PACCOR invests in Netherlands expansion

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PACCOR Packaging Solutions, has announced further investment plans as part of its development strategy to become a major player in rigid food packaging in both the Food Service and the Consumer Goods market sectors, said Paccor.

The transformation of PACCOR’s Dutch-based business has featured full investment and support in site development, combined with new thermo-forming machinery and state-of-the art automation with advanced data collection technology.

This significant investment, worth GBR9.4 million (EUR11 million), in both Standdaarbuiten and Nijkerk highlights the ambition and growth strategy of PACCOR’s Food Service division, based in the Netherlands.

Chris Hart, managing director for PACCOR Food Service Europe, said: "Our continuing investment demonstrates to the industry that we are now focusing on the future with great optimism. We look to continue our growth and development in the Food Service packaging industry through investment in our people, existing facilities and targeting sustainable growth opportunities".

He added: "We believe that our investments will allow us to increase our significant market share. We will continue to develop new products for the market and to seek out alternative materials that can enhance performance, are environmentally friendly and minimize the risk of continuing volatility of escalating raw material prices".

As MRC wrote before, Polish Synthos has agreed to supply polystyrene (PS) to PACCOR last year.

PACCOR Food Service products include rigid packaging for the food packaging industry, notably salad bowls, meat and fish trays, beer and beverage cups and vending cups for the disposable packaging industry.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A.Schulman, a global plastic supplier, has announced that it dropped its bid for Ferro. The announcement was made about four months after A. Schulman had offered USD563 million for Ferro, according to GV with reference to Reuters.

A.Schulman first contacted Ferro in November 2012 and expressed its interest in Ferro in a letter on February 13, but was rebuffed. A formal offer in March was also rejected. A. Schulman said the acquisition would help cut costs and widen its customer pool.

Reuters cites A. Schulman Chief Executive Joe Gingo: “We have given Ferro's board ample time to come back to us to initiate a discussion…At this time, this has not happened, so we have decided to look elsewhere for acquisition opportunities."

We remind that, as MRC wrote previously, in mid-2012 A. Schulman Inc. inked a definitive agreement to acquire ECM Plastics, a privately owned plastics compounder located in Worcester, Mass., for USD36.5 million. Besides, Jeddah-based National Petrochemical Industrial Company (Natpet), a subsidiary of Alujain Corporation, entered into a joint venture agreement with A. Schulman to produce polypropylene compounds.

A. Schulman is a global plastics supplier, headquartered in Akron, Ohio, and a leading international supplier of high-performance plastic compounds and resins, which are used as raw materials in a variety of markets. A. Schulman has 33 manufacturing facilities globally. A. Schulman's fiscal third-quarter earnings fell 69% amid continued sluggishness in European markets and higher-than-expected costs in Latin America, where the company has been consolidating its Brazilian operations.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Hungarian petrochemicals output will struggle with poor market conditions, but following a 23% drop in olefins and polyolefins in 2012, it should see a modest improvement, according to BMI forecasts.

However, the industry is far from a recovery and it could be at least two years before it approaches pre-recession production levels. Diversification of production in isocyanates and butadiene should enable Hungarian petrochemicals producers to capitalise on the country's position as a production centre for the European automotives industry.

Hungarian petrochemicals producer MOL reported a sharp drop in petrochemicals output in 2012, indicating that it has been badly hit by the downturn in EU demand, particularly at its domestic operations. In the olefins segment, ethylene and propylene output slumped 20% year-on-year (y-o-y) to 628,000 tonnes and 321,000 tonnes respectively. The reductions were largely in response to a 20% fall in polymer sales - with low density polyethylene (LDPE) output down 33% y-o-y to 165,000 tonnes, high density polyethylene (HDPE) output down 17% to 447,000 tonnes and polypropylene (PP) also down 17% to 447,000 tonnes. The broad-based decline followed the trend reported in H211. The situation in H212 picked up slightly following a dismal Q212, but was still poor by historical standards.

A better than expected performance in Q412 ensured that the decline in petrochemicals output was slightly below BMI's forecast of 25%, at 23%.

