Through this acquisition, Kuraray will expand its product offering of poval films into a wider range of industrial applications. Kuraray currently supplies poval film for optical-uses including a polarizing film, which is an essential component of liquid crystal displays. MonoSol manufactures complementary film products.

Kuraray will accelerate the expansion and development of its global "Vinyl Acetate Chemical Chains Business" through organic collaboration among Japan, U.S., Europe and Asia. The transaction is subject to formal approval by the regulatory authorities.

MRC

(emballagedigest) -- Berlin Packaging, a leading full-service supplier of plastic, glass, and metal containers and closures, announced the acquisition of Connecticut-based Lerman Container in a transaction that expands the company's geographic coverage and team of packaging solution experts. It marks Berlin Packaging's third strategic acquisition since 2010, when the company acquired Pittsburgh-based All-Pak and Chicago-based Continental Packaging Solutions.

The combined company will have 2012 revenues exceeding USD700 million, over 110 packaging consultants, and more than 80 sales offices and warehouse locations across North America.

Established in 1979, Lerman is a packaging distributor with marquee customers across multiple vertical markets. The acquisition: - Augments Berlin Packaging's presence in the Northeast by adding Lerman sales and customer service staff in Connecticut and New Jersey, providing easier access to innovative, cost-effective packaging solutions for Berlin Packaging customers in those markets.
MRC