Lanxess takes high-tech plastics plant in Belgium into operation

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The specialty chemicals company has taken its new plant for polyamide plastics in Antwerp, Belgium, into operation as planned. The world-scale facility for polyamide plastics is designed for an annual capacity of around 90,000 metric tons, said Jeccomposites.

It represents an investment volume of EUR 75 million. The main customer of lightweight plastics is the automotive industry. Following the current starting-up phase, the capacity utilization rate of the plant will be gradually increased in the coming months.

All plastics manufactured by the company at Antwerp will be processed within its global network of compounding facilities into the final Durethan-brand products. In addition, the new plant for the polymerization of high-tech plastics has been built in the direct vicinity of the caprolactam facility operated by the group in Antwerp. Caprolactam is the key intermediate for plastics manufacturing. With the inauguration of the polyamide plant, the company will be able to increase its captive use of caprolactam.

After the polymerization the plastics are reinforced among others with glass fibers to further improve their properties and adapt them to customer needs. The glass fibers required for this purpose are also produced at a Lanxess facility in Antwerp.

The automotive industry is a key customer of Lanxess’ High Performance Materials (HPM) business unit. Innovative materials help to build much lighter plastic parts that can replace metal ones in motor vehicles and thus contribute to reducing fuel consumption and emissions. A lightweight design can reduce weight by 10 to 50 percent, depending on the component. Those plastics are used, for instance, in engine applications, door structures, pedals, front ends and cockpit crossmembers. Furthermore, the materials enable automobile manufacturers and suppliers to achieve considerable savings in production and facilitate the assembly. Another field of application for high-tech plastics is the electrical and electronics industry.

As MRC said before, Lanxess has successfully concluded the pilot phase for a highly efficient production process for butyl rubber. In the past seven years, Lanxess worked on a fundamentally new technology for a more sustainable production. An important step in this process was the testing of the new technology in two pilot plants at its production site in Zwijndrecht/Belgium since spring 2012.

Lanxess is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 8.3 billion in 2013 and roughly 17,300 employees in 31 countries. The company is currently represented at 52 production sites worldwide. The core business of Lanxess is the development, manufacturing and marketing of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialty chemicals.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- сis to invest more than USD1bn in its refinery in Antwerp, Belgium, in a rare vote of confidence in a beleaguered European industry hit by weak demand and competition from lower-cost US fuels, said the Financial Times.

The US oil major plans to build a new coker to convert heavy oil into diesel and marine fuel, a market it believes will grow in Europe over the coming decades even as demand for petrol declines. Exxon also urged EU governments not to block imports of heavy crude from Canada’s oil sands, which have been a target of environmental campaigners.

Steve Hart, Exxon refining director for Europe, Africa and Asia, said the market was "very challenging" but the group had some of the lowest-cost refineries in Europe and was taking a long-term view of demand. The facilities could still be in use in 30 or 50 years’ time, he said.

Other groups have generally been selling off or shutting their European refineries. The industry has lost 8 per cent of its capacity and 10,000 jobs in the past six years. Murphy Oil of the US stopped taking in any more crude at its refinery at Milford Haven in Wales in April. It has been in talks about a possible sale to the Klesch Group, the industrial commodities business led by Gary Klesch.

US refineries have been given two advantages by the shale boom: they use domestic crude, which is priced at a discount to Brent because US production is rising fast and exports are generally prohibited; and they have access to cheaper natural gas.

Energy accounts for about 60% of the costs of a refinery in Europe, but only 30 per cent in the US, Exxon estimates. US exports of distillate fuel oil have risen from about 3m barrels per month in 2004 to 35m barrels in April of this year. The Netherlands and France are two of the largest markets.

European refineries have come under pressure from capacity coming on stream in the Middle East. Mr Hart said the facility at Antwerp would strengthen the competitive position of Exxon’s other refineries in the UK, France and the Netherlands. It will take heavy residue from other refining processes and convert it into usable fuel.
Mr Hart said it was important that the EU did not close off sources of energy, including Canadian heavy oil.

