Wacker to increase prices of dispersions in North America

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Wacker Polymers is to raise prices for vinyl acetate-ethylene and ethylene-vinyl chloride-based copolymer dispersions of the VINNAPAS® and VINNOL® brands in North America, said the company.

As customer contracts allow, effective October 16, 2020, prices will be raised by up to 10 percent. This measure has been necessitated by the increase in logistic and raw material market costs.

The price adjustment enables Wacker Polymers to continue providing customers with a wide range of innovative quality products and comprehensive technical, sales and customer support services, along with supporting investment to secure the capability for future growth across our focus markets.

Dispersions of the VINNAPAS® and VINNOL® brand are applied in a broad variety of industries, ranging from adhesives, caulks, non-wovens, paints and coatings to paper, carpet and textiles.

According to MRC's DataScope report, last month"s SPVC imports to Russia dropped to 7,400 tonnes from 10,900 tonnes in July. The increased supply from domestic producers and high prices in foreign markets were the main reasons for lower imports. Thus, overall imports were 32,000 tonnes in January-August 2020, compared to 36,900 tonnes a year earlier, with resin from China and the United States accounting for the main decreased in imports.

Wacker Polymers is a leading producer of state-of-the-art binders and polymeric additives based on polyvinyl acetate and vinyl acetate copolymers and terpolymers. These take the form of dispersible polymer powders, dispersions, solid resins, and solutions. They are used in construction chemicals, paints and surface coatings, adhesives, sealants, carpet applications and nonwovens, as well as in fiber composites and polymeric materials based on renewable resources. WACKER POLYMERS has production sites in Germany, China, South Korea and the USA, as well as a global sales network and technology centers in all major regions.
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1. LyondellBasell targets 2 MMt/y of green polymers by 2030

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell, one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world, released its annual Sustainability Report with the aim of affecting positive change and is focused on three transformational areas including plastic waste, climate change, and thriving societies, said the company. LyondellBasell announced one of the most ambitious goals of the industry to produce and market two million metric tons of recycled and renewable-based polymers annually by 2030. The report showcases LyondellBasell's strategy and ambitions for the next decade.


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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sinopec Zhongyuan Petrochemical, has brought on-stream its cracker following a turnaround, said Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that, the company resumed operations at the cracker in mid-September, 2020. The cracker was shut for maintenance on August 1, 2020.

Located at Henan in China, the cracker has an ethylene capacity of 220,000 mt/year and propylene capacity of 95,000 mt/year.

Sinopec Zhongyuan Petrochemical also operates a 600 ktpa olefin from methanol plant, a 160 ktpa polypropylene (PP) plant and a 260 ktpa polyethylene (PE) plant at the same site. in year.

Propylene is the main raw material for the production of polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall PP production in Russia increased in January-July 2020 by 24% year on year to 1,063,700 tonne. ZapSibNeftekhim accounted for the main increase in the output.

China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group) is a super-large petroleum and petrochemical enterprise group established in July 1998 on the basis of the former China Petrochemical Corporation. Sinopec Group"s key business activities include the exploration and production of oil and natural gas, petrochemicals and other chemical products, oil refining.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Solvay has been awarded a new five-year material supply contract for Lockheed Martin’s F-35 aircraft. The new contract extends Solvay’s long-standing partnership on the F-35 program and underlines the company’s leadership in composite and adhesive technologies for military platforms, said the company.

"It is a privilege to be the principal supplier of structural composites and adhesives to Lockheed Martin multinational F-35 program," said Carmelo Lo Faro, President of Solvay Composite Materials Global Business Unit. "This contract extension builds not only on our F-35 program commitment, but also the partnership Solvay and Lockheed Martin have shared for more than 30 years and our ability to innovate together."

The F-35 is the U.S. Department of Defense's flagship program that is delivering an advanced, affordable 5th Generation multi-role fighter platform for the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy; and international customers. It constitutes the largest global military program in history.

From its facilities in the U.S. and Europe, Solvay has so far supported the manufacturing and delivery of more than 550 aircraft now operating in nine countries. In meeting these challenging demands, Solvay supplies a unique and rich portfolio of more than 50 products to the F-35 program, including structural composites such as CYCOM® 5250-4, a bismaleimide (BMI) prepreg system known for performance-enhancing capability at high temperatures, and industry standard CYCOM® 977-3, a toughened epoxy resin prepreg system; structural adhesive FM® 300 and a lightning strike protection surfacing film FM 309-1.

