Celanese Interim Chief Financial Officer Chris Jensen named Chief Financial Officer

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company, has announced that Chris Jensen has been named the company's chief financial officer, reported the producer in its press release.

Jensen has served in the role on an interim basis since May 2014, and has global responsibility for tax, treasury, accounting, SEC reporting and financial shared services.

"I'm pleased to announce Chris's appointment to one of our most critical leadership roles," said Mark Rohr, chairman and chief executive officer. "He is a vital member of our senior leadership team and, in his interim CFO position over the last year, has contributed significantly to the development and execution of Celanese's two-core strategy. Chris is an exceptional leader with expertise across all aspects of finance, deep knowledge of the business, and an understanding of the needs of the investment community. I look forward to continuing to work closely together to maximize value for Celanese through our two complementary value drivers - Materials Solutions and the Acetyl Chain."

Jensen joined Celanese in 2005, and has held several leadership positions in finance, including senior vice president, finance and global business services; treasurer; controller; and assistant controller. Prior to joining Celanese, Jensen worked in the inspections and registration division of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. He spent 13 years at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an assurance and advisory services firm, in both the assurance and mergers and acquisitions groups.

As MRC reported earlier, in May 2014, Celanese Corporation announced its intent to construct a EVA emulsions production unit in Southeast Asia. The unit is expected to begin production by mid-2016.

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Based in Dallas, Texas, Celanese employs approximately 7,500 employees worldwide and had 2014 net sales of USD6.8 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sinopec Yangzi Petrochemical is in plans to shut a linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) plant for maintenance turnaround, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the plant is planned to be shut in end-July 2015. It is likely to remain off-stream for around one month.

Located at Nanjing in China, the plant has a production capacity of 200,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed previously, on March 26, 2015, Sinopec Cangzhou Petrochemical has shut its refinery for maintenance turnaround. It is planned to remain off-stream for around two months. Located at Cangzhou in Hebei province of China, the plant has a production capacity of 2.5 million mt/year.

Sinopec Corp. is one of the largest scale integrated energy and chemical companies with upstream, midstream and downstream operations. Its refining and ethylene capacity ranks No.2 and No.4 globally. The Company has 30,000 sales and distribution networks of oil products and chemical products, its service stations are now ranked third largest in the world.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Korea Petrochemical Industry Co. (KPIC) has developed plans to increase ethylene and aromatics (benzene, toluene and xylene) capacity at its Onsan complex in Korea, as well as add propylene production at the site, according to Apic-online with reference to local media reports.

KPIC has awarded GS Engineering & Construction a USD270-million contract to increase ethylene capacity to 800,000 t/y from 490,000 t/y and aromatics capacity to 300,000 t/y from 220,000 t/y currently. The project also includes the capacity to produce 150,000 t/y of propylene.

The project is scheduled for completion in the first half of 2017, with production expected to come on stream during the second half of the year.

We remind that, as MRC wrote previously, anouther South Korean petrochemical company LG Chem shut down a naphtha cracker for a one-month maintenance turnaround on March 15, 2015. Located at Daesan in South Korea, the cracker has an ethylene capacity of 900,000 mt/year, propylene capacity of 450,000 mt/year and butadiene capacity of 145,000 mt/year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Using a collaborative and progressive approach to innovation, PolyOne Corporation is helping its customer TenPoint Crossbow Technologies to improve performance of its renowned products, reported Polyone on its site.

PolyOne has been working closely with TenPoint for more than a year to identify opportunities to reduce weight, substitute materials, and improve performance and manufacturability. TenPoint crossbows, as well as its Horton and Wicked Ridge crossbow product lines, incorporate PolyOne solutions from its broad portfolio of materials, including soft-touch thermoplastic elastomers, sound-dampening materials, and high-strength engineered technologies.

"When we wanted to take our products to the next level of performance, we chose PolyOne, whose expertise and service to us has been exceptional," said Rick Bednar, CEO, TenPoint. "PolyOne's portfolio is specialized and expansive, and their technical support team is fully committed to our goals and success - exactly what you want in a strategic supplier."

The outdoor sports and equipment industry is a growing market for PolyOne, and the company is well positioned to deliver on its customers' most demanding requirements for specialty materials.

As MRC informed before, in June 2015, PolyOne joined the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) Group as an associate member. The Group is led by leading global clothing and footwear brands and is committed to steering the industry towards a goal to reduce discharge of harmful chemicals to zero by 2020.

PolyOne Corporation, with 2014 revenues of USD3.8 billion, is a premier provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions with operations in specialty polymer formulations, color and additive systems, polymer distribution and specialty vinyl resins.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The overall imports of polyethylene (PE) to the Republic of Belarus grew by 2.5% over the first five months of 2015 to 40,100 tonnes. Linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) accounted for the main increase in demand, reported MRC analysts.

According to the National Statistical Office of the Republic of Belarus, May PE imports to Belarus dropped to 8,500 tonnes from 8,900 tonnes a month earlier because of lower shipments of high density polyethylene (HDPE). The overall PE imports totalled 40,100 tonnes from January to May 2015 versus 39,100 tonnes over the same period a year earlier.

The structure of PE imports to Belarus by grades looks the following way over the stated period.

The overall May imports of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and LLDPE dropped to 5,200 tonnes from 5,300 tonnes a month earlier. LDPE shipments from Russia accounted for the bulk of reduction. The overall imports of these PE grades were 25,900 tonnes over the first five months of the year, up by 39.7% year on year.

May HDPE imports fell to 3,100 tonnes from 3,500 tonnes a month earlier because of lower supplies from the Middle Eastern producers. The overall imports of this PE grade to Belarus were 14,200 tonnes over the stated period versus 20,600 tonnes a year earlier.

MRC