NEWS
Air Products Opens New Specialty Amines Plant in China
Air Products has opened its new specialty amines plant in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China. The facility complements its existing local capabilities to support customers in the growing polyurethane additives and epoxy markets.
Located in the Nanjing Chemical Industry Park (NCIP), the new state-of-the-art specialty amines plant is a multi-reactor, multi-purpose facility designed to manufacture many of the amine chemistries marketed by the business globally. Air Products has already built and operates two large air separation plants and a pipeline system to serve customers in the NCIP.
Albemarle Announces Breakthrough in Flame Retardant Materials Technology line
Albemarle announced an important advance in flame retardant technology. Flame retardants used to enhance durable plastics in many consumer and commercial products, from textiles and electronics to airplane and automobile interiors, are vital tools for reducing the risk of fire death and injury for hundreds of millions of people while saving billions of dollars in property damage around the world.
"Our first fire safety solution under Albemarle's new Earthwise brand, GreenArmor(TM), is due to be commercially available in late 2010. Earthwise GreenArmor is a unique, organic flame retardant suitable for use in a variety of plastic resins that will provide better performance across a wide range of applications, while improving the sustainability of the plastic resins used in many consumer products. GreenArmor is a result of multi-year investments in research and development and will set the new standard in developing innovative fire safety solutions that meet societal needs in an environmentally sound manner," said Tony Parnell, vice president of polymer solutions.
"The launch of the Earthwise(TM) family of eco-friendly products marks a new direction in specialty chemicals and is expected to grow to include products from other business units and divisions," explained Dave Clary, chief sustainability officer for the corporation. "The introduction of this unique fire safety solution furthers Albemarle's corporate commitment to sustainability for the full-cycle of our products. For Albemarle, green chemistry involves all processes, from design and innovation, minimizing the use of raw materials, energy and byproducts or waste, to manufacturing and the final stages of recycled or reuse. GreenArmor's design considers each of these aspects and we believe represents a great example of designing chemistry from a life cycle perspective."
In addition to GreenArmor, Albemarle is developing a portfolio of other sustainable fire safety and chemical solutions for diverse industries to address societal and industry expectations for sustainable technology and increased levels of product performance. Producing highly valued solutions for our customers with improved recyclability or reuse, that are non toxic, non-bioaccumulative and have favorable GHG footprints are just some of the criteria for Earthwise products.
Arkema announces its new DMSO website at www.arkema.com/dmso
Arkema has updated its DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide) website www.arkema.com/dmso, specifically designed for users of solvents classified as hazardous who wish to replace them in their formulations with DMSO, a solvent which is not classified as hazardous to human health or the environment.
Arkema's new website provides (eco)toxicological, technical and regulatory data about DMSO which users may need, together with a comprehensive FAQ section. Visitors to the site can contact engineers from Arkema's research centers who will be pleased to provide customized support to help them adapt their formulations in their search for a replacement solution.
DMSO is already used extensively as a polar aprotic solvent in pharmaceutical synthesis, agrochemical formulations, electronics (photoresist stripping and cleaning), polymer applications, and paint stripping. It now offers an excellent alternative to other solvents classified as hazardous.
Arkema's DMSO is actually the sustainable reference solution to replace solvents classified as hazardous to human health (Reprotoxic Category 2; R61), such as dimethyl formamide (DMF), dimethyl acetamide (DMAC), and N-methyl pyrrolidone (NMP). DMSO is also an excellent alternative to methylene chloride in stripping products.
Bayer MaterialScience increases capacity in China for aliphatic coatings raw materials
Bayer MaterialScience, one of the world's leading producers of high-performance plastics has announced a capacity expansion of Desmodur® N aliphatic coatings raw materials at the Bayer integrated site in Caojing, near Shanghai in China.
