Recitel divests from its Proseat JV in two steps

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Recticel announces that it has entered into final agreements whereby it will first acquire the remaining 49% in its Proseat joint venture from its Canadian partner Woodbridge Foam Corporation, and subsequently sell 75% in Proseat to Japanese public company Sekisui Plastics Co., Ltd., as per the company's press release.

The new joint venture between Sekisui (75%) and Recticel (25%) will allow Proseat to build on its leading position as Europe’s largest independent automotive moulded seat foam manufacturer and to further expand its customer base and its product portfolio.

The agreement between Recticel and Sekisui contains a call option for Sekisui Plastics Co., Ltd. to acquire the remaining 25% in Proseat from Recticel as from 2019, and a put option for Recticel to sell its remaining 25% in Proseat to Sekisui as from 2022, at pre-agreed price calculation formulae.

Under the terms of these agreements, the Proseat Joint Venture has been valued at an enterprise value of 8.4x
the average (2016-2018F) EBITDA. The transaction will have no material effect on Recticel’s results.

Olivier Chapelle, CEO states: "We are satisfied with this overall transaction, which enables Recticel to execute an important step of its strategy, and to increase its focus on its core activities. Recticel is also happy to welcome Sekisui as a majority shareholder of Proseat, Sekisui providing to Proseat clear customer and product portfolio complementariies. We are confident that it will create exciting opportunities for Proseat and all its stakeholders in the future. We also want to warmly thank Woodbridge for the 20 years of fruitful cooperation with Recticel as co-
shareholders of Proseat."

Both transactions (i.e. Recticel/Woodbridge and Recticel/Sekisui Plastics Co. Ltd) are expected to be closed in the course of the first quarter of 2019, and are subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.
As from the Closing Date, Recticel will no longer include Proseat’s sales and results pro rata in its combined accounts, but will apply the equity method, as was the case already for its consolidated accounts.

As MRC wrote before, in August 2017, Recticel announced that its Insulation division plans to invest about EUR 23 million in a new greenfield production site in Finland.

Proseat was established in 1999 as a joint venture between Recticel (51%) and Woodbridge (49%) with the purpose to serve Tier 1 and OEM car manufacturers with moulded seat pads and head-& armrests in polyurethane. Later the joint venture developed complementary activities in lightweight EPP (expanded polypropylene) structural parts for the same automotive sector. The joint venture is active in Europe, headquartered in Morfelden (Germany),
and operates eight manufacturing sites located in the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Poland, Spain and the
United Kingdom and employs approximately 2,100 people in total. Proseat realized sales of EUR291million in 2017.
MRC

Alpla abd Fromm Plastics expand PET recycling partnership

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Since July 2018, ALPLA and FROMM have been successfully working together in PET recycling. Another extrusion line at the Texplast site in Wolfen will increase the capacity for food-safe PET regranulate by 15,000 tonnes each year - material that ALPLA will return to the recyclable material cycle in Europe, and in Germany in particular, as per ALPLA's press release.

Austrian packaging solutions specialist ALPLA and German recycling company Texplast, a subsidiary of FROMM Plastics, are benefitting from working together. Over the past few months, they have managed to greatly stabilise the quantity and quality of the raw materials for the production operations of both partners.

Texplast is now investing in a third extrusion line and will increase its annual capacity for food-safe PET regranulate by 15,000 tonnes to an approximate total of 27,000 tonnes. For the expansion, Texplast is currently building a new hall at the company site in Wolfen. The facility is expected to become operational in April 2019, and according to Texplast, around 4.5 million euros have been invested.

"The demand for recycled plastics is continuously increasing. In order to provide our clients with the amounts needed, we must step up our recycling activities. With Texplast as a partner, we have access to high-quality recyclable material in the German market," says Georg Lasser, Head of Recycling at ALPLA, "We are also securing ourselves expertise and experience in logistics and using the existing network with food retail."

With optimised logistics, Texplast brings returnable bottles to the recycling plant via the shortest routes possible and thereby keeps its carbon footprint as small as possible, highlights Matthias Schafer, Texplast representative, "By collaborating with ALPLA, we have closed the bottle cycle: We recycle the returnable goods from the food retail industry and turn them into high-quality, food-safe granulate from which ALPLA produces preforms for new PET beverage bottles. The colourful flakes created in the process are used by FROMM for its in-house strap production."

As MRC informed before, in November 2017, US-based Alpha Packaging acquired a plant in Etten-Leur, the Netherlands, from Graham Packaging Co. as part of its bid to support growth in Europe.

ALPLA is one of the leading plastic packaging companies. Around 19,300 employees produce tailored packaging systems bottles, fasteners and injection moulding parts at 176 sites in 45 countries. The scope of application of the quality packaging is vast: food and beverages, cosmetics and care products, household detergents, washing and cleaning products, pharmaceuticals, engine oil and lubricants. ALPLA has its own recycling plants: PET Recycling Team with sites in Austria and Poland, and in Mexico as part of a joint venture. The FROMM/Texplast collaboration has existed since July 2018.

The FROMM Group is a globally leading company for cargo safety systems and has a company history dating back over 70 years. More than 1,200 employees develop, produce and distribute tailored packaging solutions with around 40 companies on six continents: FROMM has production sites in Italy, Germany, the USA, Thailand, Chile and Slovakia.

Texplast GmbH is a 100% subsidiary of FROMM Plastics GmbH in Kolleda. With almost 100 employees and an input capacity of over 50,000 tonnes of bottles per year, the company is one of the leading recyclers of PET, particularly used beverage bottles, in Western Europe. Texplast manufactures flakes for use in the plastics industry, as well as regranulate for the production of food packaging. FROMM specialises in straps, air-cushion packaging and stretch wrap, as well as the associated machines and appliances.
MRC

Reliance shuts Hazira PVC plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is rumoured to have undertaken an unplanned shutdown at its polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plant in Hazira, as per Apic-online with reference to market sources.

