Tredegar to sell polyester films business to Oben Group

Global plastic films and aluminium extrusions manufacturer Tredegar has agreed to sell its flexible packaging films business, Terphane, to Oben Group affiliates, said Packaging-gateway.

Terphane’s sale has been finalised for a net debt-free base consideration of USD116m. Headquartered in Brazil’s Sao Paulo, Terphane exports to nearly 29 countries, with its manufacturing facilities located in Cabo de Santo Agostinho, Brazil and Bloomfield, New York.

Currently, Terphane employs around 500 people. Tredegar anticipates realising USD85m in after-tax cash proceeds from the completion of this transaction, after subtracting expected withholding taxes by Brazil, escrow funds and US capital gains taxes.

However, Tredegar said that this estimated actual after-tax proceeds “may differ” at the conclusion of deal. This difference can be due to possible changes in deductions during “potentially lengthy interim period”, expected to range between 8 and 14 months, before the closing date.

Tredegar president and CEO John Steitz said: “We believe that purchase by Oben of Terphane will enhance scale and growth opportunities in keenly competitive global flexible packaging market.” Completion of this deal is now subject to the fulfilment of some customary conditions, including clearance from competition authorities in Brazil and Colombia.

Tredegar’s financial advisor and the US corporate counsel for this transaction were JP Morgan Securities and Hunton Andrews Kurth, respectively.

We remind, SK Innovation has become the first in the oil refining industry to complete a Life Cycle Assessment (hereafter, LCA) for its entire oil-petrochemical related products. The company aims to strengthen its response to domestic and international clients who are increasingly focused on ESG evaluation standards, and plans to utilize the findings for process improvement data.

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Dow, a global materials science company, and Shanghai Qifan Cable Co., Ltd. (Qifan Cable) have signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at Wire China 2023, said the company.

In the coming years, the two parties intend to jointly engage in developing innovative solutions for submarine cables, to support development of offshore wind power that will accelerate the global energy transition to renewable sources.

Under this cooperation, Dow would deliver ENDURANCE™ compounds used in the insulation of Qifan Cable's HVAC and HVDC submarine cables. Produced under superior cleanliness standards, ENDURANCE™ HFDD-4201SC enables high performance and longevity of the HVAC submarine cable for greater reliability. Moreover, it provides good degassing time and scorch resistance that results in production efficiency and shorter manufacturing cycles. For HVDC systems, ENDURANCE™ HFDB-4401UDC enables long-run performance and increased operating temperatures of up to 90°C.

According to the International Energy Agency's Electricity Market Report 2023, renewables' share of the power generation mix worldwide is set to rise from 29% to 35% by 2025, and offshore wind power is expected to grow rapidly as a predominant source of power generation that will support the global transition to less carbon-intensive and more sustainable energy systems.

"In response to the global energy transition, Dow has introduced a series of high-performance solutions that support emerging needs in sustainable energy sources such as offshore wind power," said Bambang Candra, Asia Pacific Commercial Vice President of Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics, "This partnership with Qifan Cable represents the full recognition of Dow's submarine cable products, and at the same time, it also helps us advance our manufacturing operations. We continue to improve our product innovation to suit varying application needs while expanding cooperation with industry partners, to support the realization of global decarbonization goals."

Mr. Zhou Guihua, Chairman of Qifan Cable said, "In the field of submarine cable materials, Dow has industry-leading innovation capabilities and cutting-edge product technologies. Through our solid alliance with Dow, it will further strengthen our competitive advantage in the submarine cable market and promote closer cooperation in the value chain. We are delighted to drive the development of offshore wind power with Dow."

Through expertise in materials science, Dow works closely with partners like Qifan Cable to optimize efficiency in operations and accelerate renewable energy growth, enabling a lower-carbon economy that is essential in addressing climate change and achieving a sustainable future.

We remind, North American chemical railcar traffic rose 3.4% year on year to 46,174 loadings in the week ended 26 August, led by a 12.2% increase in Canada, according to the latest freight rail data of Association of American Railroads. For the first 34 weeks of 2023 ended 26 August, North American chemical rail traffic was down 2.2% year on year to 1,538,612 - with the US down 3.6% to 1,057,632 loadings.

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Western Australia (WA), Queensland and South Australia (SA) have imposed ban on a range of single-use plastic items starting from 1 September 2023, as per Packaging-gateway.

Each state has applied ban on different single-use items. However, a common item that has been banned across all three regions is plastic stemmed cotton buds.

The Queensland government has banned expanded polystyrene loose packaging, including ‘peanuts’ style fill foam and plastic microbeads in rinseable personal care and cleaning products. Circulation of heavyweight plastic shopping bags and outdoor release of lighter-than-air balloons has also been prohibited in Queensland.

Non-woven plastic shopping bags with thickness of 35 microns or more will now be required to pass reusability tests for 125 uses, while non-compostable plastic shopping bags must contain at least 80% recycled content. Queensland Environment and the Great Barrier Reef Minister Leanne Linard said: “Along with single-use plastic ban, we have also introduced a Container Refund Scheme allowing individuals, charities, and community groups to receive a 10c refund when they return an eligible glass, metal or plastic drink container to a container refund point.”

