Trinseo Eyes More Shutdowns to Balance Books

Having reported a loss of USD349 million on sales of USD963 million in three months to June 2023, polycarbonate (PC), styrenic, and acrylic (PMMA) resin supplier Trinseo is eyeing further plant closures as part of a restructuring plan that has garnered management team approval, said Plasticstoday.

The closures affect the following operations:

The Bronderslev, Denmark, plant that makes PMMA cast sheets;
PMMA extruded sheet production line in Rho, Italy;
batch polyester tray casting plant in Belen, NM.

The potential closure of the Terneuzen, Netherlands, styrene plant is pending final approval from the board. The plan also entails non-manufacturing job cuts in order to streamline general and administrative operations. Trinseo said most of the restructuring plan should be completed by the end of 2024.

In December 2022, Trinseo announced that it was shuttering its styrene production facility in Boehlen, Germany, and shutting down a PC production line in Stade, Germany. It also said that it would consolidate PMMA sheet manufacturing in Matamoros, Mexico, at the Aristech Surfaces production line in Florence, KY, and reduce styrene-butadiene (SB) latex capacity at its site in Hamina, Finland.

Trinseo acquired Arkema’s PMMA business in May 2021. The company’s existing PMMA offerings serve several end markets including automotive, building and construction, medical, and consumer electronics.

One area where sales held up last quarter was automotive, which is part of the company’s Plastics Solutions business. This business unit was adversely affected by the PC sheet line shutdown as well as sales of copolymers for building and construction, industrial, and consumer durables applications.

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Hexpol AB chief executive officer and president Georg Brunstam has passed away, the Swedish compounding group announced 1 Sept., said Sustainableplastics.

"It is with great shock and grief that we have received this sad notification", said Alf Goeransson, chairman of the group, in the message announcing Brunstam's death. No details were shared about the cause of death.

Brunstam joined Hexpol as CEO and president in 2008 and took over as chairman of the board in 2017, with Mikael Fryklund, formerly of Trelleborg stepping into the CEO role. In November 2020 – after the departure of Fryklund – Brunstam returned to his former leadership position, as both CEO and president of Hexpol.

Brunstam has been credited for successfully developing Hexpol into “a world-leading player in the market of polymer compounds.” “Georg has created a strong organisation with many highly skilled and qualified managers,” said Goeransson.

Deputy CEO and CFO Peter Rosen is to serve as acting CEO and president while Hexpol's board searches for a new CEO and president.

We remind, Hexpol Group recorded its best 2Q to date. In 2Q 2023, overall total sales expanded by 1.2% year-on-year to SKR 5727 M ($539.7 M), while adjusted EBITA jumped by 17% to SKR 976 M ($92 M). Compounding sales went up by 1% year-on-year, with sales hitting SKR 5354 M ($504.5 M) including positive currency effects of SKR 363 M ($34.2 M). Adjusted for these, sales totalled SKR 4991 M ($470.3 M). According to Hexpol, sales to automotive-related consumers improved, although mixed across geographies. Sales to customers within construction and building were substantially lower in almost all markets, while it also displayed lower sales to consumer-related end customer divisions.

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Avantium, a pioneer in the emerging renewable and sustainable chemicals industry, is building a new plant that will support the transition to bio-based plastics to replace ones that rely on fossil-based raw materials, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Located in Delfzijl, The Netherlands, the facility will use a novel technology that converts plant sugars into a next-generation plastic material called polyethylene furanoate (PEF).

PEF is a new recyclable and plant-based plastic material that offers the potentially powerful combination of positive environmental and performance features that can be used in packaging, textiles, films and other sectors. The first piling works at Avantium’s new site started in April 2022, and construction should be complete in 2024, enabling commercial launch of PEF products from 2024 onwards.

During the early phase of this project, ABB supported Worley with a proactive consulting approach that helped to achieve technical improvements and to reduce risks. This will finally contribute to granting Avantium with a high-quality, reliable power distribution system to run its renewable bioplastic plant.

“Based on the positive experience gained on this project, Worley and ABB are extending the relationship to cooperate more closely on other greenfield projects,” said Rob Doove, Business Development Manager at ABB.

We remind, Oil prices jumped by more than 1% on Friday and were on track to snap a two-week losing streak, buoyed by expectations of tightening supplies. Saudi Arabia is widely expected to extend a voluntary 1 million bpd oil production cut into October, prolonging supply curbs engineered by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, known collectively as OPEC+, to support prices.

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Brazilian state-run oil firm Petrobras remains eager to repurchase a refinery from Abu Dhabi state investor Mubadala despite antitrust barriers, and a new biofuels partnership could open the door to future talks, two sources told Reuters.

Petrobras on Monday announced a memorandum of understanding with Mubadala for potential investment in a biofuel refinery under development in Bahia state by Mubadala-owned Acelen.

That project will use infrastructure from Acelen's Mataripe refinery, formerly known as Rlam, which Petrobras management has been looking to repurchase this year after selling it to Mubadala in 2021 under a previous government, the sources said.

"This agreement has nothing to do with Rlam, but it could be a way forward, as would anything that brings us closer together," said one of the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential deliberations.

The source added that any attempt to repurchase the Mataripe refinery will hinge on talks with antitrust regulator Cade, with whom Petrobras agreed to sell its refineries outside the states of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.

In June, Cade President Alexandre Cordeiro told journalists he had begun reviewing clauses in that refineries agreement and would take into account changes in the oil company's management and market conditions.

Petrobras and Acelen did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Mubadala declined to comment.

We remind, Russia will extend its voluntary reduction in oil exports by 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) until the end of the year "to maintain stability and balance" on oil markets, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said in a statement on Tuesday. Russia, the world's second largest oil exporter, has been cutting output and exports in tandem with Saudi Arabia on top of existing OPEC+ supply reductions.

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Russia will extend its voluntary reduction in oil exports by 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) until the end of the year "to maintain stability and balance" on oil markets, as per Reuters citing Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak.

Russia, the world's second largest oil exporter, has been cutting output and exports in tandem with Saudi Arabia on top of existing OPEC+ supply reductions.

In a separate statement on Tuesday, Saudi Arabia said it would extend its voluntary cut of one million barrels per day for another three months until the end of December, according to the state news agency SPA.

Novak said Russia's voluntary cuts would be reviewed monthly, "to consider the possibility of deepening the reduction or increasing production, depending on the situation on the world market.

He made clear the measure was "in addition to the voluntary reduction previously announced by Russia in April 2023, which will last until the end of December 2024".

Prices of the international benchmark Brent blend rose above $90 per barrel for the first time since November 2022 on the news. Novak, Russian President Vladimir Putin's point man on oil, first mentioned a new deal on oil export cuts last week without disclosing parameters.

Russia had said it would voluntarily cut oil exports by 500,000 barrels per day, or around 5% of its output, in August and by 300,000 bpd in September. Russia is also reducing its oil production by 500,000 bpd until the end of 2024.

"The additional voluntary reduction of oil supplies for export is aimed at strengthening the precautionary measures taken by OPEC+ countries in order to maintain the stability and balance of oil markets," Novak said.

We remind, Russia's seaborne diesel and gasoil exports in August rose by 2% from a month earlier to about 3.85 million metric tons on healthy fuel production, data from traders and LSEG showed. Idle primary oil refining capacity for August was estimated at 3.1 million metric tons versus 2.458 million metric tons in July, Refinitiv Eikon data and Reuters calculations showed.

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