A Polymerupdate source in India informed that the company has taken the plant off-line earlier this week owing to technical issues. The unplanned outage is expected to remain in force for around two weeks.

Polymerupdate team members attempted to reach out to company officials to confirm the rumour. However, there was no official response confirming the shutdown.

Located at Hazira in the western Indian state of Gujarat, the plant has a production capacity of 360,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed earlier, RIL undertook planned shutdown at its anouther PVC plant last year. The company commenced turnaround at its plant in late May, 2017, and the facility remained off-line for around 3 weeks. As per earlier plans, the plant was supposed to be shut in mid-May 2017. Located at Dahej in Gujarat, India, the plant has a production capacity of 315,000 mt/year.

Reliance Industries is one of the world's largest producers of polymers. The company produces polypropylene, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride and other petrochemical products.
MRC

SOCAR and BP explore the creation of a new petrochemicals joint venture in Turkey

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BP and SOCAR Turkey announced that they have signed a heads of agreement (HoA) to evaluate the creation of a joint venture that would build and operate a world-scale petrochemicals complex in Turkey, said BP.

The proposed facility, in Aliaga in western Turkey, would produce 1.25 million tonnes per annum (tpa) of purified terephthalic acid (PTA), 840,000 tpa paraxylene (PX) and 340,000 tpa benzene.

PTA is used to manufacture polyesters, which have many uses including food and beverage containers, packaging materials, fabrics, films, and other consumer and industry applications.

Following the signing of the HoA, BP and SOCAR Turkey now expect to undertake design work for the facility, which would allow for the integration of feedstock supplies from the nearby new STAR refinery and Petkim petrochemicals complex, both owned by SOCAR Turkey.

Vagif Aliyev, Chairman of the Board of SOCAR Turkey, said: "We entered the Turkish market in 2008 with the acquisition of Petkim and since then have realized giant projects such as the STAR refinery, TANAP, Petlim Container Terminal and Petkim Wind Power Station. The area covering all of SOCAR Turkey’s projects in Aliaga has recently become the first Private Industrial Zone in Turkey. The immediate proximity to the feedstock and infrastructure provided by SOCAR’s other facilities will contribute significantly to the competitive power of the new facility. Expanding our immense refining and petrochemical complex, built at the gateway to world markets on the Aegean coast of Turkey, we aim to continue to contribute to the economies of the two brother countries – Turkey and Azerbaijan."

Luis Sierra, CEO for BP’s global aromatics unit said: “If taken forward, this would be the largest integrated PTA, PX and aromatics complex in the Western Hemisphere and BP’s first major new aromatics platform since our Zhuhai site in China opened nearly 20 years ago. The combination of BP’s leading proprietary technology and integration with SOCAR’s new refinery could create an outstanding platform to serve Turkey’s growing polyester packaging and textiles industry. We look forward to drawing on the strengths of both BP and SOCAR to explore the creation of a highly competitive facility."

BP and SOCAR expect to work towards a potential final investment decision in 2019, which could result in start-up of the new plant in 2023.

BP’s latest proprietary PTA technology has significantly lower capital and operating costs when compared with other PTA technologies. It is more energy efficient, uses less water and produces less solid waste than similar technologies on the market.

BP and SOCAR are longstanding partners in a number of major oil and gas production and transportation projects in Azerbaijan, Turkey and the wider region, including the Shah Deniz 2 gas project in Azerbaijan that began production early this year, exporting natural gas to Turkey and beyond.

The State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) is involved in exploration of oil and gas fields; producing, processing, and transporting oil, gas, and gas condensate; marketing petroleum and petrochemical products and supplying natural gas to industry and the public in domestic and international markets.

BP estimates that its latest generation PTA technology delivers 65% fewer greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, 75% less water discharge and 95% less solid waste disposal than conventional PTA technology of the 1990s*.

MRC

Grace announces 2019 FCC Catalysts Pricing Actions

MOSCOW (MRC) -- W. R. Grace & Co. stated that it will continue its previously announced program to increase prices for its Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) catalysts by 3 to 9 percent in 2019 based on product type and specific customer commitments, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

"We will continue pricing actions necessary to sustain our on-going investment in next-generation products, enhanced technical services, and leading manufacturing capabilities to serve our global customers," said Tom Petti, Grace’s President, Refining Technologies. "Grace remains focused on mitigating the impact of escalating raw materials costs and controlling expenses."

Grace continues to experience strong demand for its premium FCC catalysts technologies as refiners around the world work to optimize FCC unit profitability by maximizing petrochemical and alkylate feedstocks and processing more challenging crudes.

"The FCC unit is a critical component of refinery profitability and we are committed to partnering with our customers to maximize their FCC product value," continued Petti. "We have consistently demonstrated our ability to provide custom product solutions and expert-level technical support to create significant incremental profits for our clients."

As MRC informed previously, in July 2016, BASF closed the previously announced transaction to divest its global Polyolefin Catalysts business to W. R. Grace & Co.

A leader in polyolefin catalysts and licensing, Grace has the world’s broadest portfolio of polypropylene and polyethylene catalyst technologies used to produce thermoplastic resins for a variety of applications. A leading innovator and strategic partner to its customers, Grace supplies catalyst solutions for all polyolefin processes, as well as polypropylene process technology and process controls. Grace employs approximately 3,700 people in over 30 countries.
MRC