Hoffmann Neopac acquires CM Packaging

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Plastic and metal packaging firm Hoffmann Neopac has acquired Netherlands-based CM Packaging, said Packaging-gateway.

Following the acquisition, Hoffmann plans to integrate the two companies into a single entity by 1 January 2020.

The companies have not disclosed the financial details of the deal. Hoffmann Neopac CEO Mark Aegler said: “The team at CM Packaging has been a tremendous partner through the years, and with them joining the Hoffmann Neopac family we now have a production site in the EU in the metal sector and can also successfully implement our internationalisation in this area.

"In the tube business, we have been doing this for several years and now produce high-quality tubes in Switzerland, Hungary, India and the USA."

Hoffmann Neopac has also announced an infrastructure investment. The company will build a three-piece can-making line at CM Packaging’s facility in Dronten, the Netherlands.

The investment is expected to meet the demands for the growing infant food sector by expanding capacity. Hoffmann Neopac former CTO Andreas Geiger will serve as managing director of the Metal Packaging division.

Hoffmann Neopac Tins sales head Tomas Pivko will lead the sales team. The three owners of CM Packaging will remain part of the company.

CM Packaging Sales and Marketing director Herbert van de Beek said: “The acquisition of CM Packaging by Hoffmann Neopac will combine the clear strengths of both companies and improve our position in an increasingly challenging market.

As MRC informed earlier, INEOS Styrolution has partnered with post-consumer plastics recycling company Agilyx to build a polystyrene (PS) chemical recycling facility in Channahon, Illinois.

As per ICIS-MRC Price Report, Ineos Styrolution"s general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) imports into Russia increased in the first ten months of 2019 by 2 times year on year to 10,600 tonnes. This figure was 4,900 tonnes in January-October 2018. Ineos Styrolution is the largest GPPS supplier to Russia. European material accounted for 45% of the total GPPS shipments over the stated period versus 30% in the first ten months of 2018. However, October Styrolution"s GPPS shipments to the Russian market decreased by more than 2 times to 700 tonnes from 1,500 tonnes a month earlier, the company"s imports into the country were 700 tonnes in October 2018.
MRC

China November crude oil imports hit record high as refiners race to use up quotas

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China’s crude oil imports hit a record high on a daily basis in November, as refiners operated at high run rates to use up annual import quotas, reported Reuters.

The world’s top oil buyer imported 45.74 million tonnes of crude, equivalent to 11.13 million barrels per day (bpd), according to data released by the General Administration of Customs on Sunday.

That compared with 10.72 million bpd in October and 9.61 million bpd in November last year.

For the first 11 months of 2019, China brought in a total of 461.88 million tonnes, or 10.09 million bpd, up 10.4% from the same period last year, the data showed.

As the year draws to a close, private refineries, known as teapot refiners, are ramping up output to use up their crude import quotas for the year in order to be able to apply for more quotas next year.

State-backed oil refiners, meanwhile, have maintained stable throughput levels.

Looking ahead, Sinopec’s Maoming refining plant has scheduled an overhaul in December, but two mega-refineries - Zhejiang Petrochemicals and Sinopec’s Zhanjiang refinery - are expected to start purchasing more crude in December to prepare for a ramp-up in their operations.

Customs data showed that China sold 7.31 million tonnes of refined oil products overseas in November, up 63.5% from a year earlier.

Exports for the first 11 months were 60.22 million tonnes, up 14.2% from the same period last year.

Total natural gas imports, including liquefied natural gas (LNG) and pipeline, in November rose 3.3% from the same period last year to 9.45 million tonnes, customs data showed.

In the period of January-November, natural gas imports reached 87.11 million tonnes, up 7.4% from same period last year.

On Monday, Russia started to transport pipeline gas from Siberia to northeastern China.

As MRC informed before, Zhejiang Petrochemical Co Ltd (ZPC) started up its No. 1 cracker in Zhoushan, China last month, though it is reported that the company is still working to stabilize the operation rate. The cracker has an annual capacity of 1.4 million tons/year of ethylene and 900,000 tons/year of propylene.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,724,670 tonnes in the first ten months of 2019, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market in January-October 2019 totalled 1,066,520 tonnes, up by 7% year on year. Supply of block copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymer) and homopolymer of propylene (homopolymer PP) increased, demand for statistical copolymers (PP random copolymer) decreased.
MRC

McDonalds is teaming up with Ford to recycle coffee residue into car parts

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ford is looking to partner with McDonald's to recycle coffee chaff, the husk of coffee beans that peels off during roasting, said Businessinsider.

"By heating the chaff to high temperatures under low oxygen, mixing it with plastic and other additives and turning it into pellets, the material can be formed into various shapes," Ford told The Verge.

To start with, the chaff will be recycled and molded into headlamp housings for Ford products, which will produce lighter components and, in turn, improve the cars' efficiency. Both companies want to carry on collaborating with one another for a more sustainable future.

