GAC Motor weighs building car plant in Russia

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A unit of Chinese car maker Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. is considering building its first foreign car plant in Russia despite political and currency troubles in that country, said the Wall Street Journal, citing a senior executive.

"When the situation is as such, there are opportunities," said Wu Song, director and general manager of GAC Motor Co., a division of Guangzhou Auto that produces the group’s own brand. "When there is stability, opportunity is gone." He said that a decision whether to build the plant will be made this year. The plant would begin with annual assembly of fewer than 50,000 cars to be assembled from kits.

Mr. Wu said the company also hopes to begin selling cars in the U.S. before the end of 2017. "Any later than that would be too late since the opportunity would be gone," he said. "My main goal is to make GAC Motor the very first, world-class Chinese auto brand," Mr. Wu said.

The company was already working to identify possible dealers and exploring safety and emission-related regulations needed to sell cars in the U.S. market, he said. Mr. Wu said he was confident GAC cars could meet such requirements since they were designed and developed with meeting international standards in mind.

He was speaking ahead of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, which opens to media Monday. GAC Motor, which is the only Chinese auto maker exhibiting at the show, will hold the global launch of its GS4 sports-utility vehicle Monday.

State-owned Guangzhou Auto is China’s sixth largest car maker in terms of sales. According to Guangzhou Auto’s statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the group sold 1.17 million vehicles last year, up 17% from a year earlier.

Guangzhou Auto’s car sales come primarily from those made with its foreign joint-venture partners, which include Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co., Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. GAC Motor and its Trumpchi brand of sedans and sport-utility vehicles accounted for around 116,000 of the group’s total sales in 2014, Mr. Wu said.

GAC Motor is targeting sales of its own-brand cars of between 160,000 and 180,000 cars in 2015 and one million by 2020, according to Mr. Wu. He said the company introduced three new models last year and expects to launch two to three new models this year. The aim is to have a portfolio of 20 models by 2020, up from the current half dozen.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indorama Netherlands B.V., a 100%-owned subsidiary of Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL), has signed a share purchase agreement to acquire 100% equity stake of Polyplex Turkey from Polyplex Europa Polyester Film San. ve Tic. A.S, Turkey, a 100% owned subsidiary of Polyplex (Thailand) Pcl., and Polyplex (Asia) Pte Limited, Singapore, according to IVL's press release.

Polyplex Turkey owns a newly set-up greenfield PET plant with a planned capacity of 252,000 tons per annum located at Corlu, close to Istanbul, Turkey.

Following the acquisition of the 130,000 tons per annum Artenius Turkpet PET plant (now renamed Indorama Ventures Adana PET) in the second quarter of 2014, IVL will have a combined PET capacity in Turkey of 382,000 Mts. The plants will serve the growing markets of Turkey and South East Europe.

Under our European strategy, the acquisition will help to strengthen IVL's leadership in Greater Europe while broadening access not only to traditional North European markets but the emerging markets of South East Europe.

The value of the acquisition is not subject to disclose as per the regulation concerning the acquisition and disposal of assets of listed companies as prescribed by the regulation of the Stock Exchange of Thailand. The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2015.

Indorama Ventures is a leading producer in the polyester value chain in Thailand with strong global network and manufacturing across Asia, Europe and North America. Its products serve major players in diversified end use markets, including food, beverages, personal and home care, health care, automotives, textile, and industrial. The company’s main products are PTA, PET and polyester fibre, which are distributed across the world.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Lubrizol Corporation has completed the acquisition in the United States and Canada of Weatherford International’s global oilfield chemicals business, known as Engineered Chemistry and its United States drilling fluids business, known as Integrity Industries, reported the company on its site.

Closings in the rest of the world will occur throughout 2015. The transaction was announced on December 1, 2014.

With the close of the transaction, Engineered Chemistry and Integrity Industries, along with Lubrizol’s legacy energy and water business and Berkshire Hathaway portfolio company, Lubrizol Specialty Products, Inc., will form Lubrizol Oilfield Solutions, a new business segment for the company. Lubrizol Oilfield Solutions joins the company’s other business segments, Lubrizol Additives and Lubrizol Advanced Materials. Within this new segment, Engineered Chemistry and Integrity Industries will operate substantially as they do now.

As MRC informed before, in April 2014, Lubrizol Corporation announced the groundbreaking for a new TempRite chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) compounding plant in Dahej, India. Construction of this plant is an integral component of the company's previously announced USD400 million global expansion of its resin and compounding manufacturing capacity.

The Lubrizol Corporation, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is an innovative specialty chemical company that apart from its production develops and supplies technologies to customers in the global transportation, industrial and consumer markets. Lubrizol is providing innovative solutions for its customers high-performance application needs and remains committed to ongoing investment in its CPVC capabilities that support future growth. With headquarters in Wickliffe, Ohio, Lubrizol owns and operates manufacturing facilities in 17 countries, as well as sales and technical offices around the world. Founded in 1928, Lubrizol has approximately 8,000 employees worldwide. Revenues for 2013 were USD6.4 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- In a bid to stop the city's roads being clogged up with beer lorries, Bruges is to re-route its beer underground, through 3km of pipeline capable of carrying 6,000 litres per hour, as per Euronews.

In addition to being a Willy Wonkian approach to beer transport and enabling the use of the quite wonderful measurement of litres per hour with regards to beer, the system will allow for around 500 tankers to be taken off the road.

Inevitably there are some fears that people will try to tap off the pipeline, but its creators are confident the beer will be secure.

"This is stronger than a steel pipe. It’s really very strong. So we are quite confident that no leaks or illegal tapping points will be there," brewery owner Xavier Vanneste told EuroNews.

The pipe will stretch from De Halve Maan brewery to a bottling plant 4km away, with beer travelling at about 15 to 20km/h and reaching the plant in as little as 10 minutes.

There are many beers named after Bruges, though the only breweries remaining along with De Halve Maan are Brugse Zot and Brugse Straffe Hendrik.

Construction on the pipeline will begin later this year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- DFE Chemical is likely to restart its polystyrene (PS) plant following a maintenance turnaround, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in the Philippines informed that the plant is likely to be restarted in late January. It was shut in late December 2014 for maintenance turnaround.

Located in Manila, Philippines, the plant has a production capacity of 30,000 mt/year.

We remind that, as MRC informed earlier, Hong Kong Petrochemical is likely to shut its PS plant in Hong Kong for maintenance turnaround in Q1, 2015. Located in Yuen Long industrial estate, Hong Kong, the plant has a production capacity of 140,000 mt/year.

Besides, in September 2014, Styron Hong Kong, an affiliate of Styron, the global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber, shut down its PS plant in Hong Kong for a one-month maintenance turnaround. Located in Hong Kong, the plant has a production capacity of 200,000 mt/year.
MRC