Valero plans USD700 mln petrochemical plant in Louisiana

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Valero Energy Corp. plans to become a major player in the production of petrochemicals by building a USD700 mln methanol plant at its St. Charles refinery near New Orleans, said Plastemart.

Valero will take advantage of low-cost natural gas from shale formations. The methanol plant, to be completed in late 2015 or early 2016, will produce 1.6 mln tpa. Valero has added two hydrogen units at its St. Charles plant that can be used to produce the methanol, thus reducing the cost of building the plant is significantly.

Valero, the nation’s largest independent refiner, plans to sell the methanol it produces to "any of the big petrochemical companies or industries,” spokesman Day said. Many petrochemical companies now must import methanol “so we could provide a domestic source, helping them push out imports," he said.

We remind that, Valero Energy said that due to unfavorable refinery economics and the outlook for continued unfavorable refinery economics, refining operations will be suspended by the end of the month at its 235,000 bpd refinery in Aruba.

Valero Energy Corporation is a a international manufacturer and a marketer of transportation fuels, other petrochemical products, and power that is based in San Antonio, Texas, United States.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Borealis, a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers, has announced that its leading fertilizer wholesaler and distributor LINZER AGRO TRADE GmbH is changing its name to Borealis L.A.T GmbH, reported the company on its site.

The name change takes effect as of 1 July 2013.

Borealis L.A.T is a 100%-owned subsidiary of Borealis AG and a member of the Borealis Group. Its products are distributed under the brand name "L.A.T - growing with joy."

The new name is to reflect the heritage of the past yet at the same time symbolise the company's intensified focus on the areas of internationalisation and sustainability.

Borealis L.A.T distributed around 2.5 million tonnes of fertilizers and nitrogen-based industrial chemicals in 2012. As a result of the recent Borealis acquisitions of GPN and Rosier, both of which have production facilities in Northern Europe, Borealis L.A.T projects significantly higher annual volumes of around 5 million tonnes in coming years.

We remind that, as MRC informed previously,the Austrian Borealis is investing this year total of EUR90 million in its Porvoo polyethylene plant. Borealis is investing EUR65 million in upgrading its Borstar PE2 plant in Porvoo, Finland. The major project will upgrade the Borstar PE2 plant technology to the third generation and extend its platform. The Austrian company announced earlier this year that it was investing EUR25 million in Porvoo plant to install new hot oil heater unit at the phenol complex.

Borealis is a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers. With headquarters in Vienna, Austria, Borealis currently operates in over 120 countries. It generated EUR7.5 billion in sales revenue in 2012.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Composites maker Cytec Industries Inc. is taking several actions related to last year's purchase of Umeco plc. Woodland Park, N.J.-based Cytec is closing three former Umeco plants in California, shutting down a Chinese joint venture and is selling off a Umeco distribution unit, said Plasticsnews.

The three California plants being closed are in Costa Mesa, Adelanto and Huntington Beach. About 120 jobs will be eliminated as a result of the closings, Cytec officials said in a July 15 news release. Work done at those plants will be moved to Cytec sites in Winona, Minn., and Tulsa, Okla.

Closing the plants and transferring equipment will cost Cytec about USD27 million, officials said. The California sites are expected to be closed by mid-2015. The affected plants made films and similar products based on epoxies, phenolics and other thermosets for aerospace and related industries. The move is expected to save Cytec between USD3 million and USD4 milllion annually.

Umeco's Process Materials joint venture in China will be liquidated. The JV served the Chinese wind market, which has struggled. The closure will result in a second-quarter pretax charge of USD3.3 million for Cytec. Umeco formed the JV in 2010 along with partner Shanghai Leadgo Technology Co. Ltd. Umeco had invested about USD4 million in the JV, which operated a plant in Shanghai making vacuum-bagging films.

The Umeco distribution products unit has been sold to private equity firm Cathay Investments for USD8.6 million. The business distributes polyester, vinyl ester, acrylic and phenolic resins, as well as premium gel coats and low-profile additive products, for Ashland Inc. and other supply partners worldwide. The unit posted sales of about USD20 million in the first five months of 2013, Cytec officials said in the release.

Cytec will take a second-quarter pretax loss of USD12.5 million on the sale. Cytec paid almost USD440 million for Umeco, a British firm founded in 1917. The deal — announced in April 2012 — is expected to increase Cytec's annual sales by more than USD300 million.