The plant has increased the capacity of Desmodur® N to 27,000 tpa to meet the growing demand in Asia, particularly China, in the automotive, general industrial, and plastics market. The company has been producing Desmodur® N coatings raw materials at Caojing since April 2003 at a facility which had an initial capacity of 11,500 tpa.
BorsodChem: Agreement in principle with Wanhua Industrial signed
After three days of intensive negotiations, the management and the majority shareholders of BorsodChem signed an agreement in principle with representatives of Wanhua Industrial, a China based holding, which controls Yantai Wanhua. The term sheet governs the agreed upon midterm role of Yantai Wanhua as a minority shareholder of BorsodChem as well as the agreement to the company's debt restructuring plan, which is also strongly supported by the senior lenders and the Hungarian government.
"This is a very important step for the financial restructuring of BorsodChem and the implementation of our growth plan," stated Wolfgang Büchele, CEO of BorsodChem after the negotiations. "This result is good for BorsodChem, its customers, suppliers and the employees in particular," Büchele added. "But there is still a long way to go. Several questions remain unresolved for the time being and will be addressed only at a later stage. The delegates agreed on further negotiations in due course to discuss the open questions in a friendly and constructive manner." Dow Completes Polyols Expansion at Terneuzen, Netherlands
Beginning of December 2009, Dow announced that the multi-year polyols expansion project at the Company's Terneuzen, Netherlands, plant has been successfully completed. The additional capability will support customers in Europe as well as in other growing regions such as India, Middle East and Africa. The key downstream markets that will benefit from this expanded capacity, which includes specialty polyols, are furniture and bedding; coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers; building and construction; and automotive.
The capability expansion makes Terneuzen the largest and most flexible of Dow's 11 polyols production sites.
DuPont Fluoroproducts increases price of HFC-134a
DuPont Fluoroproducts announced a 10 percent global price increase for its bulk R-134a refrigerant, effective with shipments on or after December 1st, 2009, as contracts allow. Increasing raw material costs necessitated the price increase.
The increase applies to all 134a bulk product sold in applications including automotive air conditioning, stationary air conditioning, stationary refrigeration, and foam expansion.
Name change for Elastogran companies
Following the introduction of the BASF corporate brand for European polyurethane sites, the next step is to change the names of Elastogran companies.
For instance, Elastogran GmbH with its head offices in Lemförde will be called BASF Polyurethanes GmbH from now on. This is in keeping with a system already introduced on a global scale. The name change will not affect the legal form of the companies concerned. Nor will the renaming affect existing agreements such as employment contracts or customer contracts.
The Elastogran name lives on in the BASF brand "PU Solutions Elastogran," which was launched throughout Europe. It stands for the polyurethane system and specialty elastomer market leader's more than 40 years of experience and customer focus.
The name change process in about a dozen European countries will kick off in January 2010 and is expected to be completed by the middle of the year, depending on local legal requirements. The move also involves the transition of former Elastogran e-mail address to the BASF system: firstname.lastname@basf.com. This offers the advantage that employees can keep their e-mail addresses even if they change jobs within the BASF Group and simultaneously reduces administrative effort.
The former e-mail addresses will remain valid for at least 12 months after introduction of the new @basf.com addresses.
EXSTO changes shareholders
EXSTO, located in Romans (180 employees and 23 million euros sales) and specialized in the moulding of polymers, such as compact elastomer urethanes (UREFLEX & ELADIP), cellular elastomer urethanes, thermoplastics (PA6, PP, PC...) and fibreglass reinforced thermosets (SMC), has been sold on 9th of October 2009 within the frame of a LBO (Leverage Buy Out) by Michel Baulé SA.
A buy-out holding company, FINEXSTO, has been set up by Olivier Berthet, co-founder and General Manager of LAMROCK Capital Partners, and Jérôme Pignard, President of ORYX Partner. Both will be members of FINEXSTO's Board of Directors.
Christophe Torres, who was EXSTO's General Manager, becomes shareholder, President and General Manager of the company, as well as of its French and foreign subsidiaries. He will also be a member of FINEXSTO's Board of Directors.