The new contract with Lockheed Martin will be managed by Solvay and its U.S.-based subsidiary CDM, which operates under a special security agreement. The contract will formally commence on January 1, 2021.

As MRC reported earlier, in August, 2020, through the acquisition of the Solvay polyamide (PA) business, BASF enhanced its R&D capabilities in Asia Pacific with new technologies, technical expertise, and upgraded material and part testing services. BASF is planning to integrate the R&D centers from Solvay into its R&D existing facilities in Shanghai, China, and Seoul, Korea. The enhanced capabilities will boost BASF’s position as a solution provider to develop advanced material solutions for key industries.

We remind that BASF-YPC, a 50-50 joint venture of BASF and Sinopec, undertook a planned shutdown at its naphtha cracker on 30 April 2020. The company initially planned to start turnaround at the cracker on April 5, 2020. The plant remained under maintenance unitl 18 June, 2020. Located in Jiangsu, China, the cracker has an ethylene capacity of 750,000 mt/year and propylene capacity of 400,000 mt/year.

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

According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia dropped in January-June 2020 by 7% year on year to 328,000 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the main decrease in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia rose in the first six months of 2020 by 21% year on year to 105,300 tonnes. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Hexion (Columbus, Ohio) has agreed to sell its phenolic specialty resin, hexamine, and European-based forest products resins businesses for approximately USD425 million to private equity firms Black Diamond Capital Management (Greenwich, Connecticut) and Investindustrial (Luxembourg), said Chemweek.

The deal consists of USD335 million in cash and certain assumed liabilities, with the remainder in future proceeds to be based on the performance of the business, says Hexion. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, including works council consultation. The company expects to use the sale proceeds to invest in its business and further reduce its debt, it says.

The combined businesses being sold posted sales of approximately USD530 million for the last 12 months ended 30 June 2020, according to Hexion. The sale includes approximately 900 personnel and 11 manufacturing facilities worldwide, where phenolic specialty resins and engineered thermoset molding compounds are produced for end markets including building and construction, industrial, automotive, electronics, agriculture, and consumer, it says.

"We continue to strategically manage our portfolio providing us the ability to further strengthen our balance sheet and maintain a strong business going forward. As we proceed, we will leverage our differentiated technology and global manufacturing footprint to serve the diversified customers of our remaining businesses," says Hexion president and CEO, Craig Rogerson.

The businesses being acquired "boast globally recognizable brands and trademarks," say Black Diamond and Investindustrial in a joint statement. The equity firms have partnered in the past on a collective investment in Polynt (Scanzorosciate, Italy) and Reichold (Durham, North Carolina), which saw the two companies merged into Polynt-Reichold in 2017. "Black Diamond has prior experience investing in phenolic specialty resin businesses and looks forward to bringing that experience to the acquired businesses," they say.

Credit Suisse is acting as Hexion’s financial advisor, and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison as legal counsel. Hexion reported a first-quarter 2020 net loss in May of USD59 million, compared with a USD52-million loss in the year-ago quarter, with net sales declining 6.8% year on year to USD826 million.

As MRC informed earlier, Hexion, a major American manufacturer of phenol and bisphenol A (BPA), plans to close its BPA plant in Pernis (Pernis, The Netherlands) in early October for scheduled maintenance. This 120 ktpa BPA production facility will be closed in the second week of October and is expected to resume production in three weeks.

Phenol is the main raw material for bisphenol A (BPA) production, which in turn is used to produce polycarbonate (PC).

According to MRC's ScanPlast, in Russia, following the results of the first two quarters, the total estimated consumption of PC granulate in the Russian Federation (excluding imports and exports to Belarus) amounted to 47.3 thousand tonnes against 40.7 thousand tonnes in 2019. Total demand increased by 16%.

Hexion Inc., formerly Momentive Specialty Chemicals Inc., is a chemical company based in Columbus, Ohio. It manufactures thermosetting resins and related technologies and specialty products. Hexion has two divisions: the epoxy, phenolic and coating resins division and the forest products division.
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