Covestro closed sale of European Systems Houses business to H.I.G. Capital

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Covestro closed the sale of its European Systems Houses business to private equity firm HIG Capital on 1 November, said producer.

Covestro successfully closed the sale of its European Systems Houses business to H.I.G. Capital effective as of November 1, 2019. The sales proceeds amount to a high-double-digit euro million sum. The business comprises facilities in the Netherlands, Denmark, Spain, Germany and further businesses in Italy. Approximately 250 employees are generating annual sales of some EUR 230 million. The sale of the systems houses is part of Covestro’s ongoing efforts to optimize its portfolio.

The systems houses are offering tailor-made polyurethanes systems for customers. With its new owner H.I.G. Capital, the European Systems Houses now have the perspective to position themselves as an independent, focused player for mid-sized customers. The newly formed business will trade under the name Plixxent.

As per MRC's ScanPlast, Overall imports of Covestro"s PC granules to the Ukrainian market grew in the first three quarters of 2019 by 52% year on year. Thus, this figure increased from 1,400 tonnes in January-September 2018 to 2,100 tonnes. Covestro's material accounted for 69% of the total PC imports to the country in the first nine months of 2019 versus 54% a year earlier. Company"s shipments of material to Ukraine were 231 tonnes last months, compared to 139 tonnes in September 2018.

With 2018 sales of EUR 14.6 billion, Covestro is among the world’s largest polymer companies. Business activities are focused on the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. The main segments served are the automotive, construction, wood processing and furniture, and electrical and electronics industries. Other sectors include sports and leisure, cosmetics, health and the chemical industry itself. Covestro has 30 production sites worldwide and employs approximately 16,800 people (calculated as full-time equivalents) at the end of 2018.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mexican petrochemical company Alpek has signed a deal to fully acquire a British plant from Lotte Chemical UK Limited, reported Reuters with reference to Alpek's statement.

The plant, a unit of South Korea’s Lotte Chemical, has the capacity to produce 350,000 tonnes of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) per year and is located at Wilton, Teesside.

Alpek, which did not disclose the purchase price, said the transaction will be finalized by the end of this year.

Alpek is the petrochemicals unit of Mexican conglomerate Alfa.

As MRC wrote before, in early May 2018, Alpek concluded the purchase of PET producer Petroquimica Suape (PQS) for USD385 million. Previously owned by Brazil's Petrobras, PQS owns a 700,000 mt/year PTA plant as well as a 450,000 mt/year PET plant in Ipojuca, Pernambuco, Brazil. After the acquisition, Alpek owns all these assets as well as Citepe - a polyester unit. Alpek already owns Mexico’s polypropylene producer Indelpro and DAK Americas, which produces PET in the US, Mexico, Canada and Argentina.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PET consumption dropped in September 2019 by 10% year on year, totalling 58,210 tonnes. Overall, 551,320 tonnes of PET was processed in Russia in the first nine months of 2019, up 9% year on year.

Established in 1976, Lotte Chemical has been solidifyng its position by localizing cutting-edge petrochemical technologies. Among the high-quality products produced by Lotte Chemical through its efficient processes are ethylene, HDPE, LDPE, LLDPE, PP, functional resin, EG, SM, PIA, PET, etc. Lotte Chemical’s products are being distributed to 152 countries around the world. With the acquisition of Pakistan’s PTA in 2009, Artenius in the UK in 2010 and Titan Chemical Corp., Lotte Chemical is now able to efficiently supply excellent products to an increasing number of countries. The company is further accelerating its efforts to strengthen its global competitiveness by establishing overseas branches in Hong Kong, Russia, and USA, along with the sales corporation in China for active sales activities both in domestic and abroad.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A season of strong demand continued in the Ukrainian EPS boards market. Demand for finished products was by an average stronger from major converters than that from small- and medium-sized ones last month, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

There was high price competition on the back of the saturation of the domestic expandable polystyrene (EPS) market. It was difficult for small EPS traders to compete with large ones. Small delays in shipments of Russian material from the warehouse in Voronezh did not have any impact on the market as a whole.

Prices of Chinese and Russian EPS were in the range of UAH42,500-45,000/tonne CPT Kiev, including VAT, last week. Demand for material at its upper price range was weak.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A Dow Chemical plant near Plaquemine, Louisiana, in the US experienced an explosion on Sunday but there were no casualties, reported NCT with reference to the company's statement in a Facebook update.

"Dow Louisiana Operations had a vessel that ruptured at the site. The noise was heard in the community. There are no injuries on site," the company said on its Facebook page.

"There is no ongoing emergency at the site. The site is stable and we are in recovery mode at our Glycol 2 unit. The rest of our production units continue to run safely and reliably," it added.

Dow Chemicals operations in Louisiana include the integrated manufacturing facility near Plaquemine and brine operations in Grand Bayou.

The Louisiana Operations has 23 production units manufacturing more than 50 different intermediate and specialty chemical products, such as chlorine and PE, that are used to produce cosmetics, detergents, solvents, pharmaceuticals, adhesives, plastics for a variety of packaging, automotive parts, and electronics components.

As MRC informed earlier, Dow Chemical shut its ethylene cracker No. 3 at its Plaquemine, Louisiana site with the annual production of 758,000 mt for expansion from mid-September to end-November 2016. After the restart this cracker can produce by 250,000 mt of ethylene more than before.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polyprolypele (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,589,580 tonnes in the first nine months of 2019, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 976,790 tonnes in January-September 2019, up by 4% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.

The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene (PS), polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, and synthetic rubber.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global chemical and specialty materials company, has undertaken an unplanned shutdown at its Vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) unit in Singapore, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Singapore informed that the company has halted operations at the plant owing to shortage of feedstock on October 23, 2019. The exact duration of the shutdown could not be ascertained.

Located in Jurong Island, Singapore, the plant has a production capacity of 210,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed earlier, Celanese Corporation experienced an emergency incident at approximately 12:00 noon Central time on Saturday, Sept. 21, at the Celanese Clear Lake facility in Pasadena, Texas. On-site emergency personnel extinguished the fire quickly, and appropriate regulatory and first responder agencies were notified and mobilized at the scene to support the incident. All Celanese, site partner and contractor employees are accounted for and no injuries were reported. No shelter in place was issued, and the emergency was cleared at 4:30 p.m. local time.

According to MRC's DataScope report, September EVA imports to Russia fell by 22,7% year on year to 3,420 tonnes from 4,430 tonnes in September 2018, and overall imports of this grade of ethylene copolymer into the Russian Federation decreased in January-September 2019 by 18,2% year on year to 29,190 tonnes (35,690 tonnes in the first nine months of 2018).

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Based in Dallas, Celanese employs approximately 7,700 employees worldwide and had 2018 net sales of USD7.2 billion.
MRC