PIC to establish a second PP line with a capacity of 55,000 t/y

(Arabian Oil and Gas) -- Kuwait based Petrochemicals Industries Company (PIC) is planning to establish a second polypropylene (PP) line with a capacity of 55,000 tonnes per year (t/y) starting from 2012, according to a source close to the company.

The source said that the improvement of polypropylene prices in the international market led the company to considering to increase its PP capacity. ⌠The total cost of the new line will be between US$50 million and $100 million, Kuwaiti newspaper Al Anbaa quoted the source as saying.

The company also aims to reproduce the copolymer variety of PP, due to the improvement of the product price in the market.

The company has stopped the production of the copolymer type when the price difference between copolymer and the homopolymer type of PP reached $30-$40 per tonne, while the previous difference was between $80 and $100 per tonne.

MRC

(ICIS) -- Polypropylene (PP) prices in Europe have reached a new record high as producers push levels up following a hefty increase in propylene prices in a market free from the competition of imports, market sources said on Monday.

Net homopolymer injection PP prices were trading at ┬1,280-1,310/tonne FD (free delivered) NWE (northwest Europe) in January but several buyers said that they were being cautious this month, despite warnings of yet more hikes in February.

Producers took a different stance when settling January business, with some settling for slightly less than the ┬110/tonne ($147/tonne) increase in the propylene monomer contract price, which settled at ┬1,070/tonne FD NWE.

MRC

(Arabian Oil and Gas) -- ExxonMobil will showcase its innovation in expanding all commercially viable energy sources and development of technologies to mitigate the growth of emissions at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi this week.

Morten Mauritzen, president of ExxonMobil companies in Abu Dhabi, said, ⌠The fourth annual World Future Energy Summit is an important opportunity to discuss ways to meet future energy challenges. In addition to serving as a platinum sponsor of the 2011 World Future Energy Summit, ExxonMobil will share information on its actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. ExxonMobil believes innovation through carbon capture and storage, development of biofuels from algae, and energy efficiency has the potential to turn energy challenges into energy solutions.

MRC

(PRW) -- Netherlands foam plastics processor Wolters Europe plans to build an automotive components plant near its existing packaging facility Kostenice, Czech Republic. The unit, expected to be up and running by 2012, will turn out 2,450 tonnes of products in expanded polypropylene (EPP), expanded polystyrene (EPS) and PE foam. Local group offshoot Wolters Packaging Czech aims to hire a 48-strong workforce for the plant.

Located on a 3.7 hectare expansion site, the plant will include a 12,000m2 production hall and parking space for 100 vehicles.

Wolters Europe, based at Enter in the Netherlands, manufactures a range of plastics foam packaging and other products for fresh food, horticulture, electronics and IT, pharmaceuticals and industrial packaging.

MRC

(PRW) -- The German maker of Playmobil toys bought 30 Systec injection moulding machines from Sumitomo (SHI) Demag Plastics Machinery at K 2010, Sumitomo Demag has announced.

Playmobil officials have finalized deals before for large numbers of presses at plastics trade shows. One of the biggest block of orders came at the 2005 Fakuma show in Germany ≈ 84 injection presses from three separate machinery suppliers.

MRC