Wacker opens airbag competence center in Japan

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Wacker Asahikasei Silicone, a Japanese joint venture of Wacker Chemie AG, has opened a new development laboratory for airbag applications, reported Wacker on its site.

The competence center will spearhead the development of silicone coatings for airbags and technical textiles in the region. Investment in the new laboratory amounts to roughly €1 million. Wacker Asahikasei Silicone (AWS) is jointly owned by WACKER and the Japanese chemical group Asahi Chemical Industry each with a fifty-percent stake.

Wacker’s new Airbag Competence Center of Excellence in Silicones (ACES) in Tsukuba, Japan. ACES will develop and test products for local airbag manufacturers and their suppliers.

The Airbag Competence Center of Excellence in Silicones (ACES) is located at the AWS technical center in Tsukuba, some 70 kilometers north-east of Tokyo. The competence center will support airbag manufacturers and their suppliers and has been equipped to develop novel high-performance silicone materials for coating airbags. Key material tests, such as coating, heat-resistance and fire-safety tests, can now be performed locally.

"The airbag market is growing by 6% to 7% annually," noted Peter Summo, head of Wacker’s Engineering Silicones business unit, during the opening ceremony of the laboratory in Tsukuba. "Since every major airbag manufacturer produces in Asia, we decided to strengthen our expertise in this region. Now, we can develop new and innovative coating materials in Tsukuba. At ACES, we will be able to contribute to the development of innovative airbag technologies and make vehicles even safer in the future."

Modern vehicles are equipped with a number of airbags. These protective systems are installed not only in steering wheels and dashboards, but also in seats, doors and roof liners. Silicones, which adhere well to airbag fabrics, improve the fabrics’ leaktightness and air-holding performance and protect them from the initial heat and the hot gases that inflate airbags in milliseconds. In addition, silicone topcoats reduce surface friction on deployment. This enables airbags to inflate uniformly and instantly.

As MRC wrote before, Wacker is expanding its product range with a new liquid silicone rubber for the production of automotive gaskets. Molded parts made from the new silicone are resistant to heat and coolant and exhibit low compression set even under permanent stress. Car radiators and cooling-system components can thus be reliably sealed. ELASTOSIL RT 728, as the new silicone grade is called, can be injection molded or mechanically dispensed straight onto the part to be sealed.

Wacker Asahikasei Silicone Co., Ltd. (AWS) was founded in 1999 by Wacker, the Munich-based chemical group, and Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corporation of Japan. In Tsukuba (Japan), the joint venture produces silicone emulsions and solid and liquid silicone rubber for the Japanese market. The 30,000-square-meter production location is also home to the Tsukuba-based technical center, which provides technical support to customers and tailors products to local market requirements.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- DuPont Titanium Technologies, part of the company’s Performance Chemicals segment, announced that it remains on track to complete the planned expansion of its existing high-efficiency, low-cost titanium dioxide (TiO2) facility in Altamira, Mexico, in 2015, and begin production at the plant in 2016, as per the company's press-release.

The new plant will enable DuPont Titanium Technologies to improve the efficiency of its TiO2 production and increase its flexibility to adjust its production output up or down to respond to global demands.

Annual global TiO2 market growth tracks global GDP, requiring about 150,000 to 200,000 metric tons of additional product to serve the marketplace each year. "Based on our current market outlook, we expect demand to increase gradually in the 2016-2018 time frame. DuPont Titanium Technologies will leverage the cost advantage of its Altamira facility at start-up in 2016 and continue to manage its production assets in order to remain well-positioned to deliver high-quality titanium dioxide to meet the ever changing needs of our customers," said BC Chong, president DuPont Titanium Technologies.

As MRC wrote before, for the fourth consecutive year, DuPont has been listed as a Top 100 Global Innovator by Thomson Reuters. DuPont is recognized for its innovation and the worldwide influence of its inventions.

DuPont Titanium Technologies is the global leader in the TiO2 industry, providing innovation, new offerings and the highest quality Ti-Pure products and solutions to the more demanding market segments, helping our customers grow in their specific industries. DuPont is on track to separate the DuPont Performance Chemicals segment, through a tax-free spin in mid-2015.

DuPont is an American chemical company that was founded in July, 1802. The company manufactures a wide range of chemical products, leading extensive innovative research in this field. The company is the inventor of many unique plastics and other materials, including neoprene, nylon, Teflon, Kevlar, Mylar, Tyvek, etc. DuPont was the developer and main producer of Freon used in the production of refrigeration equipment.

