BASF sets out path to enhance leading position in Japan construction chemicals industry

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF is taking a series of measures to grow its construction chemicals business in Japan, including a new company structure and an enhanced focus on technical capabilities and new solutions, said the producer on its site.

Leveraging the success of the Pozzolith® brand in Japan, with its legacy of trust and innovation, BASF is reorganizing its construction chemicals business in Japan by concentrating its sales and distribution management, field application and technical services in a new organization, Pozzolith Solutions Ltd., effective April 1, 2017.

In the new set up, Pozzolith Solutions Ltd. will act as a flexible, agile and customer focused organization. The company will integrate all customer facing functions which have been divided among BASF Japan Ltd. and the BASF subsidiary Taiko Shoji Ltd. so far. BASF Japan Ltd. will focus on production management, research and development as well as industry advocacy. BASF Japan Ltd. will reallocate the staff and job tasks of the construction chemicals team according to the new organizational set-up, to optimize operational efficiency and customer focus.

Takahiro Ikeda, Director of Construction Chemicals, BASF Japan Ltd. said, "Pozzolith Solutions Ltd. will be the one single point of contact for BASF customers in Japan’s construction industry to get any support they need. Our customers will benefit from higher responsiveness and tailored services helping them to master the industry’s challenges. With the trusted legacy of Taiko, Pozzolith Solutions Ltd. will connect the construction industry more efficiently with the right technologies and services."

There is hardly any construction market in the world as demanding as that in Japan. Unique features of Japan’s construction market include the challenges of seismic reliability, high-performance transportation links, green building, sustainability, as well as the demographic change and focus on maximizing labor efficiency.

BASF is the market leader in the admixture business in Japan, and recently announced the expansion of its team at the Chigasaki Technical Development Center (TDC). The new set up, comprised of a team of six scientists in the Chigasaki TDC, will focus on specific innovation needs for improving durability properties of concrete, as well as new technologies to meet Japan’s most demanding construction requirements.

As MRC informed earlier, BASF plans USD6 billion of investment in Iran’s petrochemical sector. The German company will make the investment in Asaluyeh where Iran is carrying out its largest gas development project by tapping gas from the giant South Pars field in the Persian Gulf.

BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Petro Rabigh, a joint venture of Saudi Aramco and Sumitomo Chemical, has again postponed completion of its Phase II expansion project in Rabigh, Saudi Arabia, increasing the project's cost to SAR 34 billion, Petro Rabigh said in a statement to Tadawul (Saudi Stock Exchange), reported GV.

The project involves expansion of ethane production capacity to 1.6 million t/y from 1.3 million t/y, as well as units to produce ethylene propylene rubber, thermoplastic polyolefins, methyl methacrylate, polymethyl methacrylate, low-density polyethylene/ethylene vinyl acetate, paraxylene/benzene, cumene and phenol/acetate.

Phase II was expected to be completed in September 2016, but is being postponed by at least six months to the second quarter of 2017, due to "construction market challenges," Petro Rabigh noted.

The ethane cracker expansion portion of Rabigh Phase II began full operations on 19 Apr. 2016. Cumene and phenol units have also begun operations, according to the statement.

As MRC informed before, in early April 2016, Petro Rabigh received ownership of the Rabigh Phase II project from Saudi Aramco and Sumitomo Chemical, major shareholders in Petro Rabigh, and will now integrate the project into Petro Rabigh's existing refining and petrochemical complex in Rabigh, Saudi Arabia.

PetroRabigh, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Japan's Sumitomo Chemical, has an annual output capacity of 18 million tonnes of refined products and 2.4 million tonnes of petrochemicals. Thus, the complex currently has a cracker to produce 1.3-million t/y of ethylene and 900,000 t/y of propylene, as well as downstream production of polyethylene, polypropylene, propylene oxide, ethylene glycol and butene-1.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Lanxess Rhein Chemie Additives (ADD) business unit is expanding its product range of hydrolysis stabilisers for plastics and polyurethanes with the addition of Stabaxol P 110, the first product in a new line of low-emission polymeric carbodiimides based on alternative raw materials, according to GV.

The stabiliser is said to show very good performance when used in TPE-Es, PET, and PBT. The product is supplied in pellet form or as an easy-flowing powder. It can be easily processed as it does not have to be pre-heated in the production process, has a high softening point of 80 C and is thus easy to meter uniformly. Typical applications include monofilaments for paper machine screens, cable sheathing, engineering injection mouldings, and electronic housings.

The company said that with Stabaxol P 110, as with the other new carbodiimides, it is addressing the trend towards customised antihydrolysis agents that are tailor-made for use in individual applications and are thus an enormous improvement with respect to stabilisation performance, toxicology, emissions, and handling.

ADD will further inform about halogen-free flame retardants based on phosphorus, among them Disflamoll 51092, a halogen-free phosphate ester. The product that combines plasticising and flame retardant properties has a low odour and can be used in many plastics (plasticised PVC, flexible PU foams, TPU, PC-ABS and NBR-PVC blends). In ester-based TPUs such as cables, Disflamoll 51092 can also be combined with Stabaxol in order to significantly extend the service life of a material.

