Arkema raises prices of additives for PVC processing

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Arkema, a France-based chemical manufacturer, will increase by 6% the prices of its Plastistrength processing aids sold in Europe from 1 June 2014, or as soon as contracts allow, as per the company's press release.

This increase is dictated mainly by the increase of raw materials.

Plastistrength pprocessing aids help the processing of PVC by promoting fusion, improving melt strength, eliminating surface defects and decreasing plate out. They also enhance formulation metal release properties in extrusion and calendering applications while offering improved cost performance versus traditional lubricant packages.

As MRC informed previously, Arkema announced a further price increase of EUR100/tonne on its whole Evatane EVA range, high content ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymer effective from 1 May or as contracts allow. As the world wide shortage on vinyl acetate monomer continues, Arkema is doing its upmost to minimize impact on the Evatane availability.

Arkema with annual revenue of EUR6.4 billion is a leading European supplier of chlorochemicals and PVC. Kynar and Kynar Flex are registered trademarks of Arkema Inc.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF has launched two new MasterTop topcoats for decorative and industrial applications which can be used in public rooms such as education, office and healthcare facilities as well as in industrial environments, as per the company's press release.

With MasterTop TC 417W and MasterTop TC 442W, BASF has added two water-based polyurethane topcoats with enhanced optical properties, improved hiding power and UV resistance to its product portfolio of chemical solutions for construction which is bundled under the Master Builders Solutions brand.

MasterTop TC 417W is a water-based, low-emission polyurethane topcoat. Like all MasterTop products, this polyurethane-topcoat is liquid-applied and hardens to form a matt, seamless surface. Besides its improved hiding power and higher wear resistance it is easier to clean, thus saving the user costs and cleaning efforts. In combination with decorative flooring systems from BASF, MasterTop TC 417W is especially well-suited for application in buildings with high decorative requirements and stringent hygiene standards, for example in offices, canteens and restaurants, schools, hospitals and medical centres.

MasterTop TC 442W is a water-based polyurethane topcoat designed especially for industrial flooring systems. This chemical-resistant, non-solvented topcoat is suitable for both smooth and blinded surfaces. Thanks to the enhanced scratch resistance and higher UV resistance, MasterTop TC 442W provides reliable protection for all subjacent layers of the floor system and ensures a durable, aesthetically pleasing floor for industrial environments such as warehouses, factory halls and corridors.

Master Builders Solutions is BASF’s brand of advanced chemical solutions for construction. The comprehensive portfolio under the Master Builders Solutions brand encompasses lasting solutions for new construction, maintenance, repair and renovation of structures: Concrete admixtures, cement additives, chemical solutions for underground construction, waterproofing solutions, sealants, repair & protection solutions, performance grouts, performance flooring solutions.

As MRC wrote before, in March 2013, BASF started to roll out its Master Builders Solutions brand in Asia Pacific as part of a phased launch process. The global brand is a sign for BASF's commitment to the construction industry and represents a wide range of construction chemical solutions previously sold under a variety of specialty brands.

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 about EUR74 billion in 2013 and over 112,000 employees as of the end of the year.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company and a global leader in vinyl acetate ethylene (EVA) emulsions, has announced its intent to construct a EVA emulsions production unit in Southeast Asia, as per the company's statement.

The unit is expected to begin production by mid-2016.

"This proposed expansion will support our global and regional growth strategy to expand our reach into the markets of Southeast Asia," said Mark Murray, vice president and general manager of the Celanese emulsion polymers business. "Building a EVA plant in Southeast Asia would broaden our network to better serve customers throughout the Asia-Pacific region, primarily in the high-end applications of architectural coatings, building and construction, carpets, and paper industries."

As MRC wrote before, Celanese Corporation has recently developed new emulsion products for architectural paints. The company has also expanded its product portfolio for the coatings and adhesives industries, including Celansese's solvents, vinyl acetate monomer, EVA polymers and emulsions. Yhe company's new emulsion products - EcoVAE 450, Avicor 385 and Avicor 390 - represent solutions to many of the industry's issues including low-VOC primers, stain resistance and broad formulation latitude.

