Huhtamaki announced plans to sell Its films business segment

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Finland-based packaging supplier Huhtamaki has announced plans to sell its films business segment, in order to concentrate more on food packaging, said the producer in its press release.

The company's latest decision comes on the heels of evaluating options pertaining to its films business, which reported an increase in net sales in 2014 with an improvement in financial performance.

Huhtamaki's films segment manufactures and sells films and provides services to global markets through its manufacturing units that are located in Europe, Asia, North America and South America.

Said to be used for technical applications in the label, adhesive tape, hygiene and health care industries, the films can also be used in building and construction, automotive, packaging and graphic arts industries. In 2013, the segment, which employs around 924 employees, reported net sales of about EUR187m.

Recently, the company has signed an agreement to acquire privately owned flexible packaging company Positive Packaging, for around EUR247m (USD336m).

The company has nine manufacturing facilities in India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), along with prominent business in Africa and other export markets.

At the time of signing agreement, Huhtamaki Oyj CEO Jukka Moisio said the acquisition will improve firm's position in India and offers improved access to the fast growing markets of Africa and Middle East.

"Many of our global customers are investing heavily to grow in these markets, and now we are even better resourced to help them grow," Moisio added.

Positive Packaging, which has around 2,500 people in India and UAE, has annual net sales of about EUR220m. Subject to the approval of competition authorities, the transaction is expected to be finalized in the fall.

As MRC wrote before, Huhtamaki, the Finnish-based consumer packaging specialist with worldwide operations, will build a moulded fibre egg packaging unit adjacent to its existing packaging facility in the greater Moscow area.
The new unit will concentrate on a narrow range of high-volume premium egg packaging, with complementary products sourced from other Huhtamaki units and technology licensees. This supply network enables the company to start sales and deliveries while the new unit is still under construction. The company already has a specialised fresh foods sales force in Russia.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Formosa, the largest supplier of plastics in Taiwan, is in plans to shut its No 3 naphtha cracker for maintenance turnaround, reported Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Taiwan informed that the plant is likely to be shut on August 15, 2014. It is likely to remain off-stream for around 45 days.

Located in Mailiao, Taiwan, the plant has an ethylene capacity of 1.2 million mt/year, propylene capacity of 600,000 mt/year and butadiene capacity of 180,000 mt/year.

As wrote before, in November 2013, Formosa Plastics was seeking United States permits for a USD2 billion expansion of its Texas operations as cheaper natural gas prices make US production more competitive. The company asked federal and state environmental regulators to approve plans for an ethane cracker unit and downstream derivatives. The investment is bigger than was previously planned by Formosa Plastics as of February 2012, when it said it would spend USD1.7 billion to build two factories and a polyethylene plastics plant in Texas.

Formosa Petrochemical is involved primarily in the business of refining crude oil, selling refined petroleum products and producing and selling olefins (including ethylene, propylene, butadiene and BTX) from its naphtha cracking operations. Formosa Petrochemical is also the largest olefins producer in Taiwan and its olefins products are mostly sold to companies within the Formosa Group. Among the company's chemical products are paraxylene (PX), phenyl ethylene, acetone and pure terephthalic acid (PTA). The company's plastic products include acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) resins, polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP) and panlite (PC).
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Bayer MaterialScience has partnered with U.S.-based travel goods manufacturer Andiamo Luggage LLC to create a special plastic for suitcases that is scratch resistant and particularly lightweight, said Plasticsnews.

The new Bayer plastic will form the Pantera Collection from Andiamo Luggage. The extruded Makrolon brand polycarbonate can be shaped virtually at will and colored in a number of shades says Bayer, which helps the material to create fashionable suitcases.

Bayer says the plastic’s scratch resistance means that suitcases will still look good even after many trips and states that the material even exceeds previous polycarbonate grades. The suitcases are expected to launch in August with Andiamo Luggage offering a 10-year warranty on items from the collection.

