HaloPolymer fluoroplastics meet FDA standards

(gv) -- Fluoroplastics F-4 and F4-D, manufactured by HaloPolymer Perm and HaloPolymer Kirovo-Chepetsk, have been successfully tested in the American Laboratory of Intertek Regulatory Services and have been proved to be safe in compliance with the following Directives of the Food and Drug Administration USA (FDA): 21 CFR 177.1550 and 21 CFR 177.1380, which set the requirements for perfluorocarbons in the food industry.

According to Maxim Doroshkevich, the CEO of HaloPolymer, "Fluoroplastics are widely applicable in the food industry: it is used for manufacturing some parts of equipment, packaging, and coating, which are in contact with food and drinking water. In the USA, at the request of the FDA, each product which is in contact with food must be proved safe. In this regard, foreign refiners use fluoroplastics which have been tested for their compliance with the FDA standards."

HaloPolymer, OJSC is one of the largest world producers of fluoropolymer products (9% of the world market) and the only Russian producer of specialized fluoropolymers (melt processable fluoroplastics and fluoroprenes). The Company is number one Russian producer of freons and one of the leaders in production of inorganic chemistry materials (acids, alkalies, salts).
MRC

(Platts) -- The European petrochemicals market is unlikely to suffer from severe declines in the fourth quarter of 2012 despite the continuing weakness in demand, Tom Crotty, Ineos group director, told during the European Petrochemical Association Conference in Budapest.

In an interview, Crotty, who is also president of the EPCA, said the Q4 market will continue to be difficult as consumer confidence remained "pretty ropey" on the back of the weak macroeconomic environment in Europe.

"But it's not going to be Armageddon. If it was, it would have happened already," Crotty said.

Crotty expects the rest of the year to be "slow and steady," noting that he does not envisage a "hard bump landing" following the unexpected rebound in the third quarter, fueled mainly by stock replenishment after prices plunged in Q2 in line with the fall in the upstream energy prices.

As for 2013, visibility is unclear, he said, but added that "depressed" demand, on continuing economic uncertainty, and feedstock pricing volatility will likely remain key features of the market in the first quarter.

One of the leading olefins and polyolefins producers in Europe, Ineos has steam crackers in Grangemouth in the UK, Rafnes in Norway and Cologne in Germany with a combined capacity of over 2.5 million mt/year. It also owns a 50% stake in the Naphtachimie joint venture which runs the 740,000 mt/year Lavera cracker in France. The other 50% is held by Total Petrochemicals. The company also produces polyethylene, polypropylene and other derivatives at its European sites.

MRC

(plasticsinfomart) -- The world’s most valuable brand Coca-Cola Enterprises will invest EUR6.5 million in its joint venture with PET recycler APPE to expand a recycling facility in Beaune, France. According to Coca-Cola, the investment will boost the capacity of the plastics reprocessing facility by 70% and enable it to recycle 20,000 additional tonnes of plastic into food-grade packaging per year.

The investment will introduce "state-of-the-art technology, enabling more efficient recycling". Coca-Cola will also fund a research project to examine how consumer behaviour change strategies can improve at-home recycling rates in Great Britain and France, which both lag behind many European countries. "Our goal to lead our industry in sustainable packaging and recycling means we must support and promote improvements throughout our value chain," said John F Brock, the Chairman and Chief executive of Coca-Cola Enterprises.

"These initiatives aim to address two of our biggest challenges in this area – improving recycling rates by influencing consumer behavior at home and meeting the increasing demand for recycled PET through investments in strategic infrastructure projects," he added.
MRC

(bloomberg) -- Advanced Petrochemicals Co. (APPC) dropped to the lowest level in almost two months after the Saudi manufacturer of polypropylene products said third-quarter estimated profit retreated 26 % on lower prices.

The shares fell as much as 1.2 % to 25.2 riyals before closing at 25.4 riyals, the lowest level since Aug. 11. The kingdom’s benchmark Tadawul All Share Index slipped 0.4 %, the most since Sept. 29, to 6,863.30.

"As polypropylene prices, on average, continue to remain soft in 2012, we are revising downwards our 2012 and 2013 net income estimates to 321 million riyals (USD86 million) and 494 million riyals respectively," Riyad Capital analysts including Muhammad Faisal Potrik said in an e-mailed note today. Potrik cut the share-price estimate 3.1 % to 31 riyals.

Advanced Petrochemicals’ net income for the three months ended Sept. 30 declined to 100 million riyals from 136 million riyals in the year-earlier period, the company said yesterday. Full-year profit may drop 41 % to 304 million riyals this year.

Advanced Petrochemical Company (ADVANCED), a Saudi joint stock venture, commercial production was started in the first quarter of 2008. The facility produces 450 thousands tones per year of polypropylene. PP enjoys high international demand as it can be processed by virtually all thermoplastic-processing methods.


MRC

(gv) -- Bangladesh could emerge as a major player in the global plastic market if it manages to increase its turnover to USD2 billion by 2015 and USD4 billion by 2020, according to a United Nations case study.

Thus, the government will reallocate plastic factories of Old Dhaka, where around 1,200 unplanned plastic facilities are situated, to a new industrial zone asap, industries minister Dilip Barua said 1 Oct. 2012. The move comes after the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific of the United Nations has recently asked the government to set up a separate economic zone for the plastic industry.

"A special industrial zone will be built to bring more discipline to the sector and to generate more exports," Barua said, "The government is ready to give any kind of policy support to the sector as it has enormous potential."

Plastic products represent a sizeable sub-sector in the chemical industry, with a market size of around USD1 billion, USD714 million of which is thanks to the domestic market. The growth rate for the last 20 years has averaged at more than 20 percent, said Jasim, also a first vice-president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI).
MRC