Epsilyte acquired StyroChem to expand capacity

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Epsilyte Holdings LLC has acquired StyroChem Canada, Ltd., a leading North American producer of expandable polystyrene (EPS) located in Baie d’Urfe, Quebec, from PMC Capital Partners, LLC, said Bloomberg.

Epsilyte is owned by Balmoral Funds and management.

This acquisition creates one of the largest producers of EPS in North America. Epsilyte will now operate three production sites, employ more than 300 associates, and provide customer solutions in more than 20 countries. Epsilyte expects to integrate StyroChem functions and operations into its current organization with minimal impact to StyroChem assets, employees and customers.

"We are thrilled to complete this acquisition and we welcome the StyroChem associates to the Epsilyte team,” said Brad Crocker, President and Chief Executive Officer, of Epsilyte. “Our advanced materials are already key enablers of carbon neutrality due to their almost unmatched insulative properties. This acquisition further strengthens our ability to enhance our portfolio through StyroChem’s unique and efficient operational technology enabling us to better serve customers with more sustainable products and true value creation.” Mr. Crocker went on to say “StyroChem has really benefited from their forward thinking and experienced management team and I’m excited to work closely with Glenn Wredenhagen, the President of StyroChem, to build a company of scale that truly cares about our industry, our customers, and our communities."

According to David Shainberg of Balmoral Funds, “This acquisition enables Epsilyte to leverage its resources to continue improving its business and expanding its product portfolio. We are excited about the prospects to improve our ESG message and performance based on this exciting combination."

Details of the transaction were not announced.

Earlier it was reported that sales of expandable polystyrene (EPS) in the domestic North American market increased by 18.8% in the first eight months of 2021 compared to the same period last year. Export sales of EPS in the region increased by 13.1%.

According to the MRC's ScanPlast, the total estimated consumption of EPS in August increased by 15% compared to August last year and amounted to 11,650 tonnes. The total production volume of EPS for the reporting month amounted to 8,770 tonnes, a decrease in comparison with August last year amounted to 8%.

Epsilyte is one of North America’s leading producers of advanced materials used in construction, packaging, and safety equipment. We are a company of scale focused on solving customer needs for efficient, highly insulative materials. Our more than 300 employees focus every day on reducing energy usage in buildings; ensuring safe and healthy food through innovative packaging technology; protecting lives with our impact resistant technology; and enabling cost effective and efficient infrastructure investment around the world. Epsilyte is a portfolio company of Balmoral Funds LLC. For more information please visit
MRC

1. Russian idle primary oil refining capacity to revise up 9% in October

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia is expected to have 3.464 million tonnes of primary oil refining capacity offline in October, a weekly estimate based on Refinitiv Eikon data and Reuters calculations showed on Friday, up 9.1% from last week's estimate, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing. That is still be lower than the previous month, with many plants expected to finish maintenance. Expected idled refining capacity for September was estimated at 3.943 million tonnes, down 7.9% from last week's estimate. The revisions follow adjustments to maintenance schedules by some refineries.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- More than a quarter of the total production of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in Europe is currently idle, as plants are shut for scheduled and unscheduled maintenance works, reports Kunststoffweb.

The total PVC production capacity in Europe is approximately 8.7 mln tonnes per year. Market players expect that the availability of SPVC is unlikely to improve in October and even until the end of the year. There will be an acute shortage, and prices will continue to rise, as plants continue to be closed due to force majeure and planned shutdowns.

For example, INOVYN, one of the largest producers of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in the world, on 17 September announced force majeure for PVC shipment from the German city of Rheinberg due to interruptions in the supply of VCM. This production with a capacity of 320,000 tonnes/year of PVC and 250,000 tonnes/year of VCM was closed for an unknown time.

According to MRC's DataScope report, August SPVC imports to Russia exceeded 14,000 tonnes from 8,700 tonnes in July. Good seasonal demand and a shortage of polymer from Russian producers led to a jump in imports in July-August. Overall imports totalled 42,700 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, compared to 35,700 tonnes a year earlier, with PVC from China accounting for the main increase in imports.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - TechnoNIKOL, Europe's largest manufacturer and supplier of roofing, waterproofing and heat-insulating materials, will build factories for the production of heat-insulating materials in Kazakhstan, the company said.

