Ascend to acquire Formulated Polymers Ltd

Ascend Performance Materials (Houston) has reached an agreement to acquire Formulated Polymers Ltd., a leading engineered materials manufacturer in Chennai, India, said the company.

Expected to close on May 1, this acquisition will establish Ascend’s first manufacturing base in the subcontinent and strengthen Ascend’s global reach in the electrical and e-mobility application space. The deal includes a world-scale manufacturing facility in Chennai, as well as several warehouses throughout India. Formulated Polymers is currently a licensee of Ascend’s Starflam flame-retardant polyamides.

“Demand for our materials in India is strong and growing,” said Phil McDivitt, Ascend’s president and CEO. “The team at Formulated Polymers has built an excellent, diversified business with a proven track record of technology development in polyamides. We are excited to build on their expertise to drive additional value-added growth in India and beyond."

Ascend, a fully integrated producer of durable engineered materials, has grown its global production footprint with five acquisitions over the last four years, each focused on specific synergies with the company’s core business. This acquisition provides a significant growth opportunity for Ascend in India, one of the highest growth economies in the world.

“Being customer-focused is one of our values,” said John Saunders, Ascend’s vice president for Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and India. “We look forward to supporting our customers in a fast-growing market by continuing to invest in capacity, technical resources and product development to meet their needs."

Ascend is set to close on its previously announced acquisition in San Jose Iturbide, Mexico on April 1. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

As MRC reported earlier, in January 2021, Ascend Performance Materials acquired Eurostar Engineering Plastics (Fosse, France), a compounder with a broad portfolio of flame-retardant (FR) engineered plastics and expertise in halogen-free formulations.

And in June 2020, Ascend acquired the assets of NCM (Changshu) Co. and Tehe Engineering Plastic (Suzhou) Co. located in Changshu Yushan High-tech Industrial Park near Shanghai. Ascend intends to expand the compounding assets at the site and to establish a global research and development center.
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Univar Solutions, a global chemical and ingredient distributor and provider of value-added services, announced an agreement to distribute Dow Organics' portfolio in Brazil, said the company.

The new agreement covers brands such as CELLOSIZE™, FOAMYSENSE™, ECOSENSE™, ACULYN™, VERSENE™ and more, which are used in the beauty and personal care market.

By distributing the Dow Organics product lines in Brazil, Univar Solutions formulation and application experts located throughout a global network of Solution Centers can help customers with application and product development, quality testing, performance benchmarking, rapid prototyping and more. Partnering with suppliers like Dow allows the Company to provide hair care, sun care, skin care and cleansing market customers with more sustainable, unique, inspiring, and authentic beauty and personal care ingredient solutions and formulations based on the latest market trends, functional needs and industry regulatory requirements.

The Dow Organics' portfolio for beauty and personal care products includes 13 brands connected with the growing social conscience calling for products that impart minimal environmental impact, without compromising performance. These products range from multifunctional polymers and cellulose derivatives to chelating agents, used to impart eco-friendly textures in shampoos, conditioners, body washes, hair colorants, creams, lotions, skin cleansers and more.

"Through our relationship with Univar Solutions, customers have access to the specialty ingredients and formulation expertise needed to innovate and grow their business. With Univar Solutions' technical knowledge and distribution capabilities, we're well-positioned in Brazil to support product innovation in the beauty and personal care sector. As trends come and go and consumers become more demanding, innovative technologies are needed and we're confident we found the right partner to help customers navigate these challenges," added Flavia Venturoli, Dow's Latin America commercial director for Consumer Solutions.

As MRC wrote previously, in late October, 2020, Univar Solutions Inc. and PVS Chloralkali Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of PVS Chemicals Inc. (PVS), announced a new agreement where PVS will transfer railcars located in Ohio, Illinois and Virginia and sourcing agreements for Hydrochloric Acid (HCL) to Univar Solutions.

Univar Solutions creates value by bringing ingredients to life through pioneering concept formulas, technical expertise and industry-leading distribution reach. Whether operating on a global or regional level, Univar Solutions has the capability to consistently provide customers with the latest comprehensive technical, regulatory, market trend and sourcing support in Beauty & Personal Care markets such as color and makeup, hair care, skin care and cleansing.
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The board of directors of Exxon Mobil Corporation said that lead independent director Kenneth C. Frazier has announced his intention not to stand for re-election to the board at the annual meeting of shareholders on May 25, said the company.

Joseph (Jay) L. Hooley, former chairman and CEO of State Street Corp. and ExxonMobil director since 2020, has been selected by the independent directors to serve as lead director, effective after the annual meeting. “The board of directors thanks Ken for his tireless work on behalf of the corporation and owes him a deep debt of gratitude,” said Darren Woods, chairman and chief executive officer. “I look forward to working closely with Jay as we continue to strengthen ExxonMobil’s industry leadership position, responsibly meeting global needs while leading in the energy transition."

