Mitsui Chemicals to acquire TSP business from Asahi Kasei

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Japanese producer Mitsui Chemicals said on Monday it would acquire the SUNVIEO thermoplastic styrene elastomer (TPS) business from Asahi Kasei on 1 December, 2017, as per the company's press release.

Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Used primarily in the automotive industry, thermoplastic elastomers are being met with growing global
demand as a replacement for polyvinyl chloride and vulcanized rubber. Mitsui Chemicals has so far supplied its MILASTOMER thermoplastic elastomer for a growing range of automotive applications.

The company’s thermoplastic vulcanizate elastomer (TPV) has seen use in automotive interior skin, weather strips, steering gear boots and more. Meanwhile, its thermoplastic olefin elastomer (TPO) has been used for parts such as airbag covers.

In acquiring Asahi Kasei’s SUNVIEO business, Mitsui Chemicals will add TPS to its line up. This will allow the company to respond to a wider range of needs across numerous areas, including automotive parts and consumer products. Mitsui Chemicals also expects that it will be able to use the acquired technology to further differentiate its existing MILASTOMER lineup from the competition.

As MRC wrote before, in March 2016, Mitsui & Co., Ltd. and Hankuk Carbon Co., a company listed on the Korea Exchange, entered into a strategic alliance agreement to engage in collaborative business activities relating to the processing of composite materials. Based on this agreement, Mitsui was to acquire a 10% equity stake in HC (on a voting rights basis) for an investment of KRW 30.6 billion.

Mitsui Chemicals is a leading manufacturer and supplier of value added specialty chemicals, plastics and materials for the automotive, healthcare, packaging, agricultural, building, and semiconductor and electronics markets. Mitsui Chemicals is a Japanese Chemicals company, a part of the Mitsui conglomerate. The company has a turnover of around 15 billion USD and has business interests in Japan, Europe, China, Southeast Asia and the USA. The company mainly deals in performance materials, petro and basic chemicals and functional polymeric materials.
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MOSCOW (MRC) — CB&I announced it has been selected by Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) for the license, engineering design and catalyst supply for a residue upgrading unit in Mathura, India, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The unit will use Chevron Lummus Global's (CLG) LC-MAX and ISOCRACKING technologies. The scope of work also includes the supply of catalysts, proprietary reactor internals, and training and technical services. CLG is a joint venture between Chevron U.S.A. Inc. and CB&I.

CLG's ISOCRACKING and LC-MAX technologies provide the most flexible upgrade path of vacuum residue to lighter, premium products at an industry-leading conversion rate of 90%. The flexibility and high-conversion rates achieved by the technologies enable customers to reach a balance between stringent product specifications, product yield and cycle run-length, all with the benefit of lower capital investment and operating costs, the company said in a press release.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shandong Shenda Chemical has completed a maintenance at its polypropylene (PP) plant, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the company has recently resumed operations at the plant following a turnaround. The plant was taken off-line for maintenance on October 5, 2017.

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

As MRC informed before, in mid-May 2017, Sinopec Yangzi Petrochemical took off-stream its PP plant in China for a maintenance turnaround. The duration of the planned shutdown could not be ascertained. Located in Jiangsu province, China, the plant comprising three units have a production capacity of 200,000 mt/year, 100,000 mt/year and 100,000 mt/year.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Nippon Shokubai Co. will go forward with a feasibility study for building a new acrylic acid production facility at its Nippon Shokubai Indonesia subsidiary in Indonesia, as per Apic-online.

The expansion would allow Nippon Shokubai to establish a system capable of producing a combined total of 1-million t/y of acrylic acid at its plants worldwide, the company noted.

A final decision on the project is planned in 2018 and operations are expected to begin in 2021.

As MRC reported earlier, on 10 November, 2015, Nippon Shokubai Co announced that Nippon Shokubai Europe, a subsidiary in Belgium, had held a groundbreaking ceremony for new superabsorbent polymer (SAP) plant and acrylic acid (AA) plant in its plant site in Antwerp, Belgium.

Nippon Shokubai Europe N.V. manufactures chemical products. The Company offers a wide range of superabsorbent polymers such as acrylic acids and polyacrylates for diverse applications. Nippon Shokubai Europe conducts business worldwide.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Covestro has begun operations at a new production facility for aqueous polyurethane dispersions (PUDs) at its Dormagen site, as per the company's press release.

Along with a current expansion of production in Barcelona, the company is thus boosting its capacities in Europe significantly. In order to meet global demand, Covestro is also building a new facility in China, as well as planning to resume production in the United States and at the same time modernizing and expanding facilities there.

The new capacity is primarily needed to satisfy rising demand from the coatings and adhesives industry: manufacturers remain determined to replace solvent-based products with more sustainable waterborne systems that have equally good properties. Also driving the trend are regulations that require lower emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC).

"With these investments, we are preparing for the continued growing demand for polyurethane dispersions as well as expanding our globally leading position," says Michael Friede, global head of the Coatings, Adhesives, Specialties segment at Covestro. "At the same time, thanks to our diversified production, we have the flexibility to meet many different requirements."

This diversity is also the key to the comprehensive line of polyurethane dispersions (PUDs) that Covestro offers. "Our custom-tailored products allow for many applications in very different industries," Michael Friede explains. "In this way, we create opportunities for growth and strengthen our customers’ competitiveness."

As the leading global supplier of PUDs, Covestro also holds a top position in research and development and in process technologies. The company provides technical service and support to customers worldwide.

Polyurethane dispersions can be used in a wide variety of applications. For example, products in the Bayhydrol UH, U and UV series and Bayhytherm are a component of base coats for automotive OEM and refinishing coatings, as well as a component of wood and furniture coatings and long-wearing floor coatings. Adhesives formulated with Dispercoll U are used in the production of furniture and shoes as well as in the automotive industry.

Under the name Impranil, the low-solvent raw materials also play an important role in the production of coated textiles and polyurethane synthetics. PUDs in the Baybond product line are used in the form of glass fiber sizings to produce robust plastic composites (glass-fiber-reinforced plastics). The film formers adhere very well to the fibers, but, in composites with thermoplastics, they are still elastic enough to ensure the necessary stability.

As MRC wrote earlier, in September 2017, German drugs and pesticides group Bayer further reduced its holding in Covestro to 31.5% from 40.9% by selling 19 million shares in the plastics business for a total of EUR1.2 billion (USD1.4 billion).

With 2016 sales of EUR 11.9 billion, Covestro (formerly Bayer MaterialScience) is an independent subgroup within Bayer. It was created as part of the restructuring of Bayer AG from the former business group Bayer Polymers, with certain of its activities being spun off to Lanxess AG. Covestro manufactures and develops materials such as coatings, adhesives and sealants, polycarbonates (CDs, DVDs), polyurethanes (automotive seating, insulation for refrigerating appliances) etc. Covestro has 30 production sites worldwide and employs approximately 15,600 people (calculated as full-time equivalents) at the end of 2016.
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