DuPont completes sale of its Perfomance Coatings Business

MOSCOW (MRC) -- DuPont has announced the completion of the sale of DuPont Performance Coatings (DPC) for USD4.9 billion in cash (about USD4.0 billion after-tax) and the assumption of certain liabilities to global alternative asset manager The Carlyle Group, according to the company's press release.

"We intend to use a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the DPC business to buy back USD1 billion of the company’s common stock during the first half of this year," said Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Nicholas C. Fanandakis. "Additionally, we anticipate using the remaining portion of the DPC sale proceeds to further strengthen our balance sheet, which should give us flexibility to invest in future selective growth opportunities."

DuPont remains committed to serving the automotive industry. The company said it would still generate more than USD3 billion through sales of advanced materials to the auto industry. As part of the transaction, Carlyle will assume USD250 million of DuPont's unfunded pension liabilities, as MRC reported earlier.

DuPont's performance coatings business primarily sells to auto paint refinishers. Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. are also key customers.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Wacker Chemie AG officially launched its new production plant for vinyl acetate-ethylene copolymer (VAE) dispersions at its Ulsan site in South Korea, said Plastemart.

The additional 40,000 metric tons from the second reactor line increases the site's VAE-dispersion capacity to a total of 90,000 tpa. The production capacity of the site has thus almost doubled, making the plant complex one of the biggest of its kind in South Korea. The expansion is WACKER's response to the rising demand for high-quality VAE dispersions, especially in Southeast Asia's emerging markets.

The project goal is to ensure sufficient capacities of VINNAPAS VAE dispersions now and in the years ahead. As a result, ERWACK will be able to offer its customers in the region consistently high product quality and supply security over the long term. Having invested around EUR10 million in the expansion project, WACKER is strengthening its position as one of the world's major suppliers of VAE dispersions. WACKER's production facility in Ulsan: With a total annual capacity of 90,000 tons VAE dispersion, the plant complex is one of the biggest of its kind in South Korea.

As MRC wrote earlier, The Munich-based chemical group, Wacker Chemie AG, is building a new plant with an annual capacity of 40,000 metric tonnes at its site in Ulsan, South Korea. The new facility is aimed to produce vinyl acetate-ethylene copolymer (EVA) dispersions for applications in the paints and coatings, construction, nonwoven, paper and carpet industries.

Wacker already produces VAE dispersions of the Vinnapas brand in South Korea for the adhesives industry. This expansion will almost double company's Ulsan EVA dispersion capacity, making the enlarged production complex one of the biggest of its kind in South Korea. The company considers the expansion to be essential for reliably and enduringly meeting the market growth that industry experts anticipate in the region and thus strengthens its position as one of the world’s major suppliers of EVA dispersions.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Iran exported 14.53 million tons of gas condensates and petrochemicals, worth USD11.8 billion, from Pars Special Energy and Economic Zone (PSEEZ) in the southern province of Bushehr over the first ten months of the current Iranian calendar year, which began on March 20, 2012, IRNA reported, said Tehrantimes.

The exported goods included polyethylene, gas condensate, propane, butane, benzene, and paraxylene, IRNA quoted Ahmad Pour-Heidar, the managing director of the Pars Special Economic Energy Zone (PSEEZ) Customs Office as saying.

During the same period, seven million tons of non- oil products, valued at USD4.8 billion, were also exported, Pour-Heidar added.

China, Japan, the UAE, India, Indonesia, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Turkey, Romania, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Afghanistan were the main markets for the exported goods.

In January, the Mehr News Agency quoted Trade Promotion Organization of Iran Director Hamid Safdel as saying that Iran is projected to export as much as USD59.5 billion non-oil goods in the next Iranian calendar year.

Exports of mineral, agricultural, industrial, and petrochemical products are projected to hit USD41 billion, he said, adding that USD5.5 billion is seen to be earned from technical and engineering exports.

Exports of other goods, including gas condensates, are predicted to reach USD13 billion, he noted.

As MRC wrote earlier, Iran's National Development Fund (NDF) has allocated 3.6 billion dollars to the development of the country"s petrochemical industry


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Honeywell has been awarded four major contracts worth a combined USD40 mln over an 18-month duration for the Borouge petrochemicals complex in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi, said Plastemart.

Honeywell will be the main automation contractor (MAC) for the project, providing Linde and other engineering, procurement and construction (EPCs) contractors involved in the project with integrated control and safety systems. The installation of Honeywell Process Solutions’(HPS) control and safety systems, Experion Process Knowledge System C300, safety manager, and advanced process control will allow for operational integration, improved production, increased safety and reliability, and maximum operability and profitability. The real time information management system will provide Borouge 3 with business solutions that streamline, centralise and optimise operations, allowing for further profitability and productivity.

Borouge 3 is the latest expansion of Borouge’s polyolefins plant in Abu Dhabi and will manufacture ethylene, polyethylene, polypropylene, and low-density polyethylene (LDPE), alongside associated butane, utilities and offsite facilities.

We remind that, as MRC reported earlier, Honeywell's UOP granted the third technology license for its breakthrough methanol-to-olefins (MTO) technology to China's Shandong Yangmei Hengtong Chemicals. Earlier last year China's Jiutai Energy (Zhungeer) also licensed Honeywell's UOP methanol technology to produce 600,000 tpa of ethylene and propylene at its facility in Ordos City, Inner Mongolia Province, China.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Germany-based investment company Capiton AG has purchased Steadfast Capital GmbH's stake in blow molding machinery company Kautex Maschinenbau GmbH for an undisclosed amount, said Canplastics.

In April 2007, Berlin-based Steadfast Capital acquired its stake in Kautex from turnaround fund Adcuram AG. "During the last six years Kautex successfully expanded its position as global market leader for high-end extrusion blow molding machines," a Steadfast Capital press release stated. "With a strong presence in fast growing economies, especially in Asia, the development of new application areas and new types of machinery, Kautex is not only able to demonstrate a strong financial performance but is also developing new growth markets."

Headquartered in Bonn, Kautex is a global manufacturer of extrusion blow molding machines used for the production of industrial and packaging articles. A key application of Kautex machines is the production of plastic fuel tanks for passenger cars, according to Steadfast. The business was founded in 1935.

MRC