Michel Baulé, who founded the company in 1976, chose a solution offering the company the best development possibilities. He remains President of Michel Baulé SA and its subsidiaries, including BAULÉ (JV between Michel Baulé SA and Bayer MaterialScience AG).
This sale allows the management to be backed up by business-oriented investors and thus offers EXSTO the best possible future.
The amount and clauses of the transaction have not been communicated.
Foto: From left to right: Nathalie Martin-Basté (BNP PARIBAS),
Jean-Michel Grosheinz (BECM-Crédit Mutuel), Bruno Le Bourhis
(CFO of MICHEL BAULÉ sa), Michel Baulé (President of MICHEL BAULÉ sa),
Christophe Torres (CEO of EXSTO), Jérôme Pignard (President of ORYX Partner),
Sylvain Lagneaux (Solicitor IXA), Stéphanie Viret (Solicitor IXA),
Olivier Berthet (General Manager of LAMROCK Capital Partners),
Nicolas Beaudonnet (BNP PARIBAS).
FRIMO continues with its consolidation activities
On 30th of October 2009, the Board of Directors of the FRIMO Group GmbH informed the employees and workers` council of FRIMO Viersen GmbH in Boisheim about the decision to close the Viersen site.
During the last years FRIMO has developed to a system supplier of tooling, machinery and equipment for the plastics processing industries. This development was driven by growth and integration of numerous new technologies into the scope of products and services. In connection with current consolidation activities to sustainably strengthen the company's competitiveness, the FRIMO board of directors announced the decision to close the Viersen site.
Providing benefits for customers
Henkel provides clear benefits for composite customers with innovative solutions in structural bonding, mould release and high-performance resins. From October 27 to 29, these technologies have been in the focus at COMPOSITES EUROPE 2009 fair in Stuttgart. The aim was to demonstrate the advantages of the products and exchange experiences with experts.
Rotor blades have to withstand extreme stresses.
Their quality depends not least on the reliability of their adhesive bonds. Germanischer Lloyd has certified the first polyurethane adhesive for the wind power sector: Henkel's Macroplast UK 1340. The new technology offers multiple benefits when compared to epoxy systems, allowing wind turbine manufacturers to optimize productivity, improve quality and reduce costs.
Engineering to the power of three in a growth market
 KraussMaffei Technologies India Ltd. was recently set up in Pune (Poona), a city of many million people. For our injection moulding and extrusion customers in India, this means access to machinery products and services directly from the manufacturer. Our Reaction Process Machinery division continues its sales and service partnership with Goodie Enterprises in Delhi.
It's been many years since India shed its image as a source of cheap mass-produced goods for the global market. Today the country is a major manufacturer of technical products for the automotive, electronics and medical technology sectors. This trend is driven by strong domestic demand in a country which is among the world's fastest growing economies and it's making India a growth market for the plastics industry. The automotive industry, a major growth sector in India, is another area where KraussMaffei intends to intensify its efforts, pushing home the benefits of its multi-process know-how and its "Technology to the Power of Three" competence.
Estane® Engineered Polymers Adds New Product to a Growing Portfolio of Non-Halogen Flame Retardant Products
Estane® Engineered Polymers has developed Estane® X-1425 thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), a technology that delivers lower smoke generation. Estane X-1425 TPU is specifically designed for wire and cable jacketing in non-halogen flame retardant applications.
The industry is placing greater emphasis on the development of new compounds that produce lower smoke and higher Limited Oxygen Index (LOI) to reduce flame spread. Estane X-1425 TPU meets this industry demand for wire and cable jacketing used in applications such as robotics, industrial equipment and mass transit systems where low-smoke fire resistant materials are necessary.
Estane X-1425 TPU provides an LOI of 33 and achieves a UL vertical burn rating of V0.
