Vinythai to build Bt7.2bn chemical plant in China

(GV) -- Thailand's Vinythai Plc plans to invest Bt7.2 bln to build an epichlorohydrin plant in China as part of its drive to double its total annual production capacity of the compound to 200,000 tonnes by mid-2014, board chairman Roger Lester Kearns said.

Vinythai produces and markets a wide range of PVC resins as well as caustic soda for customers across Asia.

Epichlorohydrin is a highly reactive compound used in the production of glycerol, plastics, epoxy glues and resins, and elastomers. Kearns said the plant would use Epicero technology to produce 100,000 tonnes of the compound a year. Investment will be complete by the middle of 2014.

The company spent Bt4.5 billion to build an epichlorohydrin plant with production capacity of 100,000 tonnes a year in Thailand last year. The local plant will start to operate at full capacity in 2013.

Vinythai has a plant at Map Ta Phut in Rayong province. The company recorded total revenue of Bt14.19 billion and net profit of Bt1.9 billion in 2011. In the first half of this year, total revenue was Bt8.2 billion and net profit Bt1.03 billion. Its main income generators are caustic soda, vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) and ethylene dichloride (ECD).
MRC

(plastech) -- LyondellBasell supplied polypropylene (PP) compounds for multiple interior applications of the redesigned 2012 Volkswagen Beetle, helping gain the car’s selection among WardsAuto’s 10 Best Interiors for 2012.

LyondellBasell supplies nearly 100 percent of the polypropylene-based applications for the Beetle’s interior.

LyondellBasell also supplies the polypropylene-based applications on the exterior, including bumper assemblies and the innovative structural front end module carrier, which uses a high performance short glass fiber filled compound.

This is the second year WardsAuto editorial staff selected winners from a field of 40 vehicles with new or significantly improved interiors. Selections were based on interior design, fit-and-finish, comfort, ergonomics, safety, material selection, overall value and aesthetics.

The 2012 winners were honored at the WardsAuto Interiors Conference, North America’s only event focused on the automotive interior.
MRC

(GV) -- Mitsui Chemicals set up a new company for functional polymeric materials - Mitsui Chemicals Functional Composites (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., in the Jinshan District Shanghai, China. The new company is expected to serve as the group’s compound base and future base for automotive polypropylenes in the area.

The new company will manufacture and distribute Milastomer and Admer. Milastomer is a thermoplastic olefinic elastomer used in glass run channels for automobile windows and in sheathing applications, and Admer is a polyolefin used as an adhesive for automobile fuel tanks and food packaging.

Mitsui said in a statement that in China, demand for Milastomer has grown in line with increased use of cross-linked thermoplastic elastomers in glass run channels of automobiles and demand for more luxurious automobile interior materials. Similarly, the market for Admer has grown along with wider applications of resins in automobile fuel tanks and spreading awareness of food safety resulting in the increased use of barrier food packaging materials. To respond to this growing market demand, the company established a new supply base in Shanghai. The production capacity will be 11,000 t/y. It will be established in November 2012, commercial operation is planned to start in October 2014.

Mitsui Chemicals is a Japanese-based producer of petrochemicals, polymers, industrial chemicals, fine chemicals and engineering materials.
MRC

(plastopedia) -- The Hermosa Beach City Council has officially approved a ban on polystyrene food packaging, which includes restaurants and grocery stores.

So, another California city has put the lid on expanded polystyrene packaging. And now California is going forward with a statewide referendum to ban them altogether. SB 568, by Sen. Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach), would prohibit a food vendor or restaurant on or after Jan. 1, 2016 from dispensing prepared food to a customer in a polystyrene foam food container. The compliance date for public schools is July 1, 2017.
MRC

(plastemart) -- Total plans to invest over 1 billion euros at its Belgian refining and petrochemical complex to boost its diesel-making capacity and create cost-cutting synergies, as per Reuters.

This investment could bring Europe's largest refiner extra cash of USD500 mln a year. Total wants to focus on investing in its larger, integrated petrochemical and refining plants to maximize synergies, while keeping investment at other European plants to a minimum.

Total S.A. is a French multinational oil and gas company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world. Its businesses cover the entire oil and gas chain, from crude oil and natural gas exploration and production to power generation, transportation, refining, petroleum product marketing, and international crude oil and product trading. Total is also a large-scale chemicals manufacturer.
MRC