Polynt Composites increased prices in Europe

Polynt Composites increased prices in Europe, said the company.

The chemical products sector, already heavily hit in February, is undergoing further cost pressure triggered by the current persistent geopolitical problems with consequent further price increases in the main oil derivatives and in the raw materials and utilities for UPR and VE.

In this scenario Polynt is forced to announce a price increase, effective April 1st, of 160 €/t on the UPR and GC families and of EUR200 per tonne on the VE resin family.

Although this situation was caused by circumstances beyond their reasonable control, they sincerely regret and apologize for the inconvenience this may cause to your business.

Polynt Composites will continue to make every effort to limit the impact of these rising costs upon product pricing.

As it was written earlier, Polynt Group employees, together with the Company, made a charitable donation to the “Amici del MoyaMoya ONLUS” association to help both the reception of Ukrainian children and women fleeing the war (Matrioska Association) and the transport of essential goods to the boarder regions. In addition, Polynt Composites Poland Sp. z o.o. made a further donation to the “Aiutiamoli a Vivere” association to help Ukrainian children.

We remind, Black Diamond Capital Management, L.L.C. has announced that Speciality Chemicals International Limited has agreed to repurchase Investindustrial’s shares in the of Polynt-Reichhold Group and following the completion of the transaction, Black Diamond will become the Group’s controlling shareholder.
mrchub.com

Olin Corp. (Calyton, Mo.) and Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (Tokyo) announced a global strategic alliance to better serve customers, said the company.

The companies have agreed to a memorandum of understanding to establish a joint venture that brings together Mitsui’s top-notch global logistics, deep supplier and customer relationships, and breadth of product portfolio with Olin’s scale, North American export capability, and production flexibility across the electrochemical unit (ECU) portfolio.

The joint venture will be an independent global buyer, supplier, and marketer of ECU-based derivatives, initially focused on globally traded (blue water) caustic soda and ethylene dichloride (EDC) with potential future expansion into other ECU derivatives and related products. By combining the complementary geographic and functional strengths of Olin and Mitsui, the joint venture will enable customers to benefit from greater security of supply, enhanced logistics reliability, increased access to global product liquidity, and network optimization to support the decarbonization agenda.

The parties expect to commence the joint venture later this year, subject to agreement of definitive terms and applicable regulatory approvals.

Scott Sutton, Chairman, President & CEO of Olin commented "Olin’s 130-year history in ECUs and Mitsui’s 70-year history in trading and logistics creates a natural partnership that will grow Olin’s parlay activities and grow Mitsui’s capacity to serve on a global scale. This innovative alliance will connect Olin’s leading asset positions with global product liquidity to reliably meet growing demand in increasingly sustainable ways. Through this alliance, Olin is committed to delivering strategic, sustainable solutions across the value chain."

Takashi Furutani, Chief Operating Officer of Basic Materials Business Unit, Mitsui & Co., Ltd. said “It is an exciting challenge to establish a new joint venture which will operate independently from both parent companies and contribute to the sustainable development of the industry. The joint venture aims to bring value to the industry through optimizing and streamlining the sourcing, supplying, and marketing of ECU-based derivatives. The joint venture also intends to help accelerate the industrial decarbonization effort by enhancing its capabilities and network."

As per MRC, Olin Corp., one of the largest PVC producers in the country, plans to close production at the phenol and acetone plant in Oyster Creek (Oyster Creek, Texas, USA) in mid-April for planned preventive measures. Maintenance at this facility with a capacity of 295,000 tonnes of phenol and 180,000 tonnes of acetone per year will be short and will take one week.

It was previously reported that in 2019, Olin carried out scheduled maintenance at the phenol and acetone plant in Oyster Creek from March 15 to 31.

Olin Corporation was founded in 1892 and is currently based in Clayton, Missouri, USA. The company's activities are concentrated in three segments: the production of military ammunition and chlor-alkali products, and their distribution. It is one of the main producers of polyvinyl chloride in the USA along with Shintech, Formosa Plastics, Westlake Chemical and Axiall.
mrchub.com

KBR announced that Umberto della Sala will not seek re-election to the company's board of directors at the annual shareholder meeting in May, said the company.

Sir John A. Manzoni KCB has been nominated to fill the board position and will stand for election at the May meeting. Della Sala has been a member of KBR's board of directors since 2015, serving on the Compensation and Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Committees.

Manzoni currently serves as the Chair of SSE, a UK utilities company, and is Chairman of the Atomic Weapons Establishment, a non-departmental UK government body central to the country's nuclear defense strategy. In addition, he is as a nonexecutive director of Diageo plc, a British multinational beverage company, and serves on the Global Leadership Council of the Said Business School at the University of Oxford. Past industry experience includes tenure as Chief Executive of the UK Civil Service and as Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Office from 2013 to 2020. Manzoni spent 25 years at BP, including as Chief Executive of Gas and Power and later as Chief Executive of Refining and Marketing. He also joined BP plc's main board in 2003. From 2007 to 2012, he was President and Chief Executive of Talisman Energy, a global exploration and production company based in Canada. And he also served on the board of SABMiller from 2005 to 2014.

"We look forward to Sir John joining the KBR family and welcome his guidance and diverse experience to the KBR Board of Directors," said General Lester Lyles, USAF (Ret.), Chairman of KBR's board. "And I would like to thank Umberto for his dedication to KBR over the past seven years. It has been an honor to serve alongside him, and we wish him well for the future."

As per MRC, KBR and ExxonMobil Catalysts and Licensing will collaborate to bring significant advancements to propane dehydrogenation (PDH) technology. Under the collaboration, ExxonMobil's new proprietary catalyst technology will be combined with KBR's proprietary K-PRO PDH technology to convert propane into propylene. Enabled by the superior performance of ExxonMobil's new catalyst, the combined technology solution could offer financial savings compared to PDH technologies currently available.

