Huntsman to make more RenShape boards

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Huntsman Corp. has increased production capacity for its RenShape-brand polymer composite boards at its plant in East Lansing, Mich, said Plasticsnews.

Huntsman — based in The Woodlands — has installed a new production line at the site. RenShape boards are CNC-machinable modeling and tooling boards. The new equipment produces multiple board sizes on a single machine and features a dedicated feed system to accommodate several board types simultaneously.

With the new equipment, Huntsman "streamlined operating efficiency, increased throughput and enhanced our ability to quickly respond to growing market demands for modeling and tooling boards," said Monte Edlund, vice president for advanced materials Americas, in an Aug. 1 news release.

RenShape boards are used in building high-accuracy, dimensionally stable models and tooling. Freeman Manufacturing & Supply Co. of Avon, Ohio, serves as Huntsman’s exclusive distributor of RenShape boards.
Huntsman ranks as a major producer of polyurethane and other specialty materials. The firm employs 12,000 worldwide and has annual sales of more than USDE11 billion.

As MRC wrote before, Huntsman Corp. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Oxid LP, a privately-held manufacturer and marketer of specialty urethane polyols based in Houston, Texas.Oxid's polyols are a key component in the production of energy-saving polyurethane insulation products that are used in residential and commercial construction.

Huntsman is a global manufacturer and marketer of differentiated chemicals. Our operating companies manufacture products for a variety of global industries, including chemicals, plastics, automotive, aviation, textiles, footwear, paints and coatings, construction, technology, agriculture, health care, detergent, personal care, furniture, appliances and packaging.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Amcor Ltd. is selling its glass and beverage can packaging division, Australasia and Packaging Distribution (AAPD), in order to focus its core global business of plastics packaging, said Plasticsnews.

Announcing the deal Amcor chief executive and managing director, Ken MacKenzie, said: "To be a successful market leader, that delivers continuous improvement in customer value, a company must be focused in terms of product portfolio and end markets.

"Although Amcor and AAPD are both packaging companies they are actually very different in terms of product segments and geographic focus," he added.

"Amcor has global leadership positions in the flexibles and rigid plastics segments, while AAPD operates in the fibre, glass and beverage can packaging markets in Australasia and packaging distribution in North America and Australia."
The de-merger is expected to be completed by December 2013.

As MRC wrote before, Amcor announced an agreement to acquire the flexible packaging operations of Jiangsu Shenda Group for RMB350 million. The acquired business has sales of approximately RMB440 million and two plants in the Jiangsu province in Eastern China.

Amcor Limited is an Australian-based multinational packaging company. It operates manufacturing plants in 42 countries. It is the world's largest manufacturer of plastic bottles.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Tianjin LG Dagu Chemical is in plans to shut an ethylene-based polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plant for maintenance turnaround, said Apic-online.

A source in China informed that the plant is likely to be shut on August 20, 2013. It is expected to remain off-stream for around one week.

Located in Tianjin, China, the plant has a production capacity of 400,000 mt/year.

As MRC wrote before, Tianjin LG Dagu Chemical Co., Ltd. (LG-DAGU), one of the domestic PVC producers, is a Sino-Korean joint venture company set up by LG Chemical, LG International Corporation from South Korea and Tianjin Dagu Chemical Co., Ltd., which was registered in Tianjin Economic & Technological Development Area in 1995 with total investment of USD150 million.

Under the concerning of governments and efforts of the shareholders, the annual production capacity of LG-DAGU has increased from 155,000 to 350,000 tons after technical improvement and expansion during the period of "10th Five-Year Plan", which increased by 225%. The cumulative production of PVC was 1.33 million tons during 5 years, sales revenue reached USD960 million, tax payment 540 million Yuan.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Advanced Petrochemical Company (APC) has signed an agreement with Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemicals (SATORP) to increase the supply of propylene to 30,000 tpa, said Plastemart.
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This brings the total supply from SATORP to 80,000 tpa. In 2012, a short-term sales agreement for the supply of 50,000 tpa of propylene was concluded between APC and SATORP. The duration for the supply of entire 80,000 tpa has been amended from 3 years to 5 years. The supply will start from Jan. 1. This supply will contribute to an increase in production of polypropylene and thus a boost in revenues from the sale of the additional polypropylene.

As MRC wrote before, Saudi Aramco Total Refinery and Petrochemicals Company (Satorp) expects its new refinery at Jubail Industrial City to be fully operational in December 2013.

Satorp, a company that is 62.5% owned by Aramco and 37.5% owned by France’s Total S.A., plans to build a 400,000 barrel-a-day export refinery in Jubail. The refinery complex, estimated to cost more than USD10 billion to build, is part of a drive by the world’s top oil exporter to boost refining capacity by more than 1.7 million barrels a day from installed capacity of 2.1 million barrels a day now.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Ministry of Environment in Haiti has adopted on 10 July 2013, an order, banning the production, import, marketing and use, in any format whatsoever, of polyethylene bags, inputs and objects in expanded polystyrene (EPS or PS crystal or styrofoam) for food use such as plates, cups, bottles, bags, cups and plates disposable, came into force on August 1, 2013, said Plastemart.

As of this date, any shipment of packages containing such items will be confiscated by the customs authorities and the owners punished in accordance with the Customs Code.

However, the Ministry clarifies that the bottles, transparent bags serving of containers for beverages, drugs and food, white or clear bags for garbage collection, small bags used only for seed, production and conservation of seedlings are exempt from this order and will be subject to other regulations. The Ministry indicates that the necessary steps will be taken by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, to facilitate the importation of inputs, containers and paper products or cardboard 100% biodegradable as well as sachets and bags made from fiber, of sisal or of "pite".

As MRC wrote before. Demand for polyethylene (PE) resins in New Delhi may be dampened by a new ban on plastics bags. The Delhi government has imposed a blanket ban on the manufacture, storage and usage of plastic bags in the capital, regardless of thickness. The new ban will curtail demand for PE film and coating grades, which are the raw materials in the production of plastic bags.
MRC