Trinseo raises prices for latex binders in EMEA

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Trinseo, a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders and synthetic rubber, and its affiliate companies in Europe, has announced a price increase for all latex products sold into the Paper, Board, Carpet and Textile, and Adhesive and Construction Binder markets in the EMEA region, as per the company's press release.

The increase was EUR60 per dry metric ton for all latex products and was effective as of 3 October 2017 or as contract terms permit.

As MRC reported earlier, Trinseo increased prices for all polystyrene (PS), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and acrylonitrile-styrene copolymer (SAN) grades, effective September 1, 2017, as follows:

- STYRON general purpose polystyrene grades (GPPS) - by EUR210 per metric ton;
- STYRON and STYRON A-TECH high impact polystyrene grades (HIPS) - by EUR210 per metric ton;
- MAGNUM ABS resins - by EUR140 per metric ton;
- TYRIL SAN resins - by EUR160 per metric ton.

Trinseo is a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber. Trinseo's technology is used by customers in industries such as home appliances, automotive, building & construction, carpet, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical & lighting, medical, packaging, paper & paperboard, rubber goods and tires. Formerly known as Styron, Trinseo completed its renaming process in 1Q 2015. Trinseo had approximately USD3.7 billion in net sales in 2016, with 15 manufacturing sites around the world, and nearly 2,200 employees.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Teijin’s Aramid Business today announced the completion of a new production line at its Technora production facility in Matsuyama, Japan. As of now extra Technora capacity is available for Teijin Aramid’s customers globally, said the company on its website.

The investment was announced in March 2016 and from now on the extra production line at the Technora production facility in Matsuyama, Japan, is ready to produce on full capacity. Technora aramid fiber features high tensile strength and resistance to impact, fatigue, chemicals, moisture and heat. The Technora product celebrates its 30 year anniversary this year after the official introduction in 1987.

Gert Frederiks, CEO & President of Teijin Aramid BV: "With the expansion of our Technora capacity we are able to meet the growing market demand for this unique high performance product. We are working on very interesting developments in offshore such as cables for lifting applications. The product has proven itself for already 30 years now and is used in many different applications and markets."

Technora was independently developed by Teijin in Japan and has been available for customers globally since 1987. Technora features high tensile strength and resistance to impact, fatigue, chemicals, moisture and heat. It takes advantage of these superior properties in order to meet the specific requirements of a range of applications such as reinforcement materials for transmission belts & hoses for industrial & automotive applications and the oil & gas industry. The demand for Technora is continuously growing and has been produced by full-capacity operation, with its global market steadily increasing since 2014.

Teijin Aramid is constantly investing in its technology to create innovative aramid products and solutions together with its customers. In the past years, 5 percent of the annual revenue has been invested into R&D activities. Recently, the company also announced it is expanding its aramid production capacity for its Twaron super fiber. It will invest in new spinning technology at the Twaron facility in Emmen, the Netherlands, starting up in the first quarter of 2019.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Microwave Chemical and Mitsui Chemicals have entered into a strategic partnership to jointly develop microwave-based next-generation chemical process technologies, as per Apic-online.

Microwave Chemical, a Japanese start-up business from Osaka University, specializes in developing unique microwave-based product manufacturing processes, and developing new materials that would be difficult to produce using conventional technology.

Microwave Chemical has worked on joint development with several manufacturers, both local and overseas, and has set up its own plant, as part of its ongoing commitment to open innovation in the chemical industry.

Under the partnership agreement, Mitsui will invest in Microwave Chemical and assign researchers to the company to carry out joint research into new chemical processes and systems using microwave technology.

As a result of the collaboration, Microwave Chemical will be able to establish and commercialize technologies in new areas, while Mitsui aims to take its existing production technology to the next level and accelerate the creation of new products and businesses.

As MRC reported before, in March 2016, Mitsui & Co., Ltd. and Hankuk Carbon Co., a company listed on the Korea Exchange, entered into a strategic alliance agreement to engage in collaborative business activities relating to the processing of composite materials. Based on this agreement, Mitsui was to acquire a 10% equity stake in HC (on a voting rights basis) for an investment of KRW 30.6 billion.