New Michem® Guard 7140 Improves Performance of Pigmented Coatings, Semi-Gloss Coatings and OPVs
Michem Guard 7140 is a versatile and efficient new water-based large particle emulsion from Michelman that improves rub and abrasion resistance in pigmented and semi-gloss coating, inks and OPVs at very low addition rates of 2-5%. It can also be used to matte coatings and varnishes to a smooth satin finish at 5-10% addition rates. Michem Guard 7140 can be used in coatings that go on exterior wood and wood composites, interior furniture and flooring as well as inks and OPVs.
Milliken Acquires Assets of Rebus, Inc.
Milliken announced the acquisition of the assets of Rebus, Inc., a leading North American provider of pigment and additive dispersions for the thermoset plastics and high-performance industrial coatings markets. The acquisition will enable Milliken to broaden its portfolio and offer customers a convenient source for differentiated colorants. In particular, the move will allow thermoset and coatings manufacturers in fast-growing markets such as Asia-Pacific to leverage Milliken's global presence, technological expertise and supply chain efficiencies.
The high-quality pigment dispersions from Rebus are an excellent complement to Milliken's Reactint® polymeric colorants. Milliken now has the opportunity to introduce polymeric colorants to new sectors of the thermosets market.
Milliken will continue to operate Rebus's existing manufacturing facility in Aston, Pa., and will work diligently to ensure a smooth transition and to prevent any interruption to the supply of products to the market.
Perstorp to increase aliphatic isocyanates production capacity in China
Perstorp plans to increase its production capacity of aliphatic polyisocyanates. Perstorp will commence implementation of a new production structure in China in 2012. At maturity, this production capacity should reach 12,000 tpa. In parallel Perstorp plans to debottleneck existing plants to support growth outside Asia. Perstorp produces solvent-based Tolonate® and self-emulsifiable into water EasaquaTM aliphatic polyisocyanates for high-performance polyurethane coatings.
With an average expected annual growth rate of 6%, aliphatic isocyanates specialty materials represent a highly attractive market.
Innovative Casting Materials from Rampf
 The elements fire and water are not the only enemies of electronic components so it is very important to protect these parts by using electro casting resins. For this reason RAMPF Giessharze has a wide product range of these resins based on polyurethane, polyurethane foam, as well as silicone and epoxy which brave heat and humidity.
The electro casting resins are suited to isolate, protect and to bed in sensitive parts. This application is needed in the automotive and sensors area. The new electro casting resins are characterized by high temperature resistance (insulation class F 155 °C), high hydrolysis resistance and fire resistance (UL listing).
Beyond that, the products have excellent insulation properties and a high resistance to mechanical influences. Therefore the resins are particularly well-suited for casting sensitive electronic components. The safe electro compound of sensors and printed circuit boards guarantee a reliable performance of the components.
Name change from RECA KUNSTSTOFFE GmbH to RECA Plastics GmbH
 As of 01/01/2010, RECA Kunststoffe GmbH will trade under its new name, RECA Plastics GmbH.
RECA Kunststoffe GmbH is now known as RECA Plastics GmbH. The new name reflects the increasing internationalisation and globalisation of our business since the establishment of the company in 1996.
"The name change logically follows on the very positive developments in our business markets," said Volker Retter, managing director of RECA Plastics GmbH. "The consistently high quality and reliability of RECA Plastics GmbH is furthermore confirmed by the high degree of customer loyalty and the steadily increasing number of customers."
The name change to RECA Plastics GmbH also reflects our range of skills in the fields of polyurethane and elastomers. An example is the new water jet system and CNC, which allows for individually water-cut parts. Semi-finished products and moulded parts are produced with cutting-edge casting machines.
The logo of RECA Plastics GmbH was modernised as part of the name change. It now has an even clearer symbolic message, presenting the company's image in a new light. The website was relaunched as well, and shows the variety of the RECA product range, using the latest technical options. RECA Plastics GmbH has been a partner in the field of special polyurethane plastics and elastomers since 1996.
