Azelis to buy Eurotrading

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Azelis, a leading innovation service provider in the specialty chemicals and food ingredients industry, announces that it has signed an agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of Eurotrading S.p.A (“Eurotrading”), one of the leading distributors of specialty chemicals to the personal care market in Italy, said te company.

The acquisition reinforces Azelis’ leading footprint in the thriving Italian market for personal care, as well as in the broader life sciences segment. Eurotrading’s extensive product portfolio in actives, emollients and emulsifiers further enhances the Group’s lateral value chain and solidifies its market leadership in the local personal care industry.

As per MRC, Azelis, a leading global innovation service provider in the specialty chemicals and food ingredients industry, announces that it has reached an agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of Chemical Solutions Sdn Bhd (“ChemSol”), one of the leading distributors of raw materials in the Personal Care, Cosmetics and Household markets in Malaysia.

Founded in 1996, Eurotrading has developed into one of the leading distributors of personal care raw materials (skin care, sun care, fragrances and hair care), with a strong product portfolio from the largest global and regional principals. The company provides innovative formulations to about 500 customers, leveraging an application laboratory near Padova, in the northeast of the country. Eurotrading’s strong team of more than 30 technical staff, including experienced senior management, will join Azelis, and will continue supporting the business during and after integration. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year, after fulfilment of customary closing conditions.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- NOVA Chemicals Corporation (“NOVA Chemicals”) today announced the appointment of Mr. Danny Dweik as interim Chief Executive Officer of the company, effective October 1, 2022, said the company.

Mr. Dweik, currently a NOVA Chemicals board member, is Head of Industrials at Mubadala Investment Company (Mubadala), the USD284bn Abu Dhabi-based investor.

Mr. Dweik succeeds Mr. Luis Sierra, who is stepping down as CEO and will serve as a Senior Advisor to the company, assisting with the transition. A Canadian national, Mr. Dweik sits on the boards of a number of North American industrial and business services companies. He was formerly CFO and CEO of Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), at which he led the company’s post-merger integration, revenue growth, and sustainability program, establishing the business as the world’s largest premium aluminium producer.

Mr. Dweik also heads Mubadala’s Impact Investing program, which focuses on addressing climate change and growing diversity, inclusion, and social empowerment in all of its business partnerships.

Mr. Ahmed Yahia, Chairman of NOVA Chemicals, said, “Danny’s leadership and impeccable track record of improving the operational performance and sustainability standards of complex industrial companies will enable NOVA to accelerate the implementation of its decarbonization and circular economy strategy. Danny’s commitment to empowering the greatest asset of every company – its people – will allow NOVA to further accelerate its innovation roadmap to best support our customers."

Commenting on his new role, Mr. Dweik said, “I’m deeply honored to be entrusted with the leadership of this great company. I’m excited to work with all of my colleagues as we focus on setting new sustainability benchmarks for our sector."

“The Board of NOVA Chemicals would like to convey our deepest gratitude to Luis. He maintained a steady course for the company in the aftermath of the global pandemic and laid the foundations for the implementation of our transition to a sustainable business model,” said Mr. Yahia.

“I am very proud of the progress the company has made during my tenure as CEO, and I leave very confident in NOVA’s future as a low carbon champion and a driving force in the transition towards the circular economy,” said Mr. Sierra.

We remind, NOVA Chemicals Corporation (“NOVA Chemicals”) is introducing new resin technology for machine direction oriented (MDO) and biaxially oriented (BO) processes to help its customers and brand owners meet their sustainability goals. NOVA Chemicals’ innovative technology marks a major advancement in the pursuit of a plastics circular economy, as it enables recyclable all-polyethylene (PE) packaging.

NOVA Chemicals, headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, has 2,400 employees worldwide and is wholly owned by Mubadala Investment Company of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- INEOS is announcing a huge step forward in its drive to deliver sustainable net zero manufacturing operations with the awarding of a contract to Atkins, a member of the SNC Lavalin Group, to design a world scale low carbon hydrogen plant at its site in Grangemouth, said the company.

The new hydrogen plant, slated for operation in 2030, will see INEOS remove more than 1million tonnes of carbon emissions from its already improving performance since it acquired the site in 2005 and comes on top of other significant investments at its site in Grangemouth.

Fundamental to INEOS’ Hydrogen project will be access to the Scottish Cluster carbon capture and storage (CCS) infrastructure. The CO2 from the hydrogen plant will be sent directly offshore to be permanently and safely stored in rock formations deep below the North Sea.

In addition to the Scottish Cluster we are actively involved in the Forth Green Freeport bid, which if successful, will further support the early development of our hydrogen production facility and our ambitions to achieve greater than 60% carbon reduction by 2030 on the road to our net zero commitment by 2045.

Net Zero & Energy Secretary Michael Matheson said: “Scotland has the resources, the people and the ambition to become a world leader in hydrogen production – for both domestic use and for export to Europe. It will play an increasingly important role in supporting our just transition to a net zero economy and deliver good, green jobs for our highly skilled workforces.

