Celanese to invest in commercial and technology center in Mexico

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company and a global leader in vinyl acetate ethylene (EVA) emulsions, has announced as part of its 70th anniversary of doing business in Mexico, the company will invest in a new Celanese Commercial and Technology Center in Mexico, the producer said.

This commercial and technology center will support the growth of Celanese customers in Latin America, advance the technical capabilities of the Celanese product portfolio, and ensure the company is growing with its global customer base.

With the opening of a commercial and technology center in Mexico, Celanese will be positioned to offer customers a diversified portfolio of products and solutions - from intermediate chemicals and engineered materials, to technical expertise and support.

The Celanese Commercial and Technology Center - Mexico will serve industries such as automotive, consumer electronics, appliance, medical device, petrochemical and aerospace. A team of talented technologists will support Celanese customers in the region who are accelerating global product innovations for engineering polymers, food ingredients, adhesives, paints and coatings, mining, and consumer products.

The Celanese Commercial and Technology Center - Mexicois the first research and development facility for Celanese in Mexico. Recent regional center openings include the Celanese Commercial and Technology Center - Shanghaiand the Celanese Commercial and Technology Center - Koreato support the company's customer application development, and research and development resources within the Asia region.

As MRC informed before, in late October 2014, Celanese Corporation announced the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of Cool Polymers, Inc., based in North Kingstown, R.I. The acquisition will accelerate Celanese's growth in the conductive polymers market by building on Cool Polymers' strong product portfolio and technical capabilities.

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.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- A. Schulman, Inc. announced that it has added equipment in its manufacturing facility in Dongguan, China to accommodate increasing demand in the Company's Masterbatch Solutions business, said the producer in its press release.

This new production line, which the Company expects will ramp up in volume over the next several months, will double the current Masterbatch production capacity at the facility and enhance its ability to serve the needs of the packaging and personal care & hygiene industries in China.

"A. Schulman is aiming to expand its global footprint in emerging markets, especially in China, where we can build on our proven expertise and technological leadership in this market," said Derek Bristow, Vice President and General Manager of Asia Pacific for A. Schulman. "In addition, we plan to expand our Engineered Plastics production capacity in China by mid-2015 to meet the growing needs of the mobility and electric & electronics market. These key investments in China are in line with our global strategy to focus on fast-growing markets and improve our capabilities to serve customers."

As MRC wrote before, A. Schulman agreed to purchase a majority of the assets of the specialty plastics business of Ferro Corp. for USD91 million in cash. The purchase agreement includes four facilities located in the US as well as operations in Spain.

A. Schulman is a global plastics supplier, headquartered in Akron, Ohio, and a leading international supplier of high-performance plastic compounds and resins, which are used as raw materials in a variety of markets. A. Schulman has 33 manufacturing facilities globally. A. Schulman's fiscal third-quarter earnings fell 69% amid continued sluggishness in European markets and higher-than-expected costs in Latin America, where the company has been consolidating its Brazilian operations.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Century Synthetic Fiber Corporation plans to make its initial public offering (IPO) of shares on 9 December 2014 and get listed at the HCM City Stock Exchange after that, as per GV.

The State Securities Commission allowed the new company, a synthetic fiber manufacturer, to issue 3 million shares at a reference price of VND18,000 (USD 2.8) each.

The company and its major shareholder, Red River Holding, held a roadshow on 26 Nov. 2014 to introduce the potential of the stock.

After holding the IPO and issuing its audited financial report for this year, Century Synthetic Fiber will file for the listing of its shares at the HCM City Stock Exchange sometime in the second quarter of 2015.

The IPO aims to raise funds for the company's VND729-billion (USD 34.3-million) factory expansion plan which began last May at Trang Bang in Tay Ninh Province, company officials said.

The company also plans to put 50% of the factory's capacity to commercial use in the third quarter of next year.

From 2008 to 2013, the company's revenues increased by 39% and its profits, by 65%. It expects the expansion to help increase by about 20% its revenues, to VND2.3 trillion (USD 108.4 million), and its profits, to VND132 billion (USD 6.2 million), in 2016.

