Icis
en
MOSCOW (MRC) -- Engel, injection moulding machine manufacturer and automation expert, has invested 2.3 m euros in its facility in Dietach, Austria in order to introduce synchronised line assembly and modernise the machine farm in its robot plant, according to plastech. The latest investment in Dietach sees the third Austrian production facility follow suit.
"Thanks to this new structure, we can now achieve short delivery times for the Engel viper linear robot and integrated system solutions, despite full order books", said Dr. Stefan Engleder, Head of Technology and Production at Engel.
One special feature of the line process at Engel is that all work steps occur in sync with the assembly line. Two assembly lines for the Engel viper robots started operations in September. "We can thus cover 90 percent of all orders with line assembly", says Engleder. "And many options are also manufactured in sync."
"Line assembly is Engel's preferred manufacturing concept", Stefan Engleder emphasises. "We continually question the efficiency of our production, and invest in optimisation driven by market requirements. This has helped us to improve our competitiveness worldwide".
As MRC reported earlier, Engel Austria and Cantoni have recently developed together a new intergrated inject2blow method which combines the injection moulding and blow moulding processes in one mould on one injection moulding machine. By introducing this innovative method, the two companies have set a new standard for process integration.
Engel is, as a single brand, the largest producer of injection moulding machinery worldwide and a leader in the field of injection moulding technology. Engel's integrated systems solutions include injection moulding machinery, automation, process technology, tool design, training and service. Engel supplies 50% of all large-scale machines and 35% of the small to medium-sized machines with automation included, and the figures are still rising.
MRC
Engel expands and modernise its production in Austria
European producers had to reduce polyolefin prices again
MOSCOW (MRC) -- European producers had to slash more substantially export polyolefin prices in November despite a slight price cut of contract ethylene and propylene prices, according to MRC Price report.
Due to a high level of oil and naphtha quotations, contract prices of ethylene and propylene in Europe for November shipments slightly dropped: by EUR15/tonne and EUR20/tonne, respectively, from October. However, low demand for polyethylene and polypropylene in both domestic and export markets push European makers to reduce polyolefin prices more significantly, than those of olefins.
The similar situations was in October when contract prices for ethylene and propylene were reduced by EUR10/tonne and EUR20/tonne, respectively. However, European producers had to gradually decrease their export PE and PP prices on sluggish demand. In October, export PE and PP prices for the markets of the CIS countries dropped by EUR40-90/tonne compared to the declared ones at the beginning of the month.
Some market participants expect the October situation to repeat in November and, as a result, are not in a hurry to purchase polyolefins. Negotiations on November export prices in Europe for the markets of the CIS countries have just begun, however, some companies had to get a price reduction. Negotiations on HDPE prices for November shipments started from the level of EUR1,270-1,310/т, FCA, and on polypropylene - EUR1,170-1,220/т, FCA.
mrcplat.com
Price of Russian PS to rollover against expectations
MOSCOW (MRC) – Strong demand for polystyrene amid rising feedstock prices in Europe and Asia are likely to result in the rollover of Russian price of polystyrene for November from October level, according to analysts MRC.
The pricing policy of the Russian makers of polystyrene for November was the main topic of discussion among the buyers of the material in the last ten days of October.
Buyers expected that the price of GPPS would be reduced on the back of the low seasonal demand for the material. At the same time, spot prices of styrene monomer in Europe cut by more than USD100/tonne in October gave a hope to a price reduction of the European material in November.
However, the contract price of the styrene monomer in Europe on 1, November, has not been agreed. The deficit of benzene in October resulted in rising contract prices of it by EUR43/tonne to EUR1,032/tonne, FD NWE.
A similar situation can be seen in Asia. Japanese company Nippon Oil raised its price offers for benzene by USD45/tonne to USD1,285/tonne.
On growing commodity markets in Europe and Asia, market participants in Russia agree that in November the prices of material will be the same. Moreover, the demand for high-impact polystyrene and general purpose polystyrene are kept at a fairly high level.
Gazprom neftekhim Salavat on 1, November kept the prices for November at the rollover from the previous month.
It is expected that the cost of the material from Nizhnekamsk will known on 2, November.
More detailed information you can find in Price report ICIS-MRC.
MRC
German chemical industry changes into reverse gear
Germany's export-oriented chemical companies are being forced to decrease their output levels as the eurozone debt crisis sees demand steadily declining in many nations of the 17-member single-currency bloc.
The German Federation of Chemical Industry (VCI) said on Thursday it expected production in the sector to drop by 3% in 2012 year-on-year.
"Business is currently stagnating in the chemicals industry," VCI President Karl-Ludwig Kley said in a statement on behalf of the over 1,600 firms represented by the umbrella organization.
In the third quarter, output declined by 0.5 %, with domestic sales dipping by 1% . Export sales, however, saw a one percent increase due to heightened demand in the US, South America and Asia, making up for a steep drop in exports to European nations.
"There's no sign of a turnaround on the continent," Kley said. "We see very little chance of a pick-up in Europe as a whole."
MRC
Iranian export ban badly hit PE markets
(apic-online) -- Iran has banned exports of 50 industrial and petrochemical goods as well as foodstuffs early this week, reported Iran’s official news agency IRNA, in an attempt to protect national production. The list of banned export goods include polymers such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), PVC, polystyrene (PS), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS).
This news has created great concerns in global markets particularly in the PE markets of Turkey and China. This is because PE is considered to be the key petrochemical product to be affected by this proposed ban and Iran is a very important source of supply for these two countries. Iran has a PE production capacity of 3.8 million tons per year, which is three times more than the country’s total domestic consumption. Hence, players believe that Iran cannot use all of its PE output internally as it would cause a huge oversupply within the Iranian market.
Many petrochemical companies have made petitions to the government for a revision of the recent ban, according to traders in the country.
This has been a fresh and widely talked topic amongst Turkish players in the PE market since Tuesday, when the market resumed activity after holidays. Iran is a very important source for HDPE in Turkey.
Likewise in China, this news has created some concerns about the future prospect of the availability. Even though the current market sentiment is not strong due to comfortable supplies and poor demand, it has recently started to improve somewhat, which is partially attributed to this news.