It might sound ambitious but, at Ford, the idea of using coffee to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cars is no laughing matter.

The American car manufacturer is planning to partner with McDonald's to recycle coffee chaff — the husk of coffee beans that peels off during roasting — and mold the residue into headlamp housings.

"By heating the chaff to high temperatures under low oxygen, mixing it with plastic and other additives and turning it into pellets, the material can be formed into various shapes," the manufacturer told The Verge.

Once heated, mixed with other components, and converted to bioplastic, the residue will allow car manufacturers in producing components that are 20% lighter.

Though the weight reduction might not seem significant, it will improve the energy efficiency of vehicles and in turn reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

Ford's interest in recycled materials isn't actually anything new; founder Henry Ford, was already using soybean-based products by the early 1940s.

Since 2011, soy foam has also been used by the company in manufacturing some of its products' interiors.

Though electric vehicle sales continue to grow across the globe, a Greenpeace report indicates that the automotive industry's global carbon footprint still contributed to 9% of the world's CO2 emissions in 2018.
MRC

Nestle commits to using 100% rPET for Buxton water bottles

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Nestle has pledged to use recycled plastic (rPET) in the bottle production for Buxton Natural Mineral Water brand, said Packaging-gateway.

The complete range will be recyclable and made from 100% rPET by 2021, which will contribute to a circular economy. Last month, the company launched 100% rPET bottles in the 75cl and 1l ranges, while the rest currently contain at least 20% rPET content.

The initiative will significantly reduce the amount of virgin plastic in circulation.

Nestle Waters UK business executive officer Michel Beneventi said: "We are incredibly excited to be able to put our commitments to sustainability into practice. The high-quality recycled material retains the same all-important properties as PET, resulting in a product that is lightweight, durable, resilient and still 100% recyclable.

"We would have liked to have made all our Buxton bottles from recycled material much sooner but there are many challenges to achieving this. The material we use needs to be high-quality food grade."

Currently, the company relies on the supply of rPET material for the Buxton bottles from outside the UK. At the moment, the UK does not have the required infrastructure to produce the material in huge quantities.

Beneventi added: "We would love to be able to produce the bottles for our British water in the UK. Therefore, we are working with industry partners, non-governmental organisations and government to improve the national recycling rate, supporting the UK-wide Deposit Return Scheme and engaging with consumers about their recycling to help make a circular economy for plastics a reality."

Nestle has pledged to make 100% of its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025.

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.
MRC

EPIC Midstream loads first oil tanker at new Texas export terminal

MOSCOW (MRC) -- EPIC Midstream loaded its first oil tanker at its new Texas export terminal and plans to open another dock in the third quarter of 2020, benefiting from rising demand for low-sulfur US crude, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing with reference to EPIC President Brian Freed said in an interview.

Its Corpus Christi, Texas, facility has capacity to load Aframax tankers, which can carry up to 750,000 barrels of oil, at a rate of 20,000 barrels per hour, boosting export capabilities as refiners in Europe and Asia look for more light sweet crude supply ahead of new maritime fuel standards.

The facility planned for next year would double the company’s total loading rate to 40,000 barrels per hour and could handle larger Suezmax tankers, which can hold about 1 million barrels, Freed told Reuters late Monday.

San Antonio-based EPIC is one of three pipeline operators that have opened major lines this year to bring barrels from the top U.S. oil field to the Gulf Coast, and one of several companies to launch export projects as the shale boom has helped make the nation the world’s largest crude producer and a major exporter.

"A low-sulfur barrel is going to be a very attractive barrel, so demand is strong right now" for crude produced in the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico, Freed said. "There’s room for a lot of projects to get done."

Shipping rates for Aframax tankers from the U.S. Gulf Coast to Europe this month have remained near the all-time record.

A new maritime law known as IMO 2020 will require ocean-going vessels to burn low-sulfur fuels to reduce pollution beginning Jan. 1. That is expected to benefit U.S. crude exports as shippers take advantage of global demand for lighter grades, which more easily produce lower-sulfur fuels than heavier crude oils.

The Aframax-class tanker Eser K, chartered by Russian energy firm Lukoil, departed on Monday from EPIC’s facility near the site of a former grain terminal, toward Britain, according to shipbrokers and Refinitiv Eikon data. They did not specify the actual size of the cargo.

EPIC has scheduled a second ship, Freed said, but he declined to disclose the vessel. He did confirm the Eser K’s departure from Corpus.

EPIC opened its 400,000 barrel-per-day interim-service pipeline from the Permian Basin to Corpus Christi in August.

It plans to open a 900,000 bpd line early in the first quarter, and will begin offering a second, ultralight crude grade - West Texas Light (WTL) - as it batches shipments on a system expected to have about 7 million barrels of storage capacity, Freed said. That grade of crude has only recently started shipping overseas.

"There’s no reason why WTL shouldn’t be an attractive export," Freed said.
MRC