H.B. Fuller to showcase consumer packaging innovations at PACK EXPO Las Vegas

H.B. Fuller Company, a leading global adhesives provider, will showcase the many ways in which its broad technology platform is addressing the top efficiency and circularity concerns of brand owners and packaging manufacturers worldwide at PACK EXPO Las Vegas at the Las Vegas Convention Center from 11 Sep 2023 to 13 Sep 2023, said Specialchem.

H.B. Fuller's innovative and sustainable e-commerce solutions are tamper-evident, enable easy opening and returns, and minimize packaging materials - offering an enhanced customer experience with less transit and protective packaging. Swift Melt PM7000 delivers excellent bond strength that ensures package integrity throughout the supply chain and across a wide temperature range.

Open Sesame Fibre-Based Tear Tapes enhance the "unboxing experience" by eliminating the need for box-cutting tools; the Tapes are also easily separated during the Old Corrugated Container (OCC) repulping process. Flextra flexible packaging adhesives reduce packaging waste, resist tears and punctures, and help preserve perishables through the control of moisture, air and light. FullVision, the company's proprietary software that analyzes end-of-line packaging data to improve product quality and plant productivity, ensures each box uses the right amount of adhesive.

H.B. Fuller will also showcase a wide range of technologies made with renewable and biobased materials, enabling customers to improve their products and processes through solutions that help them achieve their sustainability goals: reduce carbon footprint throughout the supply chain by lowering the packaging weight with reinforcement solutions, decreasing stretch wrap usage, minimizing packaging-to-product ratio and reducing food waste; reuse corrugated boxes with help from Open-Sesame tape technology.

This product supports shipper-to-display box designs - two functions in one sustainable package; recycle packaging with a new caustic washable adhesive solution to bond HDPE or paper label to PET packages; renew materials with bio-based flexible packaging, adhesives that support biodegradable flexible packaging, reinforcement tapes for repulpable packaging, and hot melt adhesives that contain bio-products; and return bottles made with Earthic washable water-based adhesives and easy returnable packaging design with Close Sesame system.

We remind, H.B. Fuller has acquired the industrial adhesives business of Wisdom Worldwide Adhesives, a provider of adhesives for the packaging, paper converting and assembly markets.

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Alpek announced the shutdown of its textile and industrial fiber production facility (“filament”) located in Monterrey, said the company.

The site was built in 1962, has an installed capacity of 100,000 tons of polymer and filament, and has represented minimal contribution to Alpek’s total EBITDA in recent years.

Alpek is continuously looking for opportunities to create value by streamlining its operations to meet the demands of the competitive markets it serves and assure its financial strength. The production oversupply experienced globally in recent years for the filament industry, among other factors, has significantly reduced its profitability, and as this situation is not expected to change in the near future, the Company has made the challenging decision to close its operations at such facility and will not be substituting production.

“The Company will provide a comprehensive separation package for all collaborators and all necessary support as part of the closure,” stated Jorge Young, Alpek’s CEO. “Although efforts were made, unfortunately this is the only option available at the time. I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to each of the employees of this site for their commitment to the company throughout the years.”

We remind, Alpek, Indorama and FENC announced earlier that Corpus Christi Polymers (CCP) will resume construction on the facility in August. The plant is expected to begin production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and purified terephthalic acid (PTA) in early 2025. Construction of the state-of-the-art plan is resuming following a period of pandemic-related disruptions. The new facility is expected to be the largest vertically integrated PTA-PET production plant in the Americas, with annual capacities of 1.1m tonnes of PET and 1.3m tonnes of PTA. It will employ three state-of-the-art technologies.

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Covestro provides partly biobased polyurethane (PU) dispersion to Huafeng, a supplier in textile technology, to make more sustainably made athletic shoes and shorts for team Sonnenwagen, a student team from RWTH Aachen and FH Aachen, Germany, said Specialchem.

Team Sonnenwagen is committed to more sustainable mobility using renewable energy. The team attaches great importance to a more sustainable sports kit. Covestro is the main sponsor of Team Sonnenwagen.

The new official team equipment provided by Huafeng features shorts and sports shoes with designs using Huafeng’s newly launched HAPTIC® textile coating system, which contains partly biobased INSQIN® PU dispersions from Covestro.

