Borealis lifts force majeure as Stenungsund

Borealis lifted the cracker products force majeure, declared on 23 June, on 9 July, following the successful restart of the cracker, said S&P.

A company spokesperson said the cracker was back in normal operations.

Borealis (Vienna, Austria) has declared force majeure on all cracker products from its ethane-fed steam cracker at Stenungsund, Sweden, after encountering technical difficulties during a restart of the facility following a maintenance turnaround.

Borealis had lifted a previous force majeure on the cracker on 17 June, declared earlier in the month after struggles restarting from major maintenance work that began in April. The new force majeure was declared on 23 June, Borealis confirmed to S&P Global on 1 July. The company had previously said it expected on-spec production to be achieved by 26 June.

The Stenungsund cracker consumes mainly ethane but has high feedstock flexibility and can crack naphtha, propane, and butane. Borealis signed a 10-year deal starting late 2016 with Antero Resources for the supply of US ethane to Stenungsund, having signed a seven-year deal for North Sea ethane with Statoil, now Equinor, starting in October 2015.

As per MRC, Borealis is investing around EUR200 mln to upgrade and expand its XLPE and semicon assets at existing production locations in Europe. This ambitious initiative will serve the W&C market by safeguarding the reliable supply of high-quality insulation and semiconductive materials in the long term, and particularly those required to support global offshore wind and interconnector projects
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As per MRC, Borealis (Vienna, Austria) has announced several deals for its certified renewable feedstock range for use in polypropylene (PP) and polyethene (PE) packaging and pipeline products. Borealis, one of the world’s leading providers of advanced and circular polyolefin solutions and a European market leader in base chemicals and fertilizers, has announced that Nupi Industrie Italiane (NUPI) has selected the ™ polypropylene (PP) for the next generation of their PP-RCT (Polypropylene Random Crystalline Structure Temperature) piping solutions for domestic plumbing, heating as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems designed to perform under higher stress conditions and temperatures.

Borealis is one of the world’s leading providers of advanced and sustainable polyolefin solutions and a European front-runner in polyolefins recycling. In Europe, we are a market leader in base chemicals and fertilizers. We leverage our polymer expertise and decades of experience to offer value adding, innovative and circular material solutions for key industries such as consumer products, energy, healthcare, infrastructure and mobility.
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Momentive Performance Materials (Momentive) named Bob Bush as its new Chief Financial Officer, said the company.

"Bob has been an instrumental part of Momentive’s Finance organization for the last several years and we are excited to have him continue to lead us on our journey and drive profitable growth as our new CFO,” said Momentive President and CEO Sam Conzone, Ph.D.

Bush has responsibility for all areas of Finance within Momentive, including Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Treasury, Global Tax and Controllership, as well as Finance Shared Services and Information Technology.

Bush brings with him more than 33 years of broad Finance experience and industry knowledge. Having begun his Momentive journey in 2013, he has held several Finance leadership roles in FP&A, Global Operations, Business Finance, and most recently served as Vice President & Treasurer. Prior to Momentive, he held several Financial leadership positions at ITT Corporation and at GE.

Bush earned his Bachelor of Computer Science from Marist College and a Master of Business Administration from the University at Albany. In addition, he graduated from GE’s Financial Management Program (FMP) and is a certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt.

We remind, Momentive Performance Materials group (Momentive), a global high-performance silicones and specialty solutions company, announced that it is has signed a purchase agreement which will keep the company’s headquarters in the Capital Region by relocating its global Corporate Headquarters from Waterford, N.Y., to the former SI Group location on Balltown Road in Niskayuna, N.Y. This is the first step in a plan to construct a brand-new R&D center which will relocate approximately 200 Corporate and R&D/Technology Momentive employees to the site in Niskayuna.

Momentive is a premier global advanced materials company with a cutting-edge focus on silicone and specialty products.
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BASF completed the installation and start-up of a state-of-the-art acrylic dispersions production line in Dahej, India, serving the coatings, construction, adhesives, and paper industries for the South Asian markets, said the company.

BASF began production of polymer dispersions in Dahej, India in October 2014, and this additional production line will almost double its capacity. BASF is one of the leading producers and suppliers of acrylics and butadiene-containing dispersions in the Asia Pacific region. “As a global supplier for polymer dispersions, we are committed to ensuring the supply of high-quality products, supporting our customers’ expansion plans. The South Asian market is one of the fast-growing sub-regions within the Asia Pacific region. Our customers are looking for global partners like BASF, who can bring innovation and expertise with its extensive footprint to help them differentiate in their markets,” said Milind Joshi, Director, Dispersions South Asia at BASF.

