Hungary vinyl film extruder Ongropack grows into new EUR29m plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Family-owned Hungarian vinyl sheet and film specialist Ongropack is set to relocate production lines to a newly constructed EUR29m plant in the country’s north eastern region, as per Plasticsnewseurope.

Growing market demand has seen the PVC extruder expand production at its original manufacturing site in Kazincbarcika, close to the Slovakia border. But the firm has now outgrown the premises and so, with government support, built a new factory further south, in the community of Szirmabesenyo close to the regional centre of Miskolc.

At the end of March, in the presence of Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the new operation was officially inaugurated. Orban praised the rapid growth of a Hungarian run company which has doubled annual production and more than doubled its annual revenue since 2009 when it was bought out from chemicals group BorsodChem.

Today, the PVC extruder has an output of 24,000 tpa of film and sheet, chiefly for conversion to packaging for the food and pharmaceutical sectors. Its annual sales have increased to around EUR43m and workforce has risen to 240 in nine years.

The PM pointed out that Ongropack supplies PVC materials mainly to the pharmaceuticals, food and construction industries – sectors that in Hungary are now “performing outstandingly well”.

Overall, the Hungarian economy was expanding rapidly at the end of last year. In the fourth quarter of 2017, the economy grew by almost 5%, significantly exceeding the EU’s average growth of 2.6%, according to Orban.

Ongropack’s present owner, Laszlo Kovacs, speaking at the Szirmabesenyo ceremony, said the company’s sales had grown steadily, due to internal and external factors and focused on improving its product quality. Its revenue had improved by around 9% annually since 2009, he pointed out.

The company now exports more than 90% of its production, mainly to EU countries, said Kovacs, formerly BorsodChem’s chief executive officer.

Ongropack is due to begin the relocation of production lines to new halls at its completed manufacturing site. Production will be continuous during what should be a seamless transition period for its customers, the owner promised.

His firm’s latest investment project attracted government assistance to the tune of EUR3.36m in the form of a non-repayable state grant.

Last year, Ongropack grew its vinyl stretch film manufacturing capacity with the addition of a new line taking its output for this product area to 1,200tpa with a total of six lines at its Kazincbarcika plant. The project, which began in 2016, involved investment of nearly EUR1m.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Japan's Showa Shell Sekiyu KK said on Monday its group refineries would refine 1 percent less crude for the local market in April-June compared with a year ago, in line with their outlook for domestic demand, as per Reuters.

Showa Shell said its four group refineries would refine 4.73 million kilolitres (327,000 barrels per day) of crude in the second quarter of the year. They have a total capacity of 588 Mbpd.

Refining volumes for export markets were not released.

The four group refineries are: Showa Shell's 255 Mbpd Yokkaichi plant, unit Toa Oil's 70 Mbpd Keihin plant, affiliate Seibu Oil's 120 Mbpd Yamaguchi refinery and a 143 Mbpd Sodegaura refinery operated by Fuji Oil in which Showa Shell has a 6.6 percent stake.

There will be no group refinery maintenance during the three months, a Showa Shell spokeswoman said.

Idemitsu Kosan Co has completed the purchase of just under a third of Showa Shell, but its goals for full integration have been delayed indefinitely after opposition from Idemitsu's founding family.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- W. R. Grace & Co. completed the USD416 million acquisition of the Polyolefin Catalysts business of Albemarle Corporation, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The acquired business primarily develops and manufactures proprietary and custom-manufactured single-site catalysts as well as metallocenes and activators used in the production of plastic resins. The transaction also includes a comprehensive series of highly optimized Ziegler-Natta catalysts for polyethylene production.

The acquisition includes production plants in Baton Rouge, LA and Yeosu, South Korea; R&D and pilot plant capabilities; and an extensive portfolio of intellectual property.

Over the last five years, Grace has invested well over USD1 billion to create a leading position in polyolefin catalysts and process technology. The company now has the broadest portfolio of polyolefin catalyst technologies of any catalysts producer.

"This acquisition significantly enhances our position in the fastest growing polyethylene segment and fills out our polyolefin catalysts portfolio," said Grace Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Fred Festa. "With the rising demand for sophisticated resins, Grace is committed to growing this business by investing in single-site catalysts technologies to fully support our global polyethylene manufacturing customers."

