Bayer Pearl establishes new headquarters in Dubai Investments Park

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The polyurethane systems house Bayer Pearl has broken ground for construction of its new headquarters in the Dubai Investments Park, which will be the site of the regional offices and production facilities, as per the company's press release.

The site will feature research, development, and application laboratories as well as a demonstration centre for the use of high-quality materials. The construction contract has been awarded to Amana Constructing and Steel Buildings, and the work is scheduled for completion next year.

Bayer Pearl was established in 2007 as a joint venture between Bayer MaterialScience AG (BMS) and Pearl Insulation Materials Industries LLC.

"The Middle East is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, and Dubai serves as the ideal base for us to further strengthen our presence in the region," said Thorsten Eschmeier, CEO of Bayer Pearl. "Our new site makes it possible to expand our competence in developing new applications and improved manufacturing processes for polyurethane products in close collaboration with our customers." The site at Dubai Investments Park is strategically located close to the port of Jebel Ali and the new Dubai World Central airport.

The joint venture is part of the global network of polyurethane systems houses of Bayer MaterialScience. Bayer Pearl develops solutions for the insulation of buildings and piping, and for the automotive industry. Such challenges can be met with polyurethane rigid foam, for example, which thanks to its good thermal insulation properties makes an important contribution to conservation of scarce natural resources, says the company. Polyurethane materials also make it possible to design cars that weigh less and are therefore more fuel-efficient.

As MRC wrote previously, BMS plans to invest EUR 15 million in the construction of a production line at its Dormagen site, which will use CO2 to produce a precursor for premium polyurethane foam. The line will have an annual production capacity of 5,000 metric tons. The permit application will be submitted to the Cologne district authority in the next few weeks. The greenhouse gas carbon dioxide can be used as a basic building block for plastics.

With 2013 sales of EUR 11.2 billion, Bayer MaterialScience is among the world’s largest polymer companies. Business activities are focused on the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. The main segments served are the automotive, electrical and electronics, construction and the sports and leisure industries. At the end of 2013, Bayer MaterialScience had 30 production sites and employed approximately 14,300 people around the globe. Bayer MaterialScience is a Bayer Group company.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Xinjiang Tianye Group is likely to start a new monoethylene glycol (MEG) plant, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the plant is likely to be started in August 2014.

To be located in Xinjiang province, China, the plant will have a production capacity of 250,000 mt/year.

We remind that, as MRC reported earlier, Xinjiang Tianye Group Co started up a new 400,000 tonne/year carbide-based polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plant in China's northwestern Xinjiang province in 2010 and achieved on-spec production on 6 October. With the start-up of the new plant, Xinjiang Tianye’s PVC production capacity has increased from 700,000 tonnes/year to 1.1m tonnes/year, making it the largest PVC producer in China.

Another Chinese petrochemical producer Hubei Chemical Fertilizer started a new monoethylene glycol (MEG) plant in late 2013. Located in Hubei, China, the plant has a production capacity of 200,000 tonnes per year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A EUR318 million (R4.6 billion) antitrust fine levied on Sasol has been cut by more than half after judges said EU regulators had wrongly blamed the petrochemicals firm for the behaviour of a unit, as per Plastemart.

The fine for fixing the price of paraffin wax was cut to EUR150 mln by the EU’s General Court in Luxembourg. The court said officials were wrong to hold Sasol and its German unit responsible for price-fixing by Hamburg-based wax business Schumann. Sasol bought a stake in the firm in 1995 and acquired the rest of the company in 2002.

As MRC wrote before, INEOS Olefins & Polymers USA and Sasol last year announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the intent to form a joint venture to manufacture high-density polyethylene (HDPE). The envisioned facility would produce 470,000 tonnes per annum of bimodal HDPE using Innovene S process technology licensed from INEOS Technologies. The intention is to produce a limited number of grades allowing high grade efficiencies.

