Cosmo Films commissions a new CPP line and a metalizer

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Cosmo Films, a global leader in films for packaging, lamination and labeling applications has announced commissioning of its second Cast Polypropylene (CPP) Line and fourth metalizer, both having annual capacity of 7500 MT, as per the company's press release.

With installation of these new lines, the company’s annual CPP films capacity will go from 1800 MT to 9300 MT and the metalized films will increase from 15000 MT to 22,500 MT.

These new lines have been commissioned at company’s existing facility at Karjan, near Vadodara, India which already houses BOPP lines, extrusion coating & chemical coating lines and a metalizer. The 2.85 meter CPP line is five-layered and is designed to produce speciality films (especially barrier films) for various packaging applications. The line has the possibility to have multilayer combinations. The new 2.85 meter metalizer is equipped with advanced control monitoring system and closed loop auto deposition control system. The facility at Karjan has been developed keeping future expansions in mind.

Speaking on the development, Mr. Pankaj Poddar, CEO, Cosmo Films Ltd said, "Apart from being a focussed BOPP player over the years, we have made significant efforts in recent times to become a complete film solution provider with more and more films to offer along with various value added services. Moreover there has been a dearth of organised CPP players in the market and with the expansion of our capacity; we shall be better suited to serve our customers. The new lines are also expected to help increase the overall margins and volumes to some extent."

As MRC wrote previously, in April 2017, Cosmo Films Limited announced plans to install a new production line at Waluj for Speciality Polyester (Biaxially-Oriented Polyethylene Terephthalate) films by Q3 of 2018-19. The new unit is expected to be ready by the third quarter of 2018-19.

Established in 1981, Cosmo Films Limited today is a global leader in speciality films for packaging, lamination and labeling applications. Its films offerings include biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) films, cast polypropylene (CPP) films and soon to be offered biaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate (BOPET) films. Today, the company is the largest exporter of BOPP films from India and is also the largest producer of thermal laminating films in the world with plant cum distribution centres in the U.S, Korea & Japan and global channel partners in more than seventy countries.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Covestro AG offers a range of medical-grade materials that help today’s medical device manufacturers meet physical, chemical and environmental requirements, as per Worldofchemicals.

Chemical resistance and flame retardancy are key factors in material selection for medical equipment housings. Makroblend M4000 FR PC+PBT blend offers flame retardancy of V-0 at a thickness of 2 millimetres in the UL94 safety of flammability standard of Underwriters Laboratories, and 5VA at a thickness of 3 millimetres, and has superior chemical resistance.

The material is appropriate for skin contact applications and is biocompatible according to ISO 10993-5 (cytotoxicity) and ISO10993-10 (irritation and sensitization). Other advantages include high toughness, reduced susceptibility to stress cracking, good flowability and high tensile modulus.

Due to these outstanding properties, Merz Pharma, a global aesthetics and neurotoxin company selected Makroblend M4000 FR PC+PBT blend from Covestro for the housing of the motor module of its Cellfina System. It is the only FDA-cleared, minimally invasive procedure shown to improve the appearance of cellulite for up to three years.

“We worked closely with Merz to select high-quality, proven materials for the system by providing chemical data, test plaques and custom colour matching. The motor module is disinfected between uses with aggressive disinfectant wipes and needed the superior chemical resistance provided by the polycarbonate blend. This combined with the flame retardance of the material made it a superior choice for the product,” said Richard Aldrich, business development manager – Southwest region, polycarbonates, Covestro LLC.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mexichem, Mexican PVC and specialty chemicals maker, has announced that its Board of Directors has unanimously ratified the appointment of Daniel Martinez Valle as the Chief Executive Officer of the Company, such appointment is effective as of 7 February, said the producer in its press release.

He will replace Antonio Carrillo, who is leaving Mexichem to pursue other interests at a US public company.