MRC

МОSCOW (MRC) -- Moody's Investors Service has today downgraded Sistema Joint Stock Financial Corporation's (Sistema) corporate family rating (CFR) to B1 from Ba2 and probability of default rating (PDR) to B1-PD from Ba2-PD, as per the agency press-release.

The outlook on all ratings is negative. This concludes the review for downgrade initiated by Moody's on 18 September 2014.

The downgrade reflects the imminent withdrawal of Bashneft's (Ba2 on review for downgrade) shares from Sistema's ownership as a result of the Moscow Arbitrage Court's decision to return the shares to the Russian Federation, and the risk of further negative pressure related to this action and/or continuing investigation of Bashneft's privatisation. The court's decision anticipates no compensation to Sistema from the state. The company indicated that it will not appeal the decision, but will claim the recovery of its damages from entities from which it acquired Bashneft's shares, or their successors. The majority shareholder Mr Evtushenkov remains under house arrest.

Moody's had considered withdrawing Bashneft with no compensation as one of the most extreme outcomes when the ratings were placed on review in September. Sistema's decision not to appeal may be a pragmatic one which successfully brings this issue to closure without further negative consequences. However, the fact that the majority shareholder Mr Evtushenkov remains under house arrest suggests that the issue may not yet be fully closed. There is a possibility of further penalties or claims against Sistema, not least in respect of dividends that have been received since the Bashneft acquisition, which according to Sistema amounted to RUB120 billion (around USD2.6 billion at the current exchange rate).

If negative pressure intensifies, Sistema could struggle to maintain its formerly strong financial market access and debt financing relationships.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Stavrolen (subsidiary of LUKOIL) has announced an increase in polypropylene (PP) price of Rb1,500/tonne, according to ICIS-MRC Price Report.

The customers of the company said the company announced an increase in its PP price of Rb1,500/tonne effective from 17, November, compared with the level on 1, November. Stavrolen was the third producer, which increased PP prices after SIBUR and Ufaorgsintez.

The rise in PP prices resulted from the devaluation of the rouble, which led to a rise in feedstock price for the production of PP (many producers in the price formation used dollar terms) and increase the attractiveness of exports.

It was reported before, SIBUR announced an increase in PP price from 10, November by Rb1,000/tonne, compared with the level on 1, November. Ufaorgsintez also increased PP prices from 17, November of Rb800-2,000/tonne.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BP has planned to invest over USD200 million to upgrade its purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plants at Cooper River, South Carolina and Geel, Belgium, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The investments will position these assets amongst the most efficient PTA manufacturing facilities in the world.

"This allows us to apply our latest proprietary technology and process know-how to existing assets, significantly improving their cost competitiveness and reducing their environmental footprint," said Luis Sierra, president of BP Aromatics - Americas, Europe and Middle East. "It enables Cooper River and Geel to remain the leading PTA manufacturing complexes in the Americas and Europe respectively."

By applying the latest PTA technology to these world-scale production facilities, BP expects to greatly improve feedstock and energy efficiency, thus reducing both variable and fixed cost and greenhouse gas emissions.

PTA is the raw material used to make polyester which is found in a wide range of consumer goods ranging from fabrics to food and beverage containers. The BP Cooper River site is the largest PTA producer in the Americas and BP Geel is the largest in Europe.

Cooper River's PTA1 unit, one of two units at the facility, is expected to be upgraded by middle of 2016. The project expects to create around 200 construction jobs at its peak and indirectly support many more jobs in the region. When the project is completed, the reduction in annual greenhouse gas reductions should equate to eliminating the electricity and heating emissions of about 2,000 typical US households.

The Geel upgrade is expected to create around 100 construction jobs at its peak and will also indirectly benefit other businesses in the area. Geel's PTA3 unit is expected to be upgraded by the end of 2015 with PTA2 following in 2016. The annual greenhouse gas reductions should equate to eliminating the electricity and heating emissions of 1,500 typical Belgium households.

As MRC informed previously, BP Zhuhai is in plans to start a new PTA plant in China. The plant is likely to start in Q4, 2014. The exact start-up schedule of the plant could not be ascertained. To be located in Zhuhai province, China, the plant will have a production capacity of 1.25 million mt/year.

BP is one of the world's leading international oil and gas companies, providing its customers with fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, retail services and petrochemicals products for everyday items.
MRC