Taita Chemicals eyes maintenance at ABS plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Taita Chemical (part of USI Corporation) is in plans to shut an acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) unit for maintenance, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Taiwan informed that the company is likely to commence turnaround at the unit in mid-April, 2019. The plant is expected to remain under maintenance for around two weeks.

Located in Kaoshiung, Taiwan, the plant has a production capacity of 100,000 mt/year.

Usi Group Ltd was founded in 2001. The company's line of business includes the wholesale distribution of durable goods. The company produces various kinds of polymers, including polyethylene (PE), ethylene-vynil-acetate (EVA), ABS, etc.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- On the heels of several acquisitions, Montreal’s Intertape Polymer Group Inc. (IPG) delivered what it calls “solid results” in 2018, increasing its revenue by more than 17% to USD1,053 million compared to 2017, and by more than 21.2% to US$287.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2018 compared to Q4 2017, said Canplastics.

"We strengthened our product bundle with the addition of protective packaging solutions from the Polyair acquisition and expanded our geographic and competitive footprint with the acquisition of Maiweave,” IPG president and CEO Greg Yull said in a statement. "As we move into 2019, we are actively integrating these businesses, as well as delivering on the synergies from the prior acquisitions of Cantech and Airtrax. Our main priorities in 2019 are commissioning the two Indian facilities on time and on budget by mid-year, scaling production at those facilities and the second Midland production line, and driving cost and revenue synergies in Cantech, Polyair and Maiweave."

Yull also noted that IPG has invested more than US$160 million in a capital program in the past two years, including approximately US$63 million in three new greenfield facilities, including the second line at the Midland, North Carolina facility for water-activated tapes and in India at IPG’s carton sealing tapes and woven products facilities.

IPG acquired Polyair in July 2018 for US$146 million. The privately held company has dual headquarters in Toronto and Chicago, and supplies bubble cushioning, foam, mailers and air pillow systems, which IPG describes as being complementary to its business. In December 2018, IPG bought substantially all of the operating assets of Maiweave LLC for US$21 million; Maiweave is a private company based in Springfield, Ohio and an integrated U.S. manufacturer of engineered coated polyolefin fabrics that employs approximately 75 team-members at two manufacturing facilities.

Looking ahead, IPG has forecast its 2019 revenue to be between USD1,180 and USD1,220 million, barring unforeseen developments.

IPG, which has corporate headquarters in Montreal and Sarasota, Fla., develops, manufactures, and sells a variety of paper and film-based pressure-sensitive and water-activated tapes, polyethylene, and specialized polyolefin films, woven coated fabrics, and complementary packaging systems for industrial and retail use.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Korea Petrochemical Industry Co (KPIC) is in plans to take off-stream its steam cracker for maintenance turnaround, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in South Korea informed that the company is likely to halt operations at the cracker in end-March, 2019. The cracker is slated to remain under maintenance for around one month.

Located at Onsan city in South Korea, the cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 800,000 mt/year and propylene capacity of 500,000 mt/year.

As MRC wrote before, in 2017, the company shut its sole steam cracker in Onsan for debottlenecking and a turnaround from mid-April to mid-June. Under KPIC's expansion program, the steam cracker's ethylene production capacity rose to 800,000 mt/year from 470,000 mt/year, and its propylene capacity - to 500,000 mt/year from 230,000 mt/year.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- ELIX Polymers, a leading manufacturer of ABS resins and derivatives, will present its portfolio of materials and technologies at Plastimagen 2019, one of the most important trade fairs in the plastics sector, which will be held in Mexico from the 2nd to the 5th of April at the Banamex centre in Mexico City, as per the company's press release.

During this international trade fair, at booth 1363 ELIX Polymers will present its portfolio of products and innovations in materials for several key markets. These innovations are the result of the company’s strong emphasis on product differentiation and its significant investments in R&D, thereby allowing it to stand out among manufacturers of basic ABS products.

Some of the products being presented at the Plastimagen trade fair include the following:

- ABS grades with a very low level of emissions and odour, in addition to high heat-resistant ABS for the automotive industry.
- A generation of ABS grades for chrome-plating, thereby strengthening the company’s position as a pioneer in this market.
- Grades suitable for contact with food, in applications that require a high level of support and regulatory knowledge.
- Newly developed, low-friction products for applications in the automotive industry.

In addition to being an excellent manufacturer for important customers throughout the world, ELIX Polymers specialises in producing ABS and SAN polymers, high-performance compounds and polymer mixes, as well as polymer modifiers.

With its factory and head office located in the largest chemical complex of Tarragona, Spain (with another office in Florida, USA), ELIX Polymers manages the third-largest ABS production plant in Europe, with five lines of ABS compounds that produce over 40 grades, and it specialises in the supply of pre-coloured products with over 300 active colours.

As MRC reported before, in June 2018, ELIX Polymers, a thermoplastics manufacturer located in Tarragona's Poligono Sur industrial complex, announced a new investment amounting to EUR4 million, whose objective is to optimize its ABS powder production facilities. The company began executing this new project in 2018, which it will continue to develop and consolidate throughout the year of 2019.

ELIX Polymers is one of the most important manufacturers of ABS resins and derivatives in Europe, with 40 years of experience in engineering plastics and an installed capacity of 180,000/year from their plant in Tarragona (Spain) to the world. The operation starts in 1975, when the Tarragona ABS and SAN production plant was inaugurated.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Lukoil said it plans to invest more than USD60 million over the next three years in its 320,000 barrel-per-day ISAB refinery in Augusta, Italy, on the island of Sicily, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Vadim Vorobyov, Lukoil’s First Deputy CEO, told reporters at a news conference that the investments.

He said ISAB will move to produce high-quality diesel of Euro V grade after the modernization.

Vorobyov also said that Lukoil had no plans to sell ISAB for now.

Reuters has reported in 2017 that Lukoil was looking to sell the ISAB refinery as part of a review of its overseas operations.

As MRC reported before, in October 2018, McDermott International, Inc. announced it had been awarded a significant contract by LUKOIL NizhegorodNefteorgSyntez, a subsidiary of JSC LUKOIL, for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of the Delayed Coker Unit for the Deep Conversion Complex planned to be built in Kstovo, Russia.

Lukoil is one of the leading vertically integrated oil company in Russia. The main activities of the company include operations for exploration and production of oil and gas, production and sale of petroleum products. Lukoil is the second largest private oil Company worldwide by proven hydrocarbon reserves. In Lukoil structure includes one of the largest Russian petrochemical plant - Stavrolen.
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