Dow takes next step with new investment in KSA

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Dow Chemical Company, the largest US chemical maker by sales, has awarded Fluor Corporation the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for its Reverse Osmosis (RO) manufacturing facility in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as per the company's press release.

Located in Jubail Industrial City II at the Sadara Chemical Company complex, the facility will locally manufacture high-tech RO elements that purify water for drinking and industrial uses.

This is Dow’s first facility of its kind built outside the United States with expected date of completion by end of 2015. The facility will supply the local Saudi Arabian market as well as the wider Middle East and Africa (MEA) region and markets with similar critical water needs, including Eastern Europe, India, China and South East Asia.

Saudi Arabia faces tremendous water scarcity and as a result, represents the largest seawater desalination markets in the world. The new Dow RO facility will not only bring local supply security of next generation technologies for water desalination but also a more cost effective water treatment solution as desalination via reverse osmosis has proven to be less energy-intensive compared to traditional thermal methods.

RO elements are used for demineralizing brackish water or desalinating seawater for a variety of sectors and industrial applications, including water treatment, power generation, food & beverage processing, municipal desalination and water reuse.

As MRC informed previously, Hanwha Chemical, one of South Korea's leading polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride producers, has picked Credit Suisse to advise on possible purchases from Dow Chemical's chloro-alkali business but its interest is still in the early stages.

In December 2013, Dow Chemical said it would separate its chlorine-related assets including its epoxy business as the company focuses on higher-margin activities. The chlorine assets account for as much as USD5 billion of annual revenue and include plants at 11 sites employing almost 2,000 people.

The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation. As of 2007, it is the second-largest chemical manufacturer in the world by revenue (after BASF) and as of February 2009, the third-largest chemical company in the world by market capitalization (after BASF and DuPont). Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene, polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, and synthetic rubber. In 2013, Dow had annual sales of more than USD57 billion and employed approximately 53,000 people worldwide. The company's more than 6,000 products are manufactured at 201 sites in 36 countries across the globe.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Borouge is in plans to start its new ethane cracker, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in the UAE informed that the Borouge 3 cracker is expected to start in June 2014. It was initially scheduled to start in end-May 2014 but the same was delayed. The reason behind the delay could not be ascertained.

The cracker has a production capacity of 1.5 million mt/year.

As MRC wrote before, Borealis and Borouge, leading providers of innovative, value-creating plastics solutions, have recently developed important material solutions to address specific challenges faced by the global automotive industry.

We remind that Borealis and Borouge announced the dedicated roll-out of the technology platform Borlink in Russia. Borlink was introduced by Borealis and Borouge as a technology platform offering a complete global package of power cable compounds and expertise serving applications for medium and high voltage (MV, HV), including extra high voltage (EHV) and high voltage direct current (HVDC).

Borouge is a joint venture between the Abu Dhabi National Oil company and Borealis.

Borealis is a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers. Borealis is headquartered in Vienna, Austria, and operates in over 120 countries with around 5,300 employees worldwide, generating EUR7.5 billion in sales revenue in 2012.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Wacker, the Munich-based chemical company, has reorganized its distribution network for silicone and polymer products in Central and Eastern Europe, reported the company on its site.

As part of a regional optimization process, the already existing partners IMCD, Euro-Him-1, Hellermann, Radka, Revada and Variachem will be entrusted with the distribution of Wacker’s product range for silicones and polymers.

Effective July 1, 2014, these partners will replace the previous distribution partner Brenntag CEE. The chemicals distributors IMCD, Euro-Him-1, Hellermann, Radka, Revada and Variachem are already distributing products from the Group’s silicones and polymers portfolio in different regions. As part of the reorganization of the distribution network in Central and Eastern Europe, Wacker is further extending these partnerships.

With over 3,000 highly specialized and innovative products, WACKER is also one of the largest silicone manufacturers worldwide. The portfolio ranges from silicone fluids, emulsions, resins, elastomers and sealants to silanes and pyrogenic silica. These products find application in such sectors as construction, chemicals, cosmetics, textiles, automotive, paper and electronics.

