The Compound Company acquires controlling stake in Transmare Compounding BV

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Compound Company, based in Enschede, The Netherlands, and new management, have acquired a controlling stake in Transmare Compounding BV, Roermond, The Netherlands, as of December 14th 2018, as per the company's press release.

Current shareholder Henk-Jan Aarsen will retain a minority stake.

Under the agreement, Transmare Compounding will continue to operate as a stand-alone company with The Compound Company offering technical and financial support. The companies will work closely to achieve synergies through strengthened product development, coordinated sales & marketing and leveraging operational synergies.

"Over the last couple of weeks, we have developed plans with the Transmare team to make the transition as smooth as possible and start an improvement program focused on product quality, customer service and flexibility," said Stijn van den Brekel, the new general manager of Transmare Compounding BV. "Together with my fellow director Thomas van het Kaar, we are looking forward to joining the Transmare team and jointly working on implementing these plans and improving our total offering for both our existing and new customers." The new management has 30+ years’ experience in the plastic industry, production and management.

Simon Put, managing director of The Compound Company commented, "We welcome the Transmare team to the group. After our expansion into South East Asia and the construction of an additional compounding plant in Enschede, this is yet another building block in our growth strategy. It strengthens our position as a specialty compounder in Europe, adding new products, extra capabilities and valuable people with scarce compounding skills to the group. The combination will provide critical mass to our EcoForte portfolio of specialty compounds and provide extra capacity for our custom compounding partners. Given current market demands, we can put the spare capacity of Transmare to work immediately."

Peter Wolf, former Transmare Group CEO and shareholder, has taken over the Group’s trading activities, Transmare Distribution, that will continue to cooperate with Transmare Compounding as a partner.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chemical producer Indorama Ventures Plc (IVL) has entered into an agreement to acquire a PET recycling facility from Custom Polymers PET in Alabama, US., as per the company's press release.

The facility consists of two production lines; recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate (rPET) Flake and food-grade rPET Pellets, with a combined capacity of 31,000 tonnes/annum.

Regardless of the fluctuations in the quality of post-consumer feedstock, this recycling facility can offer consistently high quality recycled PET material that meets customers’ specific needs in packaging and fibre. With this new acquisition, Indorama Ventures is strengthening its footprint in recycling in multiple locations in Europe, in Mexico, in Thailand and now in USA.

A growing emphasis on sustainability and circular economy objectives among packaging and consumer product manufacturers is expected to be amongst the key factors driving market growth. This acquisition is strategically in line with the Company’s objectives of long-term sustainability. The acquisition of this recycling facility from Custom Polymers will allow IVL to have a secured supply of rPET Flake and food-grade100% rPET Pellets in US, and this will open up new opportunities to meet the ever increasing food grade rPET demand for more sustainable packaging solutions by major brand owners. The proximity of this recycling facility to existing polyester manufacturing entities in US, synergies of management and supply chain are expected to benefit Indorama Ventures’ ability to serve customers in North America, Aloke Lohia, Group CEO of Indorama Ventures said on Monday.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF has announced the commercial launch of Durasorb, a new family of adsorption solutions designed for Natural Gas processing. Durasorb provides gas processing plant operators, especially liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants, with more reliable and more robust dehydration service, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The new product family combines innovative materials developed from BASF’s unique Sorbead technology and proprietary design software to calculate the performance of the adsorbents in all parts of the dehydration vessel and maximize the overall performance and life of the bed.

Based on design calculations, BASF natural gas experts choose the ideal combination of adsorbents out of the comprehensive BASF portfolio. The resulting installation ensures more efficient removal of water and hydrocarbons and solves regeneration-reflux problems. With more robust and reliable products, Durasorb solutions support value creation at gas processing plants by increasing production capacity and deliverability of high-value cargoes, reducing bed sizes, increasing bed life, and enabling higher throughput rates.

Building on the success of development trials in North American gas processing plants, BASF has installed its first reference in an LNG pre-treatment plant. Plant operation of Durasorb verified the ability to improve dehydration systems’ durability which expands production potential, leading to higher yields of valuable products.

"Some of our core strengths are our innovative power, the extraordinary know-how of our natural gas experts and our deep experience with adsorption solutions," said Detlef Ruff, Senior Vice President Process Catalysts at BASF. "The Durasorb offering combines those strengths and will help gas plants worldwide increase production of valuable cargoes and help position them for success."

