DuPont sells car paint business to Carlyle Group

(Canadian plastics) -- DuPont Co. has struck a deal to sell its car paint business to Washington-based investment firm Carlyle Group LP for USD4.9 billion. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2013.

This transaction is consistent with DuPont's vision to be the world’s most dynamic science company and long-term strategy of driving competitive advantages in agriculture and nutrition, advanced materials and biotechnology, which represent high-growth, high-margin opportunities, according to company sources.

DuPont’s performance coatings business primarily sells to auto paint refinishers. Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. are also key customers.

DuPont said it will still generate more than USD3 billion through sales of advanced materials to the auto industry. As part of the transaction, Carlyle will assume USD250 million of DuPont’s unfunded pension liabilities.
MRC

Trexel sets up a new subsidiary in China

(Canadian plastics) -- Trexel Inc. has established a Chinese subsidiary in Shenzhen in order to expand demand for its Mucell microcellular foaming technology. The company also has plans to open an additional satellite office in Shanghai.

Trexel (Shenzen) Technology Co will support Trexel’s operations in the Chinese market with a processing/engineering team, sales support personnel, technical and repair services as well as spare parts logistics. As part of the new subsidiary, an additional branch office, including development centre, is being established in Shanghai to support domestic and international automotive OEMs and Tier One suppliers.

From the global headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts, Trexel operates a state of the art plastics processing development laboratory, supporting plastics processors with the definition and implementation of leading and differentiating plastic molding technologies. In support of a global client base, Trexel operates subsidiaries in Europe, Japan and Southeast Asia with competent plastics processing engineering capabilities.
MRC

Indian Oil Corp to raise polymer prices

(plastemart) -- With effect from 1 September 2012, Indian Oil Corp has announced the following polymer price revisions:

HDPE/LLDPE/PP: Increase of Rs 2000/MT
PP/HD Raffia: TD increased from Rs 3000/MT to Rs 4000/MT
HD 010DP45U: TD of Rs 2500/MT applicable.

Customers who purchase from Vasai CS depot will be liable to pay 1.3% LBT. Purchase from within VASAI region and outside Vasai would be liable to pay 0.13% on sales value.

Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. is India's largest company by sales with a turnover of Rs. 4,09,957 crore (USD 85,550 million) and profit of Rs. 3,955 crore (USD 825 million) for the year 2011-12.
MRC

Dow to increase PE prices across Europe, Middle East and Africa

(plastermart) -- Dow Europe GmbH has announced a price increase for polyethylene (PE) resins across the European, Middle Eastern and African regions.

With effect from September 1, 2012, or as contract terms allow, Dow Europe GmbH will increase prices for all grades of its low-density polyethylene (LDPE), linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) resins by 250 Euros per metric tonne.

Dow is an American multinational chemical corporation. Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene, polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, and synthetic rubber. It is also a major producer of ethylene oxide, various acrylates, surfactants, and cellulose resins.
MRC

MRC analysts have undergone training at ICIS

MOSCOW (MRC) – MRC analysts have undergone training at ICIS London office, the world's largest petrochemical market information provider. A week’s training was arranged under the joint ICIS-MRC pricing business in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

During the meeting the analysts discussed the methodology of price-formation for polymer industry in Western Europe, Asia and the USA.

"We paid great attention to a daily working schedule of ICIS price-analysts," said Sergey Karaichentsev, editor of PE, PP and PVC price reports, "We also studied the experience of the British colleagues regarding work with contradictory information coming from different counterparties of the market. It turned out that ICIS analysts face the same situation as we do when price information on one producer may differ radically from different sources, i.e. when some market players claim that a producer is raising prices by EUR100/tonne while others say that he is reducing prices by EUR100/tonne, and the maker, in his turn, might announce in his press release that prices remain intact. In such a case, price editors can state quotations in their price reports rather intuitively than relying on players’ contradictory statements."

According to the Director of MRC Sergey Yaremenko, regular training of analysts is necessary to get ready for the expansion of the line of ICIS-MRC price reports: "We will have launched new price reports on polycarbonate, titanium dioxide, caustic, polyamide and polyurethane by the end of the current year. In 2013, ICIS-MRC plans to reach fundamentally new chemical CIS market with their products."

ICIS is the world's leading provider of the operative news and price information in the petrochemical, oil and energy markets. The company has offices in London, Houston, Singapore, New York, Washington, San Francisco, Shanghai and Mumbai.

MRC company, operating in the CIS countries under the brand of Market Report, provides market analytics on polymer market (polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, PVC and PET). MRC has been studying the markets of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan, and has been providing information to the industry's largest players.
MRC