PTTGC starts maintenance at HDPE plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) has undertaken a planned shutdown at its high density polyethylene (HDPE) plant, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Thailand informed that the company has commenced turnaround at the plant on February 15, 2018. The plant is expected to remain under maintenance until end-February 2018.

Located at Map Ta Phut in Thailand, the HDPE plant has a production capacity of 250,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed before, PTT is on track to start commercial operations at its new 400,000 mt/year metallocene C6 linear low density polyethylene (MLLDPE) plant at Map Ta Phut, Thailand, in the first quarter of 2018. PTT started up the plant by the end of last year.

Before the start-up of the new plant, PTT had a total capacity of 800,000 mt/year of HDPE, 300,000 mt/year of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and 400,000 mt/year of LLDPE at the same site.

PTT Global Chemical is a leading player in the petrochemical industry and owns several petrochemical facilities with a combined capacity of 8.45 million tonnes a year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Schur Flexibles Group, Baden/Austria, continues to grow and acquires from the Clondalkin Group, Utrecht, Netherlands, the following producers of premium packaging: Cats-Hansel with the two sites Cats Flexibles Packaging B.V., Rotterdam/Netherlands and Hansel Flexible Packaging GmbH, Freital/Germany, as well as Nimax B.V., Elst/Netherlands, said the company.

Through this Schur Flexibles strengthens its position in the sector of premium packaging for the confectionary and tea market. The three locations with about 135 employees generate a sales volume of over 30 million euros (2017). With these acquisitions, turnover is likely to grow to over 400 million euros in 2018. In the segment wax, paper and film packaging for confectionery alone, Schur Flexibles thus achieves a turnover of over 80 million euros and is among the largest providers in Europe in this sector. "These companies fit perfectly into our growth strategy. In parallel, we are investing in our plant network to build up our highly specialised production locations further and thus creating additional added value for our customers," says Michael Schernthaner, Managing Director of the Schur Flexibles Group.

The intended transaction is subject to internal and external approvals including the approval by the relevant competition authorities.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Healthy integrated polyolefin margins and a strong profit contribution by Borouge have kept annual profits for Borealis (Vienna / Austria) above EUR 1 bn in 2017, as per company's press release.

The major polyolefins producer announced a net profit of EUR 1.1 bn, which was roughly in line with 2016’s result, with net sales climbing 4.8% to reach nearly EUR 7.6 bn.

For the fourth quarter, Borealis posted a net profit of EUR 247m, which was about 3% up on the same quarter in 2016. Net sales rose by 2.7% to EUR 1.85 bn.

The company announced several major projects last year. “During 2017 we continued to transition into a new phase of growth and global outreach with a veritable feast of major growth projects over the next few years,” said CEO Mark Garrett.

These include the signing of a preliminary agreement with Nova Chemicals (Calgary, Alberta / Canada) and Total Petrochemicals and Refining USA (Houston, Texas / USA) to build a joint light feed cracker and “Borstar” PE plant in Bayport, Texas.

Another investment in the US was the decision to build an automotive PP plant in Taylorsville, North Carolina. In Europe, Borealis announced the front end engineering design (FEED) of its proposed propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant in Kallo / Belgium – as well as plans to debottleneck its PP assets.

With regard to joint venture Borouge, Borealis and Abu Dhabi National Oil (Adnoc, Abu Dhabi / UAE) signed a framework agreement in 2017 on two key projects, namely the construction of Borouge 4 and an additional PP plant (PP5) to be integrated within the Borouge 3 complex. In addition, the “Anteo” range of LLDPE packaging grades was launched.

Looking ahead, Garrett remains confident that 2018 will be a solid year. He says, “With upcoming significant global capacity expansions, we expect some softening of polyolefin prices in Europe but believe that improved performance in fertilisers will compensate the price pressure in polyolefins, at least to a certain extent.”
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company, will increase March list and off-list selling prices for low density polyethylene (LDPE) in North and South America, as per the company's press release.

The price increase will be effective March 1, 2018, or as contracts otherwise allow, and is incremental to any previously announced increases. Thus, the increase will be USD0.04/lb (USD0.09/kg or USD90/tonne).

As MRC informed before, Celanese Corporation last raised its LDPE prices for the Americas region on 1 February, 2018. The amount of the price rise was the same as it will be in March.

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Based in Dallas, Celanese employs approximately 7,600 employees worldwide and had 2017 net sales of USD6.1 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Solvay has announced that it has expanded its Executive Committee with three new members, in line with the Group’s commitment to improve its customer focus with a more diverse team to support its growth strategy, as per the company's press release.

The three new members, effective immediately, are Augusto Di Donfrancesco, who has lead Solvay’s Specialty Polymers Global Business Unit since 2011, Hua Du, who has been head of Special Chem since the GBU’s creation in 2015, and Cecile Tandeau de Marsac, who will also continue to head Human Resources for the Group.

At the same time, Solvay announces that Roger Kearns, a member of the Executive Committee and supervisor of the Advanced Materials segment, has decided to return to the United States having accepted a new position in his home country.

The new Executive Committee consists of Jean-Pierre Clamadieu (CEO), Vincent De Cuyper, Augusto Di Donfrancesco, Hua Du, Karim Hajjar (CFO), Pascal Juery and Cecile Tandeau de Marsac.

As MRC informed previously, in early July 2016, Solvay completed the divestment of its shareholding in Inovyn (London), bringing to an end Solvay's chlorvinyls joint venture with Ineos. Solvay received exit cash proceeds amounting to EUR335 million (USD370.7 million). The dissolution of the jv follows regulatory clearances from the relevant authorities.

Inovyn was formed on 1 July 2015 as a jv between Ineos and SolVin, a subsidiary of Solvay. Solvay and Ineos signaled their decision to end their chlorvinyls jv in March this year.

Solvay is a multi-specialty chemical company, committed to developing chemistry that addresses key societal challenges. Solvay innovates and partners with customers in diverse global end markets. Its products and solutions are used in planes, cars, smart and medical devices, batteries, in mineral and oil extraction, among many other applications promoting sustainability. Its lightweighting materials enhance cleaner mobility, its formulations optimize the use of resources and its performance chemicals improve air and water quality. Solvay is headquartered in Brussels with around 27,000 employees in 58 countries. Net sales were EUR10.9 billion in 2016, with 90% from activities where Solvay ranks among the world’s top 3 leaders.
MRC