Lanxess and Hankook Tire enter into strategic technical partnership

MOSCOW (MRC) -- German specialty chemicals company Lanxess, the world’s largest synthetic rubber supplier, and Korean Hankook Tire has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to co-develop synthetic rubber technologies for high-performance tire, according to Lanxess' press release.

Under the agreement, the two companies will jointly study the development of new high-performance synthetic rubber grades and applications that increase the performance of tires from early stages of product development.

Lanxess and Hankook Tire have maintained a close partnership since 2008, when Hankook Tire awarded Lanxess a long-term contract to supply solution styrene-butadiene rubber (S-SBR) and neodymium performance butadiene rubber (Nd-PBR) - both core materials for high-performance tires. This newly established technical partnership is expected to further strengthen the ties between Lanxess and Hankook Tire.

The market for high-performance tires is showing a rapid rise due to increasing demand for premium tires and the introduction of tire labeling in South Korea, the European Union (EU) and Japan.

Lanxess provides high-performance synthetic rubbers to globally leading tire makers. Last October, the company launched two new easy-processing Nd-PBR rubber grades - Buna Nd 22 EZ and Buna Nd 24 EZ - aimed at the fast-growing high-performance tires market, especially in Asia.

As MRC wrote before, Lanxess is also currently building the world’s largest Nd-PBR manufacturing facility in Singapore and this is expected to come on stream in 2015. The USD200m plant is expected to produce 140,000 metric tonnes per annum (tpa) of Nd-PBR, which will be used in the treads and sidewalls of green tires. Nd-PBR will also be used for the modification of plastics in the manufacture of high-impact polystyrene (HIPS) for injection molding applications.

Hankook Tire (Vice Chairman & CEO: Seung Hwa Suh) is the leading and one of the fastest growing tire companies in the world. As a tire manufacturer dedicated to contributing to advancement in driving, Hankook Tire intensively invests in research and development via five R&D centers around the world.

Lanxess' Performance Butadiene Rubbers business unit (PBR) specializes in the production of versatile polybutadiene, high-performance solution styrene-butadiene (S-SBR) and neodymium-based performance butadiene rubbers (Nd-PBR). Its product portfolio also includes general-purpose E-SBR. This classic tire rubber remains one of the most widely used polymers available today. The business unit manufactures this elastomer with a cost-effective process that has been optimized over many decades. The PBR business unit is part of Lanxess' Performance Polymers segment.

Lanxess is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 9.1 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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A high-ranking nine-member German trade delegation from the petrochemical sector visited the Kingdom of Saubdi Arabia to boost ties with their Saudi counterparts, reported GV.

"The reason for the visit is the fact that there’s a great potential in the Saudi petrochemical sector for German companies, especially for engineering and plant construction," said Andreas Hergenroether, delegate of German Industry for Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Yemen.

In Riyadh, the delegation met with Abdullah Saleh Al-Hagbani, chairman of the International Cooperation Committee (ICC), secretary general of the Petrochemical Manufacturers Committee (PMC) and vice chairman of the Saudi Exports Development Center (SEDC) at the Council of Saudi Chambers.

Part of the program was also a visit to the exhibition Saudi Print, Plastics, Petrochem & Packaging (PPPP), the most prominent event of its kind in the region.

In Jubail, the delegation held a roundtable discussion with representatives of the Royal Commission of Yanbu & Jubail.

Hergenroether said that the petrochemical industry in the Kingdom has the highest growth in the Middle East due to its adoption of global competition strategy and resting on huge oil reserves of 264 billion barrels and 279.2 trillion cubic meters of natural gas.

The production of ethylene and polyethylene is forecast to reach 80 million tons in 2015 compared to the current level of 60 million tons.

The Kingdom plans to invest nearly SR236 billion in new projects to stimulate the petrochemical industry, a step seen to keep the Kingdom’s petrochemical players globally.

As MRC informed earlier, Octal Petrochemicals is setting up a project in Saudi Arabia to manufacture polyethylene terephthalate (PET) dairy cups and trays for dairy and poultry industries. Octal Petrochemicals will be investing USD20 million for the downstream project, which will generate USD70 million revenue per annum, once it goes on stream.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Petron Engineering Construction Ltd has received Rs 196 crore contract from JBF Petrochemicals Limited for composite works comprising civil, structural, underground piping, buildings, mechanical piping, insulation, painting, electrical & instrumentation works for its JBF PTA OSBL project at Mangalore, Karnataka, said Plastemart.

JBF is setting up a purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant in Mangalore SEZ and will have 1.25 mln metric tpa capacity, which its claims to be amongst the largest in India. The company is aiming to commission the project by mid of 2015.