The WA government has outlawed loose fill expanded polystyrene packaging, plastic microbeads, expanded polystyrene cups and degradable plastics that can break into fragments. From February, the government said it provided a six-month transition period to all the local businesses to use up their available supplies and prepare alternatives to replace them.

The government is also banning some additional items, including plastic produce bags for fruit and vegetables, non-compostable plastic takeaway coffee cups, unlidded trays and plastic lids for takeaway food packs, such as bowls, plates, cups, trays and containers.

All these items have transition period ranging from 12 to 28 months. The final enforcement date is on 1 July 2025.

We remind, Technip Energies, a leading engineering and technology company for the energy transition, and Versalis, Eni's chemical company, have signed an agreement aimed at integrating Versalis' Hoop and Technip Energies' Pure.rOilTM and Pure.rGasTM purification technologies by developing a technological platform for the advanced chemical recycling of plastic waste.

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As of the end of 2018, the Chinese pharmaceutical packaging industry stood at a staggering 106.8 billion yuan, reports Packaging-gateway.

What’s noteworthy is the shift in materials used for drug packaging, with plastic and composite materials emerging as key players, representing 43% and 24% of the industry’s total value, respectively. Once heavily reliant on traditional glass containers, the pharmaceutical industry has witnessed a significant transformation in packaging materials.What’s noteworthy is the shift in materials used for drug packaging, with plastic and composite materials emerging as key players, representing 43% and 24% of the industry’s total value, respectively.

Once heavily reliant on traditional glass containers, the pharmaceutical industry has witnessed a significant transformation in packaging materials. Plastic, particularly in the form of COP (Cyclic Olefin Polymer), has emerged as a compelling alternative. This shift is driven by several factors, including cost-effectiveness and durability.

COP containers have demonstrated their mettle by offering enhanced protection to medicines, ensuring their stability and efficacy. This has not only piqued the interest of pharmaceutical companies but also raised the bar for packaging standards. With a 24% market share, these materials offer a unique blend of characteristics, combining the strength of plastics with other desirable properties like barrier protection and transparency.

This diversification in packaging materials not only provides pharmaceutical companies with more choices but also drives innovation in the industry as manufacturers strive to meet evolving demands for sustainability and product integrity.What’s noteworthy is the shift in materials used for drug packaging, with plastic and composite materials emerging as key players, representing 43% and 24% of the industry’s total value, respectively.

This diversification in packaging materials not only provides pharmaceutical companies with more choices but also drives innovation in the industry as manufacturers strive to meet evolving demands for sustainability and product integrity.

We remind, Technip Energies, a leading engineering and technology company for the energy transition, and Versalis, Eni's chemical company, have signed an agreement aimed at integrating Versalis' Hoop and Technip Energies' Pure.rOilTM and Pure.rGasTM purification technologies by developing a technological platform for the advanced chemical recycling of plastic waste.

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European Union countries are preparing to push for a global deal on phasing out fossil fuels at the United Nations COP28 climate summit which begins in November, a draft of the EU's negotiating position showed, said Reuters.

Diplomats from the bloc's 27 member states are drafting their position for the summit in Dubai, where nearly 200 countries will try to strengthen efforts to rein in climate change. "The shift towards a climate neutral economy will require the global phase-out of fossil fuels and a peak in their consumption already in the near term," a draft of the EU's negotiating stance, seen by Reuters, said.

Countries have never before agreed in UN climate negotiations to gradually stop burning all CO2-emitting fossil fuels, despite this being the main cause of climate change. "Unabated" refers to fossil fuels burned without using technologies to capture the resulting CO2 emissions. The word was in brackets in the draft EU text, indicating that countries have not yet agreed on whether to include it.

EU diplomats hope a deal could be clinched at COP28 - but expect to meet resistance from economies reliant on income from selling oil and gas. The EU document, which is still being negotiated and could change before it is due to be finalized in October, said the energy sector should be largely free of fossil fuels "well ahead of 2050" because cost-effective, CO2-free energy sources are already available.

A proposal to phase out CO2-emitting fossil fuels won backing from more than 80 countries at last year's UN climate summit, but Saudi Arabia and other oil and gas-rich nations opposed it. Some countries with fossil fuel-heavy economies want to focus on developing technologies to capture CO2 emissions, rather than reducing the use of fossil fuels. Disagreement over this issue meant G20 countries' ministers could not agree to curb fossil fuels at a meeting last month.

Some EU countries seeking faster CO2-cutting action want to agree limits on CO2 capturing technologies - to restrict their use to sectors without alternatives, diplomats said. While not legally binding, the idea behind a global deal to gradually quit fossil fuels is to create a powerful "north star" to guide future climate negotiations, government policies and investments towards energy sources and technologies that do not contribute to heating the planet.

We remind, Borealis will acquire Italian mechanical recycled polypropylene (R-PP) compounder Rialti. Rialti has a nameplate output capacity of 50,000 tonnes/year of compounded R-PP. The announcement comes amid tough trading conditions for flake and pellet producers and compounders in the R-PP chain. As a result of tough trading conditions, players across recycled polymers have been predicting consolidation would occur in the chain since Q4 - either through mergers and acquisitions or through bankruptcy.

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