Carlyle eyes Varo Energy IPO valuing European refiner at USD2 B

MOSCOW (MRC) — Varo Energy BV's owners, US private equity firm Carlyle Group and commodities trader Vitol, are looking at an initial public offering next year that could value the European oil refiner at about USD2 B, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Varo is expected to list its shares on the Amsterdam stock exchange, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Vivo Energy Investments BV, a fuel-stations operator partially backed by Vitol, is also gearing up for a possible IPO next year that could value the company at above USD3 B, the newspaper said.

A spokeswoman for Varo Energy said the company does not "comment on industry speculation," while a Vitol representative declined to comment. Carlyle was not immediately available for comment outside regular business hours.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, has introduced new additive solutions developed to meet the specific needs of the Asian coatings market at ChinaCoat, the global coatings show taking place in Shanghai from November 15 to 17, as per the company's press release.

The focus of the new solutions on aspects such as safety, UV protection and greater environmental-compatibility is of particular relevance to China and its continuing boom in building, infrastructure and maritime projects. Last year, 84 skyscrapers over 200 meters tall were constructed in China and the country will build 66 new civil airports on its mainland within the next 5 years. In addition, its merchant vessels fleet has expanded almost three-fold in the past three years. The world’s 2nd largest economy is placing huge emphasis on the construction industry to ensure structures and cities are safe and sustainable.

"Our new innovations will enable formulators to keep up with the trend towards more eco-friendly and low emission coatings, as the transition away from solvent-based coatings continues", says Stephan Lynen, Head of Clariant BU Additives. "We have new products for waterborne and powder coatings, for use on a broad range of substrates, indoors and outdoors. But we appreciate that moving completely away from solvent-borne coatings is still not possible in all situations, so we continue to develop additives to improve these systems as well."

A typical example of Clariant’s latest innovations is light stabilizer Hostavin TB-03, a high performance synergistic combination of a UV absorber and a radical scavenger containing neither toluene nor xylene and suitable for both water- and solvent-borne systems. Two more light stabilizers, Hostavin 3070 P and Hostavin 3070 Disp, offer a “label free” alternative to traditional HALS currently used in solventborne and waterborne systems respectively.

Hostavin 3070 Disp has been awarded the Clariant EcoTain label for outstanding sustainability and best-in-class performance. This label identifies Clariant products that have an outstanding sustainability and performance profile.

Further new introductions provide sustainability benefits for customers producing powder coatings and intumescent coatings. AddWorks IBC 251 produces an improved tribo-charge effect that reduces over-sprays in powder coating materials and also improves heat stabilization during the baking process. Exolit AP 428, a new flame retardant based on ammonium polyphosphate, greatly simplifies the production of waterborne intumescent coatings; it can be used as a flame retardant in textile and plastics applications as well.

Clariant is also launching several new Ceridust wax-based additives for wood and powder coating systems. Ceridust 2740 TP, for example, a blend that is easy to incorporate into water- and solvent-borne systems, is the company’s response to the trend for coatings with higher clarity, while Ceridust 9322 F TP, a PTFE-modified product, provides very high scratch resistance levels in solvent-based coatings and also results in a smooth surface touch; it can also be used in powder coatings to substantially reduce surface friction and improve mar and scratch resistance.

Clariant announced earlier this year that two new additives facilities at its existing site in Zhenjiang are scheduled to come on-stream in the second half of next year. "These facilities will enable us to offer innovative high-end solutions tailored to the specific needs of the local coatings, inks and plastics industries, with accelerated response times", says Lynen. In addition to the new products being launched at ChinaCoat, the locally-produced portfolio will also include several important additives from Clariant’s existing portfolio that are already well-established in the Chinese and Asian markets.

As MRC wrote earlier, Clariant plans to invest approximately CHF 10 mln - a global initiative to expand its ability to produce color and additive masterbatches and compounds using engineering polymers and high-temperature plastics like PEEK (polyether ether ketone) is progressing on schedule.

Clariant AG is a Swiss chemical company and a world leader in the production of specialty chemicals for the textile, printing, mining and metallurgical industries. It is engaged in processing crude oil products in pigments, plastics and paints.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Nordic plastics film specialist Rani Plast Group has formed a new independent company, Tatrafan, including the group’s jointly owned flexible packaging operations in Eastern Europe, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

This new spin-off business comprises the joint venture bioriented polypropylene (BOPP) packaging film and conversion operations in Slovakia and the Ukraine. Together with specialised dielectric insulation film production, the packaging units were formerly run by Terichem, owned 50:50 by Rani Plast of Finland and the Slovak firm Chemosvit.