The composite works include civil, structural, underground piping, buildings, mechanical piping, insulation, painting, electrical and instrumentation works. The approximate contract value of the project is Rs 196.00 crore plus service tax. It was the second order for the company in February. Petron Engineering on February 3 received a contract from VISA Power for execution of civil job at VISA Raigarh Thermal Power Plant, Chhattisgarh for a contract value of Rs 99.76 crore.

Petron Engineering Construction executes projects in diversified sectors like refineries (reformers and crackers), oil & gas, power, cement, fertilizer & petrochemical including specialized insulation & refractory work, fabrication work along with electrical & instrumentation work.

As MRC wrote before, ONGC Mangalore Petrochemicals Ltd's (OMPL) petrochemical complex coming up at Mangalore Special Economic Zone (MSEZ) at Mangalore is likely to start commercial operations in the first quarter of next financial year. Rs 5,750 crore project is being set up by OMPL which floated by ONGC and MRPL.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Rockwood Holdings, Inc. posted as reported net income from continuing operations of USD14.8 million, which included other net charges of USD24.7 million, as compared to USD28.3 million, which included other net charges of USD7.3 million, said the producer in its pres release.

Excluding these other net charges, adjusted net income from continuing operations was USD39.5 million, in the fourth quarter of 2013 compared to USD35.6 million, for the same period in the prior year. Quarter on quarter performance was up from improved results in Surface Treatment and Lithium applications, coupled with lower interest expense. Additionally, earnings per share benefited from fewer common shares outstanding due to share repurchases in 2013.

For the year ended December 31, 2013, as reported net income from continuing operations was USD55.4 million, which included other net charges of USD67.4 million, primarily related to foreign exchange losses on financing activities, as compared to USD232.9 million, which included other net benefits of USD93.6 million, primarily related to the reversal of a valuation allowance on net deferred tax assets.

As MRC wrote before, Huntsman Corp is buying Rockwood Holdings Inc's titanium dioxide pigments business for USD1.1 billion cash, a deal that could mark the start of a long-expected shake-up in the volatile industry. The buyout, which is expected to close by June of next year, will make Huntsman second only to DuPont atop the market for titanium dioxide, a key white pigment used in paint, sunscreen and myriad other consumer goods.

Rockwood Holdings, Inc., a global group of inorganic specialty chemicals and advanced materials businesses with approximately 10,200 employees in more than 20 countries. Rockwood focuses on leadership in niche segments of the specialty chemicals, pigments and additives and advanced materials markets.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF, the largest diversified chemical company in the world, has increased its energy efficiency by 20% compared with baseline 2002 and reduced its greenhouse gas emissions per metric ton of sales product by 34%. The number of work-related accidents dropped in the same period by 58%, reported the company on its site.

BASF has set itself long term global goals in environment, health and safety for the year 2020: the number of work-related accidents is to decline by 80% compared to 2002. BASF achieved minus 58% in 2013.

"This is an excellent result. However: we need to continue to follow our policy, ‘We never compromise on safety’. This is how we can achieve our goal and cut the current number of accidents in half again," said Dr. Ulrich von Deessen, President of BASF’s Environment, Health and Safety Competence Center and Climate Protection Officer.

BASF aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 40% per metric ton of sales product compared with baseline 2002 and to increase energy efficiency (excluding Oil & Gas) by 35%. The company raised its energy efficiency by 20% compared to the baseline 2002 (2012: 22%) and lowered the specific greenhouse gas emissions by 34% (2012: 33%).

"To supply our production sites with energy, we rely on combined heat and power plants with gas and steam turbines and we use the heat released by production processes. Our chemical plants operate at above-average efficiency. Altogether we are heading in the right direction with climate protection. Since we have already achieved a high level, additional large improvements are difficult to realize," von Deessen explained.

In 2013, the total emissions of air pollutants were reduced to 32,385 metric tons (2012: 30,581 metric tons) compared to 2002. This corresponds to a decline of 62%.

BASF decreased also the emissions to water of organic substances, heavy metals and nitrogen: organic substances sank by 79% (2012: 77%), nitrogen by 87% (2012: 87%) and heavy metals by 64% (2012: 57%) compared to 2002. The European Water Stewardship (EWS), a voluntary industrial standard set by the European Water Partnership, has been introduced at nearly all European sites of BASF in water stress areas.

As MRC wrote previously, in 2013, BASF successfully completed the second phase of registration for REACH under EU chemical law. REACH stands for the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals and represents a fundamental reorganization of chemical law in Europe. The second phase of registration for chemicals with a production volume between 100 and 1,000 tonnes per year ends on May 31. In this phase, BASF submitted around 550 substance dossiers to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) - more than any other company.

BASF is the largest diversified chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries. BASF had sales of EUR72.1 billion in 2012.
MRC