AkzoNobel doubles capacity at Industrial Coatings site in China

MOSCOW (MRC) -- AkzoNobel has completed the expansion of its Industrial Coatings site in Songjiang near Shanghai in China, doubling annual production capacity and creating the company’s biggest plant for packaging coatings in the world, said the producer in its press-release.

Work started in 2012, when around EUR14 million was invested in the facility to add production lines for packaging coatings and epoxy and polyester resins. Now the largest site of its kind in the region, Songjiang will serve growing consumer demand from a number of key markets.

"China remains one of our most important growth markets," explained Conrad Keijzer, member of AkzoNobel’s Executive Committee responsible for Performance Coatings. "By expanding capacity at our Songjiang site, we are well positioned to capture the ongoing demand from consumer and construction markets."

Added AB Ghosh, Managing Director of AkzoNobel’s Industrial Coatings business: "We are very pleased to have started commercial production at the expanded Songjiang site. The extended capabilities and new product lines will not only help us to better serve customers in the country, but will also allow us to supply resins for our own local production of coil and packaging coatings."

The Songjiang facility employs close to 300 people and houses AkzoNobel’s largest research and development center in China. The company is also expanding its activities in other parts of the country, with work ongoing at sites for Powder Coatings and Decorative Paints in Chengdu, a combined investment of EUR50 million in one of the fastest growing regions in China. In addition, a new regional office for western China is being inaugurated in Chengdu this week, which will house employees from several coatings businesses.

AkzoNobel currently employs more than 7,400 people in China, including 500 in research and development. In 2013, the company generated revenues of EUR1.6 billion, the majority coming from local demand.

As MRC wrote before, AkzoNobel completed the sale of its Primary Amides chemicals business to PMC Group effective December 31, 2013. Primary Amides products are used primarily in the polymer industry to create plastics bags and plastic films for packaging.

Akzo Nobel N.V., trading as AkzoNobel, is a Dutch multinational, active in the fields of decorative paints, performance coatings and specialty chemicals. Headquartered in Amsterdam, the company has activities in more than 80 countries, and employs approximately 55,000 people.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Taekwang Industrial is in plans to shut a purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant for maintenance turnaround, reported Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in South Korea informed that the plant is planned to be shut on March 10, 2014. It is likely to remain off-stream for around 10 days.

Located in Ulsan, South Korea, the plant has a production capacity of 1 million mt/year.

As MRC wrote previously, China based company Xianglu Petrochemical started up its new purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant in end-November 2013. Located in Xiamen, China, the plant has a production capacity of 1.5 million mt/year.

Besides, China American Petrochemical Co (Capco) restarted its No.6 purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant in Taiwan in late January 2014. It was shut on January 4, 2014 for a maintenance turnaround. Located in Taichung, Taiwan, the plant has a production capacity of 700,000 mt/year.
mcplast.com

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The propylene produced at Tobolsk-Polymer's propane dehydrogenation facilities was registered under the European Union's REACH chemical safety regulations, said the producer in its press-release.

EU certification of the polypropylene product opens up the export markets of member states. The core product is made at the new Tobolsk facility using propylene as the feedstock.

Tobolsk-Polymer is a world-class state-of-the-art facility. The Company's production processes comply with international safety and quality standards. The registration of this polypropylene feedstock under the EU REACH Regulations is another milestone confirming the Company's commitment to high quality standards and use of modern, environmentally friendly technologies.

REACH, the European Union's regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals, came into force in 2007. Chemicals without a REACH registration will not be allowed to be produced, imported, sold or used in EU countries. The main aims of REACH are to ensure a high level of protection of human health and the environment from the risks that can be posed by chemicals.

At least thirty thousand existing and new chemicals will be registered under the regulation in the coming years.

Construction of Tobolsk-Polymer plant is the Russian petrochemical industry’s largest investment project. The Tobolsk-Polymer complex comprises two units - a 510,000 tonne/year propane dehydrogenation (PDH) propylene production unit and a 500,000 tonne/year polypropylene (PP) production unit. The polypropylene unit employs a licensed technology solution provided by Ineos (UK), with Linde AG, Germany, acting as an ЕРС contractor.

