SABIC to shut its 3 cracker in Netherlands for maintenance in September

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SABIC Europe, an affiliate of Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), plans to conduct a maintenance work at its cracker No.3 at Geleen site in the Netherlands in autumn, reported NCT with reference to market sources.

The planned maintenance is slated to start in September and last around 2 months.

The company could not be reached for comments at the time of publication, meanwhile.

The company operates two steam crackers in Geleen which are capable of producing 1,250,000 tons/year of ethylene and 675,000 tons/year of propylene in total.

As MRC wrote before, SABIC took off-stream its SABIC Olefins 4 cracker owing to technical issues on May 10, 2019. Further details on duration of the shutdown could not be ascertained. Located in beek, the Netherlands, the cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 690,000 mt/year and a propylene production capacity of 360,000 mt/year.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polyprolypele (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,255,800 tonnes in the first seven months of 2019, up by 9% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, the estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 796,120 tonnes in January-July 2019, up by 11% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) ranks among the world's top petrochemical companies. The company is among the worldпїЅs market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.
MRC

Toyo Tire to establish a plant in Serbia

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Japanese Toyo Tire Corporation has announced it will establish a subsidiary in Indijia City, Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, the Republic of Serbia in September 2019, as per GV.

According to the company, the subsidiary will construct and operate a new manufacturing plant for radial tyres for passenger vehicles and light trucks on a 600,000 m2 (about 150 acres) site.

Toyo Tire will invest approximately JPY 48.8 billion (~ EUR 390.5 million) in the new facility. The company is currently supplying tyres for the European and Russian market from factories in Japan and Malaysia. As of 2022, the new manufacturing base in Serbia will take on a key role in this regard, said Toyo Tire.

The company said the country complies with all its requirements, including: Good resource of a skilled workforce but comparatively low wage, integration of automotive industries due to ongoing investments by foreign companies, and a good relationship with Japan.

Toyo Tire plans to will begin construction of the Serbian plant in May 2020 and start tyre manufacturing operations in January 2022. The new plant is expected to reach a capacity of 5 million tyres annually (based on tyres for passenger vehicles) by the summer of 2023 and to employ about 500 people.

We remind that, as MRC informed before, in February 2019, Toyo Engineering Corporation was awarded a contract to build a 650,000 t/y ethylene and polyethylene (PE) plant located in Ust-Kut, Irkutsk region, Russian Federation by Irkutsk Polymer Plant, a subsidiary of Irkutsk Oil Company (INK).

Ethylene is a feedstock for the production of polyethylene (PE).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,255,800 tonnes in the first seven months of 2019, up by 9% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased.

Toyo Tire Corporation, formerly Toyo Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd., is a Japan-based company mainly engaged in the tire business and diver tech business, as well as the provision and maintenance of modules, financing and operation. The Company operates through two business segments. The Tire segment is engaged in the manufacturing and sale of various tires used in passenger cars, trucks, buses, construction equipment and industrial vehicles.

The Toyo Group, or Global Toyo, consists of Toyo together with 27 subsidiaries and 11 affiliates, with a total of 5500 employees.
MRC

India set to ban six single-use plastic items

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Government of India is planning to enforce a ban on single-use plastic items such as plastic bags, cups and straws? said Packaging-gateway.

From 2 October, the ban will initially cover six items such as plastic bags, cups, plates, small bottles, straws and certain types of sachets.

An anonymous government official said: “The ban will be comprehensive and will cover manufacturing, usage and import of such items."

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs did not respond.

The move is part of the country’s efforts to eliminate these plastic products by 2022.

The anonymous official also noted that India’s yearly consumption of plastic amounts to approximately 14 million tonnes. The ban on the six items is expected to reduce 5% to 10% of plastic waste.

After the ban is enforced, the government will introduce a six-month adaptation period for business and individuals to find alternatives to plastic. After this period, fines will be imposed for violations.

The government is also considering stricter environmental standards for plastic products.

As part of the new regulations, e-commerce companies will be asked to reduce plastic packaging for deliveries.

Earlier this month, the Indian Ministry of Railways announced its commitment to eliminate single-use plastics from its operations across the country, starting from 2 October.
MRC

Bayer and Lanxess to sell their stakes in Currenta to MIRA

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Bayer and Lanxess have announced that they will sell their stakes in the chemical park operator Currenta to funds managed by the infrastructure investor Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA), as per GV.

Both companies signed corresponding agreements with MIRA in August 2019. The transaction still requires the approval of the responsible authorities.

Currenta manages and operates infrastructure, energy supply and other essential services across the chemical parks in Leverkusen, Dormagen and Krefeld-Uerdingen and is currently a joint venture of Bayer (60 %) and Lanxess (40 %). Currenta, including a transferred real estate portfolio by Bayer, is valued with a total enterprise value of EUR 3.5 billion before deduction of net debt and pension obligations.