Sorbead Alumina-Silica gel was first introduced to the market in 1953 and has since been installed in hundreds of gas plants worldwide for hydrocarbon and water dew point control, membrane protection, underground storage operations and pipeline dehydration. In 2017, BASF implemented a significant expansion of the Sorbead manufacturing plant in Nienburg Germany, demonstrating its commitment to grow this important global market.

BASF entered the molecular sieve business in 2010 and has since developed innovative products that are resistant to hydrothermal damage. With a broad portfolio of adsorbent products, BASF technology experts use combination bed technology to provide customers with a tailored design, performance warranty, and unmatched service.

As MRC reported earlier, in August 2016, BASF has introduced tailored polyamide portfolio for the charge-air duct in modern combustion engines. The reductions in fuel consumption and emissions which are prescribed by law in many countries are forcing the automotive industry to act. Besides developing alternative drives, the optimization of traditional combustion engines continues to play a key role. Downsizing results in higher pressures and temperatures, especially in components that carry air behind the turbocharger. BASF is responding to this development in engine designs with a consistent portfolio of PA6 and PA66 grades that meet the higher demands on the materials, their mechanical properties and temperature resistance.

BASF is the largest diversified chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ukraine's polypropylene (PP) imports totalled about 122,800 tonnes in the first eleven months of the year, up 9% year on year. Demand for all PP grades increased, as per MRC's DataScope report.

November PP imports into Ukraine dropped to 11,600 tonnes from 13,500 tonnes a month earlier, with propylene homopolymers (homopolymer PP) accounting for the main decrease in shipments. Overall imports of propylene polymers reached 122,800 tonnes in January-November 2018, compared to 112,400 tonnes a year earlier.

Demand for all PP grades increased, but PP block copolymers accounted for the greatest growth. The supply structure by PP grades looked the following way over the stated period.

November imports of homopolymers of propylene to the Ukrainian market decreased to 9,000 tonnes against 10,400 tonnes a month earlier, local companies decreased the volume of purchases of homopolymer PP raffia in Saudi Arabia and Russia. Overall shipments of homopolymer PP reached 93,200 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2018 versus 85,800 tonnes a year earlier.

Last month's imports of block propylene copolymers (PP block copolymers) were 1,100 tonnes, compared to 1,300 tonnes in October. Demand for injection moulding propylene copolymers improved from local companies. 12,200 tonnes of PP block copolymers were imported over the stated period, whereas last year's figure was 11,900 tonnes.

November imports of PP random copolymers exceeded 1,300 tonnes versus 1,500 tonnes a month earlier, demand for PP decreased from pipes producers. Overall imports of PP random copolymer reached 15,300 tonnes in January-November 2018, whereas this figure was 12,800 tonnes a year earlier.

Overall imports of other propylene copolymers were 2,100 tonnes over the stated period.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Imports of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) into Ukraine decreased in the first eleven months of 2018 by 35% year on year to 61,600 tonnes. The growth of domestic production was the main reason, according to MRC's DataScope report.

Last month's SPVC imports to the Ukrainian market rose to 4,500 tonnes from 3,900 tonnes in October, with US resin accounting for the main increase in shipments, which was caused by a scheduled shutdown for a long turnaround at the local producer - Karpatneftekhim - in November. Overall SPVC imports reached 61,600 tonnes in January-November 2018, compared to 94,000 tonnes a year earlier. Karpatneftekhim's stable operations after many years of outage helped to reduce the dependence of the Ukrainian market on imports.

The structure of PVC imports into Ukraine looked the following way over the stated period.

Last month's imports of US SPVC grew to 2,000 tonnes from 1,000 tonnes in October. Thus, imports of US resin totalled 35,900 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2018, compared to 47,900 tonnes a year earlier. February-March accounted for the peak of imports.

November shipments of European PVC to the Ukrainian market were 2,600 tonnes, compared to 2,900 tonnes a month earlier. Overall imports of European PVC into Ukraine totalled 24,400 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2018, compared to 31,500 tonnes a year earlier.

As reported earlier, Karpatneftekhim shut down its PVC production for a scheduled maintenance on 5 November. The shutdown was quite long and lasted approximately until 9 December. The plant's overall annual PVC production capacity is 300,000 tonnes.

MRC