Poland tops the growth league in European flexible packaging market in 2014

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Flexible packaging demand in Poland achieved solid growth of 5 per cent during 2014, compared with 1.4 per cent for Europe as a whole, according to Canplastics.

Other national markets that PCI identified as having significantly outperformed the European average were Turkey, the Czech and Slovak Republics, and Romania.

"For the second year running there have been very few inflationary pressures within the European flexible packaging market and volume consumption growth in most European countries has been tracking that of value over the last year," report author Paul Gaster said. "Poland, however, has stood out as the one major market where demand has continued to grow strongly, underpinned by robust domestic demand and a successful focus on packaged food exports."

According to the report, Poland’s flexible packaging industry has achieved its success by supporting the high levels of inward direct investment made by multinational food brand owners in recent years, keen to take advantage of growing packaged food markets in Eastern Europe and of lower production costs available in the Polish market. "Their converted flexible packaging needs have been able to be supplied by a sophisticated domestic flexible packaging industry in which leading multinational converters Amcor, Constantia and Mondi, along with Polish converter Alupol are the major players," Gaster said.

In identifying another major European trend, PCI reports that growth in flexible packaging demand for coffee applications, boosted by changing consumer drinking habits, has been another driver of the market in 2014. While the volume of coffee consumed in most European markets has been broadly stable or in slow decline, new added-value formats has boosted flexible packaging usage. "Examples of this positive trend include increased usage of coffee pod and capsule systems using aluminium lidding and associated outer bags; also of VFFS bags of ground coffee and beans in some national markets; and the adoption of refill bags for instant coffee," Gaster said.

In the 15th edition of their report on the European market, PCI notes that Europe’s 12.9 billion euro flexible packaging market remains one of the largest and most sophisticated in the world, accounting for over 20 per cent of the global total. In 2014, flexible packaging demand in Western Europe grew by 1.2 per cent in both value and area terms, while the previous rapid growth in Eastern Europe has halved following sharp declines in growth in Russia and a real decline in demand in Ukraine.

Looking forward, PCI forecasts that flexible packaging demand will pick up slightly in Western Europe in 2015 as packaged food demand in some of the struggling EU economies continues to recover. However, this is expected to be offset in Eastern Europe where demand growth is expected to fall below 1 per cent due to expected consumption declines in Russia and Ukraine. Between 2014 and 2019, PCI is forecasting European flexible packaging CAGR of 2 per cent to reach 14.2 billion euros.

MRC

Solvay sells non converted bearer shares on the market

MOSCOW (MRC) -- In accordance with the applicable regulation, Solvay must sell the outstanding Solvay bearer (non-dematerialized) shares on the market. Currently 33,099 shares or 0.04% of the total issued equity, have not yet been converted into either dematerialized shares or registered shares, reported the company on its site.

Holders still have the possibility to convert their bearer shares until July 17, 2015, at the latest. This can be done by depositing them at any BNP Paribas Fortis agency in Belgium. All remaining bearer shares will be sold by Solvay on the Euronext Brussels stock exchange within a period of 3 months post the deadline of June 17, 2015. After deduction of incurred costs, the proceeds of this sale will be deposited at the Belgian Deposit and Consignment Office, where holders can still claim the reimbursement of their bearer shares, after deduction of the penalties as described in the law, as from January 1, 2016 until December 31, 2024.

The dematerialization process does not modify the capital of Solvay SA which is represented today by 84,701,133 shares.

As MRC wrote previously, in December 2014, Solvay announced that it had acquired Dhaymers, a Brazilian manufacturer of specialty esters, entering the skin care market and expanding its presence in industrial lubricants and mining industries in Latin America.

Solvay S.A. is a Belgian chemical company founded in 1863, with its head office in Neder-Over-Heembeek, Brussels, Belgium. The company has diversified into two major sectors of activity: chemicals and plastics. Solvay supplies over 1500 products across 35 brands of high-performance polymers пїЅ fluoropolymers, fluoroelastomers, fluorinated fluids, semi-aromatic polyamides, sulfone polymers, aromatic ultra polymers, high-barrier polymers and cross-linked high-performance compounds.
MRC

Asahi Kasei Medical forms Joint Venture with Kuraray Medical

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Asahi Kasei Medical Co., Ltd., a medical device company, has formed a 50:50 joint venture (JV) with Kuraray Medical Inc., a provider of dental bonding agents, dental cements, composite resins, and related material, for the production of hollow-fiber membrane for use in medical devices, using Eval ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH) from Kuraray Co., Ltd., said 4-traders.

