BASF acquires a specialist in light management for advanced LCD/OLED displays

MOSCOW (MRC) -- On February 7, BASF acquired the private company Rolic AG headquartered in Allschwil, Switzerland, said BASF on its site.

Both companies have agreed not to disclose financial details of the transaction. The transaction includes Rolic’s affiliates in Allschwil, Eindhoven, The Netherlands and Shanghai, China. Regulatory approvals are not required.

Rolic is an innovative high-tech company with worldwide operations. The company’s 110 highly-skilled employees develop and sell ready-to-use formulations and functional film products for the display and security industry against forgery as well as barrier materials and films.

Rolic is a market and technology leader in photoalignment materials. Panel makers use Rolic’s technology to meet the needs of end consumers looking for products featuring optimum image quality with high contrast and brilliance, as well as very low energy consumption.

"We are excited to have the Rolic team join BASF. The acquisition is a further step that reflects BASF’s strategic and long-term commitment to grow in the electronics industry," said Dr. Markus Kramer, President of BASF’s Dispersions & Pigments division.

"Our ability to deliver best-in-class technology solutions for next generation electronic devices and our local presence in all major markets are key success factors to respond to customer needs in this fast-moving, innovation-driven industry. We are convinced that bringing Rolic’s strong technology know-how and customer relationships together with BASF’s market reach will create new opportunities for co-developing next generation LCD and OLED displays featuring higher resolution, more brightness and deeper contrast," said Dr. Lothar Laupichler, Senior Vice President of BASF’s Global Electronic Materials Business.

As MRC informed before, BASF formed a global business unit (GBU) combining all of its pigments activities effective January 2016. In the second half of 2016, BASF was to carve out its pigments business and establish separate legal entities.

The Dispersions & Pigments division of BASF develops, produces and markets a range of high-quality pigments, resins, additives and polymer dispersions worldwide. These raw materials are used in formulations for coatings and paints, printing and packaging products, construction chemicals, adhesives, fiber bondings, plastics, paper as well as for electronic applications such as displays.

BASF is the largest diversified chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF 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. BASF had sales of over EUR70 billion in 2015.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF experts and specialists from BTC Europe, the distribution organization of BASF will present a wide range of products and innovations from its packaging portfolio at Interpack 2017, taking place in Dusseldorf from May 4 to 10, said the producer on its site.

The broad range of products offered by BASF is focusing on packaging products that reduce the environmental and ecological footprint while still being an economically viable option.

Ultramid Flex F38L is an entirely new, partly bio-based Copolyamide. The softness and extremely high transparency allows manufacturers to use a Polyamide for vacuum skin packaging. The product is immediately soft without conditioning and has 50% less water uptake than Polyamid 6. Furthermore, the bubble stability and BUR (blow-up ratio) can be significantly increased because of the higher melt stability. The new grade has a different O2/CO2 transmission ratio to all other Polyamides and can be used for cheese ripening bags or modified atmosphere packaging.

Ultramid C37LC is a new Copolyamide allowing manufacturers of shrink film for food packaging to achieve higher hot water and hot air shrinkage. Films produced with Ultramid C37LC have a lower crystallinity and are significantly softer and more transparent than films made of conventional Copolyamide. By reducing the crystallization temperature and melting point of the product, the curling of asymmetric films with Polyethylene (PE) or Polypropylene (PP) is significantly reduced.

BASF is also presenting the innovative biomass balance approach applied for the packaging industry. Using this concept, renewable raw materials are used as feedstock in the beginning of BASF’s integrated Verbund production system and then allocated to specific sales products. As a consequence, these products save fossil resources and help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. An independent third party validates the required amount of renewable raw materials and certifies the sales product.

BASF offers three different Polymer solutions as a functional barrier coating for paper and cardboard. These solutions are Ultramid (PA), Polybutylenterephthalat (PBT), as well as ecovio as a biodegradable solution for barrier coatings. Each coating solution offers unique valuable properties in the field of paper and cardboard coating.

