DAK Americas focusing on PET growth and recycling in Argentina

МОSCOW (MRC) -- DAK Americas expects to introduce local production of its heat-set Laser+HS PET resin for hot-fill applications with PepsiCo and Coca-Cola Co. in the third quarter of this year, a product long available in the United States but under review by Argentine clients for more than two years, said Plasticsnews.

As part of the Alpek unit of Mexican conglomerate Alfa SAB de CV, DAK Americas wants to help stimulate hot-fill potential in Argentina and neighboring markets after seeing regional PET consumption hit a ceiling in recent years, said Emilio Larranaga, sales and marketing director for PET resins in Argentina.

DAK is currently Argentina’s only PET producer, having acquired its local plant from Eastman Chemical Co. in 2008. The company produced roughly 195,000 metric tons of PET last year while operating at full capacity, with 80% of its resin sold domestically.

Following DAK’s acquisition in May of recycled PET resin producer CabelmaPET SA in Buenos Aires, the company is integrating operations and plans to start producing a single-pellet solution by the end of this year, said Marcelo Luis Blois, corporate affairs manager in Argentina.

CabelmaPET’s recycling facility reprocesses as much as 23,000 metric tons of bottles per year, producing more than 12,000 metric tons of post-consumer PET pellets in 2013, sold mainly to Coca-Cola.

Many DAK Americas clients are operating separate lines for virgin and recycled PET resins that mix the two on-site. With the CabelmaPET recycled resin now in-house, DAK’s single pellet solution will include 25% recycled content.

The CabelmaPET acquisition will also help DAK eventually reduce its dependence on imported PET raw materials in Argentina, of which the company now imports 100%.

The national PET collection rate is roughly 30% now, Larranaga said, but that rate needs to reach at least 50% for DAK to self-supply one fourth of its resin needs. The company is still only developing a game plan on how to stimulate collection growth, and couldn’t provide details on an investment budget for the project.

As MRC wrote before, DAK Americas LLC (DAK) announced the planned closure of all operations at its Cape Fear Site, near Wilmington, NC. The site was built in the late 1960's and acquired by DAK Americas in 2001. Approximately, 350 full service employees and 250 contract workers are employed on-site to produce PTA, PET resins and polyester staple fibers.

DAK Americas is one of the largest producers of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resins, used in carbonated soft drink and water bottles. It also makes terephthalic acid (TPA) monomers, used in PSF and PET products, and specialty polymers, sold in markets such as film and packaging and nonwovens. DAK Americas maintains manufacturing facilities in the Carolinas and Mississippi in the US as well as in Mexico. Alpek, a subsidiary of Mexican industrial giant Alfa, S.A. de C.V., owns DAK Americas.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SABIC’s Innovative Plastics business enabled mobile internet company Xiaomi to develop its Mi3 smartphone that addresses growing consumer requirements such as thinner, more durable walls, and an antenna-integrated frame, reported Sabic on its site.

Since their inception, manufacturers have worked to make smartphones increasingly thin, compact and lightweight to keep pace with growing consumer demands. In addition, an emphasis on aesthetics has led consumers to increasingly value the look and feel of a device, alongside its functionality, further challenging OEMs to design a phone that is smaller yet visually appealing. Xiaomi selected SABIC’s LNP THERMOCOMP compound, LNP THERMOCOMP LDS and LEXAN EXL resin to create a smartphone that met complex technical specifications without sacrificing design and aesthetic appeal, allowing it to stand apart from the competition.

"As consumers continue to seek out smaller, thinner smartphone devices that are multi-functional, manufacturers are increasingly looking for new ways to consolidate parts while ensuring that the materials comprising the more compact device remain compatible," said Matthew Gray, Marketing Director, Consumer Electronics, Innovative Plastics. "SABIC delivered a combination of materials which enabled Xiaomi to integrate the antenna into the frame of the phone, which helped to reduce the part space and weight of the phone without sacrificing design or performance. Additionally, SABIC’s ability to offer all three materials used in the phone saved the customer time in validating compatibility, enabling them to develop this industry leading smartphone at an excellent value."

SABIC’s new grade of LNP THERMOCOMP compound, along with SABIC’s LNP THERMOCOMP LDS, was used by Xiaomi to create a new smartphone frame, which required strength, stiffness and impact resistance, as well as the integrated antenna. This feature is attractive because it can reduce the size of the smartphone device and eliminate the secondary process of incorporating a separate antenna into the phone, both of which may help the customer to reduce assembly time and cost. Additionally, SABIC’S LEXAN EXL resin was selected to allow for rich, jewel-toned colors for the backing of the device.

The two LNP THERMOCOMP compounds provided Xiaomi with the material solution needed to develop a phone with thin but durable walls while also enabling the use of laser direct structuring processing to integrate the antenna into the frame. Xiaomi also selected LNP THERMOCOMP LDS compound for the laser direct structuring of the antenna itself.

