RusVinyl inaugurates PVC facility in Kstovo

MOSCOW (MRC) -- RusVinyl's polyvinyl chloride (PVC) production facility in Kstovo (NizhnyNovgorod Region), ranking among Russia’s largest petrochemical investment projects, was inaugurated on 19, September, said the producer in its press-release.

Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, attended the grand opening ceremony, along with Alex van Meeuwen, Belgian Ambassador to Russia, Valery Shantsev, Governor of Nizhny Novgorod Region, Leonid Mikhelson, Chairman of SIBUR’s Board of Directors, Alexander Dyukov, Deputy Chairman of SIBUR’s Board of Directors, Jacques van Rijckevorsel, Chairman of the Board of SolVin, Dmitry Konov, CEO of SIBUR, and Guenther Nadolny, CEO of RusVinyl. RusVinyl is a joint venture between SIBUR, Russia's leading gas processing and petrochemical company, and SolVin, and was created to construct a new PVC production site that could meet a significant part of domestic demand.

RusVinyl is one of the largest PVC producers in Russia with an annual production capacity of 330,000 tpa of PVC and 225,000 tpa of caustic soda. It will benefit from the nearby supply of ethylene, a key raw material for PVC, from SIBUR-Kstovo's steam cracker, expanded to 360,000 tpa especially for the RusVinyl. Salt, the other feedstock for PVC production, will be provided from Belarus and from the Astrakhan Region of Russia.

In 2013, PVC consumption in Russia exceeded 1 mt, of which only 0.6 mt was produced locally. RusVinyl will provide its top-quality products to the undersupplied Russian market and is aimed at the further development of downstream operations and consumption of petrochemicals.

Leonid Mikhelson, Chairman of SIBUR's Board of Directors, said "SIBUR has increased its production capacity of ethylene in Kstovo, which guarantees the supply of the raw material to the new PVC complex. This has ensured the creation of a new, competitive and cutting edge industrial facility. The best global practices and technologies have been introduced to the Russian market due to the realisation of the latest large scale investment project. The new petrochemical facility will beneficially impact Russia’s economic development by meeting the challenge of import substitution." "SolVin is proud to have successfully completed this project, which is among its biggest industrial achievements ever. SolVin’s experts from across the globe pulled together with SIBUR’s team made this the most modern and most environmental friendly, fully-integrated PVC production plant in the world," said Jacques van Rijckevorsel, Chairman of the Board of SolVin.

This greenfield project, with an investment exceeding RUB 60 bn (EUR1.4 bn), entirely complies with Russia's strictest environmental regulations. Thanks to cutting-edge vinyl technology, fully automated production and state-of-the-art equipment, the facility's environmental footprint is marginal. Each section of the facility has multi-tier safety systems. An advanced membrane method prevents hazardous substances from being formed during electrolysis. Finally, RusVinyl uses a patented technology that makes electrolysis completely waste-free.

As MRC wrote before, RusVinyl started commercial production of suspension PVC (SPVC) on 10, September.

LLC "RusVinyl" is a joint Russian-Belgian venture founded by SIBUR, Russia"s largest petrochemical company, and the Belgian company SolVin, a leading PVC producers in Europe. The project started in 2007 and was targeted for a construction of a plant with the annual capacity of 300,000 tonnes of PVC, 30,000 tonnes of emulsion PVC and 225,000 tonnes of caustic soda.
MRC

Mark J. S. Tonkens joins Borealis

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Borealis, a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers, announces the appointment of Mark J. S. Tonkens as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and member of the Executive Board effective 1 November 2014, said the company in its press release.

He succeeds Daniel J. Shook who has decided to pursue career opportunities outside Borealis.

Mark J. S. Tonkens joined Borealis in 2009 and last held the position of Senior Vice President Group Controlling. He has a Master of Science (MSc) degree in Business Economics and a post graduate Chartered Accountant (Register accountant) degree from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. Before joining Borealis he fulfilled a number of senior management roles in the Royal Philips group as CFO and Senior Vice President of various major global Business Units or Country Organisations located from the Netherlands and Greece in Europe to Taiwan and Hong Kong in Asia.

Mark Tonkens is a Dutch citizen, has three children and lives in Vienna, Austria.