Bayer’s stake in Currenta has an equity value of approximately EUR 1.17 billion (after deduction of net debt and pension obligations). In addition, in order to strengthen Currenta, Bayer is selling to it an extensive package of real estate and infrastructure for EUR 180 million. Bayer and MIRA have also reached an agreement on long-term service and supply contracts. Bayer had announced in November 2018 that it was looking to sell its stake in Currenta. The main reasons behind this are that Bayer’s position as a Chempark customer has changed following the carve-out of Covestro and that the company has stepped up its focus on its core activities. Bayer expects its part of the transaction to close in Q4 2019.

Lanxess as one of Currenta's main customers will provide MIRA with operational support during the transition phase and will therefore continue to hold its stake in Currenta for several months longer. Thus, the company expects its transaction to be completed by the end of April 2020. The stake of Currenta held by Lanxess accounts for an equity value (after deduction of net debt and pensions) of approximately EUR 780 million pre tax. In addition, Lanxess is entitled to a profit participation until completion of the transaction. Moreover, Lanxess has reached an agreement with MIRA on service and supply contracts for the three sites in Leverkusen, Dormagen and Krefeld, which will initially run for ten years. Lanxess operates a significant portion of its global production facilities there.

As MRC informed before, in May 2018, Bayer Group sold 28.81 million shares representing a 14.2 percent interest in Covestro at a price of 75.50 euros per share. The proceeds of this sale totaled 2.2 billion euros. Bayer AG now holds just 6.8 percent of Covestro shares to repay the exchangeable bond that matures in 2020. Bayer AG acquired these shares from Bayer Pension Trust, which now no longer holds any Covestro shares.

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the Life Science fields of health care and agriculture. Its products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. At the same time, the Group aims to create value through innovation, growth and high earning power. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development and to its social and ethical responsibilities as a corporate citizen. In fiscal 2017, the Group employed around 99,800 people and had sales of 35.0 billion euros. Capital expenditures amounted to 2.4 billion euros, R&D expenses to 4.5 billion euros.

Lanxess is a leading specialty chemicals company with about 19,200 employees in 25 countries. The company is currently represented at 74 production sites worldwide. The core business of Lanxess is the development, manufacturing and marketing of chemical intermediates, additives, specialty chemicals and plastics. Through Arlanxeo, the joint venture with Saudi Aramco, Lanxess is also a leading supplier of synthetic rubber.
MRC

Trinseo opened new compounding plant in the Netherlands

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Trinseo, a global materials solutions provider and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders and synthetic rubber, has announced the opening of a new compounding factory at its Hoek Site in Terneuzen, the Netherlands, which will replace the old compounding plant at Terneuzen Industrial Park, as per the company's press release.

The site in Terneuzen is the company's second largest location. Trinseo has 16 production sites and eleven R&D centres worldwide. Partly due to a lack of space for expansion at the Terneuzen Industrial Park, the company moved to its new location at the Mosselbanken in Hoek. The new compounding plant is in close vicinity to Trinseo’s new R&D Centre, which was officially opened in September 2017. Another advantage of the new location is the proximity to the company's storage and distribution partner Katoen Natie. This offers the possibility of optimising the supply chain, which immediately results in a reduction in the number of freight movements, said Trinseo.

"We are proud that the replacement of the old factory represents a long-term investment in the future and thus contributes to the positive development of Trinseo as a company, its employees, and the regional community where we operate," said Frans Kempenaars, Managing Director of Trinseo Netherlands. "The transition to, and building of the new manufacturing plant, has taken more than two years."

As MRC informed before, Trinseo and its affiliate companies in Europe has announced a price increase for all polystyrene (PS) grades in Europe. Effective September 1, 2019, or as existing contract terms allow, the contract and spot prices for the products listed below increased as follows:

- STYRON general purpose polystyrene grades (GPPS) - by EUR100 per metric ton;
- STYRON and STYRON A-Tech high impact polystyrene grades (HIPS) - by EUR100 per metric ton.

According to ICIS-MRC Price report, in the Russian market, Nizhnekamskneftekhim raised its selling HIPS and GPPS prices by Rb2,000/tonne in September.

Trinseo is a manufacturer of plastics, latex binders, synthetic rubber, and thermoplastic elastomers. The company is one of the five largest employers in the Zeeuws-Vlaanderen region in the Netherlands, while globally it is active in investing in continuous improvement for its 2,500 employees. Just ten years ago, Trinseo had 350 employees in Terneuzen. This number currently sits at 450 employees and is still growing. The company had approximately USD 4.6 billion in net sales in 2018.
MRC