Showa Denko to dissolve consolidated subsidiary in Indonesia

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Showa Denko (SDK) has decided to dissolve its consolidated subsidiary PT. Showa Esterindo Indonesia (SEI) and terminate its production of ethyl acetate in Indonesia, at its 50,000 tpa plant, said Plastemart.

SDK holds 66.98% stake in the company, PT. Adiguna Eka Sentra holds 20.22%, Toyota Tsusho Corporation holds 9.43%, while the balance 3.37% is held by CLP International Pte. Ltd. Production in SEI will be stopped by the end of 2014. After demolition and removal of the production facility, SEI will be dissolved and liquidated without delay.

SEI was established in 1997 for the purpose of producing and selling ethyl acetate in the Southeast Asian market, and started to produce ethyl acetate in 1999 as SDK's first plant to introduce our proprietary technology to synthesize ethyl acetate by adding ethylene directly to acetic acid.

Since then, the demand for ethyl acetate in Southeast Asia had been stable for a while. In recent years, however, the business environment for SEI has become harder than before because of rises in material prices and expansion of the capacities of neighboring countries to supply ethyl acetate. Under these circumstances, SDK and its partners have concluded, after deliberation, that it is difficult to continue SEI's operations, and recently decided to dissolve the company.

SDK had already incorporated the expected loss accompanying this dissolution into the projected business results for the year ending December 31, 2014 announced on July 31, 2014.

As MRC wrote previously, last year, Mitsubishi Corporation (MC), a major petrochemical producer, and Showa Denko K.K. (SDK) entered into a strategic partnership in the Fullerene business.

Fullerene is a molecule composed entirely of carbon. It takes the form of a soccer ball and is one nanometer (one-millionth of a millimeter) in diameter. As the molecule is soluble in organic solvents and is an excellent electron acceptor, it is seen as a promising material in the field of electronics, particularly for such applications as n-type material for organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells.

Showa Denko K.K. is mainly engaged in the petrochemical business. The Petrochemical segment manufactures and sells olefin, organic chemicals and others. The Chemical Product segment supplies chemicals, industrial gases, special gas and functional drug for semiconductors, functional high molecular materials, among others.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Imports of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) into Kazakhstan increased by 77% over the first eight months of 2014 and reached 46,100 tonnes, reported MRC analysts.

August imports of unblended PVC to Kazakhstan dropped to 6,400 tonnes from a peak in July (8,700 tonnes). Thus, the overall PVC imports to the local market surged from January to August 2014 to 46,100 tonnes from 26,100 tonnes a year earlier. Such a serious increase in PVC supplies was caused by further re-imports, including to Russia.

Chinese producers with this year's share of over 95% in the local market are the main PVC suppliers to the local market because of the geographical factor.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Bayer has completed the acquisition of the consumer care business of the US pharmaceuticals group Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, as per the company's press release.

The transaction closed on October 1, 2014, following receipt of required antitrust approvals.

"This acquisition is a milestone for Bayer and we intend to continue the expansion of our attractive over-the-counter business both through organic growth and bolt-on acquisitions," explained Bayer CEO Dr. Marijn Dekkers. Bayer paid a purchase price of USD 14.2 billion, less certain contingent amounts held back that will be payable upon antitrust approvals in Mexico and the Republic of Korea. Integration of the acquired business has been successfully initiated.

The acquisition significantly enhances Bayer's over-the-counter (OTC) business across multiple therapeutic categories and geographies. Pro forma sales of the combined businesses in 2013 amounted to USD 7.4 billion (EUR 5.5 billion), with Merck & Co., Inc.’s business contributing approximately USD 2.2 billion.

The acquisition will give Bayer the global number two position in non-prescription medication - behind the combined OTC businesses of Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline, following the completion of their announced joint venture in 2015, and ahead of the world's previous industry leader Johnson & Johnson.

Within a highly diverse industry, Bayer is now the OTC leader in North and Latin America and the leader in dermatology and gastrointestinal treatments, two of the five most important non-prescription health care product categories. The company has advanced to the number two position in the cold, allergy, sinus and flu category and remains the number two in nutritionals and number three in analgesics.

Bayer expects the integration of the businesses to generate significant cost synergies – particularly in marketing spend and cost of goods – in the neighborhood of USD 200 million per year by 2017. Revenue synergies from increased commercial presence and leveraging Bayer’s substantial global infrastructure in key growth regions to roll out the Merck brands ex-US are expected to amount to approximately USD 400 million by 2017. Bayer anticipates one-time costs of approximately USD 0.5 billion for executing the transaction and combining the businesses, primarily in 2014/2015. The acquisition is expected to yield a positive contribution of 2 percent to core earnings per share already in the first year after closing.

As MRC reported earlier, Bayer intends in the future to focus entirely on the Life Science businesses – HealthCare and CropScience – and float MaterialScience on the stock market as a separate company. It is planned to float the MaterialScience business on the stock market as a separate company within the next 12 to 18 months. In this way Bayer is positioning itself as a world-leading company in the field of human, animal and plant health.

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, agriculture and high-tech polymer materials. As an innovation company, it sets trends in research-intensive areas. Bayer’s products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. At the same time, the Group aims to create value through innovation, growth and high earning power
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Flexible packaging firm Amcor Ltd. is rapidly expanding its presence in the Asian market. The company’s top official in the region said it will soon announce plans for a new plant, said Plasticsnews.

