Evonik starts up new plant in Shanghai for surfactants used in cosmetics and household products

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Evonik Industries, the German specialty chemicals company, has opened a new production facility for organic specialty surfactants in the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP) in Shanghai, China, as per the company's statement.

"With this investment, we are sustainably expanding our business in Asia. The new plant in Shanghai not only plays a key role in further consolidating our position in the Chinese market, but is also an important element of our strategy for the growth markets of the entire region," emphasized Dr. Klaus Engel, Chairman of the Executive Board of Evonik Industries AG, in his remarks at the opening ceremony.

The new facility has an annual capacity of around 80,000 metric tons. The investment volume was in the upper two-digit million Euro range. The production uses a number of different technologies, enabling Evonik to offer a broad portfolio of locally manufactured products. These include specialty surfactants from renewable resources that are used in personal care and hygiene products, household cleaning agents, and industrial applications.

Evonik already operates a similar plant in Bekasi, Indonesia, mainly serving manufacturers in the personal and household care industries in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

The market for laundry care products in Asia is driven by consumer desire for a more comfortable and convenient lifestyle. The Chinese cosmetics market, Asia’s single largest, has been growing in double-digits and is expected to continue growing in this range. The Chinese market for cosmetic ingredients follows this trend.

As MRC reported earlier, this summer, Evonik launched its Composites Project House, based primarily in Marl, with a branch in Darmstadt, to develop new materials and system solutions for the lightweight construction sector.

Evonik, the industrial group from Germany, is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. Its activities focus on the key megatrends health, nutrition, resource efficiency and globalization. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world. In fiscal 2012 more than 33,000 employees generated sales of around EUR13.6 billion and an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of about EUR2.6 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Dutch food and chemicals group DSM stuck to its 2013 operating profit target of close to EUR1.4 billion (USD1.9 billion), up 27% from last year, thanks to acquisitions and the strength of its human and animal nutrition business, said Reuters.

The company said on Tuesday it was still exploring ways to reduce its exposure to the low-margin market for caprolactam, the raw material for a type of nylon with a wide range of uses from food packaging and fish nets to carpets and car parts.

The caprolactam business has hit results this year, and DSM said it was still looking at options ranging from partnerships to divestment, as well as searching for a partner with which to expand its pharmaceuticals business in Asia.

DSM shares rose more than 2% in early trading to stand at EUR57.00. DSM shifted strategy in 2010 and has spent more than EUR2.2 billion on acquisitions as it moved away from lower-margin bulk chemicals to focus on less cyclical businesses including food ingredients and high-end plastics.

DSM reported third-quarter EBITDA of EUR342 million, up 27% from a year ago, on revenue of EUR2.4 billion, up 4%. Analysts in a poll commissioned by Reuters had forecast EBITDA of 340 million, and revenue of 2.49 billion.

As MRC wrote before, Royal DSM signed a partnership agreement with long fibre thermoplastic (LFT) specialist Plasticomp (Winona, Minnesota / USA) to develop bio-based LFT composite materials based on DSM’s "EcoPaXX" polyamide 4.10.

Royal DSM is a global science-based company active in health, nutrition and materials. 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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The High Performance Elastomers (HPE) business unit of specialty chemicals group Lanxess has increased its prices for nitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) globally effective November 1, 2013, reported the company on its site.

The price adjustment per metric ton for NBR is EUR60 for specialties and EUR100 for standard qualities. In Dollar markets the adjustment per metric ton is USD150 for specialties and USD200 for standard qualities.

This adjustment is unavoidable because the costs for raw materials have risen significantly.

Marketed under the Lanxess brand names Perbunan, Krynac and Baymod N, the rubber grade NBR is used for seals, hoses in hydraulic and pneumatic applications or blankets for rolls.

The HPE business unit is part of Lanxess’ Performance Polymers segment, which recorded sales of EUR 5.18 billion in fiscal 2012.

As MRC informed previously, Lanxess has recently developed a new polyester material grade based on polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The new material grade - Pocan TP 555-001 - is excellently suited to manufacturing housings, sockets and other components for light-emitting diodes (LED). What makes the product unique is its excellent light reflection, which hardly declines at all over time, and its high heat stability. Besides, it is reinforced with glass fibers and contains special additives.

Lanxess is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR9.1 billion in 2012 and roughly 17,400 employees in 31 countries. The company is currently represented at 50 production sites worldwide. The core business of Lanxess is the development, manufacturing and marketing of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialty chemicals.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The global automotive plastics revenue is expected to grow from USD21,617 mln in 2012 to USD46,112 mln by 2018 at an estimated CAGR of 13.4% from 2013 to 2018, as per Plastemart with reference to MarketsandMarkets.

In 2012, Asia-Pacific was leading in the automotive plastics consumption volume by 50.5%, followed by Europe (28%), North America (11.3%), and rest of the world (10.1%). Among these regions polypropylene leads consumption by 37%, followed by polyurethanes (PU) (17.3%), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) (12.3%), composites (11.5%), high density polyethylene (HDPE) (10.8%), polycarbonates (PC) (6.8%), and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) (4.4%), due to their easy forming properties and their availability at cheaper price than other materials.

The automotive plastics are among one of the widely preferred alternatives for light-weighting of automobile as they offer enhanced properties such as superior impact strength, easy mold-ability, improved aesthetics, and reduced weight as compared to conventional automotive components such as High speed steel (HSS) and Aluminum. The increasing demand of passenger cars and the supply to fulfill the same in Asia-Pacific is one of the main drivers for increasing consumption of automotive plastics globally.

As MRC wrote earlier, BASF opens new center in Thailand for Asian growing automotive market. BASF has set up a new Coatings Technical Competence Center ASEAN in Bangkok, Thailand. This new facility supports technical and laboratory activities mainly in motorcycle coatings including technology transfer, product development, performance testing, color design and development, and houses a sales and marketing team as well as a technical service team of more than 20 professionals, all catering to motorcycle manufacturers in the ASEAN region.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Plans by Mexican state-run oil monopoly Pemex to build a new USD10 billion refinery in the eastern state of Hidalgo do not appear in the company's updated five-year business plan, but a Pemex spokesperson said on Saturday that the project has not been formally cancelled, said Reuters.

While some local media was reporting that the refinery project had been cancelled, Pemex said it had not made any such announcement.

"We have not said the project is being terminated," said a Pemex spokesperson, speaking on condition of anonymity in accordance with company policy.

To date, only a wall enclosing the perimeter of the project has been completed at Tula, 51 miles (82 km) north of Mexico City.

In September, Pemex announced a USD3.5 billion expansion of the existing refinery at Tula, the country's second biggest, near the planned the location for the new refinery. The existing Tula refinery can process 325,000 bpd.

Pemex's updated 184-page business plan was issued on Friday and details projects from the company's four subsidiaries from 2014 through 2018.

The plan does note that gasoline projects at Pemex's Tula and Salamanca refineries "will suffer major deviations due to disagreements over the allocation process and poor contractor performance," but does not further detail the plans for the Tula refinery.

As MRC wrote before, Pemex) said one person was killed while five others suffered injuries on Tuesday afternoon when an explosion rocked its crude oil refinery in the state of Hidalgo. The incident took place at the Miguel Hidalgo refinery which is situated in the town of Tula.

Pemex, Mexican Petroleum, is a Mexican state-owned petroleum company. Pemex has a total asset worth of USD415.75 billion, and is the world's second largest non-publicly listed company by total market value, and Latin America's second largest enterprise by annual revenue as of 2009. Company produces such polymers, as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene.MRC