Mitsui Chemicals is a leading manufacturer and supplier of value added specialty chemicals, plastics and materials for the automotive, healthcare, packaging, agricultural, building, and semiconductor and electronics markets. Mitsui Chemicals is a Japanese Chemicals company, a part of the Mitsui conglomerate. The company has a turnover of around 15 billion USD and has business interests in Japan, Europe, China, Southeast Asia and the USA. The company mainly deals in performance materials, petro and basic chemicals and functional polymeric materials.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Major acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) specialist ELIX Polymers will present its portfolio of materials and technologies at Fakuma 2017, which will be held from October 17 until October 21 in Friedrichshafen, Germany, as per the company's press release.

During this international trade fair for plastics processing, ELIX Polymers will highlight its latest material innovations for a number of key markets. These innovations are the result of the company’s strong emphasis on product differentiation and significant investments in R&D that make it stand out from suppliers of commodity ABS products.

Among the products featured at Fakuma are: ABS grades with extra-low emissions and odor, high-heat ABS for automotive applications, new generation metal platable ABS grades: underlining the company’s leading position in this market, food-contact grades for applications requiring a high level of support and knowledge in regulation, special ABS grades optimized for 3D printing via FDM-technology.

As MRC informed before, ELIX Polymers unveiled an upgraded version of P2MC as well as new ABS grades to complete the plating portfolio. Target applications for these electroplating grades include radiator grilles, logos, profiles, tailgate handles, and decorative interior parts.

ELIX Polymers is one of the most important manufacturers of ABS resins and derivatives in Europe, with 40 years of experience in engineering plastics and an installed capacity of 180,000/year from their plant in Tarragona (Spain) to the world. The operation starts in 1975, when the Tarragona ABS and SAN production plant was inaugurated.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Innovia Films (Innovia) recognises that today’s competitive market place demands packaging films that perform on a variety of machines, at the highest possible speeds. As overall production costs are scrutinized, achieving high efficiencies is becoming increasingly vital. In response to these trends, Innovia is pleased to introduce its latest high speed Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene (BOPP) film - Propafilm REF, as per Plastemart.

This new coextruded material compliments their already well-established range of high speed materials and increases the options for its customers. Propafilm REF was designed with speed in mind. The product presents a wide sealing range, when compared to standard coextruded films. At typical laboratory conditions, scientists have been able to confirm over 30 C lower heat seal threshold (the minimum temperature required to achieve acceptable seal strength of 200g/25mm) compared to basic films.

In addition to the wide seal range, this film also provides an enhanced hot tack performance over standard films. This means that the seals, when pulled still hot, resist opening on a larger range of temperatures. Combined, these two properties enable Propafilm REF to be ideally suited to horizontal-form-fill wrapping applications.

Innovia has been able to validate their laboratory findings with actual packaging machinery trials. SPS Italiana Pack systems (PFM Group), was one of the partners chosen to confirm the film’s performance. "We were asked by Innovia Films to confirm the performance of their new film on our machinery. We ran Propafilm REF on our Modulo machine and we can confirm that speeds of 80m/min were achieved, a substantial 30 m/min improvement. At these speeds, the film was still passing our stringent micro-hole acceptance level. (i.e.200 mbar/20 sec. pillow bag configuration)" says Roberto Spatolisano, Project Manager from SPS.

As MRC wrote previously, in April 2016, Innovia Group reached an agreement to sell its Cellophane business and assets to Futamura Chemicals, and will continue to deepen its focus on it films and polymer banknote products going forward.

Innovia Films is a leading global manufacturer of two 'families' of speciality products supplied into the packaging, labels, tobacco overwrap and securities markets - Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene (BOPP) and Cellulose based films. With a turnover in excess of EUR400m, its total annual film production capacity currently stands at more than 120,000 tonnes.
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