The new production line complements the existing setup and allows the production of new dispersions technologies under Styronal® PLUS 7918, Styronal® ES series, Basonal® FCB, Acronal® EDGE, Acronal® PLUS, and next-generation Acronal® ECO product ranges. “In construction polymers and architectural coatings, our innovations continue to deliver increased functionality including sustainability features, as well as durability improvement, driving premiumization of the industry. For instance, our DURA-COLOR binders for exterior coatings enable formulations of exterior paints with outstanding dirt pick-up resistance and color retention. In paper coatings for example, we continue to drive improved cost-in-use solutions. Styronal® PLUS 7918 is our high-strength product that allows a substantial reduction of binder usage,” said Bir Darbar Mehta, Senior Vice President of Dispersions Asia Pacific, BASF.

“Dispersions is an important business for us in India, and this project reflects our commitment to the Indian market and our customers in the country,” said Narayan Krishnamohan, Managing Director, BASF India Limited and Head of BASF Group Companies in India.

The site in Dahej, Gujarat is an integrated hub for polyurethane manufacturing which houses production facilities for polymer dispersions as well as care chemicals. BASF also produces dispersions in Mangalore, a production site in the southern part of India.

As per MRC, BASF and Malaysia's Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd announced that they will build a major new production plant for 2-Ethylhexanoic Acid (2-EHAcid). The new facility will be located at the site of their existing joint venture, BASF Petronas Chemicals, in Kuantan, Malaysia. Construction is anticipated to start in the second quarter of 2015. Financial details of the investment were not disclosed.

As per MRC, BASF completed a double-digit million euro investment to increase production capacity for Tinopal CBS optical brighteners at its Monthey site. Following phase one of the stepwise capacity increase in 2021, the recent completion of the investment program has now brought significantly increased capacity on stream to meet growing global customer demand.

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.
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MRC) -- Teijin Limited (hereinafter Teijin) and Fujitsu Limited today launched a joint project to realize a blockchain-based commercial platform for enhancing the environmental value of recycled materials for manufacturers, said the company.

The collaboration will promote environmentally conscious design(1) by leveraging Teijin's Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Calculation Method for measuring the environmental impact of manufacturing processes across the value chain, as well as Fujitsu's blockchain technology to collect and track primary data on environmental impact (including GHG emissions) to deliver reliable, transparent traceability.

The new platform will promote the use of recycled materials and environmentally friendly designs by providing manufacturers who design products from recycled materials with accurate information about their environmental footprint, including proof of origin of recycled materials and data on GHG emissions.

This joint effort demonstrates the two companies’ commitment to contributing to the realization of the common global goal of a carbon-neutral future for humanity.

As per MRC, Teijin says that its subsidiary Teijin Carbon Europe (Heinsberg, Germany) has increased the production capacity of chopped carbon fiber by 40%. The company says that it is responding to the growing demand from European electronics manufacturers in recent years, as well as the current increase in demand for compounds for medical devices.

As MRC reported before, Teijin Ltd. is expanding its footprint in Europe with Teijin Automotive Center Europe GmbH, a new base in Wuppertal, Germany, that will house technical functions for the company’s automotive composites business.

Teijin is a technology-driven global group offering advanced solutions in the areas of sustainable transportation, information and electronics, safety and protection, environment and energy, and healthcare. Its main fields of operation are high-performance fibers such as aramid, carbon fibers & composites, healthcare, films, resin & plastic processing, polyester fibers, products converting and IT. The group has some 150 companies and around 17,000 employees spread out over 20 countries worldwide.
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A EUR20 million investment has been announced by AkzoNobel to increase and improve production at two of its sites in France. Around 30 new jobs will be created.

A total of EUR15 million will be spent on the company’s aerospace coatings facility in Pamiers, which was taken over following the Mapaero acquisition in 2019. Production capacity is being boosted by 50%, while the funds will also be used to reduce environmental impact and improve safety processes and working conditions.

The other €5 million will be spent on improving production flexibility at the decorative paints site in Montataire, which is one of the company’s most important manufacturing locations for wall paints in Europe.

“These investments underline our growth ambitions and confirm our commitment to supporting economic development in France,” explains AkzoNobel CEO, Thierry Vanlancker. “The Pamiers project in particular demonstrates how we’re contributing to a more sustainable aerospace industry by increasing the supply of high-performance products that are more respectful of the environment."

The plans for Pamiers include the construction of two extensions, one for storage and one for cleaning and waste treatment. The project will also enable the company to relocate the production of exterior polyurethane paints for aircraft widely used in Europe from its Waukegan plant in the US.

Building work is expected to start by the end of 2023, with the new installations at both locations due to be operational in early 2025.

AkzoNobel employs nearly 1,500 people in France and operates four production facilities, in Montataire (decorative paints), Dourdan (powder coatings), Limoges (adhesive markings) and Pamiers (aerospace coatings).

As per MRC, AkzoNobel has completed the acquisition of Colombia-based coatings producer Grupo Orbis for an undisclosed fee. Grupo Orbis has consolidated revenue of around EUR360m, with presence in 10 countries in Central America, South America and the Antilles, according to the statement by AkzoNobel.
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