"We welcome Mark to the Borealis Executive Board," comments Mark Garrett, Borealis Chief Executive. "We are looking forward to his contribution to building upon our successful performance over the past years, as well as continuing to strengthen our leading position. At the same time, we would like to thank Dan for his outstanding contribution to the success of Borealis over the past 7 years, wishing him success and enjoyment in his new challenge."

As MRC wrote before, Borealis signed an agreement for technology, engineering and project management company Neste Jacobs to deliver EPCM services for the upgrade of the process section part of Borealis' steam cracker to enable increased ethane cracking in Stenungsund, Sweden. The steam cracker is one of the most feedstock-flexible in Europe and in addition to ethane, it can also crack naphtha, propane and butane.

Borealis is a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers. The only polyethylene (PE) producer in Sweden, Borealis’ Stenungsund facilities include a PE plant, a cracker for ethylene and propylene production, and an innovation center focused on research and development for infrastructure markets.
MRC

Showa Denko to shut its VAM plant for maintenance

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Showa Denko is in plans to shut its vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) plant for maintenance turnaround, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdtae source in Japan informed that the plant will be shut in March 2015. It is planned to remain off-stream for around one month.

Located at Oita in Japan, the plant has a production capacity of 175,000 mt/year.

As MRC wrote previously, last year, Mitsubishi Corporation (MC), a major petrochemical producer, and Showa Denko K.K. (SDK) entered into a strategic partnership in the Fullerene business.

Fullerene is a molecule composed entirely of carbon. It takes the form of a soccer ball and is one nanometer (one-millionth of a millimeter) in diameter. As the molecule is soluble in organic solvents and is an excellent electron acceptor, it is seen as a promising material in the field of electronics, particularly for such applications as n-type material for organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells.

Showa Denko K.K. is mainly engaged in the petrochemical business. The Petrochemical segment manufactures and sells olefin, organic chemicals and others. The Chemical Product segment supplies chemicals, industrial gases, special gas and functional drug for semiconductors, functional high molecular materials, among others.
MRC

PET to PET boosts recycling capacity

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PET to PET Recycling Austria GmbH, a bottle-to-bottle PET recycling operation backed by Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling and several beverage manufacturers, has invested 2.3 million euros ($2.9 million) to upgrade its Austrian plant, said Plasticsnews.

Over the past year, the firm has expanded, reorganized and improved its processing plant at Mullendorf, in the Austrian state of Burgenland, to handle increasing processing demand. The work has included the construction of a processing hall and the installation of a new storage silo system comprising 12 individual silos.

It has improved the process flow and allowed some recyclate to be delivered in special storage vehicles to customers, the company said.

"With the current expansion, we have now invested strongly in improving the infrastructure of systems and the optimization of logistic processes," said Managing Director Christian Strasser.

The firm has centralized its operations on the main site, coordinating truck deliveries and stock transfers. The site’s operation will be more efficient and environmentally sustainable, saving not only time but also transport fuel, according to PET to PET.

The firm produces quality food grade PET flake from bottle waste and PET granules for molding PET bottle preforms.
PET to PET is a joint venture run by Austrian beverage companies Radlberger Getranke & Co; S. Spitz; Rauch Fruchtsafte & Co. and Voslauer Mineralwasser, along with Coca-Cola HBC Austria. It opened in 2007.

As MRC wrote before, Coca-Cola Company made an additional investment in the US-based Virent, which is developing its bio-based paraxylene (PX), BioFormPX. This investment will enable Virent to scale up separation and purification of BioFormPX material at their demonstration plant in Madison, Wisconsin.
MRC

Ineos ChlorVinyls increases October prices of caustic soda

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ineos ChlorVinyls, one of the major chlor-alkali producers in Europe, has announced an increase in its list prices of caustic soda, reported the Switzerland-based producer on its site.

Thus, Ineos' caustic soda prices are to increase by EUR65 per dry metric tonne with effect from 1 October 2014.

Last time, Ineos increased its prices of caustic soda from 1 July 2014 by EUR 60 per dry metric tonne.

As MRC informed previously, Ineos ChlorVinyls raised its list prices of caustic soda by EUR20 per dry metric tonne from 1 April 2014.

Ineos ChlorVinyls is one of the major chlor-alkali producers in Europe, a global leader in chlorine derivatives and Europe's largest PVC manufacturer.
MRC