Kuraray divests the PVB film business

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Japanese Kuraray Group will sell the Luxembourg financial GVC, for 12 million euro, European activities in the film of polyvinyl butyral (PVB), part of the acquisition of Glass Laminating Solutions / Vinyls (GLS / Vinyls) from Dupont, said the company in its press release.

The disposal was requested by the European Commission as a condition to grant permission to the acquisition of the interlayers of plastic material for the production of safety glass used in buildings, industry and transport, the division DuPont Packaging & Industrial Polymers, operation of the complete value of USD543 million.

The assets sold to GVC include a production plant in Uentrop, Germany, and an R & D center in Mechelen, Belgium.
Kuraray is a leading manufacturer of PVA, PVB and related film, along with EVOH resins and polyvinyl alcohol fibers, products used in various industries, including packaging, fuel and LCD screens.

Kuraray was founded in 1926 for the purpose of commercializing synthetic rayon, which was cutting edge technology at the time. In 1950 during the post-World War II period, as Japan's first domestic producer of synthetic fiber based on original Japanese technologies, Kuraray became a world leader in the commercialization of PVA (poval) fiber under the KURALON brand, ushering in Japan's pioneering era in the chemical synthetic fiber industry.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- In order to guarantee flawless bottles to bottle manufacturers, Arkema, a France-based chemical manufacturer, has developed major technological innovations in protective coatings, combined with an audit and training service, and a product certification that is unique in the profession, as per the company's press release.

This comprehensive approach, Certin Advance, helps bottle manufacturers considerably improve the service they supply to their customers in the beverage industry. Arkema will be presenting this Certin Advance program at the upcoming Glasstec 2014 trade show in Dusseldorf from 21 to 24 October.

With its 30-year expertise in bottle glass coating and a unique "partner-supplier" positioning, Arkema supplies glass treatment products, spray equipment, and technical support. Building on this long-standing know-how, three years ago Arkema launched an R&D project to improve glass coating technologies. This research has led to the Certin AdvanceTM program.

Firstly, Arkema has developed a new hood for hot end coating: CertinTM Hood allows better targeted application of the CertinTM Coat 101 primary coating on bottles, at a 25% faster throughput rate, while also allowing better removal of vapors.

Secondly, Arkema has developed a new cold spray hood (cold end coating), CertinTM Spray, for the final protective layer. This innovative hood sits on a single line of the production chain, and allows perfectly homogeneous and accurate spraying of theCertinTM Top Coat 201 coating across the whole bottle, without any waste of product.

"We have been testing our technological improvements for a number of months on the production lines of one of our customers. The results are highly promising: as production rates increase, the protective coatings are applied more effectively, with less sprayed product being wasted" explains Marc Maggiani, Glass Coating Container Global Manager at Arkema.

Arkema also offers its glass manufacturing customers the CertinTM Proof service provided by its team of technicians around the world. This support package includes audit of plant and equipment, training, and technical assistance. It ensures proper use of equipment and correct application of the products.

Obtaining the CertinTMT certification is a genuine step forward for bottle manufacturers. They will be granted this certification on completion of the audit of the new equipment by Arkema technicians. With this certification, Arkema guarantees to its glassmaking customers the highest standard of protection for their bottles.

As MRC reported earlier, Arkema has recently developed two new grades - Luperox organic peroxides and Kynar Flex PVDF resins - specifically designed for electric and electronic wires and cables applications.

Arkema with annual revenue of EUR6.1 billion is a leading European supplier of chlorochemicals and PVC. Kynar and Kynar Flex are registered trademarks of Arkema Inc.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Servomex, the world leader in gas analysis technology, has been awarded a major contract by Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), the second largest publicly traded company in India, to provide oxygen (O2) and carbon monoxide (CO) measurement analyzer packages with sample handling systems for the world’s largest gasification project at RIL’s J3 Refinery in Jamnagar, India, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

“Servomex has worked with RIL since 1997 to provide analyzers for various projects, collaborating with facilities in the UK and China to deliver solutions for various RIL projects, all of which have been very successful," said Virlesh Desai, general manager for Servomex India.

"This proven capability of our world-class products and systems, combined with the capacity to implement and support them was a key factor in winning the contract, reinforced by Servomex’s establishment of a manufacturing presence in India which demonstrated our commitment to the region. The latter has also led to discussions on further projects with RIL across its portfolio."