"We are planning to set-up a greenfield plant in a Southeast Asian country. We are working on location and investment and would likely to make announcement by December this year," said Ralf Wunderlich, president & managing director, Amcor Flexibles Asia Pacific, in an interview with Plastics News at the Speciality Film & Flexible Packaging Conference in Mumbai.

The move is part of company’s growth strategy. Melbourne, Australia-based Amcor recorded sales of nearly USD10 billion last year, with about 30% coming from emerging markets.

In another part of its emerging market strategy, Amcor in May signed an agreement to buy an Indonesian flexible packaging business, Jakarta-based Bella Prima Packaging Ltd., for USD25.2 million. Bella Prima has two plants and about 1,000 employees, and specializes in shrink sleeve, labels and lids.

Ralf said Amcor expects to complete that deal in 2014. Amcor also is expanding capacity at its two Indian plants.
"Growth has become softer in India in about last couple of years but we have decided to expand capacities of our two plants in Haridawar and Baroda," Ralf said. Capacity in Haridwar will grow about 30%, while Baroda will be doubled.

"We have observed the push is coming back in this market and doubling of Baroda plant capacity would be in line with growth prospects in near future," he said.

Amcor wants a larger stake in the Indian packaged food industry, which is projected to reach USD30 billion by 2015.
Amcor generates more than USD100 million in sales in India. The company plans to introduce products there with an emphasis on sustainability and product safety.

Amcor Limited is an Australian-based multinational packaging company. It operates manufacturing plants in 42 countries. It is the world's largest manufacturer of plastic bottles.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF is one of the first plastics manufacturers to expand its PBT (polybutylene terephthalate) product line by a new special grade optimized for the production of air-tight coffee capsules that retain the aroma, as per the company's press release.

This engineering plastic goes by the name Ultradur B1520 FC (FC: food contact) and it combines excellent barrier properties against moisture and oxygen, while above all, containing the aromas, without a need for any additional complex coatings. This distinguishes these Ultradur capsules from other injection-molded capsules, which are usually packaged individually, as well as from multilayered thermoset capsules. Injection molding is the adequate processing technique for the production of upscale coffee capsules with their exacting design.

With its food-contact certification, this new grade is suitable not only for coffee capsules but also for thin-walled injection-molded packaging for cosmetics and food products.

Besides, as the first manufacturer of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), BASF has successfully optimized the material so that it can be applied extensively and unpainted on the vehicle exterior. The automotive manufacturer PSA Peugeot Citroen uses the new TPU grade Elastollan AC 55D10 HPM (High Performance Material) for cladding the Citroen C4 Cactus with so-called Airbumps. This world first is the result of many years of development work between the French automotive manufacturer, the supplier Rehau of Switzerland and BASF. Airbumps are large air-filled cushion bumpers in contrasting colors: They are fitted on the sides as well as on the front and rear of the vehicle, protect the car exterior from impact and scratches and give the vehicle its distinctive look.

The trend towards miniaturization and thinner walls in electrical and electronics applications continues apace and BASF has developed multiple product families with new and improved UL listing.

The flame-resistant Ultradur types B4406 G2/ G4/ G6 (polybutylene terephthalates) are classified according to UL94 V-0 from a wall thickness of 0.4 mm. Now the listing has been expanded to include the relative temperature index (RTI) for 0.4 mm. The high RTI values for dielectric strength remain consistently high at 140 C. The product family therefore is especially suitable for increasingly powerful electrical plugs, power strips and housing components. These can now be produced with lower wall thicknesses.

The newly developed Ultramid A3U42G6, too, a halogen-free, flame-retardant, glass fiber-reinforced polyamide meets fire protection class V-0 according to UL94 from a wall-thickness of 0.4 mm. The heat aging resistance was significantly improved over glass fiber-filled polyamide types such that the material, with an RTI value for dielectric strength at 140 C with a 0.4 mm wall-thickness and even 150 C at 0.75 mm and more, is suitable for use at higher temperatures. The new Ultramid A3U42G6 is also distinguished by extremely easy processing with reduced deposit formation. The flame retardant system shows no migration effects and thus ensures higher-quality component surfaces. Possible application areas include control, contactors and connectors.

Ultraform S2320 003 PRO (polyoxymethylene), specially developed by BASF to meet the particular requirements of the medical technology sector, has made an impressive debut in the Skin Stretcher product from BioWim GmbH, primarily for its reduction of the friction between touching functional components, the combination of high rigidity with outstanding resilience as well as very good flowability. The material also provides demonstrated compliance with international standards for the use of plastics in medical technology. Skin Stretcher is an implement for treating or closing large wounds after operations or accidents.

Rethinking Materials – this is the thought experiment posed by BASF and the design agency DING 3000 which led to the "Concept 1865" bicycle - a bike that takes on the appearance of the penny-farthing bicycle that was popular at the time of BASF's founding in 1865. The electric bicycle incorporates over 20 different, in some cases very innovative, plastics, from polyurethanes to thermoplastics, foams, epoxy resins and composite products that BASF subsumes under the heading "Performance Materials."

As MRC wrote before, in July 2014, BASF Shanghai Coatings Co., Ltd. inaugurated its new automotive coatings plant at the Shanghai Chemicail Industry Park in Shanghai, China. The expansion of its automotive coatings production capacity with an investment of around EUR50 million further strengthens BASF’s presence in China and its position as a leading coatings supplier to the automotive industry.

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