But, to differentiate between the group’s technical insulation films and flexible packaging operations, the specialist technical business will continue to be run by Terichem, renamed in January as Terichem Tervakoski, to reflect the product brand name.

"We wanted to separate the companies because they produce different types of products and live their own lives. This way things become clearer," explained Mikael Ahlback, CEO of Rani Plast Group. Most of Tatrafan’s packaging films are manufactured at a plant in Svit, Slovakia with packaging product conversion to bags carried out at Lutsk in western Ukraine. There, the company has invested several million euros in new machinery recently.

Further investment is promised for the Slovak site where output is set to grow. “We will also invest in the factory in Slovakia and expand the capacity there, as we want to be involved in building the packaging industry in the region,” announced Ahlback. Meanwhile, Teerijarvi, Finland-based Rani Plast, a leading extruder of agricultural film, has begun commercial operation of what is the world’s biggest agro-films extruder turning out film up to seven layers as wide as 22m.

The new line, custom-built by US blown film extruder supplier Davis-Standard, required a roof extension in the machine hall to fit the line’s 50m high production tower. Part of a €16m project by family-owned Rani Plast at its Teerijarvi unit, the line started up in January 2017.

From the summer, the line has been running full out to meet increased demand for wider agro film in Europe, in part required for ever bigger farm silos. The widest film is also used by biogas plants and in the turf industry, said Rani Plast.

"The machine is operating at full capacity, which means that we will be able to deliver films to the very end of this season," predicted sales manager Christer Vidjeskog back in May. The project is the group’s single largest investment in its history.

The agro film capacity at its Teerijarvi plant has doubled with the arrival of the new line and production overall there has grown by 10%, according to the group.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- US-based Alpha Packaging has acquired a plant in Etten-Leur, the Netherlands, from Graham Packaging Co. as part of its bid to support growth in Europe, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The St. Louis, Missouri-based company said the acquired plant is its second production unit in Europe, “just a few miles” from its existing facility in Roosendaal. The company did not disclose the terms of transaction, which was completed 2 Nov.

The PET and HDPE bottle maker said the new blow-moulding facility would boost its stake in rigid food packaging. Alpha is a blow moulder of bottles and jars for rapidly growing consumer markets, including the nutrition, pharmaceutical, personal care and niche food and beverage categories.

It currently operates ten manufacturing facilities, including eight in North America and is owned by Irving Place Capital, a middle-market private equity firm.

The acquisition, said Jeffrey Kellar, Alpha’s president and chief executive officer, “more than doubles” Alpha’s production capacity in Europe, making it one of the largest single stage blow moulding operations in the region.

Already a packaging supplier to the vitamins, minerals & supplements and personal care markets in Europe, Alpha expects to gain a “strong foothold” in the European food packaging sector with the Etten-Leur facility, which has a grade “AA” certification for the BRC-IoP global standard for packaging and packaging materials.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF TOTAL Petrochemicals LLC has enhanced the production capabilities of its petrochemical complex, located in Port Arthur, Texas, by installing processing and treatment facilities for the import of butylenes and butanes from the Total Port Arthur Refinery, as per the company's press release.

This installation enables BASF TOTAL Petrochemicals to make use of these refinery byproducts to produce higher value propylene. This is another major step in the development of BASF TOTAL Petrochemicals petrochemical complex to optimize operations. The company previously implemented measures enabling the facility to take advantage of lighter, lower cost feed stocks, such as ethane.

"This investment further strengthens the partnership between BASF and Total Petrochemicals, allowing us to continue building supply to meet growing customer demand, while helping the company maintain its competitive position within the petrochemicals industry," said Heather Remley, BASF Senior Vice President, Petrochemicals North America.

"The Port Arthur site is one of the key industrial platforms for Total in the world," remarked Christophe Gerondeau, President and Chief Executive Officer of Total Petrochemicals & Refining USA, Inc. "This investment creates value for both BASF TOTAL Petrochemicals and the Total Port Arthur refinery through industrial synergies."

As MRC informed earlier, within the next five years, BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany) 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 TOTAL Petrochemicals LLC is located in Port Arthur, Texas and manufactures a range of chemicals used in hundreds of consumer products. BASF TOTAL is a joint venture partnership between BASF Corporation, 60 percent ownership, and Total Petrochemicals & Refining USA, 40 percent ownership.

BASF Corporation, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has more than 17,500 employees in North America, and had sales of USD16.2 billion in 2016.
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