Inovyn to open potassium hydroxide plant in Antwerp, Belgium

MOSCOW (MRC) -- European PVC producer Inovyn is planning to open a potassium hydroxide (KOH) production facility, with an annual production capacity of 160,000t, at its Lillo site in Antwerp, Belgium, said Chemicals-technology.

The construction of the new plant will be completed by the end by 2017. Inovyn has already started working on the project, which includes key additional site infrastructure and procurement of major plant items.

"Through this project Inovyn is leading the way in providing continuity of supply to customers." Inovyn operations director Jean-Michel Mesland said: "This is a very exciting project for INOVYN and we are delighted with progress made so far.

Inovyn's Antwerp site directly offers chlorine, which is co-produced with KOH through pipeline to its customers.
Inovyn is an equal joint-venture combining Ineos' and Solvay's chlorvinyls activities, formed in July this year.

The company has an annual turnover of more than EUR3.5bn, and a workforce of around 4,300 employees in manufacturing, sales and marketing operations in ten countries across Europe. Inovyn produces more than 40 million tonnes of organic chlorine derivatives, chlor alkali, general purpose vinyls, and specialty vinyls per year.

Recently, Inovyn announced the closure of its PVC production facility at their Schkopau site in Germany. Since December last year, Schkopau's production had been suspended after the expiry of the supply contract with DOW.

Inovyn promised to continue supply for the customers previously supplied from Schkopau by sourcing PVC from other production sites.

Inovyn Schkopau site managing director Jeff Seed said: "It is extremely disappointing that we have been unable to agree a competitive long-term supply contract with DOW.

As MRC informed earlier, Solvay and INEOS announce the start-up of their Joint Venture INOVYN, a world-class competitive player in chlorovinyls.

Headquartered in London, INOVYN has pro-forma sales of more than EUR3 billion, with 4,300 employees and assets across 18 sites in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the UK. Governance of the Joint Venture is equally split between the partners.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Cytec Industries Inc. announced that the waiting period for the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act of 1976, as amended, has expired in connection with the previously announced merger with Solvay SA, said the company in its press release.

Accordingly, the condition with respect to the expiration of the applicable waiting periods under the HSR Act has been satisfied.

The deal received the clearance after the waiting period ended under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act.

Solvay announced the USD5.5bn deal earlier this year.

As MRC informed previously, in early 2015, Solvay completed the acquisition of the Ryton PPS (polyphenylene sulphide) business from US-based Chevron Phillips Chemical Company for USD220 million, enlarging its high-performance polymers offering and entering a solid growth market.

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) -- Polish chemical group Synthos has signed an agreement with the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR) to start an open innovation-based project for the chemical industry, said Chemicals-technology.

The joint-venture aims to develop a new generation of chemical products that will contribute to the chemicals industry in Poland.

NCBR Director Krzysztof Jan Kurzydlowski said: "Polish chemical companies have great potential. The best strategy to make use of this is to develop on the basis of new technologies."

"Investment in innovation allows to obtain a lasting competitive advantage. It is pleasing to me that one of the leaders of the Polish chemical market has decided to develop new technologies in co-operation with Polish scientists."
"Together with our partner we undertake the project, which will fund top level R&D that can increase the competitiveness of the Polish economy, and thus affect everyone's standard of living."

Under the agreement, both the partners will establish an open innovation permanent and cyclical support mechanism based on an open innovation model.

Under the agreement, the NCBR and Synthos will contribute public and private funds in R&D in an equal ratio, as well as sharing the risk.

The NCBR-Synthos agreement aims at developing an increased participation of entrepreneurs in R&D financing.
Synthos board chairman Tomasz Kalwat said: "A company which successfully competes on today's market is an innovative one, with an ability to create, implement and disseminate creative solutions.

"R&D investment is a permanent part of the development of Synthos. We hope that the joint-venture with the NCBR will result with interesting and innovative projects on a global scale."

As MRC informed earlier, Rosneft, Pirelli S.p.A. and Synthos S.A. signed a Memorandum of Understanding with regard to performing a feasibility study in the area of R&D, production and supply of synthetic rubber in the city of Nakhodka within the framework of the FEPCO (Far East Petrochemical Company) petrochemical cluster.