In addition, fabrics for the garments and shoes are made by Huafeng based on Cyclone recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) yarns derived from post-consumer plastic bottles. The shoe upper material is made of 100 percent Cyclone rPET, while the shorts consist of 86 percent Cyclone rPET and 14 percent Spandex for ensuring a comfortable fit.

“Our new official equipment looks fantastic – and we’re particularly excited about its sustainability benefits! Combined with its excellent performance, it fits well with our vision for a more sustainable mobility future. We’re grateful for the continued support of Cyclone, Huafeng with its HAPTIC® products and Covestro as we pursue this vision,” said Lina Schwering, team manager of Team Sonnenwagen Aachen.

Developed by Huafeng using Covestro’s partly biobased PU Impranil® CQ DLS/1, the HAPTIC® Art textile coating system used for the shoes enables especially outstanding aesthetics, improved mechanical performance and reduced production-related emissions.

Thanks to its high solids content and thixotropic properties, the system allows manufacturers to achieve a high coating thickness, making it well-suited for creating coatings with detailed images and sophisticated 3D effects on apparel and footwear.

We remind, Covestro has started production in its new plant for polyurethane elastomers systems at its integrated site in Shanghai, China.

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Saudi Arabia's Yanbu National Petrochemical Company (Yansab) said the temporary shutdown of its plants, which started on August 14, 2023, will continue for another 11 days, said Zawya.

Currently, the necessary repairs are being carried out to resolve the technical glitch, Yansab said in a statement to the Saudi stock exchange on Monday. The petrochemical company is a subsidiary of the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC).

The expected financial impact of the shutdown is estimated at 150 million Saudi riyals (USD39.99 million). The impact will be reflected in the company's financial statements for the third and fourth quarters of 2023.

Yansab shares closed slightly lower at SAR 43.5 on Tadawul on Monday.

We remind, Yanbu National Petrochemical Co (Yansab) posted a 90.5% year-on-year drop in its second quarter net profit amid lower average sales prices. Q2 net profit was also weighed by lower production and sales volumes, Yansab said in a filing on the Saudi stock exchange, Tadawul. Average prices for its products fell by 30% year on year in the second quarter while sales volumes were down by 34%. For the first six months of this year, the company's net loss was attributed to lower production and sales volumes as a result of "preventive maintenance" at its production complex, Yansab said.

Yansab, a subsidiary of chemicals major SABIC, operates a production complex in Yanbu in western Saudi Arabia which can produce around 4.4m tonnes/year of various products including ethylene, propylene, monoethylene glycol (MEG), high density polyethylene (HDPE), linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) and polypropylene (PP).

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S&P Global Ratings has downgraded the credit rating of titanium dioxide (TiO2) producer Kronos Worldwide due to weaker-than-expected financial performance in three consecutive quarters, said the agency.

The credit rating was downgraded by two notches, from B to CCC+. The rating of senior secured notes was downgraded from BB- to B. The downgrades resulted from ongoing weakness in operating performance, as well as expectations for weak global macroeconomic demand.

S&P expects lingering weakness in demand in H2 2023, as well as downward pricing. North American TiO2 contracts settled lower in Q3. S&P's downgrade also occurred following minimal adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) from Kronos thus far in 2023, and lower sales and higher production costs have continued.

TiO2 prices have fallen modestly, and sales volumes have declined across multiple end-use markets. Additionally, there were curtailments at production units, as TiO2 output was lowered to meet the slower demand levels.

S&P notes that since Kronos has notable liquidity, including about $170m in cash and cash equivalents, the company does have some protection. However, unlike fully integrated producers such as Tronox, Kronos is dependent on third parties to meet chloride process feedstocks. Therefore, it is in a more vulnerable position than some peers to increased volatility from feedstock prices.

Kronos is a TiO2 producer headquartered in Dallas, Texas, US. TiO2 is used as a white powder pigment in products such as paints, coatings, plastics, paper, inks, fibres, food and cosmetics.

We remind, Kronos Bio Inc, a company dedicated to transforming the lives of those affected by cancer, reported on 8 Aug 2023 its recent business progress and 2Q 2023 financial results. With its ongoing and currently planned clinical programmes and $219.7 M in cash, cash equivalents and investments as of 30 Jun 2023, the company reiterates its expected cash runway into 2H 2025. Research and development (R&D) expenses were $22.7 M for 2Q 2023, which includes non-cash stock-based compensation expense of $3.1 M.

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