MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese (Dallas, Texas) is to increase its prices by up to 5% worldwide for all acetate tow product grades, saying the rise is to help secure the sustainability of the business segment, reported Chemweek with reference to the company's statement.
The price hike is effective for orders shipped on or after 1 January 2021 or as contracts otherwise allow.
“To aid in securing sustainability of the Celanese acetate tow business, it is paramount that we increase prices and offset declines,” says Marcel van Amerongen, vice president/acetate tow at Celanese. The company is committed to its acetate tow business “as we continue to invest in manufacturing assets, innovation, and service,” he says. This is being done to position Celanese as the strategic partner of choice for its customers, he adds.
In July the company’s acetate tow segment reported sales of USD127 million in the second quarter of this year, down 23% year on year (YOY) from USD164 million. Adjusted EBIT was USD64 million, down 10% YOY from USD71 million.
Last year it also said it had taken steps to strengthen its competitive position in the acetate tow market by lowering raw materials cost, reducing fixed costs, and aligning with anticipated industry demand trends, such as optimizing production across all acetate tow manufacturing locations, as well as investing in manufacturing operations.
Acetate tow is used mainly in the manufacturing of cigarette filters, as well as for insulation, packaging, and nonwovens applications.
As MRC informed earlier, Celanese Corporation has announced an increase in its September prices of vinyl acetate-based emulsions sold in the Americas. The price increases below are effective for orders shipped on or after 15 September 2020, or as contracts otherwise allow, and are incremental to any previously announced increases. Thus, prices of EVA emulsions rose, as follows:
- by USD0.03/lb - for the USA and Canada;
- by USD66/mt - for Mexico & South America.
According to MRC's DataScope report, June EVA imports to Russia fell by 22,5% year on year to 2,940 tonnes from 3,800 tonnes a year earlier, and overall imports of this grade of ethylene copolymer into the Russian Federation dropped in January-June 2020 by 8,16% year on year to 17,440 tonnes (18,980 tonnes a year earlier).
Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Based in Dallas, Celanese employs approximately 7,700 employees worldwide and had 2019 net sales of USD6.3 billion.
MRC