“Low-carbon hydrogen meanwhile offers a route for our critical industrial sector to decarbonise, and I welcome this latest step in INEOS’ road map to cut emissions, and their continued investment into the sustainability of our largest manufacturing site. The plan clearly demonstrates how important carbon capture technology will be to the sector’s energy transformation over the coming decades and the Scottish Government will continue to press the UK Government to accelerate the Scottish Cluster’s place in its cluster sequencing process, while standing ready with our own support to help deliver this vital technology."

Colin Pritchard, INEOS’ Sustainability Director at Grangemouth said, “Atkins is a world-renowned engineering company with the skilled and experienced people to deliver this next phase in our ambitions to develop a hydrogen production hub at Grangemouth. The construction of our hydrogen plant is a vital component of our sustainability road map, underpinning plans for net zero manufacturing operations at Grangemouth. We will displace hydrocarbon-based fuels in our processes with clean low-carbon hydrogen and establish a hydrogen hub to enable others to benefit and reduce their emissions too. Alongside our support and active involvement in the Forth Green Freeport bid and the Scottish Cluster (carbon capture and storage) project, INEOS is at the forefront of actions and investments to reduce emissions in Central Scotland."

David Cole, Market Director - Net Zero Energy, Atkins SNC Lavalin, said: “We are delighted to have been selected to deliver the design phase of INEOS’ low carbon hydrogen plant. Hydrogen has the potential to play an important role in industrial decarbonisation: our team has global experience in the technology and we look forward to working with INEOS to bring this element of their net zero road map closer to realisation."

In January 2022, INEOS announced its plans to move forwards with the construction of a Low-Carbon Hydrogen Manufacturing Plant with an invitation to companies to bid for the design of the plant.

Grangemouth represents one of INEOS’ largest manufacturing sites by volume of products. It is home to three businesses: INEOS FPS, INEOS O&P UK and Petroineos.

We remind, INEOS Styrolution, the global leader in styrenics, has today announced the introduction of a comprehensive range of sustainable solutions for its specialty ABS product group Novodur. The individual grades come with a significant product carbon footprint (PCF) saving of up to -71% as compared to the respective non-ECO product reference.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- SCG Chemicals or SCGC has recently invested in new technologies and machinery at Sirplaste in Portugal, following the acquisition of a 70% stake in Sirplaste-Sociedade Industrial de Recuperados de Plastico, S.A. (Sirplaste) through SCG Chemicals Trading (Singapore) PTE in April 2022, said the company.

This investment is undertaken to expand the production capacity of recycled high-density polyethylene or High Quality Post-Consumer Recycled Resin (PCR) by 9,000 tonnes per year, or 25% of the current total production capacity. As a result, Sirplaste will have a total PCR production capacity of more than 45,000 tonnes per year by the second quarter of 2023. The goal is to address the ever-increasing market demand in Europe and Africa. This strengthens Portugal's position as a leader in PCR and fits with SCGC's corporate strategy of "Chemicals Business for Sustainability".

Tanawong Areeratchakul, Chief Executive Officer and President of SCGC, said, "SCGC has a clear business strategy for the green polymer that fulfills the market's need for sustainability. The decision to invest in new technologies and machinery at Sirplaste in Portugal at this time is to strengthen the High Quality Post-Consumer Recycled Resin or PCR business and expand the commercial potential to become more competitive in the global market."

As per MRC, Siam Cement Group (SCG) will invest on a USD22.7m project to produce biaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate (BOPET) in Vietnam. 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.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saint-Gobain has now obtained approvals from all relevant competition authorities for its acquisition of GCP Applied Technologies Inc., a major global player in construction chemicals, announced on December 6, 2021, said the comany.

The acquisition will close on September 27, 2022. GCP will delist from the New York Stock Exchange.

With approximately USD1.0bn revenues generated in 2021 by 1,800 employees working on 50 production sites in 38 countries, GCP Applied Technologies provides a global platform with established success in cement additives, concrete admixtures, infrastructure and commercial and residential building materials.

This acquisition is a major milestone in establishing Saint-Gobain’s leading position worldwide in construction chemicals and furthers the Group’s strategy as worldwide leader in light and sustainable construction.

The specialty building materials business in North America (USD250 million of sales) will be integrated into the CertainTeed business serving local customers in its Region. All other businesses, consisting of mainly concrete admixtures and cement additives (USD750 million of sales) will be combined with the Chryso business and be part of the High Performance Solutions segment.

Last December, Saint-Gobain signed an agreement to acquire US-based construction-chemicals producer GCP Applied Technologies for USD2.3bn.The price comes to USD32/share and represents a multiple of 13.2x of GCP's 2022 estimated adjusted earnings before interest, tax depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), Saint-Gobain said. That 2022 estimate for adjusted EBITDA comes to USD170m.
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