Jiangsu Leasty Chemical to restart EPS plant in China

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Jiangsu Leasty Chemical is in plans to restart an expandable polystyrene (EPS) plant, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the plant is likely to restart on February 20, 2014. It was shut on January 10, 2014 for maintenance turnaround.

Located in Jiangsu province, China, the plant has a production capacity of 350,000 mt/year.

As MRC wrote before, Ming Dih Group shut down its EPS plant in Taiwan during the Chinese Lunar New Year holidays (late January 2014) for one week.

We remind that EPS imports into the Russian market fell in 2013 by 16% from 2012 and totalled 71,700 tonnes. Russian companies have been reducing purchasing in foreign markets for the third consecutive year. China is the largest supplier of imported EPS to the Russian market and accounts for more than 45% of the total imports. Chinese EPS imports totalled 32,500 tonnes in 2013 (imports from China fell by 18% last year).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Wacker Chemie AG, the Munich-based chemical group, has posted higher sales and earnings in Q4 2013 than in the comparable year-earlier period. As expected, though, full-year sales and earnings were below 2012’s results, according to the company's preliminary calculations.

Wacker's generated total sales of EUR4.48 billion in 2013 (2012: EUR4.63 billion), some 3% down on 2012. The decline was chiefly prompted by lower prices for polysilicon and semiconductor wafers. All in all, price effects reduced group sales by some EUR370 million or 8% in 2013. The chemical divisions, though, counterbalanced the price pressures with higher volumes, keeping their total sales steady at the prior-year level.

Based on preliminary figures, Group earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) came in at around EUR679 million (2012: EUR795 million). This is close to 15% less than in the previous year.

Wacker’s chemical divisions, though, increased their EBITDA by over 11% compared to the previous year, thanks mainly to higher volumes.

"The figures for 2013 are in line with our expectations and forecasts," said CEO Rudolf Staudigl in Munich on Thursday. "We are pleased that our final-quarter sales and earnings were better than in 2012. In polysilicon, volumes picked up strongly, even though prices have not improved noticeably in the fourth quarter. In chemicals, demand was very healthy despite the usual slowdown during the winter months. Overall, our fourth-quarter performance offers a good basis for starting the new fiscal year."

As MRC informed previously, in February 2013, Wacker Chemie AG officially launched its new production plant for ethylene-vinyl-acetate copolymer (EVA) dispersions at its Ulsan site in South Korea. The additional 40,000 tonnes from the second reactor line increases the site's EVA-dispersion capacity to a total of 90,000 tonnes per year. The production capacity of the site has, thus, almost doubled, making the plant complex one of the biggest of its kind in South Korea.

Wacker Chemie AG is a worldwide operating company in the chemical business, founded 1914. The company is controlled by the Wacker-family holding more than 50 percent of the shares. The corporation is operating more than 25 production sites in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The product range includes silicone rubbers, polymer products like ethylene vinyl acetate redispersible polymer powder, chemical materials, polysilicon and wafers for semiconductor industry.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Linde Group has recently signed an engineering and procurement contract for two hydrogen plants in Nizhnekamsk, Republic of Tatarstan, and Russian Federation. The contract was awarded by PSC TAIF-NK, a leader in the oil refining industry in Tatarstan, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The contract is worth USD163million. "We are delighted to have the opportunity to cooperate with PSC TAIF-NK and bring in our in depth expertise in hydrogen technology," said Professor Dr Aldo Belloni, Member of the Executive Board of Linde. “We are confident that this agreement will lead to further key contracts for our gases and engineering business in this important Eastern European growth market."

Linde will be responsible for basic and detail engineering, procurement and supply of equipment and materials. The two new hydrogen plants, each with a capacity of around 110,000 Nm3ph, will supply high purity hydrogen to the heavy residue conversion complex at the Nizhnekamsk refinery site. The new hydrogen plants are planned to be delivered by the end of 2015.

As MRC wrote before, The Linde Group received an engineering contract for the licensing and front end engineering design (FEED) of one of the world's largest ethylene plants in Tobolsk, Western Siberia. The contract was awarded by Russias largest petrochemical company, Sibur LLC.

PSC TAIF-NK operates the largest refinery in Tatarstan, including a gasoline plant and gas condensate processing plant.

The Linde Group is a world-leading gases and engineering company with around 62,000 employees in more than 100 countries worldwide.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Board of Directors of PolyOne Corporation, a premier global provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions, has declared a quarterly cash dividend of USD0.08 per share on the common stock outstanding, according to the company's press release.

Dividend is to be paid on April 4, 2014, to stockholders of record on March 14, 2014.

As MRC wrote previously, PolyOne Corporation has recently announced the addition of new capabilities to its OnColor HC Plus portfolio. These expanded offerings add medical-grade LDPE, nylon, PEBA, PS and PVC to the globally available palette of specialty healthcare colorants, and are pre-certified to meet or exceed biocompatibility requirements for ISO 10993 and/or USP Class VI protocols.

All OnColor HC Plus colorants include formulation lock-down provisions, and are suitable for specialized pharmaceutical goods and medical devices.

PolyOne Corporation is a global provider of specialized polymer materials, services, and solutions. PolyOne is a provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions with operations in specialty polymer formulations, color and additive systems, polymer distribution and specialty vinyl resins.
MRC