It took three years and USD2 billion to build the plant, and Sibur received a USD1.4 billion loan granted by a number of international credit agencies. The new production site will increase Russia's existing polypropylene output by 40%, Russian media said, and will make it possible to export the plastic to other countries.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Styron, the global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber, today reported fourth quarter 2013 results with revenue of USD1,245 million and adjusted EBITDA of USD104 million, said the producer in its press-release.

"Full year 2013 Adjusted EBITDA, excluding inventory revaluation, of USD344 million is the highest fiscal year in Trinseo’s history, looking back to 2011," said Chris Pappas, Trinseo President and Chief Executive Officer. "I am proud of our full year results and other achievements that have improved the Company’s growth prospects for the future. Our team remains focused on executing our business strategies and I am cautiously optimistic for a better 2014."

Full year revenue decreased 3% versus prior year, driven by 3% lower price and 1% lower volume. The overall decrease in sales volume was primarily due to the Styrenics segment, with increases in the selling price of our polystyrene products due to the pass through of price increases of our key raw material (styrene monomer), and the Latex segment, driven by lower demand in the Europe and Asia paper markets. These were partially offset by higher sales volume in the Synthetic Rubber segment due to our previously announced SSBR capacity expansion. The overall decrease in selling price was driven by the contractual pass through of lower butadiene cost in the Latex and Synthetic Rubber segments. These impacts were partially offset by the pass through of higher styrene cost as well as a favorable foreign exchange impact as the U.S. dollar weakened compared to the euro.

Adjusted EBITDA for the year increased 4%, driven primarily by higher margin, with volumes remaining relatively flat. Higher volume in the Synthetic Rubber segment was driven by the SSBR capacity expansion, partially offset by lower demand in the Styrenics segment, with the pass through of the higher cost of styrene monomer, and the Latex segment, due to weaker paper markets in Europe and Asia. Higher margin was driven by improved styrene production economics and styrenic polymer margin optimization efforts, which were partially offset by unfavorable inventory revaluation. Fixed costs were higher due to the SSBR capacity expansion, higher incentive compensation, and a lower rate of fixed cost absorption as we worked to optimize inventory levels.

As MRC wrote before, Styron announced plans to expand its latex capacity with a new reactor at its Zhangjiagang, China, production facility. This expansion will mainly support the demand for latex in China’s paper and paperboard industry, forecast to grow in the next five years.

Styron is a leading global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber. Styron's technology solutions are used by customers in industries such as home appliances, automotive, building and construction, carpet, commercial transportation, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical & lighting, medical, packaging, paper and paperboard, rubber goods and tires.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Kronos and Polyalt, major players in the Russian sheet polycarbonate (PC) market, which formed Scientific and Production Association in January 2014, plan to increase their production and to expand its product range at the Moscow plant in the near future, as per Kronos' press release.

Thus, the General Director of Kronos Andrew Lapin said a line for the production of a special multilayer polypropylene (PP) sheets would be installed this July under the project Go Green. This project presupposes production of new materials, using recycled feedstock, in cooperation with the companies Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola. Thus, the production capacity of cellular PC at Polyalt will be increased until the end of the year, and production of cellular PP will be launched.

The company also plans to produce highly specialized materials in order to increase demand for PC sheets, as the market becomes more fragmented. However, the sector of low-quality sheets, i.e. short-lived in service and having no protection against ultraviolet radiation, is being reduced, added A.Lapin.

In view of that, the plant intends to develop sheets of high-quality, which are now produced in Europe. The company is currently considering this issue with Sabic, which is a consultant on the project. The company plans to equip its laboratory at Scientific and Production Association "Kronos", which will be located in the premises of Polyalt, in Chekhov district, within three years.

The company also intends to expand its geography of shipments, according to Kronos' CEO. SELLEX grade, produced by Polyalt, is already represented in the markets of Kazakhstan, Belarus and Azerbaijan. However, the company makes trial shipments to the Ukrainian market and is also considering importing products to European countries.

The Omsk company Kronos is a research and production company, specializing in the production of cellular polycarbonate and polypropylene under its own brand KRONOS. Kronos has been an official distributor of the Saudi corporation SABIC, a global manufacturer of petrochemicals, since early 2013.

LLC " Polyalt " (Dubna, Moscow region) is a Russian company, which launched its own production of plastic sheets in 2004 under the brand SELLEX. The plant produces cellular polycarbonate and its components.
MRC