As MRC wrote before, ExxonMobil is in talks with state-run Turkish Petroleum Corporation over a venture to explore for shale gas in the country's southeast and northwest regions. Exxon held talks with TPAO in 2012 to over a partnership in shale, but the negotiations were inconclusive. Turkish officials say talks have since advanced and are likely to result in an agreement.
MRC

Moscow (MRC) - Imports of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in Belarus decreased by 27% in the first four months of this year. The main reason for the decline in demand was weak demand for finished products, according to MRC DataScope.

April PVC imports in the country seasonally increased to 4,000 tonnes. Total imports of virgin PVC in Belarus decreased to 10,200 tonnes in January - April of this year, compared with 14,000 tonnes year on year.

The main reason for the decline in demand for PVC was the reduction in demand for finished products, in particular window profiles both in the domestic and export markets.

German producers took the biggest share in the PVC imports to the country over the reported period. Imports of German PVC in Belarus were about 5,200 tonnes in the first five months of the year. The second largest supplier was the Polish producer Anwil, with 3,600 tonnes imported over the reported period. The share of Russian resin imports to the Belarusian market did not exceed 10% from the total shipments over the reported period.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Styron Hong Kong, an affiliate of Styron, the global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber, is in plans to shut a polystyrene (PS) plant for maintenance turnaround, reported Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Hong Kong is in plans to sht the plant in September 2014. It is likely to remain off-stream for around one month.

Located in Hong Kong, the plant has a production capacity of 200,000 mt/year.

As MRC wrote before, Styron and its affiliate companies in Europe increased prices of all PS and copolymer grades in May 2014. The May contract and spot prices for the products listed below rose as follows:

- STYRON general purpose polystyrene grades (GPPS), STYRON and STYRON A-TECH high impact polystyrene grades (HIPS) - by EUR35/tonne;
- MAGNUM ABS resins - by EUR35/tonne;
- TYRIL SAN resins - by EUR35/tonne.

Styron is a leading global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber, dedicated to collaborating with customers to deliver innovative and sustainable solutions. StyronпїЅs 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. Styron had approximately USD5.3 billion in revenue in 2013, with 19 manufacturing sites around the world.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PPG Industries has agreed to acquire Consorcio Comex, an architectural and industrial coatings firm in Mexico City, Mexico, for USD2.3bn, according to Chemicals Technology.

Comex produces coatings and related products for Mexican and Central American markets, and sells the products through regional retailers, wholesalers and direct sales to customers.

The company operates eight manufacturing facilities and six distribution centres, and employs approximately 3,900 people. It generated revenues of approximately USD1bn in 2013.

PPG Industries said the acquisition is in line with its strategy to expand its global coatings business portfolio.

PPG Industries chairman and CEO Charles Bunch said: "The acquisition is very complementary to PPG as it adds a leading architectural coatings business in Mexico and Central America, a region where we have negligible architectural coatings presence.

"Being part of PPG gives us new opportunities and synergies that will allow us to continue to significantly grow in our markets."

To finance the transaction, PPG Industries plans to use cash on hand, short-term investments and debt.
The acquisition will be immediately accretive to PPG earnings and the company acquisition-related synergies of up to 4% of acquired sales over a two-year period.

As of 31 March, PPG had USD3bn in cash and short-term investments.

The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions, would be the latest in a series of PPG investments in Latin America in recent months. Last month, the company unveiled plans to invest up to USD40m to expand its coatings manufacturing facility in Sumare, Sao Paulo, Brazil. In March, PPG Industries planned to invest more than USD27m for expansion at its coatings manufacturing facility in San Juan del Rio, Queretaro, Mexico.

As MRC informed earlier, in early 2013, PPG Industries announced the successful closing of the previously announced separation of its commodity chemicals business and merger of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Eagle Spinco Inc., with a subsidiary of Georgia Gulf Corporation. Pursuant to the merger, Eagle Spinco, the entity holding PPG’s former commodity chemicals business, is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Georgia Gulf.
MRC