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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Trinseo, a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber, has announced that it has named Angelo N. Chaclas as Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer effective January 1, 2015, reported the company on its site.
He will be a member of the company’s Executive Leadership Team. Chaclas succeeds Curt Shaw who is retiring at year end.
"We are extremely pleased to name a Chief Legal Officer with Angelo’s strategic understanding of Trinseo’s businesses and the chemical industry," said Chris Pappas, President and CEO of Trinseo. "His vast experience working across geographies and functional areas will be an asset to support our ongoing activity in capital markets, transactions, compliance, governance, intellectual property and other operational activities of the company worldwide."
Mr. Chaclas currently serves as Associate General Counsel and Chief Intellectual Property Counsel for Trinseo. During his tenure, Chaclas has had global responsibility for all intellectual property matters, working closely with the Research and Development organization on patents, trade secrets, trademarks, technology licensing agreements, and joint development agreements. He also managed commercial legal activities for several Trinseo businesses, and established internal best practices and optimized law firm relationships during the company’s start-up phase.
Prior to joining Trinseo in 2010, Chaclas was Deputy General Counsel and Chief Counsel for the software division of Pitney Bowes while leading its Intellectual Property, Technology Law and Procurement legal functions.
As MRC informed previously, Trinseo has reported its third quarter of 2014 financial results with revenue of USD1,3 million and adjusted EBITDA of USD62 million. Revenue in the third quarter was roughly flat to prior year as higher SSBR volume and a favorable foreign exchange impact were offset by lower price which was primarily driven by the pass through of lower raw material cost. Sequentially, revenue decreased by 3% due to lower sales volume, with seasonality and weaker economic conditions in Europe, as well as an unfavorable currency impact as the US dollar strengthened compared to the euro.
Formerly known as Styron, Trinseo previously announced plans to change the name of all Styron affiliated companies to Trinseo. Some, but not all, of the Styron companies have completed the name change process and are currently known as Trinseo; Styron companies that have not completed this process will continue to do business as Styron until their respective name changes are complete. Styron's operating companies also continue to do business as Styron at this time.
Trinseo is a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber. Trinseo’s technology is used by customers in industries such as home appliances, automotive, building & construction, carpet, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical & lighting, medical, packaging, paper & paperboard, rubber goods and tires.
MRC
Trinseo appoints new Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer
New PTA plant to be started by BP Zhuhai
MOSCOW (MRC) -- BP Zhuhai is in plans to start a new purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant at the BP Zhuhai Chemical Company Limited (BP Zhuhai) site in Guangdong Province, China, a JV between BP and Zhuhai Port Co. in Q4 2014, as per Apic-online.
A source in China informed that the plant is likely to start in Q4, 2014, but the exact start-up schedule of the plant could not be ascertained.
The planned debottleneck at Zhuhai will increase capacity by more than 200,000 tonnes a year from its second unit (Z2), making the total PTA production capacity of the Zhuhai site some 1.25 million tonnes a year. It will be the first to employ BP's latest generation PTA technology and, subject to approval from its shareholders and relevant Chinese government agencies, is expected to come on stream earliest 2014 to meet PTA demand growth in China. This will make Zhuhai the largest PTA site in BP's global PTA system.
As MRC wrote before, BP had completed engineering design work for the Z2 debottleneck in 2011 and expected the expansion to be fully operational in 1Q2012.
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
EnerG2 and BASF announce multifaceted partnership
EnerG2 and BASF entered into a comprehensive collaboration to improve and scale-up the production of EnerG2’s proprietary carbon materials for use in supercapacitor electrodes and as a performance additive in start-stop lead-acid batteries. Both technologies play an important role in short-term energy storage for automotive and industrial applications.
Engineered carbons enhance storage performance by providing higher voltage and energy in supercapacitors and by significantly increasing the charging rate of lead-acid batteries at a partial-state-of-charge. EnerG2’s patented carbon technology platform enables large-scale production of carbon materials that surpass the limitations of the carbons traditionally used in energy storage. Controlling the molecular structure and synthesis of these advanced materials at early stages of production provides the ability to tailor the carbon properties to specific applications. This unique manufacturing process results in ultra-high purity material with customizable porosity.
BASF is providing funding, technical expertise, and marketing know-how in a partnership with EnerG2 to enrich its R&D initiatives and to accelerate its market penetration.
"This alliance optimally blends EnerG2’s innovation and responsiveness with BASF’s stability and an unquestionable ability to scale. We will use the funding not only to bolster our operational capacity but also to explore market opportunities with BASF," explains Rick Luebbe, CEO of EnerG2. EnerG2’s technology platform complements the in-house activities of BASF’s research and development as well as BASF’s global business unit for battery materials. Energy storage materials are an essential part of BASF’s strategy to enable electromobility. Furthermore, EnerG2 will also work closely with BASF to broaden its global reach, particularly in Asia and Europe.
As MRC informed previously, in October 2014, BASF and Archroma agreed on the sale of BASF’s global textile chemicals business to Archroma, a supplier of specialty chemicals to the textile, paper and emulsions industries.
EnerG2 has developed a unique approach that engineers the molecular structure of a polymer precursor in order to customize the nanostructure, and, therefore, the performance of the resulting carbon. EnerG2’s proprietary Carbon Technology Platform has two key components: polymer- chemistry-based precursor formulation and processing parameters that transform that precursor into customized carbon. The combination of these elements results in a flexible, competitive process that can produce carbon materials for diverse energy storage applications. EnerG2 operates its state-of-the art manufacturing plant in Albany, Oregon.
BASF is the leading chemical company. It 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
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
DuPont to start-up production at low-cost TiO2 facility in early 2016
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.