SikaAxson renamed in Sika Advanced Resins

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Three years after the takeover of Axson Technologies by the Swiss Sika AG and the subsequent merging with Sika Tooling & Composites under the name SikaAxson, the business unit has been renamed in Sika Advanced Resins to complete its further integration into the Sika Group, according to GV.

The name Sika Advanced Resins is said to reflect the desire to highlight the synergies provided by the Sika Group, a provider of speciality chemicals for the construction and industrial sectors. "This new identity strengthens Sika Advanced Resins' positioning in relation to its competitors, as it gives visibility to the activities of the entire group and allows us to better position ourselves in our markets. Today, the BU is the number one tooling company in Europe and is aiming to become the world leader in the formulation of high-performance epoxy and polyurethane resins for tooling, composites and dielectrics," said Morten Muschak, Head of Sika Advanced Resins.

Sika Advanced Resins remains focused on its core businesses: tooling, composites and encapsulation (electrical/electronic), offering customised solutions to its customers worldwide. Its know-how has applications in the aeronautics, automotive, nautical and rail sectors as well as its subcontractors in foundry, modelling and rapid prototyping. To innovate and develop sustained growth in these sectors, the business unit invests significantly in research and development every year. Its strength lies in its six R+D centres located in France, Germany, China, the USA, Mexico and Japan. Sika Advanced Resins generates an annual turnover of EUR 130 million with 450 employees.

As MRC wrote before, in November 2018, Sika acquired the global Concrete Fibers business from Propex Holding, LLC, which includes a US plant manufacturing synthetic fibers for use in concrete reinforcement, sales operations in Sika’s three geographical regions, and a strong brand, said the producer. The acquired business is a perfect addition to Sika’s concrete systems for high value-added solutions required in the construction of high-rise buildings and demanding infrastructure projects. The acquired business generates annual sales of CHF 30 million.
MRC

McDermott awarded PP technology contract in India

MOSCOW (MRC) -- McDermott International, Inc. announced that it has been awarded a sizeable technology contract by HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Ltd. (HRRL) for the license and basic engineering design of two 490 KTA polypropylene plants in Pachpadra Tehsil, Barmer District, Rajasthan, India, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The plants will use Lummus' proprietary NOVOLEN process reactors and proprietary NHP catalyst to produce a full range of leading polypropylene products for the Indian and regional markets.

"This is the largest Novolen licensed polypropylene award to date, and the largest polypropylene plant in India," said Daniel M. McCarthy, Executive Vice President of McDermott's Lummus Technology business. "Our process includes a high degree of flexibility to adjust to market demand, and HRRL will enjoy the full benefits of economies of scale and technology capability for this world-scale plant."

McDermott's Lummus Technology is a leading licensor of proprietary petrochemicals, refining, gasification and gas processing technologies, and a supplier of proprietary catalysts and related engineering. With a heritage spanning more than 100 years, encompassing approximately 3,100 patents and patent applications, Lummus Technology provides one of the industry's most diversified technology portfolios to the hydrocarbon processing sector.

This award was reflected in McDermott's third quarter 2018 backlog.
MRC

BASF invests in new mobile emissions catalysts production facility in Shanghai

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF is investing in a new production facility for mobile emissions catalysts at its Pudong site in Shanghai, China, as per the company's press release.

The new 30,000-square-meter facility will house multiple manufacturing lines, providing a full range of emissions control technologies for heavy-duty and light-duty vehicle manufacturers. Construction is underway, with start-up planned for the end of 2019.

The plant will manufacture innovative catalysts for gasoline and diesel vehicles in the growing Chinese market. The catalysts will help automotive customers meet more stringent emission control requirements ahead of China Stage 6 implementation in 2020.

"BASF is committed to supporting customers in China with state-of-the-art environmental catalysts solutions," said Dr. Stephan Kothrade, President Functions Asia Pacific, President and Chairman Greater China, BASF. "We want to greatly contribute to China’s three-year plan to protect blue skies, with advanced mobile emissions catalysts that meet the strictest environmental regulation requirements in China."

“BASF continues to support strong business growth in China through production capacity and innovation capabilities to meet local customer needs," said Dr. Dirk Demuth, Senior Vice President, Mobile Emissions Catalysts, BASF. "Our new facility in China will enable BASF to support our customers in this growing market. The new facility offers flexibility for future expansion and upgrades to adapt to market requirements in the years ahead."

As MRC informed previously, in December 2017, BASF’s Coatings division inaugurated a new automotive coatings plant at its Bangpoo manufacturing site, Samutprakarn province, Thailand. The new plant is the first BASF automotive coatings manufacturing facility in ASEAN, and will produce solventborne and waterborne automotive coatings to meet growing market demand in the region.

BASF is the leading chemical company. It 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. BASF generated sales of more than EUR60 billion in 2017. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (BAS).
MRC

Blast at chemical plant kills three

MOSCOW (MRC) - A blast at a chemical plant in China’s northwestern Xinjiang autonomous region has killed three people and severely injured six, said Reuters with reference to the official Tianshan news website Wednesday report.

The explosion occurred when Xinjiang Xinzhi Energy Chemicals Co tested a rotary lime kiln on Tuesday afternoon, the report said.

The deadly accident comes about one month after a gas leak at a plant owned by a ChemChina subsidiary caused a blast that killed 23 people in the eastern Hebei province.

As MRC informed before, in July 2018, an explosion at a chemical plant in China killed 19 people and injured 12. It was not clear then what caused the blast at Yibin Hengda Technology in an industrial park several hours southeast of Chengdu, the capital of the southwestern province of Sichuan.

China has kicked off measures to improve industrial safety, ramping up checks over the last year, following some high-profile incidents at coal mines and chemical plants.

In 2015, an explosion in a chemical warehouse in the northern port city of Tianjin killed 165 people. Last year a blast at a petrochemical plant in eastern Shandong province killed eight people and injured nine.
MRC

Indorama Alpek, S.A.B. de C.V., and Far Eastern JV receives FTC approval to acquire M&G PTA-PET facility

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL), a global chemical producer, announced that its joint venture has received all regulatory clearance required from the United States Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) for the proposed joint asset purchase of M&G USA Corp. and its affiliated debtors, said the company.

On 21 March 2018, Indorama Ventures, Alpek, S.A.B. de C.V., and Far Eastern Investment (Holding) Ltd., entered into a joint venture agreement to acquire M&G’s Corpus Christi plant through Corpus Christi Polymers LLC. The acquisition also includes certain M&G intellectual property, and a desalination/boiler plant.

The Corpus Christi plant will have nominal capacity of 1.1 million and 1.3 million metric tons per year of PET and PTA, respectively. The three JV parties will each receive one-third of the capacity of PTA and PET produced. Each of the partners will procure raw materials independently, while also independently selling and distributing their corresponding PTA and PET. The plant is the largest in North America with state of art technology and is a vertically integrated PTA-PET production facility.

Mr. Aloke Lohia, Group CEO of Indorama Ventures commented, “The FTC’s regulatory clearance represents an important milestone and a giant step towards serving the growing market needs of Recyclable PET for many years to come. With the approvals in place, we look forward to assist and fast track the construction and create hundreds of jobs to workers with this project.”
MRC