ENGEL introduces new e mac injection moulding machine series

(plastics infomart) -- ENGEL, the largest producer of injection moulding machinery worldwide and a leader in the field of injection moulding technology, introduced at Fakuma a e mac injection moulding machine series, an all-electric and highly-precise machine that requires very little floor space and is extremely economical despite being fully modular.

An ENGEL e-mac 50/50 with 50 tonne clamping force produced two-pin PBT plug housings in a 4-cavity mould in the East Foyer. Because the plug contacts are not pressed in until after injection moulding, the dimensional stability of the components is the deciding factor in economic production. The ENGEL e-mac 50/50 was equipped with a size 18 screw.

The shot weight for producing the plugs was a mere 3.6 grammes. ENGEL's e-mac 310/100 with an integrated ENGEL viper 6 linear robot is aimed to produce polypropylene (PP) and liquid silicone wine bottle stoppers. Thanks to UV vulcanisation, these two materials can now be processed in a single step. In cooperation with mould making partner Elmet, ENGEL’s low-temperature UV vulcanisation process paves the way for new multi-component technology applications.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- As part of BASF's major innovation investment in China, the company opened the first Innovation Campus Asia Pacific and its new Greater China headquarters at its site in Pudong, Shanghai. The investment amounts to EUR 55 million, according to BASF's press release.

With this expansion the company's site will be one of BASF’s largest outside of Germany. The further expansion of the facility is also planned. The new Greater China head office houses the administration unit, functional units and sales and marketing units. At the site, researchers will focus on advanced materials and sustainable solutions.

"Innovations based on chemistry will play a key role in providing solutions to help Asia Pacific meet the challenges of sustainable development. Through close cooperation with materials scientists, technical experts, business colleagues and customers, BASF will create innovations from Asia, for Asia and the world. By 2020, we expect to have about 25% of our global R&D headcount in this region," said Dr. Martin Brudermueller, Vice Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE, responsible for Asia Pacific.

BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- European makers have to slash export prices for the CIS countries on the back of declining demand and drop of export PVC prices in the other regions, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

The contract price of ethylene in Europe for November shipments was agreed by EUR20/tonne lower than the October level, which is equal to the PVC production costs reduction by EUR10/tonne. However, European makers have to cut export PVC prices for the CIS countries more significantly on declining demand and decrease of export quotations.

This week, negotiations on export prices of European PVC for the CIS countries went on. Deals for the resin to be shipped in the first half of the month are being negotiated in the range of EUR770-810/tonne, FCA, which is on average by EUR20/tonne lower than the level of the second half of October. European makers have to slash PVC prices more significantly than ethylene prices, thus reducing production margins on the back of a significant drop of export quotations in the USA.

This week, export PVC quotations in the USA kept falling. Deals for the resin shipments in the second half of November were negotiated in the range of USD910-930/tonne, CFR St Petersburg and CIF Odessa.
MRC

(bloomberg) -- An ethylene pipeline that will carry the product to northwestern Iran from the southern port town of Assaluyeh will start next month, Mehr reported, citing an official with the National Iranian Petrochemical Co.

Iran’s West Ethylene Pipeline, which can transport 2.5 million metric tons a year, will feed 13 petrochemical complexes in the Kermanshah province once operational, Ali-Mohammad Bassaqzadeh said in the state-run news agency report.

In the Iranian year that ended on March 19, the nation exported USD14.2 billion worth of polymer and petrochemical products to more than 60 countries, Mehr said.

The Persian Gulf state exported 7.7 million tons of the products valued at USD6.1 billion in the first six months of the year, NIPC’s managing director Abdolhossein Bayat said in a report published today on the Oil Ministry’s Shana news website.

Iran, which is under financial and energy sanctions by Western nations over its nuclear program, is a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

The 2,700 km pipeline will have the capacity to transport 2.5 million mt/year of ethylene. It will get ethylene from the Kavian Petrochemical Company's Olefin 11 plant located in the Pars Special Economic Zone at Assaluyeh. The plant comprises two 1 million mt/year gas-fed steam crackers.
MRC

(zawya) -- Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi has lifted a ban on the export of petrochemicals and issued an order detailing new regulations for petrochemical exports.

Previously, IRNA quoted Iranian Organization for Supporting Consumers and Producers announced that the administration has banned the export of petrochemical products, including polymers, as a measure to "support national production".

The list, which included polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride and PET, was part of the 50 industrial and agricultural products restricted for export sales.

The U.S. and Europe recently stepped up sanctions against Iran in an attempt to curb its nuclear program. The West accuses the Islamic Republic of trying to build nuclear weapons, but Tehran says generating electricity is the sole aim of its nuclear program.

On September 29, Bayat said Iran exported roughly USD6 billion worth of petrochemical exports in the first six months of the current Iranian calendar year, which began on March 20.

Bayat added that the figure is projected to exceed USD15 billion by the end of the Iranian calendar year, which ends on March 20, 2013. Last year, Iran exported 16.2 million tons of petrochemical products to 60 countries around the world.

Europe and China were the main recipients of Iran's petrochemical exports, followed by Southeast Asia, the Middle East, the Subcontinent, Africa and Latin America.
MRC