AkzoNobel makes double acquisition to strengthen leading global position in Performance Coatings

MOSCOW (MRC) -- AkzoNobel has today announced the acquisition of UK-based Flexcrete Technologies Ltd and an agreement to acquire French manufacturer Disa Technology (Disatech), said the company on its website.

The deals will further strengthen AkzoNobel’s global leadership position in supplying innovative industrial coatings and aerospace and automotive coatings.

Flexcrete Technologies manufactures products primarily used for the protection and repair of concrete substrates. The acquisition will allow AkzoNobel to expand its offering in several key industrial markets, including downstream oil and gas and chemical processing, commercial infrastructure, power, water and waste water, and mining and mineral processing.

Disatech supplies innovative adhesive films used in the aerospace, transportation and industrial equipment sectors. Headquartered in Limoges, the company specializes in the manufacture of self-adhesive vinyl, polyester and polycarbonate films used on aircraft, vehicles, agricultural machinery and other equipment, and is the leader in aerospace technical marking systems.

The deal will bring new technologies and services that complement AkzoNobel’s existing portfolio of coatings and films for aerospace and transport sectors.

Commenting on the agreements, AkzoNobel CEO Ton Buchner said: “Both acquisitions support our strategy of investing in growth and innovation and are strongly aligned with our growth strategy.

"They will expand our existing product and service offering, enabling us to deliver significant benefits to our customers. These deals also offer us great opportunities to pursue further coatings innovations in a number of our core markets."

The signed agreement between AkzoNobel and Disatech is subject to regulatory approvals.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Kavian Petrochemical Corporation of Iran will be operating at full capacity to produce two million tons of ethylene in the next calendar year starting on 21 March 2018, according to ArabianOilandGas.

Ramezan Owladi, managing director, Kavian Petrochemical Corporation, said that the boost will come as new phases of the supergiant South Pars Gas Field are expected to come online during the current year, which means production of ethylene will be at its highest at Kavian Petrochemical plant next year.

Owladi added that the facility is currently operating at 60% of its nameplate capacity, which is rising and will hit full volume next year.

Owladi revealed that the facility's output will reach 1.3 million tons this year.

Kavian Petrochemical Corporation is the main supplier of ethylene to the West Ethylene Pipeline that delivers feedstock to petrochemical plants operating in western provinces of Iran.

As MRC reported earlier, Kavian started up the first of two 1-million-t/y trains at Assaluyeh in the Pars Special Economic Energy Zone in late 2012. And in late 2015, Kavian Petrochemical Co.'s second phase ethylene facility in Assaluyeh, Iran, came on-stream. But in May 2015, Marzieh Shahedaei, a director of Iran’s National Petrochemical Co., warned, however, that the plant’s ability to achieve its full design capacity of 2-million t/y would depend on the receipt of sufficient ethane feedstock from the delayed phases 15 and 16 of the South Pars gas field.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) — China's Sinopec says on Monday the company has upgraded 11 refineries in North China to meet the stricter standards for fuel, Reuters.

The group's refineries in more than 26 northern China cities are ready to sell cleaner diesel and gasoline which meet the national six fuel standards, starting in September.

Sinopec said it invested about 300 B yuan between 2010 and 2016 to upgrade refining equipment and produce cleaner fuel.

The National Six allows a maximum sulfur content of 10 parts per million (ppm), and requires a lower level of other pollutants such as PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon) compared with the national five standards.

As MRC informed earlier, Sinopec, the biggest integrated refining and chemical company in China, and The Linde Group, a world-leading industrial gases and engineering company, today announced that they have established a EUR 145 million joint venture to supply vital industrial gases to local customers from key industries such as petrochemical, steel and electronics, within the Ningbo Chemical Industrial Zone in China's Zhejiang province.

China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group) is a super-large petroleum and petrochemical enterprise group established in July 1998 on the basis of the former China Petrochemical Corporation. Sinopec Group's key business activities include the exploration and production of oil and natural gas, petrochemicals and other chemical products, oil refining.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) — Japan's Idemitsu Kosan Co said it had no plans to call a shareholders' meeting to vote on a merger with rival Showa Shell Sekiyu after the issuance of new shares, which would dilute the stake held by the refiner's founding family, said Reuters.

The issuance is for financial purposes and not to dilute the founding family's stake, a company spokesman said, adding that the company would continue to try to gain understanding from the founding family for the integration.

The founding family, which claims to control over one-third of the oil refiner, opposes the merger plan.

As MRC informed previously, in July 2015, Idemitsu signed an agreement to acquire Shell’s 33.24% stake in its Japanese venture Showa Shell Sekiyu KK for JPY 169 billion (approximately USD1.4 billion).

Idemitsu Kosan is a Japanese petroleum company. It owns and operates oil platforms, refineries and produces and sells petroleum, oils and petrochemical products. The company runs two petrochemical plants in Chiba and Tokuyama. The two naphtha crackers can produce up to 997,000 tonnes of ethylene per year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Evonik Industries AG combined its isophorone chemistry and epoxy curing agents business in the new Crosslinkers Business Line effective July 1, 2017. The newly formed Business Line, headed by Min Chong, will be part of the Resource Efficiency Segment, as per the company's press release.

With the acquisition of the Air Product's epoxy curing agents business and Evonik's long-time experience in isophorone chemistry, Evonik has a very broad technology platform and expertise in crosslinker technology.

The new Crosslinkers Business Line offers a broad range of products and competences for coatings and adhesives, civil engineering as well as for high-performance elastomers and composites.

Evonik is the pioneer in isophorone chemistry and covers the entire value chain: isophorone, diamine, as well as di-isocyanate and polyisocyanate.

Additionally the product portfolio contains a full tool box of amine curing agents for ambient and heat cure applications. The products are mainly used in industrial applications due to the mechanical strength, durability, chemical resistance and excellent adhesion properties.

"Combining both businesses to one new unit gives Evonik the chance to offer a variety of products for epoxy and polyurethane applications under one roof now - be it basic amines, isocyanate monomers, polyisocyanates or formulated epoxy hardeners", Dr. Claus Rettig, Chairman of the Board of Management, Evonik Resource Efficiency GmbH.

"Apart from the organizational change, safety and meeting the needs of our customers continues to remain our first priority", Min Chong, head of the new Business Line Crosslinkers. "We see ourselves as a partner; interested in developing next-generation product solutions together with our customers. A broad technology platform serves as the basis for further growth and successful collaboration."

The Business Line has a total of about 1.000 employees worldwide. Production facilities in Europe, North America, and Asia ensure optimal proximity to markets and customers and open up attractive growth opportunities.

As MRC informed previously, Evonik Resource Efficiency will invest in a capacity expansion of its performance foams business at its production site in Darmstadt, Germany. The investment will increase the output of the facility by about 20% as a first step. The Group will be adding production equipment to its operations complex that manufactures products marketed under the Rohacell brand. The expanded production capacity is expected to be operational by the second half of 2017.

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.
MRC