Chinese compounder Top Polymer expands to USA

MOSCOW (MRC) -- One of China’s leading TPE compounders Dongguan Top Polymer Enterprise Ltd. has announced a significant investment outside China. The company said that it is investing USD 15 million in a new production site in Social Circle, GA, USA, as per GV.

The 5,500 m2 new facility located near Atlanta will operate three compounding lines and will create 70 jobs. Initial annual capacity will be approximately 7,200 t. The start of operations at the plant is scheduled for May 2019.

"This is an exceptional time for Top Polymer Enterprise and we are extremely excited to be part of the Social Circle community," said Marcus Tsong, Top Polymer president. "We see our Social Circle facility as being the first key step to becoming an internationally recognised manufacturer and supplier of premier TPE system."

"Georgia’s manufacturing sector continues to drive statewide investment by attracting industry leaders from around the world," said Governor Nathan Deal. "As the No. 1 state for business, Georgia has the highly skilled workforce, logistics infrastructure and low cost of doing business necessary to provide a strong foundation for Top Polymer’s continued growth. These resources will strengthen the company’s competitive edge in the global market as Top Polymer expands both in the USA and abroad. We look forward to this partnership with Top Polymer as the company invests in Social Circle and creates employment opportunities for our citizens."

Established in 2004, Top Polymer currently operates 13 compounding lines at two compounding facilities in China, located in Dongguan in Guangdong Province and in Liyang City in Jiangsu Province. Total capacity is approximately 26,000 t/y. The compounds are marketed under the brand names Topolymer, Topester, and Topthane. The company exports to more than 30 countries and regions.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Hexpol has announced the acquisition of Kirkhill Rubber from the founder Edward Reker, his family and co-owners. The acquisition price amounts to approximately USD 49 million on a cash and debt free basis, as per GV.

Kirkhill is a US rubber compounder with experience in aerospace, automotive, medical and other industry segments. The company brings extensive knowledge in highly engineered elastomers and has a wide range of speciality equipment and complete laboratory testing facilities. Most recently, Kirkhill has expanded into the fields of silicone and perfluoroelastomer compounds. The company has an annual sales of about USD 46 million.

Its recently acquired state-of-the-art facility in Long Beach, CA, USA, will be the sole manufacturing plant of Kirkhill. The production in Downey, CA, USA, will be transferred to Long Beach and the production in Athens, GA, will be transferred to other Hexpol sites in the USA. Thereby the facilities in Downey and Athens are not included in the transaction.

"This acquisition is a very good complement to Hexpol Compounding in the US and broadens and strengthens our presence with Rubber Compounds by highly skilled people and advanced processes", said Tracy Garrison, President Hexpol Compounding NAFTA. Edward Reker, Kirkhill’s President, who will continue with Hexpol, remarked: "We will see an immediate benefit by access to Hexpol’s global material reach, expanded development resources and advanced quality systems." Mikael Fryklund, CEO of Hexpol Group, commented: "This is a further step in expanding and strengthening the Hexpol Group with an acquisition within our core business."

As MRC reported earlier, in October 2013, The Hexpol TPE group, a manufacturer of custom-formulated TPE and flexible polymer compounds, appointed MLPlastics as its distribution partner in the North of Germany.

Hexpol is a compounder of thermoplastics and TPEs as well as a processor of wheels made from polyurethane, other plastics and rubber. The company is headquartered in Sweden but has a global footprint.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- The assets of polyethylene pipe producer Uponor Infra Ltd., which is headquartered in Mississauga, Ont., have been acquired by U.S.-based investment firm Wynnchurch Capital LLC for USD62.5 million and renamed as Infra Pipe Solutions Ltd. (IPS), as per Canplastics.

The deal includes Uponor’s manufacturing plants in Mississauga; Huntsville, Ont.; and Saskatoon, Sask. IPS will manufacture large diameter HDPE pipe for use in water infrastructure, mining, industrial processes, oil and gas distribution, and other applications.

