ABS imports in Russia fell by 11% in January-November 2014

MOSCOW (MRC) - Russian companies have reduced the supply of imported acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) in the domestic market by 11% in the first eleven months of the year. Russia's imports of ABS were 34,000 tonnes in January-November 2014, according to ScanPlast MRC.
Despite the general decline in Russian imports of ABS, LG Chem increased its ABS supplies over the reported period by 5% to 14,400 tonnes.
Korean producer LG Chem was the largest supplier of ABS, with the share of 42% from the total ABS imports in the country. After LG Chem five largest suppliers of ABS in the Russian market were Samsung Cheil Industries, Styrolution, Kumho and Styron.

November ABS imports in Russia sharply decreased, as converters reduced their import purchasing, having high carryovers. November ABS imports in Russia were 2,600 tonnes, down 33% compared with the October level.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Huntsman Corporation has announced that the company’s board of directors has declared a USD0.125 per share cash dividend on its common stock, as per the company's press release.

The dividend is payable on December 31, 2014, to stockholders of record as of December 15, 2014.

As MRC reported earlier, in October 2014, Huntsman commenced preliminary engineering to expand production of methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) by investment in a new, world-scale MDI plant at its complex in Geismar, Louisiana.

The 400,000-tpy expansion will leverage the significant advantages of the Geismar site, with its access to US shale gas, strong logistics base and excellent integration, according to company officials.

The new capacity is expected to come on-stream in 2018 and will enable Huntsman to further support the global growth of its customers.

Huntsman is a global manufacturer and marketer of differentiated chemicals. Our operating companies manufacture products for a variety of global industries, including chemicals, plastics, automotive, aviation, textiles, footwear, paints and coatings, construction, technology, agriculture, health care, detergent, personal care, furniture, appliances and packaging.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- KBR, Inc. received a licensing and engineering design services contract from Malaysia-based olefins and polyolefins provider, Lotte Chemical Titan Holding Sdn. Bhd., said Plastemart.

The scope of the contract requires KBR to extend its catalytic olefins technology to enhance the olefins production for Lotte Chemical Titan. The company’s catalytic olefins technology efficiently converts low-value olefinic, paraffinic or mixed streams to propylene and ethylene, which hold higher value in the market.

KBR will also be providing basic engineering design services for the plant. KBR’s services are also required for the renovation of a steam-cracker plant located in the Asia Pacific. The services will enable diversification of the plant feedstock while boosting its capacity for olefin production.

As MRC reported earlier, in early 2014, Hyundai Oilbank and Lotte Chemical Corp. established Hyundai Chemical as a new venture in the "oil refining and synthetic fiber materials business". The venture, owned 60 % by Hyundai and 40% by Lotte, will invest up to 1.2-trillion won, with production targeted to begin in the second half of 2016 at Hyundai’s Daesan plant in South Chungcheong province.

The Lotte Group currently has a presence in Indonesia via its subsidiary, Honam Petrochemicals, which acquired Malaysia’s polyolefin major Titan Chemicals in July 2010. Included in the acquisition was Titan’s Indonesian subsidiary - PT Titan Petrokimia Nusantara (TPN), which has a polyethylene (PE) production capacity of 450,000 tonnes/year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Solvay announces today that it is acquiring Dhaymers, a Brazilian manufacturer of specialty esters, entering the skin care market and expanding its presence in industrial lubricants and mining industries in Latin America, said the company in its press release.

Solvay's Global Business Unit Novecare has been strengthening its foothold in fast-growing market segments in Latin America. The customized product portfolio of Dhaymers complements Novecare’s acquisition in April of the specialty chemical assets of Erca Quimica and further increases production capacity.

Through Dhaymers, Solvay Novecare will extend its home & personal care (HPC) portfolio with ingredients for skin care products for consumers in Brazil, which is growing fast as the world’s third largest HPC consumer, and across Latin America. The specialty esters produced by Dhaymers are also used to make emulsions for mining and in lubricants for the metal working industry.

"With Dhaymers, Solvay Novecare bolsters Novecare's portfolio, its locally produced technology and production capacity to supply domestic and export markets," said Emmanuel Butstraen, President of Solvay Novecare. "Our expansion in the region reflects our commitment to support our customers and will accelerate Solvay Novecare's growth in Latin America."

Dhaymers is located in Taboao da Serra, 20 km from Sao Paulo city and its sales reached more than € 8 million in 2013.

As MRC wrote before, this summer, Solvay SA and Ineos Group AG gaven a name to their chlorovinyls joint venture, Inovyn, as the two firms prepare the launch of the company by the end of 2014. The new company will officially open following divestments by both companies required by the European Commission. Until completion, Solvay and Ineos will continue to run their businesses separately.

Solvay S.A. is a Belgian chemical company founded in 1863, with its head office in Neder-Over-Heembeek, Brussels, Belgium. The company has diversified into two major sectors of activity: chemicals and plastics. Solvay supplies over 1500 products across 35 brands of high-performance polymers – fluoropolymers, fluoroelastomers, fluorinated fluids, semi-aromatic polyamides, sulfone polymers, aromatic ultra polymers, high-barrier polymers and cross-linked high-performance compounds.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- W. R. Grace & Co. and Milliken & Company have announced that their advanced technologies, used synergistically, are enabling polypropylene (PP) manufacturers to develop new and differentiated resin portfolios featuring enhanced clarity, cleanliness, processability and mechanical performance, said the producers.

Grace’s CONSISTA C601 PP catalyst, the first sixth-generation non-phthalate-based catalyst and a drop-in solution for the widely used UNIPOL PP process, enhances performance and processing of homopolymers, random copolymers and impact copolymers. With random copolymers made from CONSISTA catalysts combined with Milliken’s next-generation Millad NX 8000 clarifier, customers can achieve additional benefits including glass-like transparency and faster cycle times.

"Combining our CONSISTA catalyst with Milliken’s innovative additives yields results that are much more than the sum of these two technologies," said Ella Chen, UNIPOL PP Licensing global market director. "Together, our solutions address a broad spectrum of resin manufacturers’ requirements, from higher melt flow to lower-temperature processing for cycle time reduction. Major manufacturers are already taking full advantage of the synergies between our two offerings to produce new polypropylene grades that target consumer demand for clarity, safety and sustainability. This collaboration is another example of our longstanding, successful partnership with Milliken."

Several UNIPOL PP process licensees are leveraging the Grace and Milliken technologies to produce resins that meet the stringent requirements of their customers.

CONSISTA C601 catalyst imparts a market-leading balance of impact and stiffness to enable lightweight, thin-wall designs. The technology enables the production of random copolymers with improved taste and odor performance for food contact applications. The CONSISTA catalyst enables faster cycle times by increasing melt flow rates, while its broader molecular weight distribution improves the mechanical and processing attributes for a variety of applications.

When new generation Millad NX 8000 clarifier and CONSISTA catalyst are combined in random copolymers with a high melt flow rate (MFR), they enable up to a 36 percent reduction in haze over previous generations to provide a high transparency, bright appearance and high gloss in molded parts. Simultaneously, the Milliken additive also allows PP to be processed at significantly lower temperatures of 190C to 200C, a reduction of up to 40 degrees compared to less-advanced clarifiers. These cooler temperatures shorten cooling times and increase productivity by facilitating mold release.

Another combined benefit of the Grace and Milliken technologies is enhanced sustainability.

As MRC informed previously, US plastics additives supplier Milliken plans to double production capacity for the "Millad" NX 8000 clarifying agent for polypropylene (PP) at its Allen facility in Blacksburg, South Carolina by 2015.
MRC