BASF increases prices for ethyleneamines in Europe

MOSCOW (MRC) -- With immediate effect, or as existing contracts permit, BASF, the world's petrochemical major, is increasing its European sales prices for Ethyleneamines (EEA), as per the company's statement.

The price increase will be as follows: ethylenediamine (EDA) - by EUR50/tonne, diethylenetriamine (DETA) - EUR50/tonne or by the equivalent amounts in local currency.

The price increase will also apply to current supply agreements as soon as and to the extent permitted by their terms and conditions.

Ethyleneamines are high-class intermediates used in the manufacture of crop protection agents and paper chemicals, surfactants for detergents and cleaning products, process chemicals for gas treatment, lubricants and cement additives as well as active pharmaceutical ingredients.

BASF produces ethyleneamines at its Verbund sites in Antwerp, Belgium and Nanjing, China.

As MRC wrote previously, BASF increased its May prices for all its Lupranat MDI (methylene diphenyl diisocyanate) basic products by EUR70 per metric ton and for its Lupranat TDI (toluene diisocyanate) basic products by EUR50 per metric ton in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East and Africa).

BASF is the world’s leading chemical company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. BASF had sales of about EUR74 billion in 2013 and over 112,000 employees as of the end of the year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- KraussMaffei is supplying four injection molding machines manufactured in China to BSH Bosch and Siemens Hausgerate GmbH (BSH) in China, said the company in its press release.

The large MX-series machines will be delivered to the BSH facility in Nanjing from KraussMaffei's Chinese plant in Haiyan, where they will be used to produce washing-machine tubs. BSH Nanjing has already been using linear robots from KraussMaffei since 2008.

KraussMaffei has supplied BSH with complete production solutions for the fully automated manufacture of washing-machine tubs for many years. BSH manufactures these tubs in three large injection molding plants in Russia, Turkey and China. The company has ordered four new large machines from the MX Series, two of which were put into operation back in February 2014, for their plant in China. The other two MX 850-8100 machines will be installed there in the summer. The new MX machines are the first to be supplied to BSH directly from KraussMaffei's production plant in Haiyan.

Based on their positive experiences of collaborating with KraussMaffei, the BSH laundry experts decided to use the fully automated injection molding solutions consisting of the MX 850-8100 with LRX linear robots. Once the metal bushings required for the tub have been checked, the LRX 500 is used to place them into the mold and remove the finished parts. Bushings of varying diameters are needed depending on the size of the tub being made, and the robots provide these bushings quickly and in the correct size. Getting this right is especially important because the accuracy of the bushing/bearing unit design is a decisive factor in the longevity of the washing machines. These modular units from KraussMaffei Automation have been used to automate the production of injection-molded parts in China since 2008.

From its production plant in Haiyan, KraussMaffei supplies production solutions that are specially tailored to the needs of Asian customers and meet the company's globally applicable quality standards. The MX series of large machines, which are manufactured and assembled locally in China, are designed for use in the automotive, electronics, packaging and transport industries.

As MRC wrote before, Two leading pipe manufacturers from Russia have recently chosen KraussMaffei Berstorff as a systems supplier for premium-quality technology and invested in PO pipe extrusion systems. Isoljazionny Trubny Zawod (ITZ) is seeking to enter into a long-term partnership with KraussMaffei Berstorff. Polyplastic Group is already a satisfied KraussMaffei Berstorff customer and, consequently, has placed a follow-up order.

The KraussMaffei Group is a global leader in the plastics and rubber processing industries. The company covers all areas of injection molding machinery, extrusion technology and reaction process machinery, which gives it a unique selling point in the industry.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Alfa Laval has won an order to supply compact heat exchangers for the caustic evaporation plant of AkzoNobel in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The order, booked in the process industry segment, has a value of approximately SEK 120 million, and deliveries are scheduled for 2014 and 2015.

Alfa Laval’s compact heat exchangers will be used for concentrating caustic soda, an important ingredient in the chemical and petrochemical industries.

The compact heat exchangers will re-use heat from different steps of the evaporation process, thereby maximizing the energy efficiency and minimizing the energy use.

"This is Alfa Laval’s largest caustic installation to date and it will include our compact heat exchangers in a set-up that makes the process extremely energy efficient," said Lars Renstrom, CEO of the Alfa Laval Group.

As MRC wrote before, Alfa Laval won an order to supply Alfa Laval Packinox heat exchangers to an integrated refinery-petrochemical complex in the Middle East. The order, booked in the Process Industry segment, is worth approximately SEK 65 million and delivery is scheduled for 2014 and 2015.