As MRC informed earlier, in 2013, Wacker Chemie AG officially launched its new production plant for ethylene-vinyl-acetate copolymer (EVA) dispersions at its Ulsan site in South Korea. The additional 40,000 tonnes from the second reactor line increases the site's EVA-dispersion capacity to a total of 90,000 tonnes per year. The production capacity of the site, thus, almost doubled, making the plant complex one of the biggest of its kind in South Korea.

Wacker Chemie AG is a worldwide operating company in the chemical business, founded 1914. The company is controlled by the Wacker-family holding more than 50 percent of the shares. The corporation is operating more than 25 production sites in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The product range includes silicone rubbers, polymer products like ethylene vinyl acetate redispersible polymer powder, chemical materials, polysilicon and wafers for semiconductor industry.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Lubrizol Corp. has received all necessary regulatory approvals to proceed with its previously announced chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) joint venture with Sekisui Chemical Co. in Thailand, said the company in its press release.

Lubrizol said the partners will invest about USD50-million to build a 30,000-t/y CPVC resin plant in the first phase. This phase, for which a specific location was not given, is expected to be fully operational by late 2014 or early 2015.

A second phase will double capacity to 60,000 t/y with a further USD50-million investment and is scheduled to begin production by the end of 2016.

Lubrizol's involvement in the joint venture is part of a multi-phased USD400-million expansion of the company's global CPVC resin and compounding manufacturing capacity. Lubrizol is building a new 55,000-t/y resin and 65,000-t/y compounding plant in Louisville, Ky., and a new compounding plant and warehouse in Dahej, India. In April 2014 Lubrizol announced the groundbreaking for a new TempRite chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) compounding plant in Dahej, India.

The Lubrizol Corporation, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is an innovative specialty chemical company that apart from its production develops and supplies technologies to customers in the global transportation, industrial and consumer markets. Lubrizol's advanced polymer technology delivers exceptional performance for the plumbing, fire sprinkler, industrial and other building and construction related applications. Lubrizol is providing innovative solutions for its customers high-performance application needs and remains committed to ongoing investment in its CPVC capabilities that support future growth.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- PolyOne Corporation, a premier global provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions, presented its specialty portfolio for automotive interiors to designers and engineers at the 2014 WardsAuto Interiors conference, reported the company on its site.

These advanced technologies, including soft-touch materials as well as colorants and special effects, enable customers to design new features that boost consumer appeal and reduce manufacturing complexity.

Recently, PolyOne introduced Geon VBX vinyl powder formulations based on innovative technologies that offer maximum design freedom and efficient production of soft-touch surfaces. These new materials meet or exceed OEM airbag safety requirements for instrument panels and provides up to 15% faster cycle times and 35% lower scrap rates, when compared to standard materials.

Additional featured solutions that provide design freedom and manufacturing improvements include:

- Paint-free metallic finish: OnColor FX Metal colorants – providing visually appealing metallic finishes without the need for a secondary painting process;
- Marking alternative: OnColor FastMark additives – enabling parts such as signal stalks and trunk/hood release handles to be permanently laser etched with images, symbols and words;
- Premium surfaces: OnColor FX Granite colorants – creating a premium fabric look on surfaces that utilize molded-in texture.

As MRC informed earlier, in February 2014, PolyOne Corporation announced the addition of new capabilities to its OnColor HC Plus portfolio. These expanded offerings add medical-grade LDPE, nylon, PEBA, PS and PVC to the globally available palette of specialty healthcare colorants, and are pre-certified to meet or exceed biocompatibility requirements for ISO 10993 and/or USP Class VI protocols.

PolyOne Corporation, with 2013 revenues of USD3.8 billion, is a global provider of specialized polymer materials, services, and solutions. PolyOne is a provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions with operations in specialty polymer formulations, color and additive systems, polymer distribution and specialty vinyl resins.
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