The IPS deal marks Wynnchurch’s eleventh platform investment in Canada and the second Canadian investment in 2018. Sandeep Dhillon, who served as president of Uponor Infra Ltd., is now IPS’s CEO.

"We are excited to partner with Sandeep Dhillon, the management team, and all of the employees of the company to continue the company’s track record of superior safety, quality, and customer service,” said Chris O’Brien, managing partner at Chicago-based Wynnchurch. “IPS has an exceptionally bright future and we look forward to supporting the company’s plans for growth."

"With the opportunities we have before us, this is a very exciting time for the company,” Dhillon said. “Wynnchurch has the resources and expertise to take our company into a new phase of expansion as we continue to help our customers grow."
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Evonik is investing a double-digit million euro amount in the construction of a new multi-purpose facility at its Geesthacht location in Northern Germany, 30 kilometers outside the city of Hamburg, as per the company's press release.

The additional capacities created will be for the production of a range of silicones and silane-terminated polymers, which Evonik sells under the brand names Polymer VS and Polymer ST. The products are used in many applications including in parquet adhesives, in adhesives for wound care or encapsulation applications in electronics.

"The planned investment at the Geesthacht site has an important strategic significance by helping us to further strengthen our focus on innovative specialty chemical products," says Dietmar Schaefer, head of the Interface & Performance Business Line of Evonik.

The new plant is scheduled to go into operation at the end of 2019. Besides the increased production capacity, a facility for filling tank trucks is also being built at the site. "This will simplify the delivery and storage process for our customers and in doing so increases efficiency," says Dr. Sabine Giessler-Blank, head of the Polymer & Construction Specialties Product Line. "The additional production capacity will also create room for us to develop new products, enabling us to increase the performance of our customers’ products and to react to future demands in the adhesives and sealants market."

The Geesthacht site, with about 100 employees, will focus on two areas: silicone and nanotechnology. The addition- and condensation-curing silicones as well as the silane-terminated polymers are used as binders in adhesives and sealants, electronics and medical applications. Among other things, our silica-based nanomaterials serve as property-enhancing additives in fiber composites, which are used successfully in the automotive and aerospace industry.

As MRC informed before, in August 2017, half a year after the announcement of the 2030 strategy, MOL Group reached an important milestone in its industrial transformational journey. The license agreements signed with Evonik and thyssenkrupp, will enable MOL to produce propylene oxide, a key component for the production of polyether polyols. MOL intends to become a significant producer of polyether polyols, high-value intermediates for products applied in the automotive, packaging and furniture industries.

Evonik, the creative industrial group from Germany, is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. Its activities focus on the key megatrends health, nutrition, resource efficiency and globalization. Evonik benefits specifically from its innovative prowess and integrated technology platforms. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world.
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MOSCOW (MRC) - A gasoline-producing fluid catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) at Chevron Corp’s 269,000 barrel-per-day El Segundo refinery in California lost power, resulting in a burn-off on Monday, a fire department official said, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The resultant flaring has since subsided, and the refinery is working to get the power back up, El Segundo fire department Battalion Chief Breck Slover said, adding that there was no fire and it did not seem like a planned event.

"At approximately 7:45 a.m. this morning the El Segundo refinery experienced a power loss to a portion of its facility," Chevron said in an email.

"In response to the power outage, Chevron personnel activated the appropriate response systems, including the safety flare."

The company said it does not expect the incident to have an impact on the refinery’s ability to supply petroleum products to its customers in the region.

Chevron, in a filing with the state pollution regulator earlier in the day, reported it was working to stabilize a unit at the refinery. There were no injuries or fire at the facility, the filing added.

The El Segundo police department earlier said on its official Twitter handle that the refinery was undergoing “a largely controlled burn-off." “The incident is static and there are no immediate threats to the community,” the tweet said.
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