Basell to acquire Solvay Engineered Polymers, Inc. Basell, the global leader in advanced polyolefins, announced that it has signed a definitive agreement with Solvay by which Basell will acquire Solvay Engineered Polymers, Inc., a leading supplier of polypropylene compounds in North America. The transaction is subject to relevant regulatory approvals and is expected…
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ExxonMobil & Fujian Petrochemical to construct chemical complex Fujian Petrochemical Company Limited (a company owned 50 percent by China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) and 50 percent by Fujian Government) (FPCL), ExxonMobil China Petroleum and Petrochemical Company Limited (ExxonMobil), and Aramco Overseas Company B.V. (Saudi Aramco) reached agreement to jointly fund the front…
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After a few good years, outperforming broader markets in the past decade, the chemicals industry currently faces significant challenges moving forward. Feedstock cost competitiveness and new markets, two of the more significant market drivers, have a positive outlook. However, other drivers are negative, such as the current direction of interest rates, or neutral, such as…
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Sipchem, Hanwha Form Wire and Cable Polymers Compounding JV Saudi Inernational Petrochemical Co. (Sipchem; Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia) and HanwhaChemical (Seoul) have signed an agreement to create an equally owned joint venture to produce special compounds for the wire & cable industry. The company, Wire & Cable Polymers Compounding Company, will invest SR225…
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Dow commercializes first plant For VERSIFY® plastomers & elastomers The Dow Chemical Company (Dow) announced the successful start-up of the first commercial plant for its new family of specialty propylene-ethylene copolymers, VERSIFY® Plastomers and Elastomers, in Tarragona, Spain. According to the company, the Versify product range combines Dow’s strength in catalyst and process…
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Ineos Agrees Another PP Technology Licence in China Ineos Technologies has licensed its Innovene polypropylene (PP) process to to Ningxia BaofengEnergy Group Co., to be used in a 300,000-m.t./year plant at Ningxia, China. The unit will be designed to produce homo, random and impact copolymers PP.The olefin feedstock for the PP plant will…
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Coke and AT&T using more PlantBottle resin All conventional 500ml PET bottles for Coca-Cola, Coke Zero and diet Coke sold in the United Kingdom are being replaced by the company’s PlantBottle, which includes materials partly sourced from plants, according to Coca-Cola Great-Britain. In addition, AT&T Inc. announced Sept. 12 that it will use…
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DuPont Starts Up $500-Million Kevlar Plant DuPont has started up a $500-million Kevlar para-aramid fiber plant in Cooper River, SC, the company says. The plant will begin supply customers at the end of the year. The plant, combined with a $50 million expansion at an existing Richmond, VA facility, increases global Kevlar capacity…
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Polypropylene resin prices drop sharply North American polypropylene resin prices have dropped an average of 14 cents per pound since Oct. 1, while polyethylene prices have takena smaller, 3-cent drop since then as well.The PP price-drop ends a two-month period in which prices were flat. Prices for the material had reduced by a…
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Braskem buying Dow’s PP business Brazilian plastics giant Braskem SA has made another big move in the polypropylene market, this time acquiring the PP business of Dow Chemical Co. For $323 million. The deal makes São Paulo-based Braskem the largest PP producer in North America, and includes two U.S. plants and two in…
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