Ferrero USA investing USD9M in New Jersey

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ferrero USA, the global confectionery company known for brands such as Ferrero Rocher, Nutella, Tic Tac and Kinder Joy, will invest USD9 million to expand its industrial facility in Franklin Township, NJ., as per Businessfacilities.

The expansion project will add nearly 100 local jobs and bring the facility to a total of 67,000 square feet of packaging and warehousing space.

"We are proud to do business in Franklin Township, and we’re thrilled to be expanding our existing operations here," said Paul Chibe, Ferrero North America president and CEO. “This renovation demonstrates the ongoing commitment Ferrero has to doing business in the state of New Jersey, and we’re confident this will continue to be a successful partnership for us all."

Since 2016, Ferrero has invested USD12 million into the Somerset County facility to ensure the successful launch of Kinder Joy, an egg-shaped package that holds a sweet treat on one side and a surprise toy on the other, which was previously available outside of North America. Since its U.S. debut in November 2017, Kinder Joy surpassed all Ferrero and industry targets for a new product, with more than 90 million eggs sold. The success of Kinder Joy in the U.S. led to this latest investment.

Last year, Ferrero USA employed up to 500 seasonal employees through local agencies. With the investments, the total number of employees is estimated to grow up to 600 seasonal employees. The location currently employs 35 salaried employees with an additional four salaried employees expected in 2019.

Founded as a family business in Alba, Italy in 1946, Ferrero is the third-largest confectionery company in the world, with distribution in over 170 countries, and a workforce of more than 30,000 people across 55 countries. Ferrero has committed to sourcing only 100% certified as sustainable cocoa by 2020.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Petrofac, the international oil and gas services provider, leading a consortium with Saipem S.p.A. (Saipem) and Samsung Engineering Co Ltd (Samsung), has received an award notification for Thai Oil Public Company Limited’s (Thai Oil) Clean Fuels Project on the East coast of Thailand, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Samsung Engineering’s share for this project is around USD1.1 billion USD. The project objective is to produce higher quality transportation fuel, lower feedstock cost and also to expand the capacity of the largest refinery project in Sriracha, Thailand.

The project will increase daily crude throughput from 275,000 barrels to 400,000 barrels. Major new process units include Crude Distillation Unit (CDU), Vacuum Distillation Unit (VDU), Hydrocracker Unit (HCU) as well as a Residue Hydrocracker Unit (RHCU). Further, the scope of work includes improvements and expansion on the existing facility and provision of the utilities and supportive facilities to this project. The project is expected to be completed over a period of approximately four years.

With this order, Samsung Engineering has expanded its business relationship with Thai Oil and strengthened the base of the Thai market. Samsung Engineering has been actively engaging and providing their services to Thailand since entering the market in 1991. Thai Oil’s CFP will be the 24th project Samsung Engineering will deliver to Thailand.

Sung An Choi, President and CEO of Samsung Engineering said: "We are proud and honored to have received this contract and further are excited to provide clean fuel to Thai Oil. With our experience and successfully delivery of numerous projects to Thailand for more than 20 years, we are looking forward to provide a safe and proficient project with our partners for Thai Oil."

Sunder Kalyanam, Group Managing Director for Petrofac’s Engineering & Construction Growth business said: "We are delighted to have secured this contract and to be leading the consortium on the delivery of an important project that will enhance the country’s long-term energy stability and economic development, and boost its output of high-quality clean fuels. We look forward to the safe and efficient delivery of this project for Thai Oil."

As MRC informed earlier, in October 2018, McDermott International, Inc. was awarded a sizeable technology contract for Map Ta Phut Olefins Co., Ltd.'s (MOC) petrochemical plant in Rayong Province, Thailand. MOC is a joint venture company of SCG Chemicals Company Limited, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of SCG, and the Dow Chemical Company. McDermott will provide the basic engineering and license of Lummus' olefins technology and will design and supply the proprietary SRT III heater for the MOC Debottleneck Project, a parallel gas cracker added to increase plant capacity which will utilize Lummus' side cracker technology, including a low pressure chilling train and enhanced binary refrigeration.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Crystal Group, Inc. recently unveiled its new corporate headquarters in Hiawatha, IA, as per Businessfacilities.

The 111,500-square-foot, state-of-the-art building is adjacent to the company’s other two buildings on Crystal Group’s campus, which now totals 160,000 square feet of manufacturing and administration operations. The designer and manufacturer of rugged computer and electronic hardware’s production capacity will increase by more than fifty percent due to the expansion.