Chairman of the Board of JSC National Company KAZAKH INVEST (Kazakhstan) Meirzhan Yusupov and Co-owner and Managing Partner of TechnoNICOL Corporation (Russia) Sergey Kolesnikov signed a cooperation agreement within the framework of the XVII Forum of Interregional Cooperation between Kazakhstan and Russia, which this year was held online with the participation of the President of the Russian Federation of Vladimir Putin and President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev.

According to the plans for the implementation of the investment project, TechnoNIKOL will build factories for the production of heat-insulating materials based on mineral insulation and extruded polystyrene foam in Talgar district of Almaty region.

The total volume of investments will be over USD100 mln (7.28 bn rubles). The implementation of the project is designed for the period from 2021 to 2023, and TechnoNICOL plans to move to the active stage of construction in 2022.

The parties expressed interest in the development of long-term cooperation in the Republic of Kazakhstan, which implies the creation of favorable conditions for the implementation of investment projects and support for investment activities.

Earlier it was reported that TechnoNIKOL carried out the modernization of the TechnoNIKOL-Ulyanovsk Plant as part of a large-scale investment program in 2021. The set of measures taken made it possible to increase labor productivity by 20%, to increase the volume of products by 25%, as well as to master the production of heat-insulating materials from extruded polystyrene foam with a thickness of up to 500 mm. The volume of investments amounted to 262 mln rubles.

According to MRC's ScanPlast, July total estimated consumption of PS and styrene plastics in Russia increased by 4% compared to the same month last year and amounted to 46,540 tonnes. The total consumption of PS in the country amounted to 328,980 tonnes, up 23% year on year in January - July 2021.

TechnoNICOL Corporation is one of the largest manufacturers and suppliers of hydro, heat and sound insulation. The company includes 49 factories in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania and the Czech Republic, its own trade network of 140 branches and consulates in 33 countries. The company was founded in 1992 by Sergey Kolesnikov and Igor Rybakov.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shell and BASF are collaborating to accelerate the transition to a world of net-zero emissions. To this end, both companies worked together to evaluate, de-risk, and deploy BASF’s Sorbead Adsorption Technology for pre- and post-combustion Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) applications, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The Sorbead Adsorption Technology is used to dehydrate CO2 gas after it has been captured by Shell’s carbon capture technologies such as ADIP Ultra or CANSOLV.

The Adsorption Technology has several advantages for CCS applications: Sorbead, an aluminosilicate gel material, is acid resistant, has high capacity for water, and regenerates at a lower temperature compared to activated alumina or molecular sieves. Furthermore, Sorbead Adsorption Technology ensures the treated gas is free of glycol and will meet stringent pipeline and underground storage specifications. Customers also benefit from long life, operational turndown flexibility and immediate on-spec gas at startup.

The Sorbead Adsorption Technology is now in Shell’s portfolio for use in the numerous CCS projects around the world to achieve their Powering Progress strategy. “BASF has enjoyed a great partnership with Shell over the past several years and I am happy to see another successful qualification. BASF is proud to support Shell in their effort to reach net-zero emissions and work toward improving environmental conditions around the world”, says Dr. Detlef Ruff, Senior Vice President, Process Catalysts at BASF.

As MRC reported earlier, BASF is strengthening its global catalyst development and helping customers to bring new products faster to the market. As part of this strategy, BASF is building a new pilot plant center at its Ludwigshafen site. The new Catalyst Development and Solids Processing Center will serve as a global hub for pilot-scale production and process innovations of chemical catalysts. The new building is scheduled for completion by mid-2024.

We remind that BASF aims is to electrify its production processes for basic chemicals, which are currently based on fossil fuels.

We also remind that in mid-February, BASF said it was restarting one of its steam crackers at its Ludwigshafen complex in Germany after operations were halted earlier that month due to a technical issue. The naphtha cracker produces ethylene and propylene, and is one of two crackers on the site. One has a production capacity of 420,000 metric tons/year, with the other"s capacity at 240,000 metric tons/year.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,396,960 tonnes in January-July 2021, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 841,990 tonnes in the first seven months of 2021, up by 29% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymers (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.

Royal Dutch Shell plc is an Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the biggest company in the world in terms of revenue and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors". Shell is vertically integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading.
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