PPG invests USD11 million to double powder coatings capacity in Mexico

PPG invests USD11 million to double powder coatings capacity in Mexico

PPG will invest USD11 million to double the production capacity of its powder coatings plant in San Juan del Rio, Mexico, said the company.

The expansion project is expected to be completed by mid-2023 and will allow the plant to meet the expected future demand for powder coatings in Mexico. “With this investment, the plant will have new, state-of-the-art manufacturing technology, enhancing production practices and process flow,” said Guillermo Pena, PPG director, Industrial Coatings, Mexico. “It will further improve the plant's productivity and benefit our customers with improved service levels and faster response."

The project will involve the installation of new production lines, upgrades to existing equipment and increased application capabilities. The increase in production will also allow PPG to locally manufacture new, innovative powder coatings products.

Powder coatings are a sustainable product offering with low VOC emissions, enhanced durability, high transfer efficiency and the ability to be reclaimed or reused during application. They are an important part of the company’s commitment to achieve 40% of sales from products and processes that have improved sustainability by 2025.

The expansion plan for PPG’s San Juan del Rio powder plant, which meets the key IATF-16949 quality certification, is the latest in a series of actions that underline PPG’s commitment to investing in further growth for powder coatings. Earlier in 2022, PPG acquired Arsonsisi’s powder coatings manufacturing business, and in 2020, PPG purchased Alpha Coating Technologies, a manufacturer of powder coatings for light industrial applications and heat-sensitive substrates.

As per MRC, PPG announced PPG INNOVEL PRO, an enhanced internal spray coating that uses no bisphenol-A (BPA) or bisphenol starting substances and provides more robust application properties for the infinitely recyclable aluminium beverage can. PPG Innovel PRO is a next-generation, high-performance acrylic coating that draws on PPG Innovel's nearly 10 years as the market's most widely used non-BPA internal beverage spray coatings. The company estimates that PPG Innovel coatings have been used on more than 220 bn cans in more than 40 countries to date.
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EU watchdog reviewing SK Chemicals anti-Covid jab

EU watchdog reviewing SK Chemicals anti-Covid jab

The European medicines watchdog said Thursday it was reviewing German-based pharmaceutical SK Chemicals' coronavirus vaccine which uses nanotechnology to combat the virus, amid concern of a possible comeback later in the year, said Philstar.

If eventually approved, the vaccine called Skycovion will be the seventh jab to join the European Union's growing toolkit, although other vaccines are also currently being reviewed. The Amsterdam-based EMA's human medicines committee "has started a review of a conditional marketing authorisation application for Skycovion, a vaccine for protecting against COVID-19," it said.

SK Chemicals GmbH "has submitted data on how well the vaccine triggers the production of antibodies against the original strain of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19," the EMA added in a statement. The vaccine works with nanoparticles that contains parts of the spike protein found on the coronavirus' surface.

"When a person is given the vaccine, their immune system is expected to identify the nanoparticles containing parts of the spike protein as foreign and produce natural defences -- antibodies and T cells -- against them," the EMA said. Later, if the person is in contact with the virus, the immune system will recognise the spike protein on the virus and attack it.

The vaccine also contains an "adjuvant", a substance to help strengthen the immune response to the vaccine, the EMA said. Currently, the EU has approved vaccines by AstraZeneca, Janssen, BioNTech-Pfizer, Moderna, Novavax and Valneva, although the latter has suspended production.

Milder, but more infectious than earlier types of the Covid virus, the BA.4 and BA.5 types, have helped to drive a wave of new cases of the disease in Europe and the United States, the number of cases is dropping off.

European nations are now starting to look ahead to the autumn and winter season, when cases are expected to peak once more. We remind, SABIC, a global leader in the chemicals industry, has announced that its SABIC SK Nexlene Company (SSNC) joint venture with SK Geo Centric (formerly SK Global Chemicals) in South Korea will expand the capacity of their plant in Ulsan for production of advanced material solutions using NEXLENE technology. The plant, operated by Korea Nexlene Company (KNC), supports the production of SABIC’s broad portfolio of COHERE™ metallocene polyolefin plastomers (POP), SUPEER™ metallocene linear low density polyethylenes (mLLDPE) and FORTIFY™ polyolefin elastomers (POE).
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VTT spins out Olefy to revolutionise circular plastic recycling

VTT spins out Olefy to revolutionise circular plastic recycling

MRC) -- VTT is spinning out Olefy technology in October – a process that can affordably convert most of the world’s waste plastics back to usable virgin grade materials an infinite number of times, said Petpla.

VTT also announces eight patent applications for the process. VTT has announced its plan to spin out a new company – Olefy Technologies. Its patent-pending technology can extract over 70% virgin grade plastics and chemical raw materials components from plastic waste. The new process can be done in a single step, majorly reducing the cost of plastic recycling and making recycling a preferred option for massive amounts of landfill-bound plastic waste that current methods are unable to process.