Crystal Group President Scott Kongable cuts the ribbon for the company’s new headquarters in Hiawatha, IA.
Military and industrial customers’ rapidly increasing demand for Crystal Group rugged computers spurred the expansion and gave cause to plan for a phase two addition to the building within the next five years. The building was designed to accommodate a 30,000-square-foot addition. Over 50 new jobs were also created to support customer demand. Crystal Group currently employs more than 220 people, the new headquarters’ current capacity is 285 workers.

"This marks a significant milestone in the 27-year history of our employee-owned company," said Crystal Group president, Scott Kongable. “Our success is based on our employees’ relentless commitment to serve our customers. Some of the best talent out there is right here in Hiawatha working at Crystal Group to deliver the highest quality rugged computer solutions for our military and industrial customers in over thirty-five countries. Our new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility will fuel greater innovation and transform the level of customer service we deliver."

All three of Crystal Group’s buildings and network are NIST compliant (National Institute of Standards and Technology) offering the highest level of security. The new facility offers added in-house engineering services and compliance testing technologies to speed the production process and better serve customer requirements.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Wacker Polymers is to raise its prices for vinyl acetate-ethylene (EVA) copolymer dispersions of the VINNAPAS brand in the Americas region, as per the company's press release.

Effective November 5, 2018, prices will be raised by up to ten percent in the Americas or as customer contracts allow. This measure has been necessitated by the ongoing market price increases in vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) which is a primary raw material for the manufacturing of Wacker’s vinyl acetate-ethylene copolymer dispersions. Additionally, rising freight, logistics and distribution costs across the industry continue to represent significant challenges in order to maintain current service levels.

The price adjustment enables Wacker Polymers to continue providing customers with a wide-range of innovative quality products and comprehensive technical, sales and customer support services, along with supporting investment to secure the capability for future growth across our focus markets.

Dispersions of the VINNAPAS brand are applied in a broad variety of industries, ranging from adhesives, construction, caulks, nonwovens, paints and coatings to paper, carpet and textiles.

As MRC informed previously, Wacker Chemie AG is expanding its existing production plants for dispersions and dispersible polymer powders in South Korea. The Group is building a new spray dryer for dispersible polymer powders at its Ulsan site, which will have a total capacity of 80,000 metric tons per year. The Munich-based chemicals company is also constructing an additional reactor for dispersions based on vinyl acetate-ethylene copolymer (EVA), which are needed as the raw material for the spray dryer to produce dispersible polymer powders. Ulsan’s plant complex, which covers the entire production chain from VAE dispersions to dispersible polymer powders, will be one of the largest of its kind in the world. Investments will total around EUR60 million and production is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2019.

Wacker Chemie AG is a worldwide operating company in the chemical business, founded 1914. The company is controlled by the Wacker-family holding more than 50 percent of the shares. The corporation is operating more than 25 production sites in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The product range includes silicone rubbers, polymer products like ethylene vinyl acetate redispersible polymer powder, chemical materials, polysilicon and wafers for semiconductor industry.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- KBC (A Yokogawa Company) announced the launch of a new Energy and Sustainability Co-Pilot hub in Singapore to address the Singapore government’s environmental sustainability initiatives, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The new Singapore-based Co-Pilot hub and team will build and adapt energy management and optimization systems, conduct research and development to create the next generation of energy analytics applications, and deliver KBC’s cloud-based solutions.

The first solution to come from the Energy and Sustainability Co-Pilot hub is KBC’s Energy and Sustainability Co-Pilot service. Co-Pilot securely connects KBC’s energy and carbon emissions management software to data sources in an industrial plant creating its ‘digital twin’. Through a combination of rigorous analytical technology and human expertise, it determines how to help the plant reduce energy usage and emissions without affecting production goals.

Co-Pilot is available immediately and will enable a plant to simultaneously optimize the supply, demand and re-use of energy. It has a modest set-up cost and a monthly subscription, which results in a risk-free cashflow positive program for customers. It will reduce site energy use and carbon emissions by around 10 percent leading to significant economic returns of between 5 and 10 times the investment, driven primarily by lower operating costs.

The impetus behind the Energy and Sustainability Co-Pilot hub is to enable Energy and Chemical companies in Singapore to comply with legislative requirements around energy and carbon emission reduction. KBC’s parent company, Yokogawa, has a long history of co-innovation with industry in Singapore and a strong commitment to supporting achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and providing solutions to improve the energy and environmental performance of the industries it serves.

The Singapore Government has a strong philosophy of environmental sustainability. “Singapore is accelerating efforts to reduce carbon emissions and encourage energy efficiency across industries, as part of our commitment towards climate change. KBC’s new Energy and Sustainability Co-Pilot hub will complement our sustainability goals, combining the latest digital technologies and their operational know-how to partner businesses along this journey,” said Mr Lim Kok Kiang, assistant managing director, Singapore Economic Development Board.
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