PTT Global Chemical to shut BD unit in Thailand

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Thailand’s PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) is likely to take off-stream its butadiene (BD) unit owing to technical issues at an upstream naphtha cracker, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Thailand informed that the unit is likely to be shut in April 2015. The shutdown of the BD unit has been attributed to the planned shutdown of an upstream cracker at the same site.

Located in Map Ta Phut, Thailand, the unit has a production capacity of 75,000 mt/year.

As MRC reported earlier, in 2013, Indonesian state-owned energy company Pertamina signed an agreement to purchase petrochemical products from PTT Global Chemical. The agreement serves as a pre-marketing strategy for Pertamina and PTT’s joint Indonesian petrochemical business. Under the agreement, PTT will deliver at least 5,000 tonnes of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) products each month to Pertamina for sale in Indonesia.

Besides, Pertamina and PTTGC were to start joint shipments of PE to the Indonesian market from 1 July 2014, but they were posponed till September 2014.

PTT Global Chemical is a leading player in the petrochemical industry and owns several petrochemical facilities with a combined capacity of 8.45 million tonnes a year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Lanxess subsidiary Bond-Laminates GmbH has taken into operation a demonstration cell for processing Tepex continuous-fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites at the Brilon site, which enables Tepex to be both formed in a fully automated, near-series process and also simultaneously formed and overmolded in a hybrid molding process, reported Lanxess on its site.

"We plan to use the facility as a platform for transferring technology to customers. We want to familiarize our customers with the strengths of Tepex and how it is processed, as well as supporting the development of innovative components," explains Ulrich Jecmeniza, applications engineer with Bond-Laminates.

In addition, production processes of Tepex processors are to be simulated for quality assurance and improvement purposes. Not least, Bond-Laminates aims to use the facility to drive forward its own material development. This new demonstration cell supplements a Technical Service Center facility that Lanxess already operates at the Dormagen site.

The cell is manufactured by ENGEL AUSTRIA GmbH. The Tepex inserts are introduced to the machine using a magazine with separation function, so that various Tepex sections can be processed in a single production run.

The new facility will initially be fitted with a mold for the sports goods industry. The relevant component consists of a Tepex section with TPU matrix that is overmolded with TPU on both sides after shaping. Other near-series molds will soon be available. Jecmeniza: "This will enable us to cover applications for our most important customer groups – that is to say the automobile, consumer electronics and sports goods industries."

As MRC informed previously, in March 2015, The Bond Laminates GmbH expanded its Tepex range of continuous-fiber-reinforced thermoplastic high-performance composites to include halogen-free flame-retardant versions with a polycarbonate matrix.

Lanxess is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 8.3 billion in 2013 and roughly 17,000 employees in 31 countries. The company is currently represented at 52 production sites worldwide. The core business of Lanxess is the development, manufacturing and marketing of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialty chemicals.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Flexible packaging producer Sipospack Kft is investing EUR3m in at a new site at Soskut in central Hungary, said Customstoday.

The Company said that new plant will increase its production capacity. Hungarian flexible packaging producer Sipospack Kft. is investing nearly EUR3 million (USD3.2 million) in an expansion at a new site at Soskut in central Hungary to raise its production capacity.

It is constructing a new 2,400-square-meter production hall and installing a range of new machinery there with a completion date scheduled for June this year. As a result of the expansion, Sipospack, expects to increase its annual revenue by EUR3.33 million (USD3.6 million) in the next three years, and raise the workforce headcount from 22 to 37, while boosting the firm’s share of export sales, according to its project manager Viktor Horvath.

The new project is supported with a European Union grant of EUR867,000 (USD940,000) set to cover the cost of switching from natural gas to renewable energy through the use of solar panels and biomass fuel.

The company, based nearby in Herceghalom, manufactures polyethylene and BOPP films, cling film, laminates, converted bags and sacks and other packaging for the Hungarian food industry. In 2013, Sipospack recorded annual sales worth EUR8m, including export revenue of almost EUR207,000, and it achieved an after tax profit of EUR643,340, according to the Hungarian news agency MTI.

As MRC informed earlier, last year, Taghleef Hungary announced a project to boost its capacity for 5-layer BOPP films at the national plant raising its output to 60,000 tpa. The upgrade, completed last June, was designed to enable Taghleef to serve the label industry with IML as well as the food sector.

Sipospack is a dynamic young packaging company only formed in 1996 which achieved its initial market position in the area of plastic film wrap. Today, the firm is the biggest distributor of films produced at Tiszaujvaros, Hungary by the Dubai-based producer Taghleef Industries.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Sumykhimprom increased its exports of titanium dioxide to 2,500 tonnes in February, up 37% compared with the January level, according to ICIS-MRC Price Report.

Total export shipments titanium dioxide from Sumykhimprom in January-February 2015 was 4,300 tonnes. R-206 grade is traditionally the most popular grade in foreign markets. Exports of this grade were 2,350 tonnes in the first two months of the year. Then follow the brands R-202, R-203 and R-204, the final export of which in January and February were 1,950 tonnes.

The biggest market for Ukrainian titanium dioxide remains Russia. Exports of titanium dioxide from Sumykhimprom in Russia were 2,120 tonnes in January-February 2015. The share of export shipments to Russia in total exports of Sumyhimprom. The producer increased its export prices for titanium dioxide in late February. Ukrainian export prices of titanium dioxide in February were heard in the range of UAH39,000-46,000/tonne FCA Sumy, excluding VAT.

"Sumykhimprom" - the largest producer of complex fertilizers in Ukraine. JSC "Sumykhimprom" produces phosphate mineral fertilizers and other goods of inorganic chemistry. Its activities include design and research; wholesale and retail trade; intermediate services on consumer goods sales; and construction organizations. Its products include granphos, superphosphate ammoniated, sulfuric acid, oleum, reactive sulfuric acid, coagulants to treat potable water and sewage, paints, construction lime, cement activator, and consumer goods. 100% of shares of "Sumyhimprom" are state-owned.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Uponor Corp., the Finland-based maker of plastic pipe systems for plumbing, underfloor heating and cooling and infrastructure, announced March 30 that its subsidiary, Uponor Infra Oy, has sold its machinery business, Extron Engineering Oy, to Mecanor Oy, in Lahti, Finland, as per company's press release.

Uponor wants to focus on its core business and markets where it can command a strong market position, company officials said. Extron Engineering makes extrusion and printing machinery for plastic pipe and film, both monolayer and multilayer. The company designs and builds turnkey systems, including technology for coextrusion. Uponor said the business generates annual sales of 6.5 million euros (USD6 million). Extron Engineering employs 19 in Toijala, Finland.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Mecanor makes downstream equipment for extruded plastic pipe and profiles, including pipe socketing/belling machinery, equipment for stacking, strapping, sleeving and bundling and seal/gasket inserting machines for automatically inserting seals and gasket rings.

The companies signed a cooperation agreement for the future development of key technologies. Uponor officials said the divestment will not generate significant sales gains or losses, and does not impact Uponor’s financial guidance for 2015. Uponor’s net sales topped 1 billion euros in 2014 (USD1.1 billion).

Uponor is an international market leader, striving to provide better plumbing, indoor climate and infrastructure solutions across Europe, North America and in other international markets. In close partnership with building industry professionals we are continuously seeking out innovative ways to ensure our systems offer the most efficient, reliable and high-performing solutions available to residential and commercial structures around the globe.
MRC