In the first nine months of 2014, its revenues reached more than VND1 trillion (USD 47.1 million) and its profits, VND82 billion (USD 3.8 million).

As MRC informed earlier, in September 2014, work started on the Vung Ro refinery complex- a USD3.2 bln petrochemical refinery complex in the central province of Phu Yen. It is designed to produce 8 mln tpa of products, including polypropylene, benzene, toluene, petrol RON 92 and RON 95. The refinery complex is expected to commence operation in 2017.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Plummeting oil prices and tight money are putting the squeeze on recyclers, say attendees of a recent forum held by the China Plastics Processing Industry Association in Guangzhou, said Plasticsnews.

From a June peak of USD115 per barrel, oil prices tumbled to less than USD70 per barrel, after OPEC ministers meeting in Vienna declined to cut back on their own production. The price drop has been driven by the U.S. fracking boom and weakening demand from slowing economies in Europe, Japan and — ironically — China.

Fan Yu Shun, president of Lianyungang Long Shine Plastics Co. Ltd., identified tight credit as a key industry challenge. The problem is especially acute, Fan said, for small-and medium-sized companies in a capital-intensive industry — which describes much of the plastics recycling business in China.

Despite the money crunch, Fan’s company is pushing ahead with plans to more than double capacity at its 20,000-square-meter plant in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, to 50,000 metric tons per year.

As China enters the third year of its "Green Fence" regulations regarding the import of scrap plastics, attendees are bullish on the toughened environmental standards from both business and an environmental point of view.

The rules and regulations are very clear, said Steven Tan, director of international operations at Guangdong Kingfa Science and Technology Co., Ltd., which claims to be the country’s biggest recycler and was a co-sponsor of the forum.

President Lingzhang Zeng of Ganzhou Hengxin Plastic Co. Ltd., is a strong backer of government-sponsored industrial parks for recyclers. Three years ago, Hengxin opened a 100-worker, 10,000-square-meter facility in one of these industrial parks.

Ganzhou Hengxin is an 8-year-old recycler in Jiangxi province with annual sales of about 70 million RMB (USD11 million). Increasingly, recyclers are factoring the rules and regulations into their long-term planning.

Some are shipping scrap to Southeast Asian countries for pre-processing. At a Thailand plant, Manifold annually sorts and cleans 2,000 metric tons of scrap PP and PE for export to China.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The ICA Fluor industrial engineering-construction joint venture between Fluor and Empresas ICA signed a contract with Pemex Refinacion for the construction of the delayed coker unit that will be installed at the Miguel Hidalgo refinery in Tula, Mexico, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The total contract value is USD1.3 billion, and Fluor will book its USD650 million share of the contract in the fourth quarter of 2014.

ICA Fluor was awarded a contract for Phase I of the residue recovery project for the Miguel Hidalgo refinery in 2013.

This Phase II contract involves providing detailed engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for the 86,000-bpd capacity plant. It is the first package to be converted to the EPC stage under the open book established in the Phase I contract.

The mechanical completion of the project is scheduled for the second quarter of 2018.

"This project is a major step in the modernization of Mexico’s oil processing facilities," said Juan Carlos Santos Fernandez, director general of ICA Fluor.

"We are proud to be in the position to support Pemex with our Mexican engineering and construction resources to advance the key goals set forth in its strategic plan," he added.

As MRC wrote before, in September 2013 Pemex announced a USD3.5 billion expansion of the existing refinery at Tula, the country's second biggest, near the planned the location for the new refinery. The existing Tula refinery can process 325,000 bpd.

Pemex, Mexican Petroleum, is a Mexican state-owned petroleum company. Pemex has a total asset worth of USD415.75 billion, and is the world's second largest non-publicly listed company by total market value, and Latin America's second largest enterprise by annual revenue as of 2009. Company produces such polymers, as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene.

MRC