Dow introduces new polyurethane insulation technology

(Dow) -- Dow Polyurethanes, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company, in cooperation with Cannon SpA, announced yesterday that PASCAL Polyurethane Insulation Technology for household refrigerators and freezers is now available to retrofit to existing production lines.

The company created a new solution to enable customers to use PASCAL Technology by upgrading their production lines, but not having to build a brand new line, said Mark Bassett, global vice president for Dow Polyurethanes.

Launched in 2011 and available to manufacturers as a complete production line for household refrigerators, PASCAL is a polyurethane foam insulation technology that improves energy efficiency in refrigerators and freezers by up to 10 percent.

The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. It is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene, polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, and synthetic rubber.
MRC

(Solvay) -- Solvay has announced a capacity increase of 70% at its Panoli plant, India, for the production of its high performance polymers KetaSpire polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and AvaSpire polyaryletherketones (PAEK).

Panoli is Solvay's largest plant worldwide for these two innovative ultra performance polymers that tower at the top of the plastics performance pyramid. Nearly half of this capacity increase has already been implemented and successfully brought on-line. The second phase of the project will be completed by mid 2013 and will allow the plant to continue to satisfy growth in demand.

The products are used in a diverse range of applications spanning many industries including aeronautic, automotive (mechanical components in cars), healthcare, electronics, oil & gas exploration and production, and process industries such as semiconductor manufacturing.

As MRC reported earlier, last week Solvay announced its acquisition of a controlling stake in Sunshield Chemicals, an Indian company specializing in surfactants, and some months ago it opened a major innovation centre in Savli (Gujarat State).

With this investments, the Group reaches a new milestone in realizing its ambition to double its sales in India by 2015.
MRC

(Arkema) -- Arkema has announced recently its 2016 ambition to become a world leader in specialty chemicals and advanced materials.

With a selective and profitable growth strategy, the Group targets sales of 8 billion euros and an EBITDA margin of 16% in 2016 while maintaining gearing below 40%. The Group also intends to maintain its pace of development and aims to achieve sales of 10 billion euros with an EBITDA margin close to 17% in 2020.

The acquisition of Hipro Polymers and Casda Biomaterials in China beginning of this year and the divestment of its Vinyl business beginning of July, were the last steps of the highly successful turnaround of Arkema into a strong player in specialty chemicals.

To achieve its 2016 targets, the Group will continue to implement its profitable growth strategy focusing on end-markets and countries offering a strong potential for development.

Arkema is a leading European supplier of chlorochemicals and PVC.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Prices keep growing in the foreign markets. This week, Chinese PVC makers announced an increase in export prices. Suppliers of North-American PVC also plan to get a price rise in October, report MRC analysts.

Chinese makers announced a further increase in export prices on the back of a major rise of enquiries for PVC from Russian traders. Chinese PVC makers’ export prices have risen on average by USD30/tonne since early September. Export quotas of Xinjiang Zhongtai company are expected to increase due to the launch of the first line at the third plant in Fukang.

Suppliers of North-American PVC are going to get an increase in prices for October shipments by USD40-60/tonne on the limited export quotas and high demand in the main export markets. Thus, PVC price-offers are voiced at the level of USD1,070/tonne, CFR St Petersburg, while in early September they were voiced for shipments in the first half of October at USD1,030-1,040/tonne, CFR St Petersburg.

European makers have refrained from commentaries regarding the October price-level for the time being. September volumes were contracted on average at EUR840-870/tonne, FCA, which makes European PVC uncompetitive in the Russian market on the back of strengthening of euro exchange rate against the dollar and Russian rouble.
MRC

(plastech) -- Polyethylene manholes, innovative product developed by Asperbras and Brinquedos Bandeirante with the support of Braskem, emerge as a faster and safer option for sewage infrastructure works.

The infrastructure sector now has another solution for expediting and improving the quality of basic sanitation works in Brazil: rotomolded polyethylene (PVs) maintenance holes.

Given its characteristics, rotomolded manholes are adaptable to any soil type. A concrete manhole weighs some 700 kg, while the polyethylene equivalent weighs 70 kg. The product's overall cost is also lower, since it requires zero maintenance and has a lower installation cost.

Braskem is a Brazilian petrochemical company headquartered in Sao Paulo. The company is the largest petrochemical company in the Americas by production capacity and the fifth largest in the world. It is also the largest biopolymer producer in the world and the main Brazil's producer of polyethylene and polypropylene.
MRC