Brenntag completes acquisitions in APAC

Brenntag completes acquisitions in APAC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Brenntag, the global market leader in chemicals and ingredients distribution, made further important steps in strengthening its business in China with the closing of two acquisitions within its Specialties division, said the company.

On July 23, the acquisition of the first tranche (67%) of food ingredients specialist Zhongbai Xingye has been closed. The closing of the second tranche and thus the full acquisition of Zhongbai Xingye is expected to be completed by the end of 2024. In addition, end of June, Brenntag has completed the acquisition of pigments and additives specialist Wellstar Group by acquiring the remaining 49% of shares of the joint venture.

Henri Nejade, Member of the Management Board of Brenntag SE and COO Brenntag Specialties, comments: “Strengthening our Brenntag Specialties division, particularly in China, as well as in the Asia Pacific region in general, is a central pillar of our company’s M&A strategy. I am particularly delighted that we stuck exactly to our timing in both cases and were able to successfully close the important acquisition steps in the dynamic and growing Asian markets as planned."

The Chinese company Zhongbai Xingye is dedicated to the distribution of a wide range of specialty food ingredients, including dairy products and proteins. The acquisition of the leading player in mainland China is an important step for Brenntag to become a full-line distributor of food ingredients in the Asian market. Closing of the second tranche is expected at the end of 2024.

The Wellstar Group is headquartered in Hongkong and operates three subsidiaries in Mainland China located in Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Shanghai. Since Brenntag acquired a majority stake of 51% with a first tranche in August 2017, the business was operated and successfully developed as a joint venture servicing a broad range of industries. With the closing of the second tranche, the Wellstar Group is 100% owned by Brenntag.

As MRC informed earlier, in April 2020, Brenntag said it had acquired the operating assets of Suffolk Solutions’ (Suffolk, Virginia) caustic soda distribution business. Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

As MRC reported earlier, the May production of sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) amounted to 112,000 tonnes (100% of the main substance) against 101,000 tonnes a month earlier. In the first five months of the year, the total production of caustic soda amounted to 543,000 tonnes, which is 1.4% more than the same indicator of the previous year.
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Sinopec builds disinfectant production plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sinopec Jianghan Salt Chemical Hubei Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, has completed a trial run of its new 12,000 tons/year concentrated bleaching powder batch feeder.

At present, the Company’s annual disinfectant production capacity exceeds 100,000 tons, making it the world’s largest disinfectant production base.

The disinfectant products are now exported to over 80 countries and territories. The construction of the new 12,000-ton/year disinfectant production plant kicked off in June 2020 and is set to enter operation soon.

The disinfectant leaves no residue after use and can be used for food and drinking water disinfection, water purification, environmental disinfection, animal husbandry, aquaculture, among others.

The product is recognized as a national essential product by five ministries and commissions, including the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China.

As per MRC, Sinopec Maoming, a subsidiary of one of the world's largest energy and chemical companies - Sinopec, on 18 July halted production at its linear polyethylene (LLDPE) plant in Guangdong province (China) for unscheduled repairs. It is expected that maintenance at this plant with a capacity of 220,000 tonnes of LLDPE per year will continue until 25 July.

According to MRC's ScanPlast, in May, LLDPE supplies to Russia decreased to 35,120 tonnes against 57,110 tonnes a year earlier. Manufacturers reduced the production of PE, and exports also increased. In January-May, LLDPE supplies to the Russian market amounted to 168,190 tonnes, which is 6% more than in 2020. The main growth in demand was provided by film manufacturers.

Sinopec Corp. is one of the largest integrated energy and chemical companies in China. Its principal operations include the exploration and production, pipeline transportation and sale of petroleum and natural gas; the sale, storage and transportation of petroleum products, petrochemical products, coal chemical products, synthetic fibre, fertilizer and other chemical products; the import and export, including an import and export agency business, of petroleum, natural gas, petroleum products, petrochemical and chemical products, and other commodities and technologies.
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PPG to increase production of overvarnish coatings for beverage can exteriors at Ohio plant

PPG to increase production of overvarnish coatings for beverage can exteriors at Ohio plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PPG Industries is increasing production of overvarnish coatings for beverage can exteriors at its Delaware, Ohio facility, said the company.

PPG expects the addition of the Delaware plant’s new volume to existing overvarnish capacity at its Oak Creek, Wisconsin, packaging coatings facility will increase the company’s overall production of overvarnish coatings in the U.S. by 40%.

“Beverage can manufacturers around the world are facing unprecedented demand for their products,” said Todd White, PPG general manager, U.S. and Canada, and global strategic accounts, packaging coatings. “With this added capacity, we are committed to helping them meet that demand while adding more security to their supply chain for beverage can coatings."

In addition to increasing supply chain security for its customers and the packaging industry, the Delaware plant will provide in-line analytical capabilities for enhanced batch consistency. “PPG is the largest global supplier of overvarnish and two-piece non-BPA internal beverage coatings,” said Robyn McMillan, PPG global beverage segment manager. “With can makers scaling up, we’re investing in our production capacity to ensure they have localized sources of the PPG coatings that they rely on."

PPG’s Delaware, Ohio, plant employs approximately 400 people and produces resins and coatings for the packaging, industrial and automotive original equipment manufacturer (OEM) markets as well as the automotive refinish and collision market.