As MRC wrote previously, Mexichem completed the acquisition of Vestolit GmbH on 1 December 2014. Based in Marl, Germany, Vestolit is European only manufacturer of High Impact Suspension PVC (HIS-PVC) for weather-resistant windows and is Europe"s second-largest producer of paste PVC for floors and wallpapers. Vestolit also produces alkyl-chlorides, a value-added intermediary used for a variety of chemical and industrial applications and is vertically integrated in a single site from Salt through Specialty PVC. Total installed PVC capacity is 415,000 tons per year.

Mexichem, of Tlalnepantla, an industrial municipality close to Mexico City, is Latin American's largest manufacturer of PVC pipe, vinyl resins and compounds. The company has annual revenues of more than USD5 billion and has been listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange for more than 30 years.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- In response to customer needs, Sabic has announced projects in Asia and the Netherlands designed to increase global capacity for two of its high-performance engineering thermoplastic materials, Ultem and Noryl resins, as per the company's press release.

The planned new production facility in Singapore is expected to go online in the first half of 2021. The company also plans to recommission operations at its Bergen op Zoom PPE resin plant in the Netherlands by the end of 2019 to produce polyphenylene ether (PPE), the base resin for its line of Noryl resins and oligomers.

"Increased customer demand, especially in Asia, prompted the further capacity expansion plans," said Ernesto Occhiello, Executive Vice President, Specialties, Sabic. "While interim capacity gains for both Ultem and Noryl resins have been achieved, global demand for both product lines has increased significantly, and Sabic is planning to expand its capacity to support our customers’ growth aspirations. We will continue to focus efforts to deliver the right capacity, in the right global locations, at the right time to support our customers’ needs."

Ultem resins are currently produced in two locations, Mt. Vernon, IN, and Cartagena, Spain. The planned operations in Singapore will localise supply for customers in Asia, reducing lead times, especially for shorter qualification cycle applications. When fully operational, the Singapore facility is expected to increase capacity by 50% over a 2018 baseline.

"With the addition of Singapore, Sabic will be the only petrochemical company with the ability to produce the high heat resin in Asia, the Americas and Europe, a significant advantage for the company’s customers," said Mr Occhiello.

The decision to recommission the Bergen op Zoom Noryl resins facility provides customers with a second source of PPE resins globally and affirms Sabic’s commitment to the European market and global customers who specify their material solution needs from Europe, the manufacturer explains. When operational, the Bergen op Zoom facility is expected to add more than 40% global capacity over a 2017 baseline.

In the meantime, Sabic expects incremental manufacturing process improvements at the Selkirk, New York, and Mt. Vernon plants to provide increases in Noryl (PPE) resin and Ultem (PEI) resin production by the end of 2018. The resulting supply gains will be used to meet growing demand and improve lead times for customers.

As MRC informed earlier, in November 2017, plastics-maker Sabic has developed new materials for customers producing LED automotive lighting parts. LEXAN HF4010SR resin is one of the new offerings. This polycarbonate (PC) material can make it possible for customers to develop complex headlight bezels with enhanced aesthetics. Sabic has also added new grades to its existing LEXAN XHT resin line, which can offer improved flow at high temperatures compared to other high-heat polycarbonate materials available today.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- February contract price of propylene in Europe was agreed up by EUR28/tonne from January.
European producers announced an increase in February export prices of polypropylene (PP) for the CIS countries but not proportionally to the growth of the price of monomer, according to ICIS-MRC Price Report.

Negotiations on the February price level of the European PP began at the end of last week, all market participants reported a further rise in polymer prices.

At the same time, the position of European producers regarding the price increase was mixed, the increase in the cost of polypropylene was announced in the range of EUR20-35/tonne.

Deals for January shipments of homopolymer propylene (homopolymer PP) were done in the range of EUR1,030-1,140/tonne FCA, whereas February deals were agreed in the range of EUR1,050-1,170/tonne FCA.

Deals for block copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) were agreed in the range of EUR1,210-1,275/tonne FCA, up on average by EUR30-35/tonne from January.
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