"We are very pleased to welcome the approximately 175 employees, including commercial, R&D, and operating professionals, who run this business today," said Al Beninati, President of Grace’s Specialty Catalysts business. "The combination of talent, technology, and manufacturing capabilities strengthens our team and aligns directly with our strategy to provide our customers the most advanced technologies in the market today."

As MRC informed before, Grace addressed the financial impact of the acquisition during an investor call on Dec. 15, 2017, the transcript of which is available on the company’s website under, "Investors."

A leader in polyolefin catalysts and licensing, Grace has the world’s broadest portfolio of polypropylene and polyethylene catalyst technologies used to produce thermoplastic resins for a variety of applications. A leading innovator and strategic partner to its customers, Grace supplies catalyst solutions for all polyolefin processes, as well as polypropylene process technology and process controls. Grace employs approximately 3,700 people in over 30 countries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- CB&I has announced it has been awarded a contract by Hainan Huasheng New Material Technology Co. Ltd. for the license and engineering design for a diphenyl carbonate (DPC) petrochemical unit in Hainan Province, China, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The unit will use Versalis' DPC technology licensed by CB&I to produce diphenyl carbonate intermediate, which is used for the production of polycarbonate.

"As CB&I continues to win new technology awards in China, we are enhancing our position as a leading technology provider for China's energy industry," said Daniel M. McCarthy, CB&I's Executive Vice President of Technology. "This momentum underscores the confidence our customers have in CB&I's technology portfolio and the future outlook for our technology solutions in the region."

As MRC informed before, in late 2017, Lotte Versalis Elastomers inaugurated a new integrated industrial complex for the production of elastomers in Yeosu, South Korea. The new plants of Lotte Versalis Elastomers, a 50:50 joint venture between Versalis (Eni) and petrochemical company Lotte Chemical, have been built in a record time of 26 months and in conformity with sustainability principles. According to Eni, this achievement is part of the company's strategy to transform its chemical business also through international development.

Versalis is present in the Asia-Pacific region through its commercial units in Shanghai, Qingdao, Mumbai and Singapore.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Tighter Asian supplies of naphtha have driven price premiums for the petroleum product to more than 12-week highs as cargoes from the West dry up, offsetting a drop in demand caused by a rise in the use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as an alternative, reported Reuters.

But with many Asia facilities that process naphtha - a feedstock for producing petrochemicals used to make plastics - going into maintenance in the next couple of months, the market tightness may be short-lived.

Naphtha premiums in South Korea, Taiwan and Malaysia have been rising since early March, with levels last week reaching over USD10 a tonne, the highest since December.

Asia's naphtha crack, which describes the profitability of producing the fuel, also trended higher to USD91.20 a tonne at the end of March, the highest since Jan. 19 and 17 percent higher from a year earlier.

Traders said these developments were largely due to fewer eastbound cargoes of naphtha despite strong demand.

"Demand is still doing well. Asian steam crackers not undergoing turnarounds are running flat out and there is only so much naphtha that can be substituted with LPG before co-product margins react," said Michael Dei-Michei, head of research at consulting firm JBC Energy.

As for east-bound cargoes, about 1 million tonnes were estimated to have arrived in March from Western suppliers, including in Europe and the Mediterranean, with April arrivals expected at 1.3 million tonnes, traders said.

That is down from nearly 2 million tonnes in January and 1.5 million tonnes in February.

But the trend may not last beyond May.

"Constraints on naphtha supply should ease as we move past maintenance season," said Dei-Michei.

As a result, Asia's supply deficit is expected to shrink.

Japan's Keiyo, Mitsubishi Chemical, Mitsui Chemicals and Asia's top naphtha importer, Formosa Petrochemical Corp in Taiwan, are due to start maintenance at their crackers in May or June.

In total, seven crackers in Japan were scheduled to undergo maintenance this year versus three units in 2017 while South Korea has turnarounds planned for four crackers compared to two last year.

"Asia will need about 1.4 million tonnes of naphtha from the West in May but this will drop to 800,000 tonnes in June," said a trader who tracks naphtha and LPG.

"The naphtha market is at its peak now. The second half of this year will be tough," he said.
MRC