As per MRC, PPG Industries announced it will acquired Worwag (Stuttgart, Germany), a producer of liquid, powder and film coatings for industrial and automotive applications. Terms of the transaction, including purchase price, have not been disclosed. The deal is expected to close in the first half of this year. Worwag, a family-owned business, has operations in several countries in Europe, the Americas and Africa, and generates about EUR220 million/year (USD269 million) in revenue. It has about 1,100 employees.

As per MRC, March production of polymers in primary form was 958,000 tonnes versus 861,000 tonnes in February. Overall output of polymers in primary form totalled 2,740,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by 8.5% year on year. 151,000 tonnes of synthetic rubbers were produced in March, compared to 141,000 tonnes a month earlier. Overall, Russian plants produced about 447,000 tonnes of synthetic rubbers in January-March 2021, up by 10.2% year on year.
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Dow sees strong petrochemical demand in a number of end-markets

Dow sees strong petrochemical demand in a number of end-markets

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Dow Chemical, one of the largest US petrochemical companies, saw packaging, construction materials and coatings, industrial and electronics markets surge in the second quarter amid strong demand and higher chemical and resin pricing, reported S&P Global with reference to CFO Howard Ungerleider's statement July 22.

"Strong consumer trends continue in retail, housing, and the manufacturing sectors and inventory levels remain low across most of our value chains," Ungerleider said during the company's Q2 earnings call. "We expect these dynamics to continue to support price strength in (Q3) as the industry works to fulfill pent-up demand."

The company reported USD1.9 billion in profits, up from a USD225 million loss in Q2 2020, when demand cratered for many products amid the height of coronavirus pandemic-related shutdowns in many global regions.

While some coronavirus restrictions remain or have resurfaced amid the spread of the delta variant, demand has largely roared back for single-use and durable plastics, polyurethane foam, electronics, and industrial uses as vaccinations and economic activity increase.

At the same time, downstream converter and brand owner inventories "remain at all-time lows, with balances very tight," Ungerleider said, on continued fallout of the deep freeze that hit the US Gulf Coast and much of the US in mid-February, forcing weeks-long shutdowns of petrochemical plants.

"Around the world, increasingly positive trends indicate we remain in the early stages of economic recovery with an extended runway for growth," he said.

While industrial production is up nearly 20% over the year-ago low, it has not reached pre-pandemic levels, Ungerleider said. He also noted that retail inventory to sales was at its lowest levels in more than 30 years, and strong demand continued to counter near-term restocking efforts.

US housing starts also show continued growth amid a limited supply of single-family homes after a decade of underbuilding, he said. And the slow-to-improve personal care market showed a rebound in Q2, with higher sales of cosmetics and beauty products as consumers return to offices, he noted.

"We anticipate the strong demand we experienced in (Q2) across our polyethylene, polyurethane, acrylic, and silicone chains to extend through the second half of 2021," Ungerleider said.

As MRC wrote earlier, Dow Chemical began the process of restarting operations at its cracker No.7 in Freeport (Freeport, TX, USA) on 19 July, 2021, after a technological disruption on 4 July, 2021.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 953,400 tonnes in the first five months of 2021, which virtually corresponded to the same figure a year earlier. High denisty polyethylene (HDPE) shipments decreased.

Dow Chemical is an American diversified chemical company headquartered in Midland, Michigan. It is a major manufacturer of polymer products, including polystyrene, polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene and synthetic rubbers. The company produces more than five thousand products at 188 production facilities in 37 countries.
MRC

ExxonMobil and SABIC reach mechanical completion of MEG and two PE plants in Texas

ExxonMobil and SABIC reach mechanical completion of MEG and two PE plants in Texas

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil and SABIC have announced that their joint venture, Gulf Coast Growth Ventures located near Corpus Christi, Texas, has reached mechanical completion of a monoethylene glycol (MEG) unit and two polyethylene (PE) units, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Project startup is expected to begin ahead of schedule, likely in the fourth quarter of 2021.

“Gulf Coast Growth Ventures is a key development of our plan to serve growing demand for our high value performance products,” said Karen McKee, president of ExxonMobil Chemical Company. “This is truly a best-in-class project, as demonstrated in schedule acceleration and cost competitiveness, despite the many challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“We are very proud to bring GCGV one step closer to operations,” said Abdulrahman Al-Fageeh, SABIC’s executive vice president of petrochemicals. “Not only are we ahead of schedule, but we have executed this project with the highest commitment and emphasis on safety with nearly 18 million safe person-hours worked, all while acting on the promises we made to the community when we started this journey four years ago.”

The project, which includes a 1.8 million metric ton ethane steam cracker, is expected to be delivered under budget and approximately 25% less than the average cost of similar projects along the US Gulf Coast. When completed, GCGV will produce 1,100 kilotons of MEG and 1,300 kilotons of PE per year.

As MRC wrote previously, a little more than two years after announcing it had selected San Patricio County as the site for its new ethylene cracker plant, ExxonMobil and Saudi Basic Industries Corp. celebrated the groundbreaking for the new facility (September 2019).

MEG is commonly used in the manufacturing of polyesters and automotive coolants, and as a building block to create various forms of high-performance plastics. PE is commonly used in protective film, packaging and bottles and containers that prolong the shelf-life of food and medicines, as well as in various automotive parts that improve fuel efficiency and performance, and in medical applications.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 953,400 tonnes in the first five months of 2021, which virtually corresponded to the same figure a year earlier. High denisty polyethylene (HDPE) shipments decreased.

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world's oil and about 2% of the world's energy.

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