BASF inaugurates technology center in Spain

This morning of June 14, 2023, the opening ceremony signified the official opening of the Technology Competence Center at the facilities of BASF Espanola in Marchamalo (Guadalajara), said the company.

The official opening ceremony was attended by the regional minister of Sustainable Development of Castilla - La Mancha, Jose Luis Escudero, as well as the mayor president of the city of Marchamalo, Rafael Esteban Santamaria, among other institutional representatives. The representation of the company was headed by Uta Holzenkamp, president of the global Coatings division of the BASF group, Carles Navarro Vigo, general manager of BASF Espanola, and Lars Kuellenberg, site manager of BASF Espanola S.L. in Marchamalo.

This technology center is dedicated to researching and replicating the painting process of any vehicle manufacturer, taking into account the various individual factors in each production line, such as temperature, humidity, or coating technology, and which have a definitive influence on the paint application process at the end customer. The facilities are digitally connected (Industry 4.0) with internal process management and control systems, and share digital networking with other BASF Group sites worldwide.

This Technology Competence Center provides services to more than 100 automotive factories in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, including manufacturers of plastic parts for the same industry.

The construction of these facilities has contributed as a catalyst for the production transfer project of solvent-borne basecoats to the Marchamalo center, supported by the decision of the BASF group to officially designate the Marchamalo headquarters as a European strategic center for this technology. In addition, its construction has been a challenge having to carry out the construction and installation of the new application booths while maintaining the productive flow in the old ones, without affecting the quality or capacity of the process in continuous service to the end customer.

BASF has invested around 14 million euros in this facility. The equipment installed in this Technology Center includes state-of-the-art installations which place this center at the world technological summit for coating application processes for the automobile.

Innovation and commitment to the customer have been the fundamental basis for the construction of this center. Always with a clear focus on sustainability and environmental protection, BASF has installed equipment with the highest energy efficiency, and with the optimum degree of emission reduction.

The Marchamalo production center is a strategic site for the Coatings division in Spain. It has been a production site of BASF since 1982, although the origins of the former company date back to 1867.

With an area of 310,000 m2 and approximately 550 employees, the center has three modern production plants, two of which are paint plants, and one is for the production of intermediate resins. The facilities also include a Refinish paint training center for customer workshops, as well as control and development laboratories for all its main segments of high-tech products for the automotive industry.

We remind, BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany) will expand its global alkyl polyglucosides (APG) production capacity with two expansions at its sites in Bangpakong, Thailand, and Cincinnati, Ohio. By expanding in two regions in parallel, BASF, the global market leader for APGs, can strengthen its position and serve customers even faster and more flexible from the regional supply points, while at the same time reducing cross-regional volume flows. The additional capacities are expected to come on stream in 2025.

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MRC) -- Phillips 66 announced Thursday it had completed majority acquisition of the common units of DCP Midstream, said the company.

The value of the cash acquisition is approximately USD3.8bn. Phillips' economic interest in DCP Midstream is now at 86.8%.

DCP Midstream’s common units will no longer be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

We remind, Phillips 66 beat Wall Street's estimate for first-quarter profit due to elevated margins on sustained fuel demand amid tight crude supplies. The company's shares rose 1.3% to USD95.98 in morning trade. Profits from turning crude oil into gasoline, diesel and jet fuel surged as supplies remained tight due to pandemic-era closure of facilities and a recovery in demand. Margins were also supported by Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year that further tightened supplies. Realized margins soared 91% to USD20.72 per barrel in the first quarter from a year earlier, Phillips 66 said.

Phillips 66 manufactures, transports and markets products that drive the global economy. The diversified energy company’s portfolio includes Midstream, Chemicals, Refining, and Marketing and Specialties businesses. Headquartered in Houston, Phillips 66 has employees around the globe who are committed to safely and reliably providing energy and improving lives while pursuing a lower-carbon future.

DCP Midstream, LP is a master limited partnership with a diversified portfolio of gathering, processing, logistics and marketing assets.

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MRC) -- ArcelorMittal and Sekisui Chemical have been partnering on a project to capture and reuse CO2 emitted during steelmaking, said Chemicaldigest.

