BASF investigates establishment of second Verbund site in China

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF is investigating the possibility of building a highly-integrated “Verbund” chemical production site in the South Chinese province of Guangdong, said the company.

Today, Martin Brudermuller, BASF’s Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors, and Lin Shaochun, Executive Vice Governor of Guangdong Province, signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding in Berlin, in the presence of Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.

The Verbund site in Guangdong would be BASF’s largest investment and would be operated under the sole responsibility of BASF. China – with a world market share of around 40% – is the largest chemical market, and dominates the growth of the global chemical production. The investment is estimated to reach up to USD10 billion by completion of the project around 2030. The first plants could be completed by 2026 at the latest.

In the initial phase, the BASF project would include petrochemical plants – the heart of the well-established Verbund system. A steam cracker with a planned capacity of 1 million metric tons of ethylene per year would be the starting point of the value chains at the new integrated site. In the next phases, plants for more consumer-oriented products and solutions would be built, to serve sectors like transportation or consumer goods. The site would ultimately be the third-largest BASF site worldwide, following Ludwigshafen, Germany, and Antwerp, Belgium.

Guangdong province is home to customers from these key industries, as well as other fast-growing industries. With more than 110 million residents, Guangdong is the most populous province in China. Its gross domestic product, currently growing at 7% annually, already exceeds that of Spain and will soon have reached that of South Korea.

At the new site, BASF intends to implement a comprehensive smart manufacturing concept based on cutting-edge technologies. In the future, customers based in South China would be supplied from this high-tech Verbund site.

Globally, BASF currently operates six Verbund sites: two in Europe (Ludwigshafen, Germany; Antwerp, Belgium), two in North America (Freeport, Texas, USA; Geismar, Louisiana, USA) and two in Asia. The Verbund site in Nanjing, China, established in 2000, is a 50:50 joint venture with Sinopec, while the Verbund site in Kuantan, Malaysia, established in 1997, is a 60:40 joint venture with Petronas.
MRC

VinyLoop closed PVC recycling project in Italy

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PVC recycling project VinyLoop in Ferrara, Italy, which was started in 2002, ceases operations, according to a brief statement from the company dated 28 June 2018, said the company.

As of now, there is no longer any production, the controlled processing of the plant has been initiated.

Founded by Solvay, VinyLoop was designed to make problematic waste from soft PVC, such as cables and films, materially recyclable by using solvents. There have been problems with REACH legislation in recent years. In soft PVC blends from long-ago production years, substantial amounts of phthalates are still contained, which are not economically separate even with the Vinyloop process.

The consequence for the company that is majority owned by Ineos subsidiary Inovyn (London / UK) is the current closure. Seventeen employees are to lose their jobs.
MRC

PVC imports into Russia fell by 63% in H1 2018, exports rose by 37%

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Imports of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) into Russia were 11,900 tonnes in January-June 2018, down by 63% year on year. At the same time, weaker demand for polymer from the domestic market forced Russian producers to increase their exports by 37%, according to MRC's DataScope report.
June SPVC imports grew to 2,200tonnes from 237 tonnes a month earlier, shipments of acetylene PVC from China increased. Thus, overall imports of resin into Russia totalled 11,900 tonnes in the first half of 2018, compared to 32,200 tonnes a year earlier. At the same time, Russian producers began to ship resin for export more actively this year because of weak demand from the domestic market, export sales rose almost by a third.


Chinese producers have been traditionally the key foreign PVC suppliers for the past several years. Imports of Chinese acetylene resin grew significantly in June to 2,100 tonnes from 237 tonnes a month earlier. At the same time, it should be noted that June deliveries of Russian companies were agreed back in late March. Overall imports of resin from China were 10,800 tonnes in January-June 2018, compared to 30,200 tonnes a year earlier.

Imports of acetylene PVC are expected to decrease again in July.

At the same time, as already reported, Russian producers increased significantly their exports this year, the weakening of the rouble against the dollar made exports to certain countries attractive to producers. 61,600 tonnes of SPVC were shipped for export in January-June 2018, compared to 45,000 tonnes a year earlier.

MRC

BASF Calls for Proposals: Inaugural Newtrition Health Innovation Challenge

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Newtrition, BASF’s human nutrition brand invites innovators and entrepreneurs worldwide to participate in the first-ever Newtrition Health Innovation Challenge, said the company on its web-site.

Co-hosted by Newtrition and BASF Venture Capital (BVC), the challenge is an opportunity for applicants to present breakthrough solutions for pressing health challenges to the jury that is composed of representatives from BVC, BASF Human Nutrition R&D, marketing and sales, as well as a panel of renowned professors at a one-day event in Singapore on October 8, 2018.

The selected applicants will receive valuable insights on how BASF can support, collaborate, and partner at different stages of solution development; from ideation to prototyping, supply chain and commercialization. Each shortlisted proposal will also be discussed in-depth with the panel, and considered for specific partnership possibilities and a potential investment by BVC.

The Newtrition Health Innovation Challenge seeks innovative partners to address solutions for the following key health challenges:

Diagnostic Tools: Novel, easy-to-use, cost-effective, and non-invasive tools for scalable assessment of the nutritional status of people in various life stages.

Personalized Nutrition: Effective and accurate translation of nutritional status into advice and interventions that can deliver the right nutrients to the right people at the right time.

Healthy Microbiome: Establishment of a clear scientific link from microbiota to health conditions for possible interventions.

"The Newtrition Health Innovation Challenge is an exciting platform for us to collaborate with solution-driven pioneers and create breakthroughs in the field of science that can address the global rise that we are witnessing in nutrient deficiencies and chronic diseases." said Stefan Ruedenauer, Director of Development and Scientific Marketing, BASF Human Nutrition
MRC

Closure of sites in Austria and Germany

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Greiner Packaging International (GPI, Kremsmunster / Austria) is planning to close its two production sites in Wernberg / Austria and Rastatt / Germany, as per Plasteurope.

The company says the facilities have been "losing money for quite some time," and despite restructuring in recent years, it was not possible to ensure the viability of the sites within the increasingly competitive environment – see Plasteurope.com of 06.05.2016.

Bottle production, which makes up the bulk of the business in Wernberg, will be transferred to Greiner's packaging site in Kremsmunster. Around 110 employees at the Wernberg and Rastatt sites will be affected by the closures. The employees will be offered alternative jobs within the Greiner group (Kremsmunster), and a redundancy plan is being prepared to provide "the best possible, socially acceptable solutions."

In 2010, Greiner acquired both factories with its takeover of former Austrian bottle and container manufacturer Plastikwerk Expan, which was located in Wernberg. Plastikwerk Expan opened the Wernberg factory in 2004 – see Plasteurope.com of 28.10.2004. Polyolefin containers for cosmetics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals are produced in Rastatt, and the site once belonged to packaging groups such as Swedish packaging manufacturer PLM and German bottle producer Crown Raku.
MRC