Merger of Schäfer Composites GmbH and Schäfer GmbH & Co. KG to form SchäferRolls GmbH & Co. KG
The shareholders of both companies registered at the Renningen location, Schäfer Composites GmbH und Schäfer GmbH & Co. KG, have resolved and implemented the merger of the subsidiary, Schäfer Composites GmbH, with its parent company, Schäfer GmbH & Co. KG, as of 1 January 2010. After the merger, the new name of the company will be SchäferRolls GmbH & Co. KG. The employment conditions of all staff at Schäfer Composites GmbH will transfer to the parent company in an unchanged form. The merger of both companies bundles the competence of SchäferRolls, as a cover manufacturer, roll service and complete roll supplier into one legal entity. The merger intended to further reinforce the position of SchäferRolls on the international markets and contribute to the standardisation of the business processes.
SCHARR CPC is closing its Pentane Branch
A long successful story is finished. From 2010 onwards SCHARR CPC has no longer the storage in Plochingen, Germany at its proposal.
Looking very carefully for any alternative to keep the business going, no new storage could be found because of special requirements for the dangerous goods' equipment, the excise regulations and lots of other difficulties. Unfortunately no conceivable alternative lead to a solution, to fulfil the self-imposed standards of service, flexibility, quality and competitiveness.
The company regrets to inform you about this and its consequences.
The last pentane loadings in Plochingen took place on December, 23rd 2009. This means for most customers that SCHARR CPC has no possibility to carry on with its long-lasting, successful business partnerships. The team of the pentane department wants to thank you for the pleasant, delightful cooperation and wishes a successful future.
Stepan Europe will break ground for expansion of its European Stepanpol®
Stepan Europe has confirmed it will break ground on the expansion project for its European Stepanpol® aromatic polyester polyols manufacturing plant in Wesseling, near Cologne, Germany in January 2010.
Roger Stubbs, Director European Polymers for Stepan commented; "The Stepan board approved the plant expansion project in the summer of 2008. However, due to the economic climate it was decided to postpone this project until a stronger outlook was seen. Stepan management has now informed the board of their intention to go ahead with the expansion to more than double our annual European production capacity to 120,000 MT. The plant is already the largest of its type in Europe but we need to be ready for the economic revival and the anticipated rebound in European construction. Our objective is to have the new plant operational by April 2011 latest."
Stepan Europe publishes new Product Selector Guide
The European arm of Stepan Company's polyols division has recently published an updated version of its product selector guide (PSG) for Stepanpol® aromatic polyester polyols produced for the European market at its state of the art Wesseling, Germany, plant.
The new PSG includes the full range of polyols that underpins Stepan's approach to assisting processors of PUR insulation panels and boards to develop their own, independent in-house PIR formulation capability to enhance proprietary intellectual property and competitive advantage.
Mflow extrusion plastometer: all weights securely contained in the instrument
Zwick's Mflow extrusion plastometer allows melt index values MFR and MVR to be determined quickly and conveniently. The system features modular design and functions such as travel measurement can be retrofitted as and when required, while an innovative weight selection unit provides enhanced operator safety and convenience.
Different weights are used in extrusion tests (MFR, MVR determination) depending on the polymer being tested. The individual weights must then be positioned manually by the operator. This is a laborious and potentially hazardous procedure, as a weight may fall and injure the operator.
A new development from Zwick has solved this problem. Now available for the modular Mflow extrusion plastometer is an auxiliary unit which provides program-controlled positioning and removal of the test weight in use. Manual selection is also possible by simply removing the selector and re-inserting it in the desired position.
The instrument contains test weights specified in ISO 1133 up to 21.6 kg, arranged so as to eliminate the possibility of error. Cleaning the instrument is no problem thanks to an easy action swivelling unit.
The instrument can be controlled via integrated computer electronics or a PC as required. The innovative automatic parameter control (APC) ensures reliable measured values, even with untrained operators.
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