As part of this partnership, the two companies have been supported by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), Japan’s national research and development agency, and have launched an “International collaboration on CCU for circular carbon in Steelmaking” (hereafter, the NEDO project), scheduled for three years from 2021.

One of the research topics is to develop a fundamental technology for Synthesis Gas (carbon monoxide and hydrogen) production using Sekisui Chemical unique chemical looping technology. Through tests using actual blast furnace gas at ArcelorMittal’s plant in Asturias, Spain, a CO2 conversion rate of 90% and a hydrogen conversion rate of 75% has been achieved, higher than the project target of a CO2 conversion rate of 85% or higher and a hydrogen conversion rate of 60% or higher using this technology. To obtain these results, it was important to carry out a CO2 capture process reaching 90% of CO2 purity.

The press release stated that as a next step, the two companies will further optimise the conditions, replace the catalyst with a high-performance one, and conduct a long-term test with a higher reaction yield by December 2023. At the same time, they will consider new projects to demonstrate the ability to scale up the new technology.

We remind, Sekisui Chemical decided to establish a new plant in the United States to produce thermal gap filler materials for EVs (electric vehicles) and other environmental friendly vehicles of its consolidated subsidiary, Sekisui Polymatech, said the company. Construction of the plant is scheduled to begin in January 2023, and the plant will start operation in August 2023.

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Shell Plc has decided to exit Pakistan in a setback for the South Asian nation that is going through its worst economic crisis, said Bloomberg.

The oil giant has informed Shell Pakistan Ltd. about its intent to sell its 77.42% stake and also 26% ownership of Pak-Arab Pipeline Co., it said in a statement. It is seeing strong interest from international buyers.

The sale comes as Shell executes a strategy under new Chief Executive Officer Wael Sawan to increase returns to shareholders and cut businesses that aren’t making enough money. It is also selling its stake in a gas project in Australia and exiting its home energy retail unit in Europe.

Pakistan is going through economic turmoil that has seen its currency drop by a third in the past year. It is also seeing rising prospects of becoming the next emerging market to default as hopes of securing a bailout from the International Monetary Fund dim, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

The nation has seen several multinational companies exit in the last few years. Fuel retailer Puma Energy exited in 2021, while trucking startup Trella decided to wind down its business in April. Shell, one of the oldest multinational companies in Pakistan, operates more than 600 fuel stations and has been in the country for 75 years, said the statement. Shell Pakistan surged by the daily limit of 7.5% to their highest close in three months.

We remind, Shell (London) has agreed to pay nearly USD 10 mn (EUR 9.3 mn) for breaking emissions rules at its Monaca polyethylene complex in the US state of Pennsylvania, according to the office of governor Josh Shapiro, which said the resin maker had formally acknowledged the violations.

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Huhtamaki has made the decision to consolidate the production footprint of its Flexible Packaging segment in Europe and will be closing its Flexible Packaging production facility in Prague, Czech Republic, said the company.

All production and supporting activities at the facility will be scaled down during the second half of the year, with the closure of the operations completed by March 31, 2024. Production will gradually be transferred to Huhtamaki’s other manufacturing sites.

The decision affects all 198 employees in the site. Huhtamaki will support its employees during this period, including providing information about vacancies in other Huhtamaki units in the Czech Republic and across Europe.

Huhtamaki currently has two manufacturing units in Czech Republic. The closure of the Prague site does not affect the Fiber packaging operations in Okrisky which today employs 274 people.

The Flexible Packaging Prague facility does not represent a material share of the sales or profits of Huhtamaki. Huhtamaki will book closure-related costs of approximately EUR 35 million in the second quarter of 2023. The costs will be booked as items affecting comparability and are mostly non-cash items. Over time, the closure is expected to be cash positive and improve our competitiveness in Europe.

We remind, Huhtamaki has inaugurated a 12,500m2 expansion of its paper-based packaging manufacturing site in Nules, Spain. The expansion involved a EUR20m (USD20.8m) investment, which included a grant of EUR2.2m (USD2.3m) from the Conselleria de Hacienda y Modelo Economico. Huhtamaki said the expansion will begin production this January and double the site’s capacity.

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