Ultradur B1520 FC for thin-walled, injection molded food packaging, a partially crystalline saturated polyester, is used in single-serve coffee capsules, offers improved oxygen barrier properties than commonly-used PP. Using PBT instead of PP in the containers also allows for the removal of aluminum film as a needed secondary packaging. Better oxygen barrier properties keep the coffee fresher for a longer time, helping to increase shelf life time of the food products.

Compared to conventional plastics, ecoflex offers certified compostability on a fossil basis. As an innovative pioneer in the field of biodegradable polymers it is an important raw material for many compostable and biobased plastics.

ecovio is a high-quality and versatile bioplastic with the advantage of being certified compostable and containing bio based content. The main areas of use for ecovio® are plastic films such as organic waste bags, dual-use bags or agricultural films. But also compostable packaging solutions such as migration barrier coating on paper, foam packaging and injection molding products can be produced with ecovio.

BASF’s water-based brands Epotal and Joncryl are a sustainable alternative to solvent-based products and achieve in most cases a comparable performance as solvent-based inks or adhesives.

With Epotal lamination adhesives, BASF offers new options to the flexible packaging industry: The high initial bonding strength of water-based adhesives allows for direct slitting of the laminates. Curing times are almost not required since water-based adhesives are already fully-reacted adhesive systems. They bring increased flexibility to the customer by significantly shortening lead times and making printing and lamination in-line possible. Additionally, water-based adhesives - due to their chemical composition - are inherently safe systems and well suited for food packaging applications. They do not contain any organic solvents nor aromatic isocyanates. The migration potential is virtually eliminated.

With its Joncryl range, BASF offers high-performance resins that enable flexible packaging printers and converters to switch from solvent-based to water-based technologies. The Joncryl FLX portfolio can be considered as the reference in resins for water-based film printing inks. With their excellent resistance and lamination bond strength in combination with high resolubility, they are highly suitable for flexible packaging applications. The Joncryl HSL product line offers options for heat seal lacquers in various applications, providing secure seal and smooth peeling behavior.

Synvina, the joint venture of BASF and Avantium, aims to build-up world-leading positions in furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) and polyethylenefuranoate (PEF). FDCA is produced from renewable resources and an essential chemical building block for the production of PEF, which enables food packaging, films and plastic bottles. Compared to conventional plastics, PEF is characterized by improved barrier properties for gases like carbon dioxide and oxygen. Due to its higher mechanical strength, thinner PEF packaging can be produced and a lower amount of packaging material is necessary. PEF can be recycled.

BASF’s Color & Effects brand is presenting pigments for sensitive applications for printing and plastic applications and the Metasheen product line. Metasheen is a vacuum metallized pigment (VMP) that allows formulators to print metallic, mirror-like features instead of using metallized substrates or hot-stamping/cold foiling.

As MRC informed before, BASF and Gustav Grolman GmbH & Co. KG strengthens their exclusive collaboration in Europe in the marketing of amine-based curing agents for the professional processing of epoxy resins.

BASF is the largest diversified chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF 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. BASF generated sales of more than EUR70 billion in 2015.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, announces an expanded partnership with Lintech International LLC for the Plastics and Rubber Pigment Product lines in North America, as per the company's press release.

In these market segments, Lintech will become the sole regional distributor in North America for products under the Clariant trade names Graphtol, Hostaprint, Hostasin, Hostasol, Polysynthren, PV Fast, Solvaperm , and Telalux.

Headquartered in Macon, Georga, Lintech has 13 warehouses across the nation and has been the authorized distributor for Clariant Pigments for 4 years in the southeast, southwest, and west regions for the coatings and inks markets.

As MRC informed before, in June 2016, Clariant inaugurated its new production plant for water-based pigment preparations in Mexico. The new plant located in Santa Clara doubles Clariant’s Mexico annual production capacity for water-based pigment preparations and enhances its ability to serve customers across North and Latin America.