As MRC wrote before, in August 2016, Lanxess’ Rhein Chemie Additives (ADD) business unit expanded it extensive portfolio of flame retardants by introducing a new one - Levagard TP LXS 51114. The new flame retardant Levagard TP LXS 51114 is characterised by low emissions (fogging) and low scorch. It is suitable among other things for use in polyether- and polyester-based flexible polyurethane foams.

Lanxess is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 8.0 billion in 2014 and about 16,600 employees in 29 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) -- Trinseo, the global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders and synthetic rubber, have presented its three new industry-changing product releases, setting new performance standards in Home Appliances, Automotive and Medical applications, as per the company's statement.

Thus, as a recognized, award-winning technology leader, Trinseo provides value to customers through a wide-ranging portfolio of competitive, high-quality and consistent products - each designed to customers’ application needs.

Trinseo’s Basic Plastics introduces STYRON X-TECH 2175 Polystyrene resin for home appliances: developed from proprietary technology and built on the foundation of industry-changing STYRON A-TECH 1175 Polystyrene resin, this next generation of polystyrene offers a unique performance combination for superior benefits, including improved rigidity and strength along with advanced down-gauging and up to 10% material savings for OEMs.

Trinseo Automotive expands its portfolio with its 85% Long Glass Fiber (LGF) Polypropylene (PP) concentrate product family for automotive semi-structural applications. ENLITE PP LGF 1851 and 1852 Structural Polymers are the latest innovation in Trinseo’s ENLITE Structural Polymers portfolio, built on the company’s in-depth market knowledge and polymer expertise. ENLITE Structural Polymers products are developed for instrument panels, door modules, front-end modules, tailgates, and other interior and semi-structural applications that require a balance of dimensional stability, heat resistance and weight optimization. A step-change improvement over the previous industry benchmark of 60% LGF concentrate, the new ENLITE Structural Polymer products have the highest glass fiber concentration (85%) of any PP LGF concentrate available commercially for automotive semi-structural applications, enabling lighter weight interior parts at lower total cost compared to steel and aluminum.

Trinseo Consumer Electronic Markets (CEM) expands its presence in the medical market with the introduction of a biocompatible polystyrene: STYRON 2678 MED Polystyrene resin. This enhanced resin meets a growing need, especially in medical packaging, for a medical grade polymer that offers the versatility of polystyrene, protects its contents and provides an added degree of assurance through ISO 10993 compliance and an extended notification of change. Besides being used for clear packaging, the material is suitable for diagnostic components and petri dishes and provides an alternative to general purpose food grade polystyrene.

As MRC informed previously, Trinseo and its affiliate companies in Europe increased prices for all polystyrene (PS), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and acrylonitrile styrene copolymer (SAN) grades in November. Effective as of 1 November, or as existing contract terms allow, the November contract and spot prices for the product listed below rose for Europe as follows:

- STYRON general purpose polystyrene grades (GPPS) - by EUR50/tonne;
- MAGNUM ABS resins - by EUR50/tonne;
- TYRIL SAN resins - by EUR45/tonne.

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. Formerly known as Styron, Trinseo completed its renaming process in 1Q 2015. Trinseo had approximately USD4.0 billion in revenue in 2015, with 18 manufacturing sites around the world, and more than 2,200 employees.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Due to an unforeseen production outage at a supplier of nitric acid, Covestro’s European production facilities for the isocyanates MDI and TDI can currently only be operated at reduced capacity. Covestro therefore declared force majeure on October 6, 2016, said Covestro on its site.

Covestro is unable to fully compensate for the missing quantities of raw materials through purchases from other manufacturers. Its raw material supplier currently plans to restart its facility in the week of December 11, 2016. On the basis of this information, Covestro is striving to gradually restore its production output to a normal level.

"We deeply regret this restriction and hope to be able to resume full deliveries of MDI, TDI and by-products to our customers soon," said CEO Patrick Thomas. "Despite the extent of this issue, we in total do not expect a negative impact on our declared business targets for 2016."

During the force majeure period, Covestro is keeping its customers and suppliers informed about the situation and is helping them to find alternate solutions.

As MRC informed earlier, Covestro is moving forward with a repurposing of its production operations in Brunsbuttel, Germany. An existing, idled plant for the precursor TDI will be converted for production of MDI. The plans call for roughly doubling production capacity at the site to a total of approximately 400,000 metric tons of MDI per year. Commissioning of the new plant complex is scheduled for late 2018. Preliminary plans call for a total investment volume (in euros) in the low hundreds of millions, which is already included in Covestro’s medium-term capital expenditure budget.

With 2015 sales of EUR 12.1 billion, Covestro 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. Covestro, formerly Bayer MaterialScience, has 30 production sites around the globe and as of the end of 2015 employed approximately 15,800 people (full-time equivalents).
MRC