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. With sales almost equally divided between North America, Europe and Asia, the company uses the full breadth of its global chemistry, technology and business expertise to create value for customers and the corporation. Based in Dallas, Texas, Celanese employs approximately 7,400 employees worldwide and had 2013 net sales of EUR6.5 billion.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- SABIC is expanding its Technology Center in Jubail Industrial City in line with its strategy to continue investing in technology and innovation, and create new market opportunities and products to cope with global growth, said the company in its press release.

The Jubail center is a part of the company’s global research network of 19 Technology and Innovation facilities.

The expansion project includes a new building adjacent to the existing center to be built at a cost of USD 11 million, and scheduled for commissioning by 2017. The Conceptual Development Package has been completed and the project is now in Front End Engineering Package stage.

Ernesto Occhiello, SABIC Executive Vice President, Technology & Innovation, said that the center in Jubail has been earmarked for expansion specifically because of its proximity to SABIC’s manufacturing affiliates in the industrial city. "The project, which is well in line with our 2025 strategy, will be instrumental in driving our research and development efforts, particularly in our chemicals and fertilizers business," he said.

The new building will have a buildup area of 3,300 sq. m. on two floors out of which 1,500 sq. m. will be allotted for labs. The site’s total occupancy will be increased by 50% to accommodate 450 employees.

We remind that, as MRC informed earlier, in late May 2013, SABIC, Saudi Arabia's petrochemical major, opened a new engineering thermoplastics compounding facility and a polypropylene compounding plant at its manufacturing facility in Jubail, Saudi Arabia.

SABIC is a diversified manufacturing company, active in chemicals and intermediates, industrial polymers, fertilizers and metals. It is the largest public company in Saudi Arabia. Sabic is currently the second largest global ethylene glycol producer, the third largest polyethylene manufacturer, the fourth largest polyolefins manufacturer and the fourth largest polypropylene manufacturer.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Wison has completed EPC services to enable commercial production at a 300,000 tpa linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) plant at Sichuan, as per Plastemart.

This is the last start-up project in PetroChina Sichuan Integrated Petrochemical and Refinery Complex (Sichuan Project). Currently, all the six projects in the Complex undertaken by Wison Engineering have started successful operations.

The Complex, with a total of 19 main units, includes two parts: one is the 10 MTA oil refinery plant and the other one is 800,000 tpa ethylene plant.

As one of the main EPC services supplier, Wison Engineering undertook the task of building six main units, including the ethylene cracking furnace and pipe-racks, the Linear Low-Density Polyethylene Plant, the wax oil hydrocracking plant, the integrated paraxylene-aromatic unit (including PSA), the integrated sulfur recovery plant, and the wide-area covering auxiliary units as well. Throughout the three-year construction process, the strong project management team from Wison Engineering achieved a series of innovation and breakthrough in technology improvement, quality management, HSE and project schedule control.

As MRC reported before, in 2013 Johnson Matthey Davy Technologies and The Dow Chemical announced that PetroChina Guangdong Petrochemical Company, a subsidiary of PetroChina selected LP Oxo technology to produce 2-ethylhexanol, normal butanol and iso butyraldehyde in its major petrochemical complex in Jieyang, Guangdong, China. The new LP Oxo unit, with a capacity of 85,000 metric tons of 2-ethylhexanol, 235,000 metric tons of normal butanol and 33,000 metric tons of iso-butyraldehyde on a yearly basis, will adopt JM Davy and Dow's LP Oxo SELECTOR 10 Technology with advanced liquid phase hydrogenation which features a high conversion of propylene to alcohols, low capital investment and easy operation.

PetroChina Company Limited, is a Chinese oil and gas company and is the listed arm of state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation, headquartered in Dongcheng District, Beijing. It is China's biggest oil producer.
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