Weakening of rouble reduced PET imports in Russia

MOSCOW (MRC) - The devaluation of the rouble against the dollar (40Rb=1USD) made Russian polyethylene terephthalate (PET) more attractive, compared with imported material, according to ICIS-MRC Price Report.

Prices for PET in Asia have been falling almost all the third quarter. Prices for PET in Asian have decreased from USD1,360/tonne FOB to USD1,200/tonne FOB over the period from 1,July to mid September. Export prices for Asian PET in Q3 have decreased by 11.8%.

At the same time exchange rate of the Russian rouble compared with the dollar dropped by 17.6% - from 34Rb=1USD to 40Rb=1USD.

Spot prices for Russian PET are heard now in the range of Rb60,500-63,000/tonne FCA, including VAT.

Prices for Asian PET, which arrived in the market in the late September, were at Rb67,000-69,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT.
Given the current rate of 1USD=40Rb, prices for Chinese bottle grade PET, which arrives in the late November, will be in the range of Rb64,500-68,500/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT.


Seasonal factor also contributes to the switching to Russian PET. However, despite the attractive prices, converters do not need the additional inventories. According to MRC analyst Igor Grishchenko, Russian PET producers, who use imported feedstock (PTA and MEG), are working with a negative margins now. Prices for feedstock in foreign markets are in dollars and euros. Rouble devaluation has increased in the third quarter, resulting in a bigger costs for PET production. At the same time prices for Russian PET practically remained steady, some companies even reduced PET chips prices.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Batory Foods, a leading distributor of high-quality ingredients for US food manufacturers, has reached an agreement with Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company, as a select distributor of the new Qorus sweetener system, reported Celanese in its press release.

Developed by Celanese, Qorus balances flavor and sweetness while masking off notes. This empowers manufacturers to develop low- and no-calorie foods and beverages that taste as authentic as their full-calorie counterparts.

"This is not just another high-intensity sweetener," said Tom Tang, product manager, Batory Foods. "It's a complete sweetener solution that propels the development of no- and low-calorie products into the future. Qorus changes the game for formulators, who can now innovate in this space with fewer limitations."

Typically, product developers sacrifice taste for caloric reduction. With Qorus, however, Batory customers can deliver the delight of uncompromising sweetness - without the calories of sugar. Qorus significantly reduces the bitter aftertaste of traditional no- or low-calorie sweeteners and increases sweetness perception. The optimizer inside the Qorus sweetener system does not add its own taste.

Qorus functions in a variety of processing conditions and is designed for no- and low-calorie carbonated and non-carbonated beverages, flavored waters, energy and juice-based drinks, dairy products, cocktails and many more applications.

The distribution partnership with Celanese also allows manufacturers to leverage Batory's strength as a single-source ingredients provider. Customers that may have otherwise purchased flavorings or masking agents from different vendors can turn to Batory for a complete sweetener solution.

We remind that, as MRC reported earlier, Celanese Corporation had announced that it would increase the price of vinyl acetate-based emulsions sold in the Americas. Thus, PVAc homopolymer, vinyl acetate ethylene (EVA) and vinyl acrylic emulsions will increase by up to USD0.05/wet pound effective November 1, 2014, or as contracts allow.

Founded in 1979, Batory Foods is a leading national ingredients distributor, offering manufacturers the industry's largest portfolio of high-quality food and fine ingredients.

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Based in Dallas, Texas, Celanese employs approximately 7,400 employees worldwide and had 2013 net sales of USD6.5 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Colorcon, Inc. and BASF, the world's petrochemical major, have announced their cooperation for using immediate release coating polymer Kollicoat IR for Colorcon’s fully formulated ready-to-use coatings.

Colorcon will expand their PVA-based product portfolio by offering customers an alternative efficient and convenient solution for the immediate release coating of pharmaceuticals and dietary supplements.

"With this new ready-to-use coating option formulators can benefit from both the coating performance of Kollicoat IR and Colorcon’s worldwide unique, customized services”, said Daniele Piergentili, Vice President Global Marketing Pharma Ingredients at BASF.