Alfa Laval is a leading global provider of specialized products and engineering solutions based on its key technologies of heat transfer, separation and fluid handling. The company’s equipment, systems and services are dedicated to assisting customers in optimizing the performance of their processes. The solutions help them to heat, cool, separate and transport products in industries that produce food and beverages, chemicals and petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, starch, sugar and ethanol.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - This week prices for imported Chinese and Korean polyethylene terephthalate (PET) continued its rapid growth on increased feedstock costs in Asia (PTA, MEG and paraxylene). Price offers from Asian suppliers increased by USD45-75/tonne, according to ICIS-MRC Price Report.

Importers in Russia and Ukraine reported increased price for PET chips. Last week's prices for Chinese PET in eastern Russia were heard at USD1,310-1,340/tonne CIF Vostochny, excluding VAT; this week's prices for Chinese material increased to USD1,355-1,370/tonne CIF Vostochny, excluding VAT.

Price offer for Korean PET in Russia with the freight reached USD1,410-1,430/tonne CIF Vostochny, excluding VAT.
The demand for Russian PET has weakened this week. Converters reported carryovers of imported material, bought in spring in their stock inventories. At the same time, Russian factories are in no hurry to cut their PET prices significantly.

The rising cost of procurement in China and Korea will help to keep Russian PET prices at the current level in July, said the sellers of PET chips. Buyers in Ukraine reported prices for Chinese PET at the beginning of the week in the range of USD1,350-1,370/tonne CIF Odessa, excluding VAT. By Wednesday, PET prices in Ukraine rose to USD1,385-1,400/tonne CIF Odessa, excluding VAT.

Trading companies expected PET prices to increase next week in the Ukrainian market on the rising feedstock costs in Asia. Seasonal demand for PET chips, fears of oil supply disruption, and low capacity utilisation at PTA plants contributed to increase in PET prices.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PVC recycling continues to grow across Europe, with the UK contributing more than 20% - or 88,648 tonnes - to the total recycled through Recovinyl, the PVC industry's recycling scheme, in 2013, said Mhwmagazine.

A total of 435,083 tonnes of waste PVC was recycled through Recovinyl last year across its 16 European member countries. To date, the Recovinyl recycling network comprises 141 companies. Recovinyl is the operational arm of VinylPlus, the ten-year Voluntary Commitment of the European PVC industry, which is tackling the sustainability challenges for PVC and delivery of current recycling targets to 2020.

Waste PVC-U profiles comprised 50,421 tonnes of the UK's recycling effort in 2013, with pipes, rigid and flexible PVC films and cables making up the rest. This profile fraction is equivalent to the replacement of 3 million individual frames, or more than 300,000 homes based on an average of ten windows per house. The assumption is based on the weight of an average PVC-U window frame.

Having already established significant volumes of PVC recycling with Vinyl 2010, Recovinyl's strategy now is to consolidate and increase the steady supply of PVC waste being recycled in Europe by creating demand - a 'pull-market' for recycled PVC material - from the converting industry.

Potential new recycling opportunities for PVC include non-infectious medical PVC waste from hospitals, such as IV Fluid and oxygen bags. This type of waste is the focus of a new VinylPlus-funded research project undertaken jointly by Axion Consulting and the BPF Vinyls Group.

As part of its drive to increase PVC recycling, VinylPlus has issued new communications material showcasing the sector's achievements. The VinylPlus PVC Recycling Technologies brochure outlines some of the challenges and solutions for extending recycling of waste PVC, with an emphasis on the emerging technologies that can access the 'more difficult to recycle' waste streams.

Its 'Closing the Loop with PVC' document showcases best practice examples developed within the framework of the VinylPlus programme, such as extensive recycling of PVC products from the 2012 London Olympics. One of the objectives of the VinylPlus Voluntary Commitment is to recycle 800,000 tonnes of PVC waste per year by 2020, including 100,000 tonnes of difficult to recycle PVC through innovative recycling technologies.

As MRC wrote before, a group of European plastics converters, recyclers and collectors have completed a two-year project that looks at steps that can be taken to boost the use of post-consumer plastic scrap. The project was conducted by European Plastics Recyclers (EuPR) and the European Association of Plastics Recycling and Recovery Organisations (EPRO) in collaboration with the European Plastics Converters (EuPC), the European Association unoriented Polyester Films (EuPET), Recovinyl, the German company Cyclos GmbH and a few plastics recycling companies to perform the first pilot audits at factory level.
MRC