AkzoNobel and Solvay partner to expand sustainable raw materials in coatings

MOSCOW (MRC) -- AkzoNobel and Solvay have signed a three-year agreement whereby AkzoNobel will increase the use of renewable raw materials in its paints and coatings, building on an existing partnership between the two companies, said Akzonobel.

Under the terms of the deal, AkzoNobel will progressively increase the use of Solvay’s bio-based epichlorohydrin, or Epicerol, which is already contained in many of the company’s resins for its coatings products. The agreement underlines the commitment of both parties to play a key role in sustainable development and expand the use of renewable raw materials.

Developed and patented by international chemical group Solvay, Epicerol is the innovative process used to produce bio-based epichlorohydrin from renewable glycerol. Epicerol has a substantially lower carbon footprint compared with most fossil-produced epichlorohydrin. By 2016, AkzoNobel aims to source 20% of its total epichlorohydrin demand as bio-based material.

Jean-Luc Preat, Head of the Epicerol business in the Solvay Emerging Biochemicals Global Business Unit, said: "This agreement illustrates the necessity of a lifecycle approach to sustainability, where all levels of the supply chain team up. This is the best way to minimize our global footprint and meet the environmental challenges our industry has to cope with. We are proud to be among the pioneers in this field together with AkzoNobel."

New to this type of agreement is the partnership model between two chemical groups on the one hand, and their suppliers and customers on the other. It builds on a supply agreement for renewable solvents which both companies announced three months ago, with the project outlined to take more than three years of collaborative work in the value chain, starting immediately.

Epichlorohydrin is a chemical intermediate to make epoxy resins, which are base ingredients for certain coatings. AkzoNobel and Solvay will work closely with their respective suppliers and customers to facilitate the use of Epicerol to produce AkzoNobel’s resins, and ensure this is done in a verifiable manner and according to the highest current sustainability standards.

As MRC wrote earlier, Akzo Nobel is currently working to boost efficiency to improve operating results in line with its financial targets for 2015. An important element is centralizing back-office functions. In the past decade, Akzo Nobel expanded through several acquisitions, most notably U.K. paint maker ICI in 2008 for 8 billion pounds (USD12.2 billion). The current improvement program is set to deliver EUR500 million in structural cost savings by the end 2013.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Stepan Company today reported that it completed the purchase of the North American polyester resins business, from Bayer MaterialScience, said Reuters.

The sale includes the production facility located in Columbus, Georgia. Bayer MaterialScience is a leading producer of Powder Polyester Resins for metal coatings applications in NAFTA and Liquid Polyester Resins for CASE (Coatings, Adhesives, Sealants and Elastomers) applications globally. The facility houses a modern R&D laboratory for customer technical support and new product development. The 21,000 ton plant is expandable. The business to be acquired has sales of approximately USD64 million.

Stepan Company, headquartered in Northfield, Illinois, is a leading producer of specialty and intermediate chemicals used in household, industrial, personal care, agricultural, food and insulation related products. The common and the convertible preferred stocks are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols SCL and SCLPR.

As MRC wrote earlier, Bayer MaterialScience (BMS) is buying the polycarbonate sheet business of Arkema Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of the French firm Arkema Group.The transaction includes the acquisition of Arkema’s Tuffak brand, which is used in such markets as aerospace, transportation and heavy equipment.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The global automotive plastics consumption market revenue is expected to grow from USD21,617 mln in 2012 to USD46112 mln by 2018 at an estimated CAGR of 13.4% from 2013 to 2018, as per Plastemart.

In 2012, Asia-Pacific was leading in the Automotive Plastics Consumption volume by 50.5%, followed by Europe (28%), North America (11.3%), and rest of the world (10.1%). Among these regions polypropylene leads consumption by 37%, followed by polyurethanes (PU) (17.3%), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) (12.3%), composites (11.5%), high density polyethylene (HDPE) (10.8%), polycarbonates (PC) (6.8%), and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) (4.4%), due to their easy forming properties and their availability at cheaper price than other materials.