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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Effective immediately, BASF and Gustav Grolman GmbH & Co. KG strengthens their exclusive collaboration in Europe in the marketing of amine-based curing agents for the professional processing of epoxy resins, said BASF on its site.

Grolman expands the marketing of the BASF specialty chemicals under the Baxxodur brand to France, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark, specifically for use in epoxy resin based applications. Examples are thermosetting laminates, highly resistant floor coatings, corrosion protection varnish and composite materials. The products are used in the construction industry as well as in the automotive, marine, aerospace and industrial applications manufacturing.

"The extension of the partnership further on fits very well into our Baxxodur sales & distribution strategy. Grolman has a diversified know-how in application technology and a technically well-versed sales force. As one of Europe's largest distributors of specialty chemicals, Grolman has established new customer structures and developed new business relationships within a short period of time. Grolman perfectly uses its own market acceptance to serve customers efficiently," says Dr. Oliver Cullmann, Vice President Business Management Specialty Amines in BASF's Intermediates division.

"The high-quality curing agent components made by BASF supplement to a great extent our product range of resins, accelerators, flame retardants, fiber and filler wetting agents not only for the thermosetting industry, but also allows us to keep expanding our strong position in the coating industry," says Dirk Grolman, Managing Director and owner of Grolman GmbH & Co. KG.

Under the brand name Baxxodur, BASF markets a diversified spectrum of amine-based curing components for the professional processing of epoxy resins. In 2015, BASF and Grolman started to collaborate exclusively in the marketing of Baxxodur in Europe. Since then, Grolman has been marketing the BASF specialty chemicals in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Ireland and Great Britain, specifically for use in epoxy resin based applications.

As MRC reported earlier, in May 2016, BASF announced that its Construction Chemicals division had started production of waterproofing solutions from the MasterSeal solutions range at its plant located in Bolshoe Tolbino, Podolsk District, Russia. BASF thus extends its portfolio of Master Builders Solutions in Russia and enhances the supply network for regional markets and customers.

The Grolman Group markets special chemical products of well-known international producers. A wide network of warehouses close to the customers ensures efficient distribution of additives, fillers, dyes and adhesives. The company's sales staff serves customers in the dye and coating, adhesive, sealing compound, printing ink, rubber, plastic, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and paper industries.

BASF is the largest diversified chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF 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. BASF generated sales of more than EUR70 billion in 2015.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The European Commission has dropped anti-dumping duties on imports of Chinese polyethylene terephthalate (PET), as per Apic-online.

"The expiry review of the anti-dumping measures applicable to imports of certain polyethylene terephthalate originating in the People's Republic of China is hereby terminated. The decision shall enter into force on the day following its publication," the European Commission said in its decision published Tuesday.

This meant the removal of duties took effect from 8 February.

The decision followed after a review requested to extend the measures was withdrawn, an EC official explained earlier in December.

"The industry association withdrew the request for review of duties," the EC said. Previously, it had said the duties were scheduled to stop by mid-February at the latest.

Before the decision took effect, the EC had anti-dumping duties of up to 22.9% on imports of Chinese PET.

The development followed a request for a review of the impending expiry of the anti-dumping measures filed by the Committee of Polyethylene Terephthalate Manufacturers in Europe (CPME) on June 29, 2015. The EU had previously announced the impending expiry of the measures in a notice dated March 5, 2015.

It remains unclear what motivated the CPME to withdraw its request. The industry body refused to comment on the matter.

Eurostat data showed that imports of PET from China between January and November 2016 stood at 17,381 mt, down more than 22% year on year. That volume was small in comparison with the EU's total PET imports of 833,979 mt in the same period.

As MRC informed before, in March 2016, The US Department of Commerce (DOC) imposed anti-dumping duties (ADD) on PET resins imported from Canada, China, India and Oman.
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