Bayer polycarbonate used to lightweight Chinese trams

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China South Railway (CSR) Nanjing Puzhen has used polycarbonate sheet from Bayer MaterialScience to create lightweight interior elements for trams for the Suzhou New District development zone, said Masstransitmag.

The Bay and Makrolon branded polycarbonate sheets, which offer good flame retardance and aesthetics, have been used for the interior wall panelling of the tram cars. The aim was to cut overall weight so as to reduce power consumption.

Bayer said the project was the first to be approved by the China National Development and Reform Commission through official tender.

"This global experience puts us in a position to provide tailored solutions for specific mass transit applications based on the needs of given countries," said Dr Joachim Simon, Bayer’s global head of mobility marketing.

The properties of Bayer’s thermoplastic sheets provide good dimensional stability over a wide range of temperatures. At the same time, their production cycle times are shortened with new processes, allowing for greater production volume of thermoformed components. Bayer thermoplastic sheets utilized by the rail industry have satisfied all flame and smoke safety requirements, making them an ideal choice for industrial applications.

We remind that Bayer MaterialScience has acquired DuPont's aniline production facility in Baytown, Texas. With the acquisition, Bayer assumes responsibility for the facility's direct operating personnel. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, agriculture and high-tech polymer materials. In fiscal year 2013, Bayer employed 113,200 people and had sales of EUR40.2 billion. Capital expenditures amounted to EUR2.2 billion, R&D expenses to EUR3.2 billion.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Trinseo, a global manufacturer of specialty polymers and plastics, announced terms for its IPO, said the company in tis press release.

The company was founded in 2010 when Bain Capital bought Dow Chemical's Styron business unit for USD1.6 billion. The Berwyn, PA-based company plans to raise USD180 million by offering 10.0 million shares at a price range of USD17 to USD19. At the midpoint of the proposed range, Trinseo would command a market value of USD851 million. Trinseo originally filed to go public in June 2011 intending to raise up to USD400 million, but withdrew in June 2013.

Trinseo, which booked USD5.3 billion in sales for the 12 months ended March 31, 2014, plans to list on the NYSE under the symbol TSE. Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Citi, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, BofA Merrill Lynch, HSBC and Jefferies are the joint bookrunners on the deal.

Styron previously announced plans to change the name of all Styron affiliated companies to Trinseo. Some, but not all, of the Styron companies have completed the name change process and are currently known as Trinseo; Styron companies that have not completed this process will continue to do business as Styron until their respective name changes are complete. Styron's operating companies also continue to do business as Styron at this time. Styron had approximately USD5.3 billion in net sales in 2013, with 19 manufacturing sites around the world, and approximately 2,100 employees.

Trinseo is a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber. Trinseo’s technology is used by customers in industries such as home appliances, automotive, building & construction, carpet, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical & lighting, medical, packaging, paper & paperboard, rubber goods and tires.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Graffiti, lettering and stickers can turn public property into eyesores. To fight this problem, BASF’s Coatings division has developed the RELEST Powder PUR Anti-Sticker coating, said the company in its press release.

The product’s anti-stick surface prevents soiling and reduces cleaning costs. It was specially developed for coating light poles, traffic signal poles and circuit breaker panel boxes.

"RELEST Powder PUR Anti-Sticker’s slightly roughened surface offers anti-graffiti properties. Stickers do not adhere properly to the surface and graffiti can be removed more easily," explained BASF product manager Miriam Belke. The product also features high weathering resistance, scratch resistance and very high chemical resistance.

Eurocoatings GmbH, a service provider for surface technology based in Werl, Germany, is the first company to use the anti-stick coating. "Using the powder coating on light poles offers outstanding protection from soiling and corrosion, and is a valuable addition to our portfolio," explained CEO Klaus Merckx.

BASF supplies powder coating systems under the product name RELEST Powder. The systems can be used for an array of applications, for example, for plant and machine construction, for garden fences and for facade construction. These systems stand out for their low material loss during coating. BASF has developed a broad portfolio of raw materials for coatings destined for the paints, construction, furniture and flooring coatings as well as automotive and industrial coatings industries.

BASF’s Coatings division develops, produces and markets innovative automotive coatings, automotive refinishes and industrial coatings as well as decorative paints. We operate sites in Europe, North America and South America as well as Asia Pacific. Within this network, we collaborate closely with our customers all over the world. In 2013, the Coatings division achieved global sales of EUR2.9 billion.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi petrochemicals industry is diversifying its feedstock mix and expanding its product slates to include more high value intermediates, said Saudigazette.

BMI has said that this is essential as Saudi Arabia bans imports of natural gas and its pricing structure for domestic supplies has reduced the financial incentive to explore for it.

Foreign companies have formed joint ventures with state oil firm Saudi Aramco to seek out gas deposits, but over the past 10 years they have largely failed to find commercially viable deposits. Authorities in Saudi Arabia now reportedly want to focus on the search for unconventional deposits that would require more complex and expensive technologies.

However, this rise in gas extraction costs, is expected by BMI, to increase the cost of production and undermine the industry’s competitiveness against the new threat of shale based US production.

BMI expects that Saudi Arabia will remain a robust market for petrochemicals goods, providing the basis for growth in downstream conversion sectors. In terms of the domestic market, the country is likely to remain relatively large and dynamic by Arabian Gulf standards.

Meanwhile, when it comes to petrochemicals in the UAE, BMI has said the availability of naphtha will be boosted by refinery expansion at Ruwais, helping the Emirati industry’s competitive edge and enable it to produce a wider range of products.

Also, the report said has said the global packaging market, which is a major polymer consumer, will play an important role in the industry’s growth outlook.

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MOSCOW (MRC) --The short-term outlook for the Turkish petrochemicals industry is challenging, with the depreciation of the lira and the rising cost of credit dampening domestic demand, but export growth and low stocks should help lift demand in H214, said Balkans, citing Turkey Petrochemicals Report Q3 2014.

The pace of polymers growth will be partly determined by the strength of the export-oriented automotive sector as well as the domestic construction industry. Although we have revised down 2014 GDP growth forecast for Turkey from 2.6% to 1.5% and the lira may not have ended its depreciatory run, there are upsides.

Demand for major polymers declined in Turkey owing to the fall in domestic currency in the first few months of 2014. A few domestic polyethylene converters have suspended production lines and major domestic petrochemicals producer Petkim has stopped producing at full capacity due to payment issues prompted by an interest rate hike. BMI believes this trend will be reversed through H214 as stocks are depleted and orders increase.

Local producer Petkim has been able to counter a decline in sales by successfully reducing costs through cuts and efficiency savings, while running plants at an overall capacity utilisation rate of around 83%. As a result, while its revenue declined 4.4%, its net income nearly doubled to TRY49mn.

As MRC wrote previously, Petkim together with its key owner, Socar plans to transform Aliaga into an industrial cluster. The transformation has several positive effects on Petkim. Star refinery, Petlim and Petkojen projects are the key earnings drivers. Among these initiatives, the building of Star refinery by Socar-Turcas, the container port project Petlim and co-generation plant project Petkojen are the key additions. Star refinery allows Petkim to receive feedstock at lower cost and better quality. Petlim utilizes the port area belonging to the company more efficiently. Petkojen lowers the overall energy cost of the company by turning the boilers to dual mode.

Petkim is the leading petrochemical company of Turkey. Specializing in petrochemical manufacturing, the company produces ethylene, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene and other chemical building blocks for use in the manufacture of plastics, textiles, and other consumer and industrial products.
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