The researchers on light weight plastic materials such as composite materials, reinforced plastics, and polymers have come up with improved material qualities that make them suitable for use in interior, exterior and under bonnet components of automobiles.

The careful selection of these automotive plastics is very important in the industry as it enables designers to improve durability, meet load bearing requirements, and achieve reduction in vehicle weight. The Automotive Plastics are among one of the widely preferred alternatives for light-weighting of automobile as they offer enhanced properties such as superior impact strength, easy mold-ability, improved aesthetics, and reduced weight as compared to conventional automotive components such as High speed steel (HSS) and Aluminum.

The increasing demand of passenger cars and the supply to fulfill the same in Asia-Pacific is one of the main drivers for increasing consumption of automotive plastics globally.

As MRC wrote earlier, BASF opens new center in Thailand for Asian growing automotive market. BASF has set up a new Coatings Technical Competence Center ASEAN in Bangkok, Thailand. This new facility supports technical and laboratory activities mainly in motorcycle coatings including technology transfer, product development, performance testing, color design and development, and houses a sales and marketing team as well as a technical service team of more than 20 professionals, all catering to motorcycle manufacturers in the ASEAN region.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The RM60 billion Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID) project will not be completed on time due to delays by the Johor government, state oil and gas company Petronas said today.

The mega project was previously slated to start operations in 2016, but Petronas announced today that the date has been pushed to early 2017.

"There has been some delay to state government, which includes housing ... There have been delays in moving the Muslim cemeteries," said Petronas president and group CEO Tan Sri Datuk Shamsul Azhar Abbas at a media briefing here.

The controversial project has met resistance from the locals since last year, as it involves the relocation of 11 Muslim cemeteries and seven Chinese cemeteries in Pengerang, near the project site.

Shamsul Azhar also cited a delay in securing water supply for the project. Petronas stressed today that it has taken over the water supply project from the state government.

The RAPID project is on track to secure its final investment decision (FID) in March 2014, Petronas said.

The RAPID project is set to occupy over 2.43 hectares of the Pengerang Integrated Petroleum Complex’s (PIPC) 22,500 acres, which is home to some 28,000 Pengerang parliamentary constituents in the southernmost tip of Johor.

PIPC is a massive RM170 billion project that is expected to turn Malaysia into a mega petrochemical hub.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- DuPont, the US chemical giant, has announced that it will increase prices on all of its titanium dioxide (TiO2) products sold in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and the Asia Pacific sub-regions, reported the company on its site.

The price increase is effective July 1, 2013, or as contracts allow as follows:

- USD200/tonne for DuPont Ti-Pure titanium dioxide (TiO2) grades sold in the Asia Pacific and Latin America regions;

- USD200/tonne for DuPont Ti-Pure titanium (TiO2) grades sold in the dollar markets or Euro160/tonne in Eurozone markets in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region;

- 8cent/lb for DuPont Ti-Pure titanium dioxide (TiO2) grades sold in the North America region with the exception of DuPont RPS Vantage titanium dioxide products sold into paper and paperboard applications, which will be managed separately.

As MRC informed earlier, in late 2012 DuPont reported of investments that the company were making in all its divisions kept on delivering results which were offset by the weakness in titanium dioxide (TiO2) markets. "Excluding the performance chemicals unit, which includes TiO2, the company expects earnings growth of at least high-teens in 2013 versus 2012. Performance chemicals margins are expected to fall six to seven percentage points in 2013," DuPont said.

DuPont is an American chemical company that was founded in July, 1802. The company manufactures a wide range of chemical products, leading extensive innovative research in this field. The company is the inventor of many unique plastics and other materials, including neoprene, nylon, Teflon, Kevlar, Mylar, Tyvek, etc. DuPont was the developer and main producer of Freon used in the production of refrigeration equipment.
DuPont Titanium Technologies is the world's largest manufacturer of titanium dioxide, serving customers globally in the coatings, paper and plastics industries. DuPon is also supplying TiO2 to Russia and its share in the Russian market has been growing since 2013.
MRC