As MRC wrote before, Cytec Industries Inc., reached the decision to sell its coating resins unit instead of separating the business. The assistant in its sale process is the New York-headquartered company J.P. Morgan Securities LLC.

In 2012, Cytec's sales rose 20% to more than USD1.7 billion, but the firm's profit fell 9% to less than USD200 million.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Synthetic rubber specialist Lanxess will be adding not one but five new grades to its portfolio of "green" ethylene-propylene-diene elastomers (Keltan Eco) before the end of 2013, reported the company on its site.

This will lead to a further significant increase in the range of applications for this synthetic rubber using ethylene from a state-controlled, biobased source. The five new grades are "drop-in" variants of conventional EPDM rubber grades from Lanxess that are already in widespread use. If all goes according to schedule, they will be commercially available in the second half of 2013.

"Since the market launch of the first Keltan Eco grade in 2011, we have received a huge amount of positive feedback from the rubber sector," says Oliver Osborne, Head of Global Marketing at Lanxess' Keltan Elastomers business unit. "Numerous market players - and not only our own customers - are delighted that there is finally a synthetic rubber with a key component from a renewable source. We are seeing clear signs of considerable interest in greener rubber solutions and this has led us to significantly expand our range of Keltan Eco grades," he adds.

The first Keltan Eco variant, which is now marketed under the name Keltan Eco 5470, is made from biobased ethylene at Lanxess’ Triunfo site in Brazil.

"From July, we will be launching no fewer than five additional grades," reveals Osborne.

We remind that, as MRC wrote previously, Lanxess is strengthening its product portfolio for biocides to serve the megatrend urbanization. In line of the company's strategy, in April 2013, the German specialty chemicals group has acquired Singapore-based PCTS Specialty Chemicals for an undisclosed amount. Through the acquisition, Lanxess is now one of the leading suppliers of biocides for paints and coatings in the rapidly-growing Asia-Pacific region.

LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR9.1 billion in 2012. The company is currently represented at 50 production sites worldwide. The core business of Lanxess is the development, manufacturing and marketing of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialty chemicals. Lanxess' first-quarter sales were down by 12% year-on-year to EUR2.1 billion, mainly due to lower volumes and fallen selling prices.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Swiss industrial conglomerate Wifag-Polytype Holdings Ltd. has purchased Italian thermoforming machinery maker OMV Machinery srl., said Plasticsnews.

Wifag-Polytype, based in Fribourg, Switzerland, runs a global group of companies that makes production lines for aluminum and steel aerosol containers, beverage bottles, tubes and sleeves, plastic cup and lid printing machines, coating lines for flexible packaging and films/foils, and newspaper and book printing machines. The privately held group employs 1,200.

OMV, based in Verona, Italy, employs 45. In a deal announced July 17, Wifag-Polytype bought OMV shares from Verona-based ISAP Packaging SpA. Terms were not disclosed.

OMV, found in 1963, makes high-output thermoforming equipment and integrated lines, including extruders and tooling. The company has been known for its large-platen thermoforming machines, but in recent years has targeted food packaging and in-mold labeling.

Officials of OMV and Wifag-Polytype were not immediately available for comment.

The deal adds thermoforming to Wifag-Polytype’s extensive portfolio of packaging-related equipment. Polytype makes dry offset printing machines that can print from six to nine colors on plastic cups and lids.
Its other plastics-related equipment includes machinery to make tubes and sleeves for packaging. Wifag-Polytype also manufacturers coating and laminating equipment for flexible packaging applications such as barrier film, metalized paper, labels and tapes, blister foils and backsheets for solar cells.

As MRC wrote before, OMV has announced that it will withdraw from the Italian market by selling its subsidiary, OMV Italia S.r.L. and its network of 96 service stations by the end of the year.

OMV Machinery is an Italian company in the field of thermoforming and extrusion of plastic materials and our advanced technology is recognized all over the world.

Wifag-Polytype Holdings is a Swiss engineering company. Its core expertise and market leadership cover metal packaging, printing on plastic cups and tubes, high-precision plant engineering for the production of multilayer films and papers and the manufacture of book and newspaper printing presses and large-format digital presses.

MRC