Frazier, executive chairman and former chairman and CEO at Merck & Co., Inc., will remain as independent lead director until the annual meeting. He was appointed to the role in 2020, and has been a member of the board since 2009. The role of the lead director has broad oversight responsibilities that were strengthened under Frazier’s leadership. “ExxonMobil has made significant progress on its strategy to lead in financial and operating performance through the energy transition by leveraging its advantaged portfolio of traditional and lower-emission business opportunities,” said Frazier.

As MRC reported earlier, in February, 2022, ExxonMobil and SABIC successful started up Gulf Coast Growth Ventures world-scale manufacturing facility in San Patricio County, Texas. The new facility will produce materials used in packaging, agricultural film, construction materials, clothing, and automotive coolants. The operation includes a 1.8 MM metric tpy ethane steam cracker, two polyethylene (PE) units capable of producing up to 1.3 MM metric tpy, and a monoethylene glycol (MEG) unit with a capacity of 1.1 MM metric tpy.

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

According to MRC''s ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,487,450 tonnes in 2021, up by 13% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 1,494.280 tonnes, up by 21% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whreas.shipments of PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

ExxonMobil, one of the largest publicly traded international energy companies, uses technology and innovation to help meet the world’s growing energy needs. ExxonMobil holds an industry-leading inventory of resources, is one of the largest refiners and marketers of petroleum products, and its chemical company is one of the largest in the world.
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China’s Zhejiang Sanwei Rubber Item Co has kicked off construction of an integrated degradable materials project that includes feedstock butanediol (BDO) and polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT)/polytetramethylene ether glycol (PTMEG) at Wuhai in Inner Mongolia, said Jlcint.

The facility will initially have 300,000 tonnes/year of BDO, 100,000 tonnes/year of PBAT and 60,000 tonnes/year of PTMEG capacities, as the first phase. The company eyes start-up of the first phase by June 2023.

The project’s eventual capacity is designed as 900,000 tonnes/year of BDO, 600,000 tonnes/year of PBAT and 300,000 tonnes/year of PTMEG.

In August 2021, the Inner Mongolia local government has granted approval to China-based Zhejiang Sanwei Rubber Item Co's Yuan 13 bn (USD2 bn) butanediol (BDO)/polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT)/polytetramethylene ether glycol (PTMEG) project in Wuhai. The two-phased project will involve Yuan 8.7 bn and Yuan 4.3 bn of investments, respectively.

Inner Mongolia Sanwei Resources Group Co. Ltd. manufactures base metals. The Company produces ferrosilicon, silicomanganese, magnesium metals, and other products. Inner Mongolia Sanwei Resources Group also operates import and export businesses.
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Evonik has opened Applied Technology Center in Brazil. The Applied Technology Center (ATC) was designed to support the development of modern, innovative and essential solutions for a more sustainable future, according to SpecialChem.

The completion of the investment in a modern building, which combines eight state-of-the-art laboratories, two pilot plants, and the entire necessary infrastructure to support industries in their developments, strengthens Evonik’s strong commitment to its clients and partners across the Central & South America region.

“The works started at the end of 2020 and were completed successfully on schedule, in spite of the challenges of the market We remain committed to providing the best experience to our clients and developing innovative solutions that allow for a better future for all,” says Elias Lacerda, president of Evonik for the Central & South America region.

The application laboratories are aimed at industries in several strategic markets for Evonik, such as agriculture, construction, crosslinkers, personal care & home care, pharmaceuticals, animal nutrition, polyurethanes, and paints, in addition to two pilot plans catering to the animal nutrition and polyurethanes segments.

As MRC reported before, Evonik is investing a three-digit million-euro sum in the construction of a new production plant for bio-based and fully biodegradable rhamnolipids. The decision to build the plant follows a breakthrough in Evonik's research and development. Rhamnolipids are biosurfactants and serve as active ingredients in shower gels and detergents. Demand for environ-mentally friendly surfactants is growing rapidly worldwide.

We remind that in February, 2020, Dow and Evonik entered into an exclusive technology partnership. Together, they plan to bring a unique method for directly synthesizing propylene glycol (PG) from propylene and hydrogen peroxide to market maturity.

Propylene is the main feedstock for the production of polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,363,850 tonnes in January-November, 2021, up by 25% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.
Evonik is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. The company is active in more than 100 countries around the world and generated sales of EUR12.2 billion and an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of EUR1.91 billion in 2020. Evonik goes far beyond chemistry to create innovative, profitable and sustainable solutions for customers. About 33,000 employees work together for a common purpose: to improve life today and tomorrow.
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