Clariant introduces innovative products for pharmaceutical and construction industries

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant's Masterbatches, a devision of the world leader in specialty chemicals Clariant, has presented two innovative products - REMAFIN-EP white masterbatches and Hydrocerol nucleating agents, which cater to the needs of India’s pharmaceutical and infrastructure industries, respectively, as per the company's press release.

Dr. Deepak Parikh, Region Head - India, Middle East and Africa said, "Our commitment to sustainability, innovation and our employee is a true differentiator for us to stay ahead in the competitive and dynamic global market scenario. And now, with the announcement of the Make In India campaign, we as a strong, transforming organization are fully geared up to support it. We are accelerating change and will continue to deliver on our hyper growth strategy in 2015, fulfilling our commitments to all our stakeholders, as India’s attractive market stays at the core of Clariant’s global focus."

Thus, new ‘REMAFIN-EP’ is a range of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP)-based masterbatches. This range of white masterbatches and compounds is targeted for use in production of pharmaceutical containers for parenteral, ocular, and nasal drugs. It complements a range of colors and additives for medical devices and pharmaceutical packaging introduced under Clariant’s MEVOPUR brand.

The differentiator of these products is that its raw materials have undergone stringent testing to comply with global regulations, including US Pharmacopeia 87, 88 and European Pharmacopeia EP 3.1.3 standard. This product helps support innovative use of materials to enhance packaging processes and protect pharmaceutical products.

Clariant’s range of Hydrocerol chemical foaming agents will address the need gap in the construction market for energy-reduction insulation materials within thinner, space-saving boards.

Existing buildings are responsible for almost 40% of global CO2 emissions, while valuable space is lost through thick insulation panels used in today’s constructions.

Clariant’s Hydrocerol-based masterbatches enable foaming of lightweight polystyrene at significantly smaller size than the currently known foams. Also, the optimized foam structure has excellent insulation properties. As a result, manufacturers will be able to produce strong and light insulation boards with improved properties that will also enable maximum living space, and contribute to saving material use and production costs. The products also support products that can meet energy saving regulations.

As MRC informed before, in April 2014, Clariant Chemicals (India ) Ltd., an affiliate of Clariant AG announced the successful closure of the acquisition of Plastichemix Industries. On December 16, 2013, Clariant Chemicals (India) Limited had announced its intent to acquire Plastichemix Industries - a Gujarat based masterbatches business in India, with production facilities at Rania, Kalol and Nandesari.

Clariant AG is a Swiss chemical company and a world leader in the production of specialty chemicals for the textile, printing, mining and metallurgical industries. It is engaged in processing crude oil products in pigments, plastics and paints. Clariant India has local masterbatch production activities at Rania, Kalol and Nandesari (Gujarat) and Vashere (Maharashtra) sites in India.
MRC

МОSCOW (MRC) -- Union workers took to picket lines on Sunday after strikes were called at nine U.S. refineries and chemical plants in a bid to pressure oil companies to agree to a new national contract covering workers at 63 plants, said Downstreamtoday.

The walkouts, the first held in support of a nationwide pact since 1980, target plants that together account for about 10% of U.S. refining capacity. The discord comes as plunging crude prices force oil companies to slash spending.

The United Steelworkers union (USW) said Royal Dutch Shell Plc, the lead industry negotiator, halted talks after the union rejected a fifth proposal from the company.

"Shell refused to provide us with a counter-offer and left the bargaining table," USW International President Leo Gerard said. "We had no choice but to give notice of a work stoppage."

Shell said it would like to restart talks. "We remain committed to resolving our differences with USW at the negotiating table and hope to resume negotiations as early as possible," Shell said. Shell activated a strike contingency plan at its sprawling joint venture refinery and chemical plant in Deer Park, Texas, to keep operating normally.