The first package for the J3 project is for the provision of 43 Servomex SERVOTOUGH OxyExact 2200 high-specification process O2 analyzers, selected for its safety integration level (SIL) 2 status, and it is considered one of the best paramagnetic analyzers available.

The second package will deliver 40 robust Servomex SERVOROTUGH SpectraExact 2500 photometric gas analyzers specifically chosen by RIL as its GFX technology and SIL compliance, evaluated as having excellent sensitivity in low-range CO measurement.

“Discussions on various units and packages for J3 Refinery project took almost two years and there was lot of technical involvement carried out with Servomex experts in Mumbai, Houston and in conjunction with key representatives from Fluor Corp. and RIL," said Desai.

"We worked very closely with RIL right from the project announcement stage to the detailed technical commercial offer, giving feedback and answering queries throughout the evaluation process. It is a significant contract win, endorsing Servomex’s presence in the market against major competitors in the region."

As MRC wrote before, Reliance Industries is implementing a new project to source 1.5 million tpy of ethane feedstock from the US to feed its crackers in India.

Reliance Industries is one of the world's largest producers of polymers. The company's polymer production in 2010-11 (polypropylene, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride) made 4,094 kilo tonnes.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mitsubishi Chemical has postponed the restart of a purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant in China, reported Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the restart has been postponed to end-October 2014. The plant was earlier scheduled to restart in early October 2014.

The plant was shut on September 5, 2014 for a maintenance turnaround.

Located at Ningbo in eastern China, the plant has a production capacity of 600,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed previously, Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Co. has told "PetroChemical News" (PCN) that it has decided to discontinue its PTA business. Mitsubishi currently operates a 260,000-t/y PTA plant at Mizushima, Japan, through its Mizushima Aroma joint venture with Toyobo Co.

A spokesperson at Mitsubishi, when asked for the reason behind its decision to quit the PTA business, said "we cannot anticipate improvement of the profit without global oversupply." The company is "now examining" when to exit the business, he added.

Mitsubishi Chemical with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, is a diversified chemical company involved in petrochemicals, polymers, agrochemicals, speciality chemicals and pharmaceuticals. The company's main focus is on three business pillars: petrochemicals, performance and functional products, and health care.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A. Schulman, Inc.-leading international supplier of high-performance plastic compounds, powders and resins, has signed an agreement and a strategic partnership with the South Korean polymer producer INITZ for the compounding and marketing of INITZ Co. Ltd.'s ECOTRAN Polyphenylene Sulfide (PPS) compounds, said Plastemart.

A. Schulman will be producing, selling and distributing the ECOTRAN compounds in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas. INITZ Co., Ltd. is a joint venture of SK Chemicals Co., Ltd., Korea (66% of the shares) and Teijin Limited, Japan, (remaining 34% of the shares).

"The combination of INITZ's know-how and A. Schulman's state-of-the-art global manufacturing capabilities and application development will support our customers in markets such as automotive, electronics, industrial, filtration and coatings to meet and exceed their halogen-free industry standards. Unlike other conventional PPS, ECOTRAN will enable them to differentiate their product offering and further strengthen their market position," said Bernard Rzepka, COO and Executive Vice President of A. Schulman.

"Through almost 100 patents, SK Chemicals constructed its own technology systems and succeeded in developing the world's first environmentally friendly PPS production process without using chlorine and solvent," said Cheol Kim, CEO of SK Chemicals. "According to our partnership, INITZ will focus on customers in the rapidly growing Asian markets. In the Americas and in Europe, we are counting on A. Schulman's extensive compounding know-how and excellent market coverage," said Hyokyung Kim, President of INITZ.

As MRC wrote before, A. Schulman agreed to purchase a majority of the assets of the specialty plastics business of Ferro Corp. for USD91 million in cash. The purchase agreement includes four facilities located in the US as well as operations in Spain.

A. Schulman is a global plastics supplier, headquartered in Akron, Ohio, and a leading international supplier of high-performance plastic compounds and resins, which are used as raw materials in a variety of markets. A. Schulman has 33 manufacturing facilities globally. A. Schulman's fiscal third-quarter earnings fell 69% amid continued sluggishness in European markets and higher-than-expected costs in Latin America, where the company has been consolidating its Brazilian operations.
MRC