The JV company is named as A-K Membrane Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

Asahi Kasei Corp. integrated its two core operating companies in the medical devices-related field, Asahi Kasei Kuraray Medical Co., Ltd. and Asahi Kasei Medical Co., Ltd., as of April 1, 2012. As previously announced in our release dated August 3, 2011, Kuraray Co., Ltd. transferred the entirety of its 7% holding in Asahi Kasei Kuraray Medical to Asahi Kasei Corp. on April 1, 2012. Asahi Kasei Kuraray Medical became a wholly owned subsidiary of Asahi Kasei Corp. on that date.

As MRC informed earlier, Asahi Kasei Chemicals has opened a new production line for Duranol polycarbonatediol (PCD), and a second line for Duranate hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI)-based polyisocyanate at its facility in Nantong, China. The company started commercial operation of the new Duranol line, and the second Duranate line, in November 2014 and May 2015 respectively.

Asahi Kasei Kuraray Medical Co.,Ltd. engages in the research and development, production, and sale of medical equipment in the fields of hemodialysis, therapeutic apheresis, transfusion therapy, and virus removal for biotherapeutic products in Japan and internationally. The company offers devices for the treatment of immunologic or intractable diseases, leukocyte reduction filters to prevent adverse effects associated with blood transfusion, and virus removal filters used in biopharmaceutical production.
MRC

Bayer to invest EUR4 bn in R&D this year

MOSCOW (MRC) -- German drugs and chemicals group Bayer plans to invest EUR4 billion (USD4.54 billion) in research and development this year, said Reuters, citing chief executive.

"That is more than ever before. The development of our new blood thinner Xarelto alone cost 2.2 billion euros," Marijn Dekkers.

Aspirin maker Bayer raised its research and development spending by 5 percent to 3.57 billion euros in 2014, representing 8.5 percent of its sales before special items. It has about 14,000 employees worldwide working in this field.

As MRC informed earlier, Bayer AG plans to list its plastics division as early as October 2015 to take advantage of current rich stock market valuations. The report, which cites sources familiar with the deal, said that, while a decision on the exact timing will be taken just days ahead of the actual launch of the initial public offering (IPO), Bayer wants to conclude preparations by late August.

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, agriculture and high-tech polymer materials. As an innovation company, it sets trends in research-intensive areas. Bayer's products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. At the same time, the Group aims to create value through innovation, growth and high earning power. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development and to its social and ethical responsibilities as a corporate citizen. In fiscal 2014, the Group employed 118,900 people and had sales of EUR 42.2 billion.
MRC

Demand for plastics containers in USA to rise

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Demand for plastic containers in the U.S. is forecast to increase 4.9% annually to USD32.4 billion in 2016, consuming 14.2 billion pounds of resin, according to Canplastics.

The report from the Cleveland-based industry market research firm forecasts that growth will be driven by performance advantages over alternative packaging formats as well as a recovery in the overall economy following the recession of 2007-2009.

The report also notes that volume gains will lag value gains as the average weight per container unit continues to fall, reflecting preferences for small, single-serving containers in a number of food and beverage markets, and lightweighting of containers to reduce material use and enhance sustainability. Also, despite increased competition from pouches and other types of flexible packaging, these will often augment rather than replace rigid containers. PET and high density polyethylene (HDPE) are by far the primary plastic container resins, accounting for a combined 86% of demand in 2011.

Bottles and jars, which represented 77% of plastic container poundage in 2011, are by far the leading plastic container type. Through 2016, plastic bottle and jar demand is expected to rise 2.8% per year to 165 billion units, moderated by the already-dominant position of plastic in many applications, with few new areas existing for large-scale conversions. Additionally, bottle unit growth during 2001-2006 benefited greatly from booming sales of bottled water. Moving forward, a considerable decline in bottled water growth is expected based on environmental factors. However, developments will be aided by healthy prospects for smaller single-serving beverage bottles. Among major bottle and jar markets, the fastest gains are predicted for pharmaceutical and food applications.

Faster volume gains are expected for other plastic container categories, such as tubs, cups and bowls. Demand will be backed by popular trends like convenience, portability and portion control benefits of single-serving cup packaging as well as favorable outlooks for certain foods (e.g., yogurt, hummus, single-cup coffee) typically packaged in tubs and cups. A rebound is expected for plastic pails based on a recovery in construction activity from low levels in 2011, which will increase demand for paints, adhesives, driveway sealers and other goods typically packaged in pails.

MRC