Other companies have said they were calling on trained managers to use as replacement workers, so the strikes are not expected to cause gasoline prices to spike. Tesoro Corp said management was operating its refinery in Carson, California, and that managers would take over from union workers at three other plants in the next 24-48 hours. Besides Shell and Tesoro, the USW said strikes were called at three plants belonging to Marathon Petroleum in Texas and Kentucky, and LyondellBasell's plant near Houston. At least two of the plants on the list have a history of deadly accidents.

The USW said all other refineries it represents - including Exxon Mobil Corp's refinery in Beaumont, Texas - would operate under rolling 24-hour contract extensions. The expiring three-year national contract covers about 30,000 hourly workers at plants that together have two-thirds of U.S. refining capacity.

The latest rejected proposal was the fifth turned down since negotiations for a new three-year agreement began on Jan. 21. The USW is seeking annual pay raises double the size of those in the last agreement. It also wants work that has been given in the past to non-union contractors to start going to USW members, a tighter policy to prevent workplace fatigue, and reductions in members' out-of-pocket payments for healthcare.

As MRC wrote before,in 2013 conflict between dockers of the U.S. East Coast and international carriers led to a delay in delivery dates of PVC from the USA. Dockers strike resulted in a delay of delivery dates of the goods from the East Coast of the United States to all the destinations, including Russia.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Hong Kong Petrochemical has shut a polystyrene (PS) plant for maintenance turnaround, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Hong Kong informed that the plant shut early this week. It is likely to remain off-stream for around one month.

Located in Yuen Long industrial estate, Hong Kong, the plant has a production capacity of 140,000 mt/year.

As MRC reported previously, Hong Kong Petrochemical shut down its PS plant in Hong Kong informed for a 10-day maintenance turnaround on 10 February, 2014. Located in Yuen Long Industrial Estate, Hong Kong, the plant has a high-impact polystyrene (HIPS) and general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) capacity of 70,000 mt/year each.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- INVISTA, a subsidiary of Koch Industries, will establish a new manufacturing operation in McPherson, Kansas, in order to expand production of its Raptor nylon pipe product, said Downstreamtoday.

The company plans to complete conversion of an existing building in McPherson into a nylon pipe extrusion facility and expects to begin production by early spring.

"Establishing a production facility in Kansas brings a number of efficiencies to our customers, including reducing delivery time to targeted basins in the Midwest, flexibility in production, and leveraging the capabilities of a skilled central Kansas workforce," said Kurt Burmeister, INVISTA executive vice president. "With demand for our product increasing, we need to increase our production capacity. This is especially true as the current price of oil has led to increased interest in our Raptor™ nylon pipe, given its performance benefits and potential cost-savings."

Efficiently connecting wellheads to battery tanks is one of the areas where companies see the distinct value of Raptor nylon pipe. The product was engineered to reduce total job completion costs (material and installation costs) in order to get oil and gas flowing faster to market. In some cases, choosing Raptor nylon pipe can provide up to USD25,000 per mile in cost savings for customers.

"In addition to producing our existing product portfolio, the new facility in Kansas will allow us to develop future products and react more quickly to urgent customer needs, which we also hope will add significant value to our customers’ operations," added Burmeister.

After extensive research and testing for more than a year, Raptor nylon pipe launched commercially last year, and initial market acceptance has been positive from E&P operators for flow line applications. In addition to the product’s low maintenance cost, E&P companies find the ease and quickness of installation as a major factor in choosing Raptor nylon pipe.

As MRC wrote before, INVISTA Performance Technologies has acquired from La Seda de Barcelona SA intellectual property relating to its leading purified terephthalic acid (PTA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and related process technologies, including the full rights to exclusively license the technologies in the region comprising Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

INVISTA is one of the world’s largest integrated producers of chemical intermediates, polymers and fibers. The company’s advantaged technologies for nylon, spandex and polyester are used to produce clothing, carpet, car parts and countless other everyday products. Headquartered in the United States, INVISTA operates in more than 20 countries and has about 10,000 employees.