PolyOne to expand specialty thermoplastics capacity in US

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PolyOne Corporation, a premier global provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions, has installed new equipment and expanded production capacity at its specialty dispersions plant in Massillon, Ohio, as per PlasticsNews.

The project focused on GSDI-brand specialty dispersions made by Avon Lake, Ohio-based PolyOne. The expansion will launch new colorant and additive solutions for silicone and other thermoset applications, officials said. It also will allow PolyOne to better serve customers and improve efficiency, they added.

"We thrive on collaborating with our customers to innovate and design materials that maximize performance and aesthetics for silicone-based products," color, additives and inks president John Van Hulle said in the release.

Work was completed April 4. The project is expected to create up to 20 new jobs. PolyOne did not disclose how much it invested.

PolyOne’s specialty dispersions business provides colorant solutions for carrier systems in silicone, rubber, vinyl, epoxy, urethane and plasticizers.

As MRC reported earlier, in January 2016, PolyOne Corporation announced the acquisition of Magenta Master Fibers (Magenta), an innovative developer of specialty solid color concentrates for the global fiber industry. PolyOne purchased Magenta from BASF for USD22 million.

PolyOne Corporation is a global provider of specialized polymer materials, services, and solutions with operations in specialty polymer formulations, color and additive systems, polymer distribution and specialty vinyl resins. The firm employs 7,300 worldwide and posted sales of USD3.4 billion in 2015.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Yanfeng Automotive Interiors (YFAI) has announced that it will establish a new manufacturing site in Plana nad Luznici, Czech Republic, according to GV.

According to YFAI, construction work on the new plant will start soon. Operational start is planned by early 2018. The company says it plans to create about 300 new jobs in the region.

“With our new location in South Bohemia, we are responding to market demand and our customers’ increasing presence in Eastern Europe,” said Jochen Heier, Vice President and General Manager, Europe & South Africa at YFAI.

On around 20,000 m2 production area the company will manufacture interior components, including instrument panels and door panels, for future models of different customers. The plant will be set up to adapt flexibly to the capacity requirements of YFAI and its customers and enable the company to respond to continued growth in the automotive market.

The new plant in the South Bohemian region is not YFAI’s first presence in the Czech Republic. The company already operates a plant in Zatec as well as other sites in Slovakia and Hungary in Eastern Europe.

As MRC wrote before, in July 2014, Nexen Tire Corp., South Korea's smallest tiremaker, announced that it aimed to make inroads into the European market by spending 1.2 trillion won (USD 1.17 billion) to build a new production plant in the Czech Republic,

YFAI is a supplier of instrument panels and cockpit systems, door panels, floor consoles and overhead consoles. Headquartered in Shanghai, the company has around 100 manufacturing and technical centres in 17 countries and employs over 28,000 people globally. Established in 2015, YFAI is a joint venture between Yanfeng Automotive Trim Systems Co., Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Huayu Automotive Systems Co., Ltd., the component group of SAIC Motor Corporation Limited, and the multi-industrial company Johnson Controls.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- India-based JBF Petrochemicals has signed a long-term agreement with ONGC Mangalore Petrochemicals Ltd. (OMPL) for the supply of paraxylene, the main raw material in the production of purefied terephthalic acid (PTA), said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

JBF Petrochemicals is in the process of commissioning a PTA plant with 1.25 MMtpy of capacity, using technology from BP, at Mangalore. The paraxylene will be supplied by OMPL to JBF through a dedicated pipeline of about 3 kilometers in length.

The agreement includes the supply of paraxylene (PX) over a period of 10 years, with a provision to further increase the period of supply by another 5 to 10 years by mutual consent.

The deal assures the long-term supply of raw material for the PTA project, according to JBF officials.

As it was written earlier, in 2013, Technip was awarded by JBF Petrochemicals, a wholly–owned subsidiary of JBF Industries Ltd, an important contract(1) for a 1.25 million tons per year latest-generation purified terephthalic acid (PTA) unit, to be located in the Special Economic Zone in Mangalore, India.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Fairfax India Holdings Corp., through wholly-owned subsidiaries, has agreed to invest USD300-million in exchange for a 30% equity interest in the Sanmar Chemicals Group, reported Apic-online.

Fairfax is limited to investing no more than 25% of its total assets in any single investment, with a current limit of about USD250-million.

The company said it will fund an initial tranche of USD250-million upon the closing of the transaction, and the second tranche of $50-million will be funded within 90 days thereafter by subsidiary Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. The first tranche is expected to be completed during the second quarter of this year.

Sanmar currently has a combined total of 300,000 t/y of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) capacity at facilities in Mettur and Cuddalore, India. The company is also expanding its Egyptian PVC capacity to 400,000 t/y from 200,000 t/y.

"Once the expansion is completed, Sanmar will have a total PVC capacity of over 700,000 t/y, making it among the largest PVC companies in the world," noted Fairfax. Additionally, Sanmar produces ethylene, caus-tic soda and other chemicals.

We remind that, as MRC informed previously, Taiyo Vinyl, another large petrochemical producer in Asia and one of Japan's largest PVC manufacturer, is likely restart its PVC plant in mid-April 2016 following a maintenance turnaround. The plant was taken offstream in early March 2016. Located in Yokkaichi in Japan, the PVC plant has a production capacity of 310,000 mt/year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A fire broke out during routine maintenance at a United Petrochemical Company plant in the Saudi industrial city of Jubail on Saturday, killing 12 workers and injuring another 11, said Reuters.

The fire was small and extinguished quickly, the report said, but left people with severe smoke inhalation due.

United is a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia Basic Industries Corp 2010.SE (SABIC).

Spokesmen for SABIC and United could not immediately be reached for comment.

As MRC informed earlier, SABIC said that it had started trial operations at a new rubber plant it has built as a joint venture with a unit of ExxonMobil.

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) ranks among the world's top petrochemical companies. The company is among the world's market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.

MRC