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 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.

mrchub.com

Milliken & Company is moving boldly to address anticipated market needs by expanding the facilities and capacity it acquired last March via its purchase of Germany’s Zebra-chem GmbH, according to SpecialChem.

Zebra-chem is a specialty compounder and chemicals company that makes additive and blowing agent concentrates for polyolefins, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and engineering thermoplastics.

The expansion will enable Milliken to boost production capacity for the acquired Bad Bentheim plant by 60% by year’s end. Milliken plans to install new manufacturing equipment and hire additional employees at the plant, which will be renamed Birch I.

It also built a new warehouse, called Birch II, nearby. Milliken has been a trailblazer of sustainability for more than a century, and the company’s legacy of naming locations after trees is a tribute to that core company value.

“We are seeing very strong demand from several end markets where these products are adding value, and our customer base has welcomed our broader solution portfolio,” said Milliken sales manager Tugce Asici-van Houselt. “These facilities will continue to serve the global market, with a focus on Europe, the Middle East and Africa.”

The viscosity modifiers and performance modifiers made at the German plant increase melt flow of recycled polypropylene (PP) resins with little to no loss of physical properties, enabling more recycled content to be used by the converters and brand owners without compromising overall performance. “Milliken is known for its sustainable innovation,” notes Wim Van de Velde, global vice president, of Milliken’s plastic additives business.

“We are excited to be able to leverage its leading position in Europe to help accelerate market solutions that improve and increase manufacturing with recycled plastics. This expansion signals that the market is clearly responding,” added Velde. The facility also produces solid concentrates that serve as chemical blowing agents for the production of foamed thermoplastics.

Milliken says it is on track to fully integrate the acquired operations during this calendar year.

As MRC reported earlier, in February 2022, South Plastic Industry Co. Ltd., (or SPI) leveraged its close, working relationship with additives supplier Milliken & Company to develop a clear, anti-fogging PP lid for its microwaveable food packaging. Using Milliken’s Millad NX 8000 clarifier, the two parties produced an UltraClear polypropylene (PP) resin that delivers on all the performance promises for ready-meal packaging, while also offering additional processing benefits. SPI also recently began using Milliken’s Hyperform HPN performance additives in its PP formulations, as well.

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, whereas shipments of PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

Milliken is an innovation company that has been exploring, discovering, and creating ways to enhance people’s lives since 1865. The company creates coatings, specialty chemicals, and advanced additive and colorant technologies that transform the way we experience products from automotive plastics to children's art supplies.
MRC

Jet fuel prices are soaring on the US East Coast with buyers anticipating a worsening shortage as supply dwindles amid sanctions on Russian energy exports, reported Reuters.

Following Russia's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, the US and allies slapped heavy sanctions on Russian industry, leading to a tightening in worldwide energy markets. Russia is the world's largest exporter of crude and petroleum products, and the supply crunch is filtering through to global markets.

The East Coast largely relies on shipments on the Texas-to-New Jersey Colonial Pipeline for refined products, as well as imports from Europe. However, Europe is dealing with its own supply strains, so distillate exports to the US East Coast - also known as PADD 1 - are down nearly 60% on a year-on-year basis, according to Refinitiv Eikon data.

East Coast jet fuel costs have reached record highs in recent days, with spot prices in New York Harbor exceeding $6.60 per gallon on Friday, more than double the seasonal average, according to data from oil traders citing OPIS and S&P Global Commodity Insights.

"It is ridiculous what's going on in PADD I with jet, and it's not sustainable," said Patrick DeHaan, lead petroleum analyst at GasBuddy.

Refiners spent most of 2020 blending excess jet fuel into their diesel pool or refining it further into gasoline as the coronavirus pandemic severely hit air travel. Demand for jet fuel is now about 5% below 2019 levels, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration.

But US distillate inventories are currently about 20% below the average for the 2015-2019 pre-pandemic period, compared with deficits of 11% in crude and 1% in gasoline.

Western European refiners are unable to fill the gap in supply due to their own constraints - Russia is a major exporter of middle distillates like jet fuel to Europe.

Some of the US East Coast deficit results from problems in California, where in recent weeks a Chevron refinery and a PBF plant experienced malfunctions with fuel-producing units, according to people familiar with the matter.

US trading partners in Asia and the Middle East prefer to send barrels to the West Coast instead of the East Coast, according to Zachary Rogers, director of refining and biofuels at Rapidan Energy Group.

The spread between heating oil and US crude futures is USD43.55, compared with USD15.50 a year ago, according to Reuters data. Jet fuel is heavily aligned with heating oil as they are both middle distillates.

"Margins are higher than I've ever seen them, so high prices are great for any refinery that's not malfunctioning," said one West Coast refinery worker.

Relief could arrive in the coming weeks as West Coast refining capacity rebounds and the Biden administration approves waivers to the Jones Act - which requires shipments from one US port to another to be via US-flagged vessels - for barrels to move to the West Coast, Rogers said.

As MRC reported earlier, W. R. Grace & Co. a leading independent provider of polyolefin catalyst technology and process services, stated that it will increase prices for its fluid catalytic cracking catalysts and additives this year as contracts allow. As Grace offers products and services that continue to deliver increasing value, it faces rapidly escalating costs for key raw materials and energy, including aluminum-derived chemicals and natural gas. In addition, freight and logistics costs continue to rise at an extraordinary rate.

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 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, whereas shipments of PP random copolymers decreased significantly.
MRC