As MRC informed earlier, designed specifically to help customers in the beverage industry reduce transportation losses, SABIC has recently broadened its stretch film portfolio to include one of the first commercially available materials in Europe to combine polypropylene (PP) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE).

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. It is the largest company in the Middle East.
SABIC is currently the second largest global ethylene glycol producer and is expected to become number one after the introduction of these new projects. SABIC is the third largest polyethylene manufacturer, the fourth largest polyolefins manufacturer and the fourth largest polypropylene manufacturer. It is also the world's largest producer of mono-ethylene glycol, MTBE, granular urea, polyphenylene and polyether imide.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Imports of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) in Russia decreased by 47% in the first five months of this year, compared with the same time a year earlier on the back of the reduction of the sluggish demand for finished PVC products, according to MRC DataScope.

Russia's SPVC imports seasonally increased to 36,800 tonnes in May, compared with 25,000 tonnes in the same time a year earlier. Total SPVC imports in Russia decreased to 106,700 tonnes in January - May 2014, compared with about 200,000 tonnes year on year. Significant decline in demand for finished PVC products in the current year made many converters buy less volumes. Besides, banks restricted crediting because of the lack of liquidity, which also worsened the situation in the market.

Structure of SPVC imports in May was as follows. SPVC imports from the United States last month was 4,700 tonnes, compared with 2,000 tonnes in April. Total imports of US resin in Russia decreased to 24,400 tonnes in the first five months of this year, compared with 92,000 tonnes year on year. Such a serious decline in US SPVC imports resulted from the high level of export prices, which was aggravated by the rouble devaluation.

Russia's imports of Chinese acetylene PVC in May rose to 25,700 tonnes, compared with 14,800 tonnes in April. Total imports of Chinese acetylene PVC in Russia decreased to 56,700 tonnes in January - May 2014, down 33% year on year. Imports of Chinese PVC are expected to rise in the next few months because of stable low export prices and a seasonal increase in demand in the Russian market.


Imports of European PVC in Russia remained weak because of high prices; May imports of European PVC were about 4,000 tonnes, compared with 2,500 tonnes in April. Total imports of European PVC in Russia were 16,700 tonnes in the first five months of the year, compared with 17,500 tonnes year on year.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ineos ChlorVinyls, one of the major chlor-alkali producers in Europe, has announced an increase in its list prices of caustic soda, reported the Switzerland-based producer on its site.

Thus, Ineos' caustic soda prices are to increase by EUR60 per dry metric tonne with effect from 1 July 2014.

As MRC informed previously, Ineos ChlorVinyls raised its list prices of caustic soda by EUR20 per dry metric tonne from 1 April 2014.

Ineos ChlorVinyls is one of the major chlor-alkali producers in Europe, a global leader in chlorine derivatives and Europe's largest PVC manufacturer.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Demand for polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is dominated by the Asia-Pacific region, which is bound to grow, driven primarily by the huge consumpion by China and the potential of the Indian market, reported Plastemart with reference to ReportLinker.

The region consumes more than half of the global PVC produced annually, while within the Asia-Pacific, China and India collectively consumed more than 75% of the regional demand.

Rigid applications of PVC hold a major share in the Asia-Pacific market, but significant investments in phthalate as well as non-phthalate plasticizers indicate a considerable growth for flexible PVC applications in the region.

ROW is expected to be the fastest growing PVC market, while Europe is also expected to add significant market demand by 2018, which is driven by strong anticipated growth in Russia and Turkey.

The demand for PVC is strong through the manufacturers of pipes, fittings, profiles, and tubes that account for more than 60.0% of the total global consumption. The PVC pipes are widely used in building, construction, chemical, energy, and other industrial applications.

Consumption of PVC for the manufacturing of profile & tubes and pipe & fittings is expected to grow at a highest CAGR of about 5.34% and 5.15%, from 2013 to 2018. The construction industry, was the major end user industry, using PVC products, accounting for more than 65.00% of the total global PVC consumption.

The increasing demand for electric vehicles, wood plastic composites, and innovation of bio-based additives, for the improvement of recycled PVC, enclose major opportunities in the PVC market.

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is among the most widely used polymers that finds its place in a diverse range of applications, owing to its properties and price effectiveness. It is manufactured by employing vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) as feedstock, which itself can be manufactured by ethylene dichloride and acetylene; EDC based process is more prevalent due to environmental concerns related to acetylene based route to VCM. More than 90% of the PVC production is by suspension resin polymerization process, while some considerable number of processes also use emulsion and bulk polymerization.

We remind that, as MRC wrote before, in April 2014, Solvay signed an agreement to sell its PVC compound business Benvic Europe to US investment company OpenGate Capital, further improving the resilience of the group’s portfolio. Benvic Europe mixes PVC and additives, pigments and stabilizers to make innovative plastic compounds, which are processed to serve markets ranging from cars and aircrafts to medical applications and construction.
MRC