Exports of injection moulding PET chips from Belarus up 20% in eleven months 2019

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The French federation of port and dock workers, part of the CGT labor union, has called ports to suspend operations on Wednesday as protests against the government's pension reform continue, reported S&P Global.

A day of protests across France has also been called by the unions for Wednesday.

The federation, along with the CGT and other French labor unions called for renewed protests last week when industrial action and demonstrations last Wednesday and Thursday were followed by a nationwide strike on Friday.

There have been protests at most refineries and ports in France since December 5, 2019 over the pension reform plans, with staff at refineries blocking product shipments and staff at ports suspending operations. However, the industrial action appeared to be gradually easing off at refineries, with no plants closed.

Tugs operations at a number of French ports are likely to be disrupted Wednesday with disruptions expected to continue until Saturday, according to shipping sources. The industrial action is expected to affect the ports of Rouen, Brest, Lorient, Donges, St Nazaire, the Fluxel-operated Fos and Lavera oil terminals and Le Havre. But others ports, such as La Palllice and Bordeaux are not expected to be affected.

We remind that, as MRC wrote before, France's CGT union said on Friday, 10 January, it would continue a strike over the government's planned pension reform at refineries and petrol depots until 16 January, extending by almost a week a four-day action that started on 7 January. The decision came the day after new nationwide protest marches that failed to break the stalemate between government and unions after a more-than month-old public sector strike.

French oil major Total said earlier that strikes against the government’s pension reform were having no impact on its fuel supply and distribution ahead of a four-day nationwide strike in French oil refineries.

We also remind that in November 2019, Total disclosed that it is evaluating construction of a new gas cracker at its Deasan, South Korea, joint venture (JV) with Hanwha Chemical.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,904,410 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments increased from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,161,830 tonnes in January-November 2019, up by 7% year on year. Deliveries of all grades of propylene polymers increased, with the homopolymer PP segment accounting for the largest increase.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Milliken & Company, a global diversified manufacturer with more than a century and a half of materials science expertise, has formally acquired Borchers Group Limited, a global specialty chemicals company known for its innovative high-performance coating additives and specialty catalyst solutions from The Jordan Company, L.P., reported BusinessWire.

The transaction officially closed on Tuesday, January 28, 2020.

"When great teams come together, big things happen," stated Halsey Cook, Milliken & Company president and CEO on closing the deal. "I’m excited to combine Borchers’ capabilities with Milliken’s long-term view and focus on innovation and sustainability."

"Borchers brings expertise, products and customer knowledge in the paint and coatings industry," commented Russ Rudolph, senior vice president, Milliken’s Coating Additives Business. "Combined with Milliken’s commitment to investment in long-term sustainable innovation and specialty chemicals global reach, this acquisition will accelerate solutions for the markets and customers we serve."

As Borchers integrates into Milliken, daily operations will continue without interruption, including relationships with existing suppliers and customers.

Headquartered in Westlake, Ohio, Borchers carries a respected portfolio of additives for the coatings, inks and adhesives markets with a comprehensive range of cobalt-free driers, dispersants, rheology modifiers, wetting agents, polymerization catalysts and adhesion promoters.

Jones Day represented Milliken in the transaction. Moelis & Company LLC acted as financial advisor, and Mayer Brown LLP acted as legal advisor to Borchers and TJC.

As MRC informed before, in August 2019, Milliken & Company unveiled plans to construct a new, state-of-the-art chemical manufacturing plant and knowledge center in Asia. Expected to begin operations in Q1 2021, the facility expands Milliken’s chemical manufacturing footprint to support increasing demand across Asia, including rapidly growing markets in India and China. The company currently operates an applications lab and technical service and sales office in Singapore, and recently celebrated its 20-year presence in the region.

We also remind that at Hispack 2018 trade fair in Spain, Milliken Chemical showcased containers of NX UltraClear polypropylene (PP) made using its Millad NX 8000 clarifier, and highlighted why that material is the preferred solution for packaging.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, the PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,161,830 tonnes in January-November 2019, up by 7% year on year. Deliveries of all grades of propylene polymers increased, with the homopolymer PP segment accounting for the largest increase.