Adding Kollicoat IR as an alternative for use in targeted Opadry complete film coating systems expands the cooperation between Colorcon and BASF.

Kollicoat IR, an ethylene glycol and vinyl alcohol graft copolymer, is BASF’s highly versatile and safe-in-use instant release coating polymer. This polymer enables processing at low temperatures and high solids content while delivering targeted coating results.

As MRC informed before, in September 2014, BASF announced the start-up of a new butadiene extraction plant at its Verbund site in Antwerp, Belgium. The plant has an annual production capacity of 155,000 metric tons.

Colorcon is a world leader in the development, supply and technical support of formulated film coating systems, modified release technologies, and functional excipients for the pharmaceutical industry.

BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- At Composites Europe, Lanxess, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of synthetic rubber, is focusing on Tepex, the continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic high-performance composites from its subsidiary Bond-Laminates, as per the company's press release.

"Our intention is to highlight the enormous potential for lightweight design opened up by our composites. To this end, we are showcasing a number of examples from lightweight design in automobiles, sports equipment such as soccer boots, and housing components for the consumer electronics industry," explained Jochen Bauder, Managing Director at Bond-Laminates.

The new multi-axial Tepex semi-finished products are a real innovation. Bond-Laminates can produce them continuously in an industrial-scale process that enables the continuous fiber layers to be oriented at almost any angle in the thermoplastic matrix. It is even possible to achieve quasi-isotropic lay-ups.

"The designer can now orient the layers of continuous fibers precisely to the flow of forces in the part. The resulting composite components are designed with great precision to suit the load, and are therefore lightweight," said Dr. Christian Obermann, also Managing Director at Bond-Laminates. The new semi-finished products offer a great deal of forming freedom.

The hybrid technology using Tepex with polyamide 6 as an overmolding material has already conquered a large number of series applications in the lightweight design of automobiles. Durethan BKV 55 TPX, a new polyamide 6 reinforced with 55 percent short glass fibers and optimized for overmolding Tepex, will also be introduced.

In Durethan B 24 CM H2.0 (previously Durethan TP 173-007), Lanxess has developed an alternative to polypropylene in the DLFT process (Direct Long Fiber Thermoplastics). Compared to conventional polyamide 6-based long-fiber compression molding compounds, the melt of this heat-stabilized material exhibits much better flow properties.

As MRC informed previously, last summer, German specialty chemicals company Lanxess celebrated the opening of its first production facility in Russia. In the new plant at the Lipetsk site, Lanxess subsidiary Rhein Chemie manufactures polymer-bound rubber additives for the markets in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), primarily for the automotive and tire industries. A production facility for the bladders used in tire production is to be added in 2016. The overall investment volume in euros amounts to a seven-digit figure and 40 new jobs will be created at the new plant in the medium term.

Lanxess is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 8.3 billion in 2013 and roughly 17,000 employees in 31 countries. The company is currently represented at 52 production sites worldwide. The core business of Lanxess is the development, manufacturing and marketing of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialty chemicals.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Japan's ethylene production in September dropped 16.1% from August and 4.4% year on year to 492,100 mt, reported Apic-online with reference to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's statement.

The ministry said Japan's ethylene production fell due to annual maintenance at two steam crackers. Idemitsu Kosan shut down its 623,000 mt/year naphtha-fed steam cracker in Tokuyama, western Japan, in early September and will restart it in November.

Tonen General shut its 515,000 mt/year steam cracker in Kawasaki, eastern Japan, mid-August and will restart it early October.

As MRC informed earlier, Mitsubishi Corp. during May 2014 completed the previously announced shutdown of its No. 1 ethylene facility and No. 1 benzene plant in Kashima, Japan. Mitsubishi earlier said the two facilities would be closed during periodic maintenance in 2013 as part of a structural reform of its basic petrochemicals operations at the Kashima complex. The ethylene plant had a rated capacity of 328,000 t/y. Capacity of the benzene unit was not available.

We also remind that Japan's ethylene production in July rose 14.6% from June to 553,400 mt, and was up 2.1% on the year. The steep month-on-month increase in output was attributed to two steam crackers returning from their maintenance shutdowns in July.
MRC