Solvay and Rhodia's compounding plant to be launched in China

(GV) -- Solvay Specialty Polymers and Rhodia Engineering Plastics have announced progress on a new EUR 21 million compounding plant, which will come on-stream in Changshu, Jiangsu province, in summer 2012, months ahead of schedule. It will serve the Chinese markets for electrical and electronics, wire and cable, automotive, consumer, and industrial applications.

In addition, Solvay is building a new EUR 120 million production plant for fluorinated polymers at its industrial site in Changshu, to meet growing demand in Asia in end-use markets such as automotive, photovoltaic, Li ion batteries, membranes for water purification, and oil and gas applications. The new plant is scheduled to be operational early 2014.

Solvay is an international chemicals and plastics company. In 2011, Solvay acquired Rhodia for approximately EUR 3.4 billion. Rhodia is one of the three sectors of activities of Solvay. Rhodia is a world leader in the development and production of specialty chemicals, and partner of major players in the automotive, electronics, flavors and fragrances, health, personal and home care markets, consumer goods and industrial markets.
MRC

(CompositesWorld) -- SABIC is expanding its Genk, Belgium, facility to increase capacity of STAMAX long glass fiber-filled polypropylene (LGFPP) following an escalating demand from automotive customers.

Last month, the company began work on a new production line – stated to open in the second half of 2013 – to increase its ability to provide a secure a reliable local supply of this high-performance material.

STAMAX composite resins are also available to customers from SABIC’s Bay St. Louis, Miss. site in the Americas, which opened in 2011. Bay St. Louis was modelled on the design and technology of the Genk plant, the largest greenfield PP compounding plant ever built in Europe. Genk also houses a Compounding Innovation Center.

SABIC is a diversified manufacturing company, active in chemicals and intermediates, industrial polymers, fertilizers and metals. It is the largest public company in Saudi Arabia. It is the largest company in the Middle East.
SABIC is currently the second largest global ethylene glycol producer and is expected to become number one after the introduction of these new projects. SABIC is the third largest polyethylene manufacturer, the fourth largest polyolefins manufacturer and the fourth largest polypropylene manufacturer. It is also the world’s largest producer of mono-ethylene glycol, MTBE, granular urea, polyphenylene and polyether imide.
MRC

(Plastemart) -- Japan's Maruzen Petrochemical Co Ltd’s Keiyo Ethylene unit would restart its sole naphtha cracker, which has an annual production capacity of 768,000 tons of ethylene, reported sources on Thursday.

The cracker at Chiba has been shut on July 24 for a little over a week after an unplanned shutdown, after liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) leaked from a pipeline, prompting the firm to conduct repair work.

Maruzen Petrochemical Co. is a chemical producer that develops, produces and sells petrochemical products, including ethylene, propylene and the other basic petrochemical products that are the raw materials of plastics, synthetic fiber, synthetic rubber, coatings, etc., as well as functional raw materials with value added fractions.
MRC

(Plastopedia)-- Polyflow and private-equity firm Ambassador Enterprises of Ft. Wayne, Ind., have agreed to create a new company, Renewable Energy Solutions by Polyflow, to commercialize Polyflow's energy recovery equipment and technology. The new firm will be known as RES Polyflow.

"Our goal is to be the worldwide standard for profitable energy recovery from plastic waste," said Jay Schabel, the current Polyflow Ceo. "With the addition of Ambassador Enterprises as our strategic partner, RES Polyflow will produce and demonstrate our continuous feed waste to energy recovery system."

The patented process and proprietary equipment developed by RES Polyflow converts mixed and unwashed plastic waste, tires and carpet into a spectrum of energy products ranging from transportation fuels, octane enhancers and chemical intermediates used in the production of new plastic and rubber.

RES Polyflow's will focus on establishing independently operated energy recovery facilities as well as selling licensed equipment to energy park developers, recyclers, landfill operators and organizations managing large polymer waste streams. In addition to implementing the technology in North America, opportunities to export RES Polyflow's locally produced process equipment to Europe, China, India and Australia are being explored with strategic partners.
MRC

(Plastopedia) -- HellermannTyton Corp. hopes to begin production at its third plant in Milwaukee, said James Campion, president of the company's North America operations. The company plans to move about half of the equipment at its Faulkner Road plant to the new factory.

HellermannTyton received a USD2.75 million loan from MEDC, a business lender affiliated with the City of Milwaukee, to help finance the USD6.5 million project.

The company, which does plastic injection and extrusion molding, makes products for bundling, labeling, protecting and connecting wires and cable. Its customers include Navistar International Corp., Ford Motor Co., Freightliner Trucks, a division of Daimler Trucks North America LLC, Deere & Co. and Caterpillar Inc.

HellermannTyton is a leading, global manufacturer of systems and solutions which help world-class customers better manage and identify wire, cable, and components. Located in over 30 countries, HellermannTyton offers an integrated approach in the design, manufacturing, and delivery of its products which result in higher quality and lower costs for our customers.
MRC