Synthos Group S.A. is one of the largest manufacturers of chemical raw materials in Poland. The Company is the first European manufacturer of emulsion rubbers and a leading manufacturer of polystyrene.The company offers high-grade, sophisticated technological products to a wide range of customers worldwide. Synthos S.A. is a company which was established following the merger of Firma Chemiczna Dwory S.A. and Kaucuk a.s.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Kraton Performance Polymers Inc. said Monday that it has agreed to buy closely held Arizona Chemical Holdings Corp. for USD1.37 billion in cash, said the Wall Street Journal.

Arizona Chemical makes chemicals found in things like breakfast cereal packaging and car tires from renewable materials. Kraton, which makes polymers used in products such as baby diaper elastic and roofing materials, said it expects the acquisition to diversify its markets.

The deal will also allow Kraton to reduce its overall exposure to hydrocarbon-based feedstocks, Chief Executive Kevin Fogarty said in a news release.

Kraton said it is targeting USD65 million in synergies by 2018 and expects the deal to add USD1.40 to its per-share earnings in the first full year after closing. The combined company had USD1.98 billion in revenue in the year ended June 30. Last year, Kraton posted USD1.23 billion in revenue.

The deal is expected to close by early next year. Kraton shares, down 12% this year, were inactive premarket.

As MRC wrote before, Kraton Performance Polymers announced the introduction of two new hydrogenated styrenic block copolymers (HSBCs).

Arizona Chemical is a market-driven global specialty chemicals company that manufactures and sells high-value performance products derived from pine wood pulping co-products. As the largest global provider in the pine chemicals industry, Arizona Chemical refines and further upgrades two primary feedstocks, crude tall oil and crude sulfate turpentine, into value added specialty products.

Kraton Performance Polymers, Inc., through its operating subsidiary Kraton Polymers LLC and its subsidiaries (collectively, "Kraton"), is a leading global producer of engineered polymers and one of the world's largest producers of styrenic block copolymers (SBCs), a family of products whose chemistry was pioneered by Kraton 50 years ago. Kraton's polymers are used in a wide range of applications, including adhesives, coatings, consumer and personal care products, sealants and lubricants, and medical, packaging, automotive, paving, roofing and footwear products.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Solvay has created new opportunities at its Portuguese site in Povoa by upgrading its peroxide activities and by opening the strategically located premises to other companies, said the company in its press release.

Over the past 19 months, and following the ending of Solvay’s on-site soda ash activities, Solvay’s Peroxides Global Business Unit has taken a range of measures to improve the long-term competitiveness of the site, which has a long tradition in serving Portugal’s leading pulp & paper industry and provides solutions to the textile, mining, industrial and hospital disinfection, for the treatment of effluents.

@Our recent investments on site reinforce our long-term commitment to our customers to whom we will continue to deliver top quality products. The optimization of the site makes it a strong industrial platform with plenty of potential thanks to the sharing of facilities, services and expert workforce with internal or external companies" said Alain Jeanmart, General Manager Peroxides for EMEA.

The hydrogen peroxide unit is now integrated with the sodium chlorate plant. Thanks to its highly skilled personnel, it runs continuously industrial-level trials that support the Research and Innovation for Solvay’s hydrogen peroxide plants worldwide.

Excellence measures to increase energy efficiency and reduce CO2 emission were implemented through an innovative project by burning an excess of hydrogen to produce energy as steam, thereby reducing production costs.

The site’s lay-out was reshaped with new facility networks now fully operational and around 30 hectares of land are now available for the development of new activities. The site’s location close to the capital city, the international airport and commercial ports, positions it ideally to meet local and regional customers’ and industrial partner’s needs.

As MRC informed earlier, BASF, SK Chemicals (Seoul) and Solvay are in discussions, which may lead to the construciton of a hydrogen peroxide-to-propylene oxide (HPPO) project at Ulsan. SKC, a chemical unit under SK Group, has sought to use BASF's production license to build a propylene oxide facility with a 400,000-ton capacity in Ulsan, 414 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

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 пїЅ fluoropolymers, fluoroelastomers, fluorinated fluids, semi-aromatic polyamides, sulfone polymers, aromatic ultra polymers, high-barrier polymers and cross-linked high-performance compounds.
MRC