BASF used innovative products to created a unique show car

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF has created a unique “MySetta” show car based on a 1958 BMW Isetta 250. The MySetta is a two-seater that you enter through the front. Innovative BASF products were used to give the car a modern outfit. The MySetta’s chassis, the body, the add-on parts and its interior were completely refurbished. For the overhaul, BASF paints, coated fabrics and flexible foam were used.



BASF’s broad portfolio made this individual project possible. Whether for polyurethane foams for ergonomically correct seats, lightweight engine mounts made of plastic, or unusual coatings, BASF is the world’s largest automotive supplier in the chemical industry. “The automotive industry is one of the BASF Group’s most important customer segments. In order to consolidate the activities and competencies, a lively exchange takes place in the cross-divisional teams,” said Harald Pflanzl, Head of Automotive Refinish Europe at BASF.



The automotive industry is one of BASF’s key customer industries, accounting for up to 15 percent of the Group’s total sales. As the world’s leading automotive supplier in the chemical industry, BASF is recognized as a reliable and competent partner by carmakers, suppliers, and the after-sales market. With a strong presence in Europe, Africa, North and South America, as well as in Asia, BASF has a global industry network. It supplies and develops functional materials and solutions that contribute to the vehicles of today and of the future. From engineering plastics, polyurethane and specialty foams, coatings and fuel additives to catalysts, battery materials, pigments, synthetic lubricants, coolants, brake fluids and chemicals for leather and textiles, BASF supplies a broad range of products for use in the automotive industry. Sales to the automotive industry in 2012 were EUR9.5 billion.

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LyondellBasell entered into a new contract with CEO James L. Gallogly

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell announced that it has entered into a new contract with CEO James L. Gallogly and taken other steps to ensure continued strong leadership and executive continuity at the company.


"The company has been transformed in recent years under the talented leadership team that Jim has assembled and led," said Robert G. Gwin, chairman of the supervisory board. "The company emerged from bankruptcy in May 2010 and is now a member of the S&P 500 with an investment-grade credit rating. It has advanced every facet of its business goals, including safe and reliable operations, strict cost control, asset refurbishments and a significant capital growth program," Gwin said. Total shareholder return over this period, assuming dividends were reinvested into the stock, has been approximately 400 percent.


Gallogly's new contract will become effective May 14, 2014. Gallogly's original employment agreement was entered into in May 2009 when he joined the company during its bankruptcy proceedings and tied most of his realizable compensation to equity awards.


LyondellBasell is one of the world's largest plastics, chemical and refining companies and a member of the S&P 500. LyondellBasell manufactures products at 58 sites in 18 countries. LyondellBasell products and technologies are used to make items that improve the quality of life for people around the world including packaging, electronics, automotive parts, home furnishings, construction materials and biofuels.

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Bangladesh Petrochemical Company collaborates with DEFTA Partners


MOSCOW (MRC) -- Bangladesh Petrochemical Company Limited (BPCL), the first petrochemical company in Bangladesh to produce food grade PET plastic using recycled plastic bottles, hosted an investment agreement signing ceremony to join hands with DEFTA Partners, as per Plastemart. This is the first time that DEFTA Partners invested outside the technology arena, with the focus to help Bangladesh step forward with innovative eco-solutions.


DEFTA Partners is a venture capital firm primarily making investments in early stage IT companies with global opportunities to accelerate their growth. Their vision is to use advanced technology to realize a better future for the 21st century.

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Shell ethylene unit in Singapore shut for several months

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Royal Dutch Shell PLC is expected to shut its 800,000 tonnes per year (tpy) ethylene cracker in Bukom, Singapore, for maintenance and expansion works in the fourth quarter of 2014, trade sources informed Reuters on Friday.

The three-and-a-half-year old cracker, which uses naphtha, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and heavy liquid hydrocarbons as raw material, will be shut for at least two to three months, trade sources added.


Shell had in November 2012 announced plans to debottleneck the Singapore cracker and raise the capacity by more than 20 percent but did not elaborate on the exact shutdown time.


The steam cracker currently provides ethylene via pipelines to its 750,000 tpy monoethylene glycol (MEG) plant in Jurong Island, where it is also adding more new petrochemical units to make use of the ethylene raw material.
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DSM launches solutions in advanced thermoplastic composites for automotive applications

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Royal DSM, the global Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company, is launching a custom-made solution for structural and semi-structural applications, incorporating various types of continuous fiber reinforcements embedded in its advanced polyamides, according to the company's press release.

Together with several industry partners, DSM has developed advanced thermoplastic composites, which are initially aimed at the automotive industry.

"Car makers around the world continue to improve the fuel efficiency and sustainability of their products," says Rein Borggreve, Global Research and Technology Director at DSM. "Over the years, thermoplastics have provided various solutions, in the form of lightweight components and systems in the passenger compartment, in bodywork, and under the hood. DSM materials have proven important in making this trend to replace metal by plastics possible, in such applications as the air bag system and the oil sump. Now it’s time for the next step, with advanced thermoplastic composites."

Composites containing carbon fibers, based on DSM’s EcoPaXX polyamide 410, Akulon polyamide 6 and Stanyl polyamide 46, will facilitate significant weight reduction in automobile body and chassis parts, while glass fiber reinforced composites will be targeted at reducing the weight of semi-structural components. In all cases, the lightweighting will result in increased vehicle fuel efficiency and reduced emissions of carbon dioxide.

DSM is a partner in the four-year ENLIGHT project, which also includes car companies Jaguar Cars, Renault, Volkswagen and Volvo. Part of the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme, ENLIGHT aims to accelerate the technological development of a portfolio of materials, which together offer a strong potential to reduce weight and overall carbon footprint in medium-to-high volume electric vehicles (EVs) that could reach the market between 2020 and 2025.

As MRC reported earlier, DSM is going to invest about EUR100 million in three new R&D facilities in Delft and Sittard-Geleen (both in the Netherlands) over the next two years.

DSM delivers innovative solutions that nourish, protect and improve performance in global markets such as food and dietary supplements, personal care, feed, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, automotive, paints, electrical and electronics, life protection, alternative energy and bio-based materials. DSM’s 23,500 employees deliver annual net sales of about EUR9 billion.
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