Sasol Limited is an integrated energy and chemical company based in Johannesburg, South Africa. It develops and commercialises technologies, including synthetic fuels technologies, and produces different liquid fuels, chemicals and electricity.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF has inaugurated its new production plant for mobile emissions catalysts in Sroda Slaska, a Special Economic Zone near Wroclaw, Poland, reported the company on its site.

Construction of the new 40,000 square meter manufacturing facility - BASF’s largest emissions catalysts plant in Europe - began in late 2012, supported by an initial EUR90 million investment. The plant began production trials in April 2014, and last month started up two emissions catalysts manufacturing lines, with an initial employee base of 100.

Additional expansions will follow, raising the total investment for the plant to approximately EUR150 million. Once all ten planned light duty and heavy duty catalysts production lines are operating at full capacity by 2016, BASF expects to employ more than 400 people at the Sroda Slaska site.

The emissions catalysts produced in Sroda Slaska will be used by manufacturers of light duty gasoline vehicles and light and heavy duty diesel vehicles to meet more stringent Euro 6/VI emissions regulations.

"The launch of this new production plant provides a vital addition to our global manufacturing network for innovative automotive emissions control technologies," said Kenneth Lane, President of BASF’s Catalysts division. "Tightening emissions regulations will be a key growth driver for our business. Our investment in Sroda Slaska will provide the capacity we need to meet increased customer demand in the most efficient way possible."

Among the advanced technologies that will be produced at the Sroda Slaska facility are Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) systems, cutting-edge SCR on Filter (SCRoF) solutions as well as PremAir-branded ozone destruction catalysts for automotive applications.

"Due to its attractive location and its positive economic development, Poland is an attractive place for BASF to invest," said Dr. Joachim Meyer, Head of BASF Business Center Europe Central. "This new facility strengthens our position as a supplier of innovative solutions to the markets of Central Europe."

As MRC wrote previously, in late 2013, BASF also unveiled it plans to modernize and expand its emissions catalyst production operation in Nienburg, Germany. Thus, according to Xavier Susterac, vice president for BASF's European mobile emissions catalysts business, the new plant in Poland will provide geographic diversity for the company's manufacturing operations and a strong complement to BASF's existing production hub in Nienburg.

BASF is the largest diversified chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF 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. BASF had sales of about EUR74 billion in 2013 and over 112,000 employees as of the end of the year.
MRC

Moscow (MRC) - Scheduled maintenance works at Russian plants have just begun, but polypropylene (PP) prices soared. Given the turnarounds of another three producers in August it is clear that next month will also be difficult in the Russian PP market, according to ICIS-MRC Price Report.

July - September are traditional period of scheduled maintenances at Russian producers. The first in the queue was Tobolsk-Polymer, which shut its 500,000 tonnes/year PP production on a month long turnaround on 30, June.
The shutdown of the largest PP producer in Russia immediately led to a serious rise in prices.

The shutdown of other Russian PP productions in Tomsk, Omsk and Ufa will aggravate the situation in the market further.

Price offers for PP in mid-July rose to a record high over two years ago (since April - May 2012). This week spot prices for raffia grew to Rb68,000-73,000/tonne FCA, including VAT. Price offers for injection moulding homopolymer PP were heard in the range of Rb71,500-76,000/tonne FCA, including VAT.

At the same time, many market participants refrained from PP purchases for such high prices, hoping for the stabilisation of the situation in the market.

Ufaorgsintez announced an increase in contract PP price from 15, July, citing reduced inventories and nearing to the turnaround. Other Russian producers did not adjust their prices this week.

As many market participants said the situation will only get worse in the near future. Tomskneftekhim will shut down 140,000 tonnes/year production on 20,July; Ufaorgsintez will shut down 100,000 tonnes/year production in mid August; Poliom will also shut down 210,000 tonnes/year in mid August.

There are not imported PP available, except Turkmen raffia; price for European and Asian homopolymer PP will be close to the level of Rb77,000/tonne.
MRC