As MRC wrote before, Bayer MaterialScience, a Bayer Group company, said that it has decided to close its site in Darmstadt, Germany, as part of the worldwide consolidation of its business with sheets made of the high-performance plastic polycarbonate. The closure in Darmstadt affects 90 employees. The European customers will be supplied in the future by the plants in Nera Montoro, Italy, and Tielt, Belgium.

Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa., BMS is part of the global Bayer MaterialScience business with approximately 14,800 employees at 30 production sites around the world. The company’s 2011 sales in North America were USD2.9 billion.

With 2013 sales of EUR 11.2 billion, Bayer MaterialScience is among the world’s largest polymer companies. Business activities are focused on the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. The main segments served are the automotive, electrical and electronics, construction and the sports and leisure industries. At the end of 2013, Bayer MaterialScience had 30 production sites and employed approximately 14,300 people around the globe. Bayer MaterialScience is a Bayer Group company.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Polypropylene (PP) imports into Belarus increased by 2% over the first five months of 2014 on the back of stronger demand for propylene copolymers, as per MRC DataScope report.

May PP imports to Belarus rose to 8,800 tonnes (6,600 tonnes in April) because of a seasonal increase in demand for finished products. The overall PP importsto the local market from January to May 2014 totalled 33,400 tonnes versus 32,700 tonnes a year earlier. Demand for propylene copolymers grew significantly, while demand for propylene homopolymers (homopolymer PP), on the contrary, decreased.

The structure of PP imports looks the following way over the stated period.

May imports of homopolymer PP to the local market rose to 6,000 tonnes from 4,000 tonnes in April. The overall imports of propylene homopolymers into Belarus fell over the first five months of the year to 22,600 tonnes from 24,500 tonnes a year earlier. Demand for PP for the production of BOPP-films accounted for the greates decline.

Russian producers with the share of 67% over the said period are the key suppliers of homopolymer PP to the Belarusian market. Producers from Poland and Germany with the share of 10% and 8%, respectively, are the second and third largest suppliers of propylene homopolymers.

May imports of propylene copolymers to Belarus rose to 2,800 tonnes (2,600 tonnes in April). The overall imports of propylene copolymers to the local market grew from January to May 2014 to 10,800 tonnes versus 8,300 tonnes a year earlier. Producers from Germany and the Czech Republic with the share of 60% and 13%, respectively, are the key suppliers.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, has introduced powerful opportunities to enhance the look, feel and pour of home care products, with new viscosity boosters Hostagel CL for chlorine bleach gel formulations and Hostagel LT for hard-to-thicken detergent formulations added to its Hostagel range, as per the company's press release.

Product aesthetics and performance are key to consumer success in the laundry detergent, dishwashing and consumer and industrial cleaning product segments. Clariant’s Hostagel rheology modifiers offer customers an effective way of introducing the desired degree of viscosity under a broad range of conditions to enhance product delivery, appearance and performance.

New Hostagel CL is an almost colorless, clear liquid that meets the needs of more affordable chlorine gel formulations. Suitable for cold processes, it also offers great cost-to-benefit performance. It is one of the best options available that can thicken from 2-5% of sodium hypochlorite while keeping viscosity high and appearance clear at lower cost than formulations containing amineoxide. The product is being launched to customers in Europe, North-America and Asia.

New Hostagel LT was developed for increasing the viscosity of those systems where traditional thickeners are not enough. For example, for combinations of surfactants that do not respond to sodium chloride or other viscosifiers. It is easy and convenient to handle, does not require melting, and can be used in many different applications. Hostagel LT is available in Latin America, North-America and Asia.

Hostagel CL and Hostagel LT are part of a line of six products that together cover customers’ rheology needs across the board - for every application and pH value.

As MRC wrote before, CB&I and Clariant have recently announced that their new Ziegler-Natta (ZN) polypropylene catalyst plant in Louisville, Kentucky, is on schedule to begin production in 2015.

Clariant AG is a Swiss chemical company and a world leader in the production of specialty chemicals for the textile, printing, mining and metallurgical industries. It is engaged in processing crude oil products in pigments, plastics and paints.
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