Next Mexico government says train project, oil refinery backed by vote

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The incoming Mexican government said on Monday that a weekend public consultation vote had approved 10 major policy proposals ranging from a new rail line connecting states in eastern Mexico and a new oil refinery in the Gulf of Mexico, reported Reuters.

Public referendums could be a mainstay of President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador administration’s six-year term after he takes office on Dec. 1 as he seeks a more participative democracy.

His incoming administration’s first consultation last month called for canceling the construction of a partially built USD13 billion airport for Mexico City, a referendum Lopez Obrador had vowed to hold during the campaign.

Lopez Obrador used the results of that consultation to halt the airport project, leaving the peso currency and stock market reeling as investors fretted over how he would manage the economy.

As MRC informed before, Mexico’s next government plans to build what could be the country’s largest oil refinery, with construction set to begin as soon as next year, said president-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in September 2018. The winner of July’s presidential election is seeking to end Mexico’s massive fuel imports, nearly all of which come from the United States, while boosting domestic refining during the first half of his six-year term.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Becht Engineering has been awarded an Owner’s Engineering Quality Assurance Project for Inter Pipeline Heartland Petrochemical Complex in Alberta, Canada, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The Heartland Petrochemical Complex is being designed to convert locally sourced, low-cost propane into 525,000 tonnes per year of polypropylene utilizing Propane Dehydrogenation (PDH), Polypropylene (PP) and Central Utilities Block (CUB) facilities.

Construction of the Heartland Petrochemical Complex is in progress with completion scheduled for late 2021. Becht Engineering will conduct a series of Cold Eye Reviews focused on the operability of the complex.

Becht Engineering provides a wide array of engineering services to the refining, petrochemical, and power industries - including continuing services to 90% of the refineries in the United States and Canada.

As MRC wrote before, in December 2017, Inter Pipeline Ltd. announced that its board of directors has authorized the construction of a world-scale integrated propane dehydrogenation (PDH) and polypropylene (PP) plant. The facilities, collectively referred to as the Heartland Petrochemical Complex, are estimated to cost USD3.5 B in aggregate and will be located in Strathcona County, Alberta near Inter Pipeline’s Redwater Olefinic Fractionator.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Following a meeting of BCF’s Vehicle Refinish Committee, the BCF confirmed that it will still be illegal to sell solvent-based basecoats for accident repair in a post-Brexit Britain, as per Coatingsworld.

Non-compliance has increased significantly since the Brexit vote in 2016, with rumors that the EU law (the VOC Paint Product Directive) will no longer apply once the UK leaves the EU.

The BCF said it plans on raising this with Defra Secretary of State Michael Gove, whilst also drafting similar letters to 400 distributors, reminding them that they will still have to comply with the VOC regulations, even after Britain has officially left the EU.

The BCF has been proactive in raising awareness of the continued and growing sales of solvent-based basecoats – as much as 30 percent of basecoat sales in the UK are now solvent-based, per the BCF.

Distributors selling solvent-based basecoats are not only breaking the law, but they are also harming the environment and adding to VOC emissions, the BCF noted.

BCF Chief Executive Tom Bowtell said that 25 percent of the 100 distributors he visited sold solvent-based basecoats for use in general car repair. He said this is a direct contravention of the UK’s VOC Paint Product Regulations.

“The BCF will continue to fight to try to regain a level-playing field for BCF members who invested in water-based basecoats, and also help the UK Government achieve its VOC emissions targets," Bowtell added.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Black Bear, the Dutch tire upcycling company, appointed Geert Glimmerveen as its new CFO, said Coatingsworld.

Before joining Black Bear, Glimmerveen spent more than 30 years in senior finance and executive positions at McKinsey & Company, DAF Trucks, Eneco, and Egeria.

Most recently, he was managing director for waste management and recycling company Van Gansewinkel (now Renewi) Netherlands.

Glimmerveen will speak at the European Venture Philanthropy Association conference, which takes place Nov. 29-30 in Poland.

"At van Gansewinkel, I was intrigued by the opportunities in the circular economy and in particularly by the combination of an attractive business model and the opportunity to make a positive impact on the environment. Black Bear is in a unique position to deliver on both promises," Glimmerveen said.

"By adding Geert to our team, we gain the deep experience of someone who has successfully led growth organizations. As we scale and roll-out internationally, we need to make sure we also build a strong organization to support this," Black Bear CEO Martijn Lopes Cardozo added.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Rochling Engineering Plastics is acquiring Schwartz GmbH Technical Plastics, a Germany-based manufacturer of molded engineering plastics components, as per Canplastics.

The terms of deal have not been disclosed. Schwartz manufactures impact-resistant plastics and large-sized and complex components made of plastic materials such as nylon and acetal. The company has approximately 240 workers at four sites in Germany, the Czech Republic, China, and the U.S.

Schwartz will be integrated into Rochling’s industrial division.

"With this acquisition, Rochling advances its growth strategy and with new technologies such as the manufacturing of large format cast parts from cast polyamide, it particularly enhances its competence for the conveying and lifting technology, oil and gas industry, intralogistics and the building of elevators," said Franz Lubbers, member of the executive board and responsible for Rochling’s industrial division. "Schwartz is active in specialist industries in general engineering and particularly in lifting and conveying technology. As well as the production of highly resilient, large-volume, complex cast parts, Schwartz has the applied expertise required to fulfill the specialist technical requirements of its customers. The complementary activities at Schwartz are highly compatible with Rochling."

Headquartered in Mannheim, Germany, Rochling specializes in processing engineering plastics. The company is divided in three divisions: industrail, automotive, and medical. Rochling’s Canadian operation is located in Orangeville, Ont.
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