Milliken is an innovation company that has been exploring, discovering, and creating ways to enhance people’s lives since 1865. The company creates coatings, specialty chemicals, and advanced additive and colorant technologies that transform the way we experience products from automotive plastics to children's art supplies.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- In a move to expand its footprint in the medical and pharmaceutical segments, rigid plastic packaging supplier Comar has acquired iMark Molding, a medical parts molder headquartered in Woodsville, Wis., for an undisclosed amount, said Canplastics.

In a statement, Comar said that iMark specializes in complex scientific injection molding, automated and manual assembly, and cleanroom operations, and operates out of an ISO13485-certified 130,000-square-foot facility with more than 30 injection molding presses and 15,000 square feet of certified ISO Class 7 cleanroom.

The company won an award as “Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year, Special Award for Enterprise Precision", Comar said.

"There will be no plant closures or employee layoffs for Comar or iMark as part of this acquisition,” Comar’s statement said. “Comar and iMark fully expect to continue to deliver to their customers with zero interruptions or quality issues."

iMark president Mark Sturtevant will continue to manage the company’s day-to-day operations, the statement added.

As MRC informed earlier, Nestle is to invest up to Swiss francs (Swfr) 2bn (USD2.1bn) to shift packaging production from virgin to recycled polymers over the next five years. The company is to source up to 2m tonnes of food-grade recycled plastics and has allocated Swfr1.5bn up to 2025 to pay a premium for those materials as part of a drive to create a viable market for those products. The company will seek operational efficiencies to keep the process revenue neutral.

A broad range of applications in the packaging industry is made of LDPE or HDPE in various forms – loose, in rolls, or in blocks.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,904,410 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments increased from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,161,830 tonnes in January-November 2019, up by 7% year on year. Deliveries of all grades of propylene polymers increased, with the homopolymer PP segment accounting for the largest increase.

Founded in 1949, Comar is headquartered in Voorhees, N.J. The company operates nine manufacturing and distribution locations across the U.S., and uses injection molding, injection blow molding, injection stretch blow molding, and extrusion blow molding processes.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, during a reception hosted by Sabic Vice Chairman and CEO Yousef bin Abdullah Al-Benyan, the company underlined its sustainability ambition with the announcement of its far-reaching plans to work with a network of partners to close the loop on plastics waste in 2020., said Plasticsnews.

To that end, the company has developed a portfolio of materials, marketed under the brand name Trucircle.

Closed-loop recycling of plastic will see post-consumer plastic waste collected, recycled and used to make new products. It requires a total transformation of the value chain, which Sabic has been working hard with its downstream and upstream partners to achieve.

Sabic’s Trucircle portfolio comprises solutions spanning design for recyclability, mechanically recycled products, certified circular products from feedstock recycling of plastic waste streams and certified renewable products from bio-based feedstock. These solutions have been made possible, said the company by a collaboration with UK-based Plastic Energy Ltd. which enables the recycling of plastic waste which has historically been classified as non-recyclable.

Over the past 12 months, customers of the company and brand owners such as Unilever and Tupperware Brands have brought to market a number of consumer products based on Sabic’s new Trucircle solutions.

"2020 will see us forge bold, new collaborations with high caliber partners in order to create a circular, transparent and sustainable economy for plastics, and we invite players from across the value chain to join us to truly transform our world,” said Mark Vester, Circular Economy Leader at Sabic.

Sabic also had an update on its new semi-commercial plant for the production of pyrolysis oil from plastic waste in Geleen, which is expected to open in 2012. Here, circular polymers will be produced from a feedstock known as Tacoil — a patented product from UK-based Plastic Energy Ltd. — from the recycling of low quality, mixed plastic waste otherwise destined for incineration or landfill.

Sabic’s commitment to using more plastic waste as feedstock for its circular polymers runs parallel to its 2020 ambition to increase the uptake of recycled plastic from mechanical recycling. Sabic is determined to increase the amount of plastic it processes in Europe to 200.000 metric tons by 2025, in line with its pledge to the EU Commission.

Sabic Europe, an affiliate of Sabic, conducted maintenance works at its cracker No.3 at Geleen site in the Netherlands this autumn. The planned maintenance started in September and lasted around 2 months. The company operates two steam crackers in Geleen which are capable of producing 1,250,000 tons/year of ethylene and 675,000 tons/year of propylene in total.

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.

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) ranks among the world's top petrochemical companies. The company is among the worldпїЅs market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.
MRC