Egyptian buyers express anger on new PP duties

(polyestertime) -- The Egyptian government implemented a protection fee of 15% on all homo-PP imports effective for 200 days from June 5 to December 22, 2012. Egyptian PP producer EPPC pointed to strong competition from lower priced import cargoes as support for the new measures, but buyers have expressed anger regarding the new protection measures, which they feel to be unjustified.

Egypt’s Chamber of Industry has also protested the new protection fees, arguing that the new measures will hamper the country’s export trade in finished plastic products while adding that EPPC’s production is not large enough to satisfy the market’s needs.

EPPC is the only PP producer currently active in the country as OPC’s 160,000 tons/year PP plant has been offline since November 2011.

"We had purchased some import PP cargoes before the implementation of the new fees and will need to pay the tax when our cargoes arrive. We are hopeful that our suppliers will agree to some discounts on their prices to help us cope with the new taxes," a trader based in Cairo reported.

An Egyptian distributor reported seeing firmer prices after the implementation of the protection fee, saying, "The offers we received for locally-held materials jumped EGP200-300/ton (USD33-50/ton) at the end of last week after
the protection fees went into effect. We expect to see higher prices in the days ahead as the new measures are likely to result in tighter supply for PP."

MRC

(reuters) -- Malaysia's state energy firm Petronas is expected to make a final investment decision on its USD20 bln refinery project in Johor by the middle of next year, a senior executive told .

The refinery could start commissioning activities at the end of 2016. The Malaysian project is aimed at creating a trading hub in Southeast Asian nation's south, although Asian refining margins have come under pressure from new refining capacity and the global economic slowdown.

Petronas first unveiled the Refinery and Petrochemicals Integrated Development (RAPID) project in May and it has signed a heads of agreement with Itochu Corporation and Thailand's PTT Global Chemical Pcl to build two separate petrochemical complexes.

MRC

(plastemart) -- Odisha state government has put a proposed plastic, polymer and allied cluster in Baleswar on a first track basis. To be built with an investment of Rs 82 crore, it is targeted to be commissioned by end of December 2012, on the outskirts of Baleswar town involving three areas such as Ganeswarpur, Somnathpur and Balgopalpur with the initiatives of IDCO.

A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) has been formed with representatives from the Government of India, the Government of Odisha and the North Odisha Chamber of Commerce and Industries (NOCCI) to ground the project. The total budget of the project is estimated at Rs 82 crore, which will be shared by financial grants from the Central Government, the State Government, contribution from industries and term loan. The project has been planned with two main components such as an Integrated Logistic Hub and a Common Facility Hub.

The Integrated Logistic Hub will have a warehouse over 33,790 sq feet, truck parking with commercial area over 9,000 sq feet and railway sidings over one km. The Common Facility Hub will have facilities like a machine room over 14,000 sq feet, testing and a training centre over 9,500 sq feet, an exposition centre, a trade centre over 26, 900 sq feet, an auditorium with 6,450 sq feet, an executive hostel of 18,750 sq feet, a convention hall and a craft village over 13,450 sq feet.

The cluster will have external linkages for water supply from river Budhabalanga for which a budget estimate of Rs 14 crore has been made. Construction of a bypass road to the cluster has been taken up with budget estimate of Rs 5.43 crore, which is expected to be completed by June 2012.
MRC

(fox8livу) -- JM Eagle, the world's largest manufacturer of plastic pipe, is expanding production of solid-wall high-density polyethylene at two of its plants to meet demand in northern U.S. and Canadian markets.

Converting its Sunnyside, Wash., plant from PVC to PE production and boosting the number of PE lines at its Meadville, Pa., plant, the company aims to better serve the customers seeking products for water and sewer, as well as oil and gas gathering. The Sunnyside plant will also produce PE pipe for irrigation and both plants will produce products for power and communication application.

"JM Eagle looks forward to better serving customers in the water and gas markets in the northern part of the country, as well as in Canada," said Dan O'Connor, JM Eagle vice president of PE sales. "This expansion gives JM Eagle a stronger footprint in PE production and distribution nationwide."

Production on PE water pipe up to 36 inches in diameter and gas pipe is expected to begin mid- July at both plants, and all lines will be complete by September. The company also plans to manufacture up to 63-inch-diameter water pipe in the future, and is developing PE water pipe in even larger diameters.

The Sunnyside plant previously manufactured only PVC products. The Meadville plant has been producing the corrugated PE product Eagle Corr PE since 2009. JM Eagle had primarily focused its PE manufacturing at its plants in the southern United States.
MRC

(plastemart) -- A new catalyst for the polypropylene production process, ultimately producing the strongest version of the plastic that has been created to date, has been developed by Prof. Kol and his team of researchers.

"Everyone is using the same building blocks, so the key is to use different machinery," he explains. With their catalyst, the researchers have produced the most accurate or "regular" polypropylene ever made, reaching the highest melting point to date. Moshe Kol, professor of chemistry at the Tel Aviv University (TAU) says that this could have a long-term impact on many industries.

Prof. Kol believes that the answer could lie in the catalysts, the chemicals that enable their production. Plastics consist of very long chains called polymers, made of simple building blocks assembled in a repeating pattern. Polymerization catalysts are responsible for connecting these building blocks and create a polymer chain.

The better the catalyst, the more orderly and well-defined the chain. This leads to a plastic with a higher melting point and greater strength and durability. This is why the catalyst is a crucial part of the plastic production process.
"Everyone is using the same building blocks, so the key is to use different machinery," he explains. With their catalyst, the researchers have produced the most accurate or "regular" polypropylene ever made, reaching the highest melting point to date.

MRC