DSM sharpens focus on additive manufacturing

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Royal DSM, a global science-based company active in health, nutrition and materials, has announced a new approach for its additive manufacturing (AM) activities, said the producer in its press release.

By aligning all its AM activities within the Materials cluster and promoting a partnership approach, DSM can provide customers an open and flexible infrastructure. This will help customers to find exactly the right materials and production systems for their applications.

The new customer-centric organization will build on experience and expertise from all of DSM’s existing materials businesses, combining deep market segment-specific application understanding and expertise in all polymer AM processing technology platforms.

After two decades in which DSM established itself as a major player in the AM area with its Somos business in resins for stereolithography (SLA) and Digital Light Processing (DLP), the company is now forming an integrated business - DSM Additive Manufacturing. By aligning all of its AM activities beyond SLA and DLP, DSM will offer Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) as well as experience from years of research in Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), Multi Jet Fusion, Ink Jet and Binder Jet processes.

DSM will initially focus on four market segments in particular: healthcare, transportation, apparel and tools & electronics - all areas on the cutting edge of manufacturing and with strong commitments to AM. The aim is to help customers find exactly the right materials and production systems for their applications.

"Somos has provided us with a deep understanding of key market segments and end-customer needs in the AM space," says Hugo da Silva, VP of Additive Manufacturing at DSM. "We continue to introduce major innovations in SLA and DLP materials, but this is only a part of the total AM picture, and we want to cover the entire area."

"Right now, there is a lot of excitement around Fused Filament Fabrication and DSM has a growing portfolio of materials for this technology, including Novamid" polyamide and Arnitel thermoplastic elastomer. But we intend to go much further, extending our innovation efforts - supported by technology partnerships and industry collaboration - to develop new solutions for SLS, Multi Jet Fusion, Ink Jet and Binder Jet. We also want to explore new and emerging technologies in AM as they graduate from research, giving us the industry’s broadest solutions portfolio."

DSM Additive Manufacturing will have a strong focus on R&D and continuous innovation that will enable it to develop a broader, sustainable solutions portfolio.

Integral to DSM’s future strategy in AM is what the company calls the 'ecosystem' approach. Having partnerships and collaboration as part of the foundation of the new organization allows DSM to provide customers with an open and flexible infrastructure. "Providing the right material and the right platform for specific applications is key to accelerate adoption of 3D Printing into manufacturing. Collaboration in the industry will allow more applications to benefit from the great advantages of AM, at an affordable cost", says da Silva.

As MRC reported before, in 2013, Royal DSM signed a partnership agreement with long fibre thermoplastic (LFT) specialist Plasticomp (Winona, Minnesota/USA) to develop bio-based LFT composite materials based on DSM’s "EcoPaXX" polyamide 4.10. The lightweight materials, which include compounds reinforced with glass fiber as well as carbon fiber, will be targeted at automotive and other performance-driven markets.

Royal DSM is a global science-based company active in health, nutrition and materials. DSM delivers innovative solutions that nourish, protect and improve performance in global markets such as food and dietary supplements, personal care, feed, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, automotive, paints, electrical and electronics, life protection, alternative energy and bio-based materials.
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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.
MRC

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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