Today, only 8–10% of global plastics gets recycled primarily through mechanical recycling. However, only a limited share of plastic waste can be mechanically recycled. Furthermore, the resulting recycled plastic cannot be used in food packaging and pharma applications. Most plastic waste ends up in landfills. The opportunity to get virgin quality plastic from previously unusable plastic waste means that with Olefy it is economically viable to recycle most of the world’s plastics with minimal sorting by consumers and businesses. “Plastic waste is one of the five major global problems that VTT has strategically set itself to solve,” says Antti Vasara, CEO of VTT. “Olefy is a quantum leap in recycling that will change the way the world views plastic by making it truly circular and guiding us even faster towards carbon neutrality."

A major advantage of the virgin quality materials produced from the Olefy process enables plastic to be recycled an infinite number of times. "One of the problems with current recycling methods is that the quality degrades every time plastic is recycled. After several rounds of mechanical recycling, the quality becomes too poor, and the plastic is no longer usable and goes to a landfill. With the Olefy recycling process, the quality of the plastic is equal to virgin grade, so it can be recycled indefinitely and materials no longer need to end up in landfills,” says Matti Nieminen, Head of Technology at Olefy. “In essence, Olefy will make it possible for plastic to be a true part of the circular economy."

We remind, European recycling group GreenGroup has acquired Lithuanian low-density polyethylene (LDPE) recycling company UAB Ecso. The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed. Founded in 2009, UAB Ecso claims to be one of Lithuania’s leading polyethylene recyclers, with an annual film waste processing capacity of 20,000t.
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SK Chemicals to establish joint venture with Shuye Environmental Technology for recycled plastic factory

SK Chemicals to establish joint venture with Shuye Environmental Technology for recycled plastic factory
SK Chemicals will establish a joint venture with Guangdong-based Shuye Environmental Technology to build a factory for recycled plastic in China, said Koreajoongangdaily.

The two companies signed an agreement Monday to build a plant that produces recycled polyester (PET) and copolyester in Shanyto.

Park No-hyuk, general manager at SK Chemicals Shanghai, and Lin Shuguang, president at Guangdong Shuye Environmental Technology, participated in the agreement signing ceremony.

The site will be provided by Shuye, and the construction will likely start at the beginning of next year. The manufacturing is set to start at the end of 2024. The plant will have an annual capacity of 200,000 tons.

The amount of investment has not been disclosed, but SK Chemicals said it will hold 51 percent of the joint venture.

"The trend of removing plastics has been accelerating worldwide," said Kim Eung-soo, head of the copolyester business at SK Chemicals, in Monday's release. "We aim to expand our recycled plastic business by securing a foothold in the global market."

Last year, SK Chemicals acquired 10 percent of Shuye for 23 billion won (USD18 million).

The recycled plastic market is expected to account for 60 percent of the total plastic market in 2050, according to a report from McKinsey.

We remind, SK Geo Centric has signed an agreement with Weixing Chemical to form a joint venture that will construct a new ethylene acrylic acid (EAA) manufacturing facility in China to respond to Asian demand. The joint venture plans to invest around KRW 290-billion to build a 40,000-t/y EAA unit in Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province. The plant is scheduled to be completed in the first half of 2025. SK Geo Centric will hold a 60% stake in the new joint venture, while Weixing Chemical will hold the remaining 40% interest.
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SCG Chemicals with AJ Plast to produce BOPET in Vietnam

SCG Chemicals with AJ Plast to produce BOPET in Vietnam

Siam Cement Group (SCG) will invest on a USD22.7m project to produce biaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate (BOPET) in Vietnam, said the company.

AJ Plast (Vietnam) Co Ltd, a 45:55 joint venture between SCG subsidiary SCG Chemicals and Thailand-listed flexible packaging producer AJ Plast, will carry out the project, SCG said in a bourse filing on 22 August.

The BOPET project is expected to start commercial production in the first half of 2024, SCG said in a statement. The two companies have an ongoing Thai baht (Bt) 700m (USD19m) biaxially oriented polypropylene film (BOPP) project in Vietnam slated for commercialisation in the first half of 2023.

“The BOPP and BOPET projects reaffirm SCGC ongoing strategic investment and commitment in Vietnam, particularly value-added product designed to meet the growing consumer demand by providing raw material to serve the flexible packaging sector,” SCG said.

The Thai conglomerate is in the process of completing Vietnam’s first petrochemical complex in the southeastern Ba Ria-Vung Tao province. Called Long Son Petrochemical complex, the USD5.4bn project is now 96% complete, with full start-up expected by the second quarter of next year.

We remind, SCG Packaging has entered the packaging materials recycling business in the Netherlands, via the 100% acquisition of Peute Recycling BV for EUR78.2m. The purchase was done through SCGP Solutions (Singapore) Pte Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of SCGP, the Thai firm said in a statement on 18 July. Based in Dordrecht, Peute is the largest independent packaging materials recycling and trading company of paper and plastic in the Netherlands, SCG Packaging said.
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