LG Chem to shut cracker in South Korea for maintenance

MOSCOW (MRC) -- South Korean petrochemical company LG Chem is in plans to shut a naphtha cracker for maintenance turnaround, reported Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in South Korea informed that the cracker is planned to be shut on March 15, 2015. It is expected to remain off-stream for one month.

Located at Daesan in South Korea, the cracker has an ethylene capacity of 900,000 mt/year, propylene capacity of 450,000 mt/year and butadiene capacity of 145,000 mt/year.

As MRC wrote before, LG Chemical is likely to shut its polypropylene (PP) plant in South Korea for a one-month maintenance in late March 2015. Located at Daesan in South Korea, the plant has a production capacity of 600,000 mt/year.

LG Chemical is also likely to shut its ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) plant for maintenance turnaround in end March 2015. It is likely to remain off-stream for around three weeks. Located at Daesan in South Korea, the plant has a production capacity of 140,000 mt/year.

Besides, LG Chem has recently unveiled its plans to shut down a styrene monomer (SM) plant for a one-month maintenance turnaround in South Korea in March 2015. Located in Daesan, South Korea, the plant has a production capacity of 180,000 mt/year.

LG Chem Ltd., often referred to as LG Chemical, is the largest Korean chemical company and is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. According to ICIS report, it is 15th biggest chemical company in the world in 2011. It has eight domestic factories and global network of 29 business locations in 15 countries. LG Chem is a manufacturer, supplier, and exporter of petrochemical goods, IT&E Materials and Energy Solutions.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Russian polycarbonate (PC) was not exported in January 2015, according to MRC DataScope report.

In January 2014 the export of PC granules from Russia were 72 tonnes. Total exports of Russian PC were 7,000 tonnes in 2014, down 63% year on year.
The only PC maker in the CIS, Kazanorgsintez (KOS), last year adopted a strategy of import substitution in the Russian market, which has been successfully implemented within the capacity of the enterprise. It was decided to change the production structure, reducing the proportion of injection moulding grades and increasing the share of extrusion, according to the needs of domestic consumers.

Russian injection moulding PC is in demand in the foreign markets. Despite that Kazanorgsintez's production of injection moulding PC in January significantly exceed domestic demand, the producer does not plan to export it, said the representatives of the plant. The company continues to prepare for the spring season.

Contrary to the deterioration of macroeconomic indicators of the Russian Federation, traders and converters expect a fairly high sales activity in April and May.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Last month's output of finished products from polymers in Russia increased by 13.5% year on year. Producers of polymer films and sheets raised their production, reported MRC analysts.

January production of key products from polymers in Russia grew by 13.5% year on year, whereas production, on the contrary, fell by 28.5% from December 2014.

According to the Federal State Statistics Service, the January output of non-combined and unreinforced films was 74,500 tonnes versus 49,200 tonnes in January 2014 and 105,000 tonnes a month earlier.

Last month's production of plates and porous sheets rose to 17,000 tonnes from 14,800 tonnes in January 2014 (19,200 tonnes in December 2014).

The January output of plastic pipes, hoses and fittings fell to 21,900 tonnes from 26,300 tonnes in January 2014 and 52,600 tonnes a month earlier.

January production of plastic windows and window sills totalled about 1.1 million square metres versus 1.2 million sq. metres in January 2014 and 2.1 million sq. metres in December 2014.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russian traders and converters stopped purchasing bottle grade polycarbonate (PC) in January because of the absence of effective demand for both polymer and finished products, according to MRC DataScope report.

The Russian market of bottle grade PC granules is completely dependent on imports due to the absence of production in the country. The bulk of quantities are shipped from Asia through the ports in the East of Russia. Domestic prices of imported material are too high for converters at the moment, despite the global downward trend in oil prices and in prices of Asian PC. The strengthening of the dollar against other foreign currencies also contributed to this situation.

In their turn, consumers of finished products refused to accept the announced increases in prices of bottles. Demand subsided sharply in the market. Many companies began to use bottles longer than the due date and to refuse from procurement of new bottles. Some bottles producers avoided increases in the cost of products by raising the share of recycles material in their production, which negatively affected the quality of products.

The last shipments of bottle grade PC granules from South Korea were made in October 2014. Traders said they would not be resumed until March. Asian producers reduced their January prices by USD400/tonne from October 2014. It was extremely difficult for importers to sell out old stocks. Old stocks of European material were also available in the market, which were sometimes offered at lower prices than those of Asian material.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Carlsberg has announced that President and CEO, Jorgen Buhl Rasmussen, is to retire from the Carlsberg Group, reported the company on its site.

Cees ‘t Hart, currently CEO of the Dutch dairy company Royal FrieslandCampina, one of the largest dairy companies in the world, is appointed President and CEO. Jorgen will retire and Cees will start 15 June 2015.

Cees ‘t Hart, Dutch, has been CEO of Royal FrieslandCampina since 2008 where he led the integration of two former competitors Friesland Foods and Campina, developed the strategy route2020 and re-engineered the business model to deliver sustainable growth and value creation. In this period revenues grew from Euro 8.2bn to Euro 11.4bn, and margins increased significantly in part through the creation of an international supply chain. The company, now one of the most successful dairies in the world, has operations in 32 countries across Europe, Middle East, Asia and Africa, and sells its products in over 100 markets. This includes a substantial presence in China. Prior to joining Royal FrieslandCampina, Cees had a 25 year impressive international career at Unilever across Eastern and Western Europe, and Asia. His last position at Unilever was as a member of the Europe Executive Board.

Commenting on the change, Chairman of the Supervisory Board Flemming Besenbacher says: "The Carlsberg Group has good underlying fundamentals, and the Board and Jorgen are in full alignment that now is the right time to make a change and secure progress and continuity at the top executive level for a number of years ahead. I am delighted that Cees ‘t Hart will be joining the Group to do this. He has great international experience and a strong track record, and will propose the next phase strategy for Carlsberg Group’s long-term profitable and sustainable growth.

"On behalf of the Supervisory Board I would like to thank Jorgen for his significant contribution to the Group’s evolution during the past seven years. Performance has been strong across many geographies but of course challenged by macro-economic developments in Russia. Jorgen is handing over a Carlsberg with a transformed geographic footprint, a strong international leadership team and a more commercially capable and efficient organisation."

As MRC wrote previously, Danish brewer Carlsberg reduced operating profit by 22% in the fourth quarter of 2014 due to a strong decline in sales in its home market - Russia.

The Carlsberg Group is a Danish brewing company founded in 1847 by J. C. Jacobsen with headquarters located in Copenhagen, Denmark. The company's flagship brand is Carlsberg Beer (named after Jacobsen's son Carl) but it also brews Tuborg, Kronenbourg, Somersby cider, Russia's best selling beer Baltika, Belgian Grimbergen abbey beers as well more than 500 local beers.
MRC