Celanese and Setsunan to enter compounding agreement

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Japan Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company, and Setsunakasei Co. Ltd. (Setsunan) of Osaka, Japan, have signed a letter of intent to pursue an agreement whereby Setsunan will compound Celanese engineered polymers in Setsunan's facilities in Japan, reported Celanese in its press release.

"Setsunan has strong compounding capabilities and can meet the technical and specification requirements of our customers," said Hajime Suzuki, president of Celanese Japan Ltd. "Our agreement with Setsunan will further enable Celanese to position our world-class engineered materials portfolio to our key customers in Japan to meet their local requirements."

"With more than 50 years of global technical and application development expertise in engineered materials, Celanese is uniquely positioned to help Japanese customers develop innovative products and solutions to meet their design and operational challenges," said Isaac Khalil, global business director for the engineered materials business of Celanese.

Celanese engineered polymers are very versatile and are used in a wide array of applications across many industries, including automotive, consumer and industrial segments. These polymers may be processed by injection molding, extrusion, compression molding, rotational casting or blow molding. The polymer can be modified with glass fibers, minerals, conductive fillers, lubricants, pigments and many other additives to enhance the functionality for diverse end-use customer applications.

As MRC wrote previously, Celanese Corporation has increased the price of vinyl acetate-based emulsions sold in the Americas. Thus, PVAc homopolymer, vinyl acetate ethylene (VAE) and vinyl acrylic emulsions rose by up to USD0.05/wet pound effective November 1, 2014, or as contracts allow. This increase was attributed to the continued pressures on raw materials, notably vinyl acetate monomer (VAM), and freight.

This price increase affected all applications including, but not limited to, adhesives, paints and coatings, building products, nonwovens, glass fiber, carpet, paper and textiles.

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) -- Export prices for European polystyrene (PS) and styrene plastics for customers in the CIS countries will remain unchanged in November, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

Market players said European PS producers do not intend to adjust prices in November compared to October. The main reason for the prices roll-over are steady contract prices of styrene.

As reported earlier, European styrene prices were set at EUR1,390/tonne FOB ARA (Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp).

Importers interviewed by MRC have already partially received new PS prices for November shipments. Buyers said producers maintained their prices. At the same time, costs for PS purchasing have been growing. Prices in euro remained steady, but the fall of the rouble and hryvnya against the euro has led to higher purchasing costs, said consumers of imported material PS in Russia and Ukraine.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Nizhnekamskneftekhim, the largest producer of high impact polystyrene (HIPS) and general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) in Russia and the CIS countries, has maintained its October contract prices for November, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

Traders that sell polystyrene have not adjusted their Nizhnekamskneftekhim's HIPS and GPPS prices for November shipments either. The average HIPS price was at Rb87,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, whereas the average GPPS price was heard at Rb82,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT.

According to MRC's data, Nizhnekamskneftekhim accounts for 78.6% in the structure of the overall GPPS and HIPS production in Russia over the first three quarters of 2014.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Styron, the global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber, and its affiliate companies in Europe has announced price increases for all polystyrene (PS) grades, reported the company on its site.

Effective immediately, or as existing contract terms allow, the November contract and spot prices for the products listed below will increase as follows:

- STYRON general purpose polystyrene grades (GPPS), STYRON and STYRON A-TECH high impact polystyrene grades (HIPS) - each by EUR10 per metric tonne;
- the prices for MAGNUM ABS resins and TYRIL SAN resins will roll over from October.

As MRC informed previously, Styron has announced price increases for all PS and copolymer grades in October 2014. The October contract and spot prices for the products listed below were increased as follows:

- STYRON general purpose polystyrene grades (GPPS), STYRON and STYRON A-TECH high impact polystyrene grades (HIPS) - by EUR20/tonne;
- MAGNUM ABS resins - by EUR30/tonne;
- TYRIL SAN resins - by EUR30/tonne.

The price increase responds to the rising costs of raw materials associated with the manufacturing of polystyrene and copolymers grades in Europe.

Styron is a leading global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber, dedicated to collaborating with customers to deliver innovative and sustainable solutions. StyronпїЅs technology is used by customers in industries such as home appliances, automotive, building & construction, carpet, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical & lighting, medical, packaging, paper & paperboard, rubber goods and tires. Styron had approximately USD5.3 billion in revenue in 2013, with 19 manufacturing sites around the world.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Negotiations on prices of European polyvinyl chloride (PVC) to be shipped in November to the CIS markets began This week. European producers were forced to reduce PVC prices, following a major cut in ethylene prices, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

The November ethylene contract price in Europe was agreed by EUR90/tonne lower from October. Such a reduction in the price of one of feedstocks leads to a decrease of EUR45/tonne in PVC production costs. However, European producers said they would not reduce their export PVC prices proportionally.

Negotiations on November shipments of suspension PVC (SPVC) to the CIS countries began this week. Deals have been negotiated in the range of EUR730-780/tonne FCA, down by an average of EUR20-30/tonne from September.

Despite reductions in export PVC prices in Europe, many market participants reported lower purchasing on the back of seasonal factors.
MRC