Johns Manville to expand capacity at Scottsboro thermoplastic polyolefin plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Johns Manville (JM) has announced plans to significantly expand capacity at its Scottsboro, Ala., TPO manufacturing facility, said the producer in its press release.

JM will complete construction at the Scottsboro plant next month, increasing overall TPO production capacity by 20%. JM is a global building and specialty products manufacturer and Berkshire Hathaway company, a leader in the commercial roofing market for decades, offering a full line of products including built-up, modified asphalt, polyiso and single ply systems.

In October 2008, JM’s commitment to single ply manufacturing was solidified with the opening of its first state-of-the-art Thermoplastic Polyolefin (TPO) facility in Scottsboro, Ala. JM furthered its investment in single ply in 2012 with the opening of its Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) manufacturing plant in Milan, Ohio. JM’s best-in-class TPO formulation has remained unchanged since launch and has proven to be durable under real-world conditions of heat and ultra-violet (UV) exposure. It is preferred by top contractors due to its reputation in the market for better weldability, flexibility and overall performance.

Johns Manville, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is a leading manufacturer and marketer of premium-quality building and specialty products. In business since 1858, the Denver-based company has annual sales of approximately $2.6 billion and holds leadership positions in all of the key markets that it serves. Johns Manville employs approximately 7,000 people and operates 44 manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe and China.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Hungarian building materials manufacturer Masterplast has seen its earnings fall in 2014 after the worsening Ukraine crisis forced it to write off investment plans for a new expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation plant in the country, said Globalinsulation.

Masterplast has reported that its annual net income dropped by 38% year-on-year to Euro749,000 in 2014. Without the enforced Ukraine write-off, the company had expected its post-tax profit to reach Euro1.6m. Masterplast, which has a growing string of plants in eastern Europe, has reported that its 2014 revenue was flat at Euro81.6m, while its annual operating profit fell by 1% year-on-year to Euro2.7m.

Masterplast had planned to invest Euro1.4m to set up a new EPS insulation plant at Lviv in the far west of Ukraine, where it had bought and converted existing industrial premises. It expected to become Ukraine's third-largest player in the thermal insulation segment within three years. However, early in 2014 Masterplast suspended its national investment and project for the EPS and adhesives plant. With the situation deteriorating further since then, it has decided not to restart its expansion scheme until Ukraine's political and economic position has stabilised.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Solvay has agreed with Emery Oleochemicals and ERCA Group to buy their jointly-owned new alkoxylation facility, ERCA Emery Surfactant B.V., in the Moerdijk integrated industrial park in the Netherlands, strengthening its strategy of securing sustainable, large-scale surfactant assets worldwide, said the producer in its press release.

As an on-pipe facility, commissioned in 2014, it will benefit from competitive and secure supply of the key raw material ethylene oxide (EO) via pipeline from the industrial park, which is located between the key regional transport and logistics hubs of Rotterdam and Antwerp, Belgium.

The acquisition comes ahead of the start-up of two other large-scale on-pipe alkoxylation units that Solvay’s Novecare Global Business Unit (GBU) is building in Singapore and in the United States, due in the third quarter. It is Novecare’s latest investment to expand its surfactant footprint, complementing the alkoxylation site in Italy and the new surfactant plant in Germany.

Alkoxylates, used as emulsifiers, detergents and wetting agents, form the chemical foundation for a wide range of Solvay Novecare’s specialty surfactants used in its agrochemicals, coatings, home & personal care, industrial and oil & gas markets.

The agreement is due to close by mid-April, pending customary approvals. Novecare expects to fully integrate the unit into its industrial network by the fourth quarter with production continuing throughout the process.

As MRC wrote before, Solvay unveiled its breakthrough innovation for surface cleaning formulations. While Mirapol Surf S polymers are a well-established range of polymers for hydrophilization of surfaces such as ceramic, glass, stainless steel, Solvay launches a unique technology enabling formulators to deliver the key benefits consumers now expect for even modern plastic surfaces.

Solvay Novecare is a worldwide leader in specialty surfactants and a major player in polymers, amines, guar, and phosphorus derivatives. Solvay Novecare engineers and develops formulations that provide consumer products and state-of-the-art industrial applications with specific functional qualities designed to modify fluid behavior and deliver cleansing, dispersal, gelling, moisturizing, penetrating, softening or texturizing properties.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- On March 11, 2015, Evonik signed an agreement with Monarch Catalyst Pvt. Ltd., Dombivli (India) to acquire 100% of the company’s shares, as per the company's press release.

The transaction is expected to close during the first half year of 2015 after the required approvals have been received. The parties have agreed to keep the purchase price confidential.

Evonik with its Business Line Catalysts is a global leader in producing specialty catalysts, custom catalysts and catalysts components for the Life Sciences & Fine Chemicals, Industrial & Petrochemical and Polyolefines market segments. This bolt-on acquisition in India with annual sales in the low double-digit million euro range complements Evonik’s leading positions in activated base metal catalysts and precious metal catalysts.

Monarch’s global oils & fats hydrogenation catalysts business is a broadening of the Evonik catalysts portfolio. Monarch Catalyst has about 300 employees.

As MRC informed before, Evonik Industries is paving the way for a new technology whose applications include automotive finishes that are more scratch-resistant than ever before. The specialty chemicals company has developed an industrial-scale method for producing silane-modified binders for automotive finishes. The advantage of these silane-modified binders: silane groups increase crosslinking density, making it possible to create automotive finishes that are flexible yet harder, leading to improved scratch resistance.

Evonik, the creative industrial group from Germany, is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. Its activities focus on the key megatrends health, nutrition, resource efficiency and globalization. Evonik benefits specifically from its innovative prowess and integrated technology platforms. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world. In fiscal 2013 more than 33,500 employees generated sales of around EUR12.9 billion and an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of about EUR2.0 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- CPC Corp's refinery in the Kaohsiung area reported leaks of propylene gas, said Chinapost.

Wu Yi-fang, head of CPC's Talin refinery, said a loose connector in the six-inch piping system transporting the colorless gas to its Linyuan plant caused the leak.

But the plant took contingency measures to prevent a large volume of the propylene gas from leaking out, he said, estimating that it would take about two hours to clear any remaining gas from the pipe.

To ensure safety, CPC and Kaohsiung's Environmental Protection Bureau were monitoring the flammability level of the gas at the scene and urged the public not to panic.

Kaohsiung was the scene of a deadly propylene gas explosion involving another chemical company on July 31, 2014 that killed 32 and injured more than 300.
MRC