2013 is likely to remain challenging and output will continue to remain below par due to poor market performances, although due to base effects the industry is not expected to contract further.

TVK's 65,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) LDPE No.2 installation in Tiszaujvaros remained out of action in Q113 following a fire that broke out at the plant in October 2012. The company stated that the plant was continuing with reconstruction, but the start-up schedule could be delayed until the beginning of August. This will weigh on petrochemicals output in 2013.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Total Petrochemicals & Refining USA has shut two sulfur-recovery units, or SRUs, at its Port Arthur Refinery in Texas, reported 4-traders with reference to the filing to local environmental regulators made available Wednesday.

SRUs 819 and 836 were taken out of service Tuesday to minimize emissions caused by a malfunction at the 819 unit.

The report to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality didn't specify when the units would be returned to service; the current status is not clear.

Total's Port Arthur refinery is able to process up to 174,000 barrels of crude oil a day.

We remind that, as MRC informed previously, in April 2013, Total Petro Chemicals and Refining USA reported an a regional power failure caused upsets at multiple units at its Port Arthur Refinery, including a fire at one of the Vacuum Distillation Units. Earler, in January 2013, the company unveiled a malfunction in the sulfur recovery unit of its Port Arthur refinery. The malfunction resulted in increased emissions at the 225,500-barrel-a-day refinery.

Total, one of the world's leading petrochemicals companies with business in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia. Total has two main product groups: base chemicals and the consumer polymers (polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene) that are derived from them.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Dow Chemical celebrates with customers and local authorities the 5th anniversary of production launch in Ramenskoye, Russia, reported the company on its site.

Registered in 2003 and with the first batch produced in 2008, LLC FINNDISP, affiliate of The Dow Chemical Company, is a recognized supplier in Russia and CIS of polymer dispersions used in variety of applications ranging from scotch packaging, to architectural and industrial coatings, and applied as lubricants in primers and water-based adhesives.

"The manufacturing facility in Ramenskoye is one of Dow’s key assets in Russia and CIS - a region where we have been continuously present for almost 40 years," commented Peter de Groot, country manager of Dow in Russia and CIS. "Our Ramenskoye plant is state of the art and has high quality and EH&S standards - which is the outstanding achievement and result of hard work and continued commitment of every single employee. We are extremely proud to welcome today our customers and local authorities at our premises to share the excitement and jointly celebrate the business success," concluded Peter.

"5 years of sustainable operations is a significant milestone for our company, every single employee, our customers and the local community of Ramenskoye. During these years we have been providing our customers with the differentiation they need to succeed, earning their respect daily," said Sergey Bendenko, general director and site leader of LLC FINNDISP.

Employees, customers, local authorities and journalists attended the official ceremony, held on June 26, 2013 at the site location in Ramenskoye, Moscow Region. The attendees were also invited to join the plant tour and learn more about the manufacturing process, product portfolio and various applications in the industry.

With almost 40 years of continued presence in Russia and CIS, and supported by its experience, size and global presence, Dow is passionately committed to further developing closer partnership with the local companies to keep growing the business, while significantly accelerating the growth of the chemical industry in the region and to jointly increasing its competitiveness in an international context.

In 2012, Dow in Russia and CIS had annual sales of over USD700 million. In addition to its representation offices in Moscow and Sochi (Russia), Kiev (Ukraine) and Astana (Kazakhstan), the company has two manufacturing facilities in Ramenskoye (Moscow Region) for the production of additives for paints and coatings, and in Vladimir where the Dow Izolan joint venture company inaugurated in 2009 its new, large and state-of-the-art manufacturing plant for the production of polyurethane systems.

We remind that, as MRC informed previously, the chemical producer had already unveiled plans to shut 20 facilities and eliminate 2,400 jobs in Europe, the U.S. and Japan. It also is trimming capital expenditure as part of efforts to boost cost savings to USD2.5 billion from a target that had already been doubled to USD1.5 billion over the past year.

The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene, polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, and synthetic rubber. In 2012, Dow had annual sales of approximately USD57 billion. The company's more than 5,000 products are manufactured at 188 sites in 36 countries across the globe.
MRC