Asia EPS demand may improve in second quarter

(ICIS) -- Demand for expandable polystyrene (EPS) in Asia is expected to remain weak until the second quarter, but prices are on the rise due to strong feedstock costs, industry sources said on Monday.

Fewer activities in the EPS downstream sectors of construction and infrastructure, particularly in the key China market, stifled demand ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays on 2-8 February, they said.

But production costs were growing amid spikes in prices of feedstock styrene monomer, forcing EPS suppliers to raise prices to maintain workable margins, industry sources said.

Packaging EPS prices rose by about 11% to $1,550/tonne (┬1,163/tonne) CFR (cost and freight) China in January from $1,400/tonne CFR China in late November, as SM values surged 12% to more than $1,400/tonne CFR China over the same period, according to ICIS data.

Major EPS producers in Asia include the Loyal Group, Wuxi Xingda Foam Plastics, Ming Dih Group, Leasty Chemical and Taita Chemical.

MRC

(Plastemart) -- India's leading manufacturer of reinforced polymer - Kemrock Industries and Exports has signed an agreement with the Gujarat government to invest US$2 bln in greenfield projects in the state. These projects include defence and aerospace parks, a carbon fibre plant, a glass fibre unit and another facility for specialty polymers. The investment of Rs.9,700 crore will be made over the next 3 to 5 years.

The process of land acquisition for the proposed manufacturing site is underway near Vadodara, near the company's existing manufacturing unit spread over an area of around 250 acres. Kemrock may look for partners for setting up the Greenfield projects.

The company has recently signed a pact with Hindustan Aeronautics for a joint venture to develop, manufacture and market aerospace-grade carbon fibre pre-pegs along with its associated material for defense and aerospace programs in the country.

MRC

(Plastemart) -- In a move that will strengthen its position as a formulation solution provider to the industry, Evonik is in the process of a new acquisition. Evonik Industries AG, the German chemicals to real-estate company has agreed on the purchase of Resomer - pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim 's polymer portfolio. The sale price has not been disclosed. The sale transfer will include the entire product portfolio of polymers used in the manufacturing of medical devices and pharmaceutical formulations to Evonik. Resomer polymers are fully biodegradable in the body.

MRC

(Plastics News) -- Budenheim-based Bericap GmbH & Co. KG has started molding closures at a new plant in Singapore. The plant will serve customers in the ASEAN region, which until now the company has served from a local sales office and deliveries from company plants in China and elsewhere.

Bericap said the Singapore plant will be ⌠the nucleus for further expansion of sales and production facilities in South East Asia. The plant will start by making closures for non-food and non-beverage applications, soon to be followed by beverage closures, and hinged closures for soy sauce containers.

Bericap has 20 plastic closure plants in 18 countries.

MRC

(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