Venezuela's Phoenix Packaging Group to construct expandable polystyrene unit

(Marketwire) -- Phoenix Packaging Group (Maracaibo, Venezuela) will construct a new expanded polystyrene unit at its petrochemical complex in Maracaibo, in the state of Zulia.

The Maracaibo petrochemical complex currently consists of a 44,000 metric ton per year polystyrene unit. The new unit will add a capacity of 20,000 metric tons per year.

The construction work on the polystyrene unit is planned to commence in December 2011. Phoenix Group will invest approximately $20 million in the project. The expansion is scheduled to be completed by mid 2013.

MRC

(KyivPost) -- Shareholders in OJSC Stirol (Horlivka, Donetsk region) at a general meeting held on January 17, 2011 re-elected its supervisory board and board of directors, the company's press service has reported.

The meeting held on January 17 was the first meeting after the company entered Austria's OstChem Holding AG, which is under the control of Group DF of businessman Dmytro Firtash.

The shareholders also decided to reorganize Stirol into a public joint-stock company.

As reported, in September 2010 Cypriot Ostchem Investments built up a 90.3044% stake in Stirol and the company entered OstChem Group.

OSJC Stirol Concern is one of the largest nitric fertilizers, polystyrene and medicine producers in Ukraine.

MRC

(PRW) -- Ohio-based Plastic Technologies (PTI) has launched a free iPhone/iPad app to calculate the final intrinsic viscosity (IV) of PET resin. The app is the first of its kind for the plastics packaging industry, according to the company.

⌠When you buy PET resin, the manufacturer has already indicated what its ideal processing IV should be. However, due the basic nature of PET, the resin will have absorbed moisture which is why it needs to be dried before processing, said Scott Steele, PTI's vice-president of global analytical labs, training and enterprise projects.

The Hydrolytic Degradation Nomograph app uses a graphic representation of numerical values to produce a final calculation. The user indicates the starting IV by sliding a plot point on a vertical scale to the appropriate value. The same is done for moisture percentage. The two plot points are connected by a moveable line. The intersection of that line, on a third vertical plane, is the material's final IV.

MRC

(PRW) -- A jump in international business this year has prompted Polish plastics injection moulder Bianor to launch a ┬4m project to construct a new production plant in Bialystok, Poland.

In addition, the company is reported to be considering undertaking further expansion of its business in Russia and Belarus. It justifies such plans as managers foresee continued growth over the next few years.

Bianor's new Polish facility, scheduled to go into operation in 2012, is located in the Suwalki Economic Free Zone, south east of Bialystok and will create 100 additional jobs. The plant will also include a product development centre.

The Polish firm produces up to 5.2 million moulded products and components monthly for the consumer and professional markets. Its parts are used in industries ranging from power tools to the white goods, domestic appliance and baby care equipment sectors.

MRC

(PRW) -- Lentex, the acquisitive Polish floor coverings company, has been confirmed as the preferred purchaser of state-run PVC building products manufacturer Gamrat Plastic Works.

The Polish government is reported to have accepted a new Lentex offer and the successful bidder has signed an agreement to buy 85% of Gamrat shares.

This month, Lentex a nonwovens and vinyl flooring maker based in Lubliniec, plans to conduct talks with trades unions representing the Gamrat workforce. Workers at Gamrat, based in Jaslo, Poland, have been mounting a fierce campaign against privatisation of the business and its takeover by Lentex.

Last year, following exclusive negotiations, Lentex failed to conclude a deal to acquire Gamrat by the August 2010 deadline. But later the Polish Finance Ministry invited Lentex again to bid for the state owned firm against the national synthetic resins company Lerg.

In the meantime, Lentex is in the process of buying the Hungarian vinyl and wood flooring firm Graboplast based in Gyor, in what is set to be a significant consolidation move for the flooring sector in Eastern Europe. This deal is scheduled to be concluded by the end of February.

Poland's Gamrat makes a range of PVC and polyethylene construction products including roof profiles, lining systems, pipes and films. It is reported to have recorded a 2009 pre tax profit of ┬5.43m on annual sales worth more than ┬50m.

MRC