Veka plans fourth US extrusion plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Since North American operations have been doing well recently, Veka Inc (Fombell, Pennsylvania / USA) – a subsidiary of German PVC profiles producer Veka (Sendenhorst) – is planning to set up a fourth production facility in the US, said Plasteurope.

Three existing plant properties in North and South Carolina have been narrowed down as possibilities for the new site, with each facility having over 14,864 m? of floor space. The new location will have as many as 30 extrusion lines and also include manufacturing support, offices and warehouse space.

Veka’s North American president, Joe Peilert, says the new extrusion location is scheduled to open in 2018. With this step, Veka will grow to have four production plants in North America. Since closing production in Edmonton, Alberta / Canada, Veka has been manufacturing extruded profiles in the US at Fombell, Pennsylvania, Reno, Nevada, and Terrell, Texas.

The company plans to strengthen its Latin America presence too. A warehouse and a logistics centre are to be set up in Mexico in the fourth quarter of 2017, with an exact location not yet disclosed. Veka also has sales offices in Argentina and Chile.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF has again been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World). This year, the chemicals group has been especially recognized for its comprehensive innovation management, environmental and social reporting as well as its focused materiality assessment, as per the company's press release.

The DJSI World is one of the most renowned sustainability indices. It represents the top 10% of the largest 2,500 companies in the S&P Global Broad Market IndexSM based on their sustainability performance.

BASF has now been included in the DJSI World for 17 consecutive years. The selected companies must demonstrate continuous improvement with regard to sustainability and are assessed by analysts from asset manager RobecoSAM.

“We are very pleased about the result. We are continuously working to improve our sustainability performance and being listed for the seventeenth time in a row confirms that we are on the right track,” says Dirk Voeste, Vice President Sustainability Strategy at BASF.

BASF is also again listed in the FTSE4Good Index Series. Only companies that meet stringent criteria in social, environmental and corporate governance (ESG) and manage to continuously confirm or develop these in regularly conducted assessments are listed in these indices. BASF is top class in terms of ESG among chemical companies belonging to the index.

We remind that, as MRC informed before, within the next five years, BASF plans to invest globally more than EUR200 million in its plastic additives business, approximately half of which in Asia, focusing on capacity expansions and operational excellence. Plastic additives improve product properties such as scratch resistance or light stability, and optimize plastics manufacturing processes. As the leading global supplier of plastic additives with manufacturing assets in all regions, BASF is a major partner to the plastics industry.

BASF is the largest diversified chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Stavrolen, Russia's major polyolefins producer, shut down its high density polyethylene (HDPE) production for a long turnaround, according to ICIS-MRC Price report with reference to the plant's customers.

On Saturday, 16 September, Stavrolen took off-stream its HDPE production capacities for a scheduled long maintenance. The plant's clients said the outage is to be conducted during two months. Some plant's units will be upgraded during the turnaround.

It is worth noting that Kazanorgsintez, Russia's largest HDPE producer, shut one of its three reactors for maintenance at the beginning of last week. The complete shutdown is scheduled for 25 September.

Stavrolen, Lukoil's subsidiary, is Russia's second largest HDPE producer after Kazanorgsintez and the fifth largest polypropylene (PP) manufacturer. Stavrolen's HDPE production is 300,000 tonnes/year. The plant's HDPE output reached 193,600 tonnes in the first eight months of 2017, up by 7% year on year.
MRC

Last month's HDPE shipments to the Russian market grew to a record 25,000 tonnes over the past two years from 15,000 tonnes in July, with HDPE from Uzbekistan accounting for the main increase in supplies.Overall HDPE imports reached 143,000 tonnes in January-August 2017, compared to 96,200 tonnes a year earlier. The increase in imports was registered in all consumption sectors, but film grade polyethylene (PE) accounted for the largest increase in imports.

The structure of PE imports looked the following way over the stated period.

Last month's film grade HDPE imports went up to 7,000 tonnes from 3,400 tons in July, local companies increased their purchasing in Uzbekistan. Overall HDPE imports reached 34,700 tonnes in the first eight months of 2017 versus 15,200 tonnes a year earlier.

August imports of injection moulding HDPE were about 5,600 tonnes versus 3,400 tonnes a month earlier, shipments from Uzbekistan also increased. Imports of injection moulding HDPE totalled 33,100 tonnes in the first eight months of the year, compared to 24,700 tonnes a year earlier.

Last month's imports of HDPE for extrusion blow moulding (EBM) rose to 4,800 tonnes, compared to 2,000 tonnes in July. Imports of this HDPE grade grew in January-August 2017 by 40% year on year to 29,500 tonnes.

HDPE imports to other consumption segments (extrusion coating of large-diameter steel pipes, pipes extrusion, etc.) totalled 45,700 tonnes in the first eight months of 2017 versus 35,300 tonnes a year earlier.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Solvay will begin producing high-performance polyetherketoneketone (PEKK) polymers in the United States early next year, to support its composite materials business in meeting growing aerospace demand, as per the company's press release.

"Solvay further affirms its unique position in lightweighting materials by joining the forces of its high performance specialty polymers and composite materials to produce its own PEKK resin," said Roger Kearns, member of Solvay’s Executive Committee. "This new capacity will address fast-growing demand for thermoplastic composites and 3D printing components in aerospace and in other markets."

Building on its leading position in metal replacement materials, Solvay will commence PEKK production at its site in Augusta, Georgia, and under the trade name NovaSpire.

PEKK is used in thermoplastic composites reinforced with carbon fibers and in additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, in a range of industrial applications.

As MRC informed before, in late 2016, Solvay completed the sale of its 70.59% stake in Solvay Indupa to Brazilian chemical group Unipar Carbocloro, following the approval earlier this month of the Brazilian antitrust authority CADE.

Besides, in early July 2016, Solvay completed the divestment of its shareholding in Inovyn (London), bringing to an end Solvay's chlorvinyls joint venture with Ineos. Solvay received exit cash proceeds amounting to EUR335 million (USD370.7 million). The dissolution of the jv follows regulatory clearances from the relevant authorities.

Inovyn was formed on 1 July 2015 as a jv between Ineos and SolVin, a subsidiary of Solvay. Solvay and Ineos signaled their decision to end their chlorvinyls jv in March this year.

Solvay is headquartered in Brussels with about 27,000 employees spread across 58 countries. It generated pro forma net sales of EUR10.9 bn in 2016, with 90% made from activities where it ranks among the world’s top 3 players.
MRC