Mexichem board appoints Martinez Valle as CEO

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.
MRC

Sabic to expand resin production in Singapore and the Netherlands

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

European PP prices continue to rise for CIS buyers

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.
MRC

Sakai cracker to be shut by Mitsui

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mitsui Chemicals is likely to take its naphtha-fed steam cracker off-stream for a maintenance turnaround, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Japan informed that the plant is likely to be taken off-line for turnaround in mid-June 2018. It is slated to remain under maintenance until end-July 2018.

Located in Sakai, Japan, the cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 500,000 mt/year and propylene production capacity of 280,000 mt/year.

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.

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.
MRC

Air Liquide starts up the worlds largest oxygen production unit

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Air Liquide recently started the world’s largest oxygen production unit for Sasol, an international integrated energy and chemicals company. Air Liquide invested around EUR200 million1 for the construction of this Air Separation Unit (ASU) in Secunda, with a total production capacity of 5,000 tonnes of oxygen per day (equivalent to 5,800 tonnes per day at sea level), as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Owned and operated by Air Liquide, it is the first ASU that Sasol has chosen to outsource to a specialist of industrial gas production at this site. Located in Sasol’s Secunda site (around 140 km East of Johannesburg), the new ASU supplies Sasol with large quantities of oxygen used for production of fuels and chemicals.

The start-up of the air separation unit represents a new milestone in the partnership between Air Liquide and Sasol which brings to 17 the number of ASU’s delivered by Air Liquide over the last 40 years, with a total oxygen production capacity greater than 45,000 tonnes per day. It is also the first time ever at Secunda, that Sasol has chosen to outsource an oxygen supply contract, thus recognizing Air Liquide’s expertise in the field of oxygen production and underscoring the importance of this long-term relationship.

The unit was designed and built by Air Liquide’s Engineering & Construction team using leading edge technologies that meet the highest standards of safety, reliability and efficiency, while increasing production capacity. The ASU's design is based on Air Liquide’s proprietary technologies including several first of its kind innovations in the air compression process, which allow for an annual electricity consumption reduction of more than 20%, contributing to reducing the customer’s carbon footprint.

As scheduled, the new ASU has been completed in less than three years from design to commissioning. This ASU also provides Air Liquide with a new source of liquid gases to supply the growing industrial gas market in South Africa.
MRC