PPG announced a four-year agreement with Fischer Homes

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PPG announced a four-year agreement with the 30th largest homebuilder, Fischer Homes, under which Fischer Homes will exclusively offer PPG paints products to its customers in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Missouri and Georgia, said Polymerupdate.

The partnership will bring PPG’s high-quality products to new homeowners working with Fischer Homes, enhancing the already well-known design capabilities offered by the company.

“We are proud to partner with PPG to offer our customers a nationally recognized brand of professional-grade paints,” said Jorge Espinosa, market purchasing manager for Fischer Homes. “We are confident that the combination of our design expertise and PPG’s innovative paints and color options will produce beautiful results that exceed our customer expectations.”

The new partnership includes PPG’s full portfolio of professional-grade paints, backed by PPG’s global industry expertise and flexible and reliable customer service. In addition, PPG will join Fischer Homes in their partnership with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital by donating the paint and needed supplies for three St. Jude Dream Homes this year.

“PPG has been a leader in the paint and coatings industry for 140 years. We are excited to partner with Fischer Homes to bring our expertise and innovative, solution-driven products to its residential customers,” said Courtney Jungjohann Deemer, PPG general manager, U.S. trade, Architectural Coatings.

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

PPG is a leading supplier of powder coatings to the automotive, transportation, appliance, furniture and other markets. The company expanded the business with its 2020 acquisition of Alpha Coating Technologies, which manufactures powder coatings for light industrial applications and heat-sensitive substrates, and its 2021 acquisition of Worwag, which makes liquid, powder and film coatings for industrial and automotive applications. PPG recently agreed to acquire the powder coatings business of Arsonsisi, including a manufacturing plant in Verbania, Italy.


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MOSCOW (MRC) -- TotalEnergies Corbion, a technology specialist in polylactic acid (PLA) and lactide monomers, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Chinese synthetic biology company Bluepha, said Packaging-gateway.

Under this agreement, the two companies will work together to expedite the growth and adoption of PLA and polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) based solutions in China’s market.

The development, advancement and expansion of these high-performance sustainable biomaterial solutions across the country will require both companies to leverage their expertise and resources.

The resources mainly include the integration of Bluepha’s PHA with TotalEnergies’ range of specially developed PLA polymer, called Luminy PLA technology.

TotalEnergies Corbion CEO Thomas Philipon said: “By combining the complementary properties of these materials, we will significantly expand the application possibilities for brand owners seeking fully biobased material solutions”

As per the terms of this MoU, TotalEnergies and Bluepha will collaboratively promote the market applications of their PLA and PHA technology in China.

Bluepha president and co-founder Teng Li said: “We are very excited about this collaboration with TotalEnergies Corbion. “TotalEnergies Corbion is a trustworthy partner and Bluepha PHA mixed with Luminy PLA would be as a Chinese saying, ‘Adding wings to the tiger’.

“Together, the two companies can give more opportunities to our downstream partners and contribute to a more sustainable future.” Bluepha specialises in synthetic biotechnology-based molecular and material innovation.

Late last year, Bluepha completed the construction of its PHA biorefinery, located in Yancheng in China’s Jiangsu province. The company said that it has already commenced production-related activities at this plant to develop PHA products.

The latest MoU signing comes a few days after TotalEnergies signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Xiamen Changsu Industrial to advance the adoption of biobased biaxial-oriented polyamide film across China.

We remind, TotalEnergies and Paprec, leader in plastic recycling in France, have signed a long-term commercial agreement to develop a French value chain for advanced recycling of plastic film wastes. The agreement will secure the supply of TotalEnergies' future advanced plastic recycling plant in Grandpuits. Following the terms of this agreement, Citeo, the main organization in charge of end-of-life household packaging in France, will provide a stream of flexible plastic waste sorted from post-consumer packaging.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Toray Industries, Inc., Mitsui Chemicals, Inc., and Kumagai Co., Ltd., announced that they have jointly developed a revolutionary mono-material film packaging material and manufacturing process that are free of volatile organic compounds (VOC), said the company.

Carbon dioxide emissions are 80% lower than from conventional counterparts with this new material, which is also recyclable.

The lightness, transparency, and processing ease of these materials should make them popular choices for refillable pouch applications, including for foods, shampoos, and detergents. The market for these materials should keep growing more than 3% annually (see note 2) as the global population rises.

Regular film packaging material manufacturing uses petroleum solvents inks to print text, images, and other information on plastic films and in adhesives to laminate plastic films. These solvents release VOCs. The equipment required to heat, dry, and incinerate petroleum solvents in inks and adhesives consumes a lot of electricity. The lamination of plastic films with different materials to achieve various functions makes them hard to recycle, leading to their frequent incineration as waste.

VOC emissions from petroleum solvents in film packaging materials production have raised concerns about their impact on work environments. Another issue is the global warming impact of carbon dioxide emissions from their electricity consumption in production processes and from incineration during disposal.

These considerations prompted Toray, Mitsui Chemicals, and Kumagai to develop a mono-material film packaging material and manufacturing technology that is free of petroleum solvents for ink and adhesives and is recyclable.

Toray demonstrated printing for the new material’s manufacturing process by employing its Toray proprietary IMPRIMA (see note 3) offset printing plate. The plate uses electron beam-cured printing inks that consumer less electricity need no thermal drying. Mitsui Chemicals verified the lamination process with adhesives that do not incorporate petroleum solvents. The manufacturing process is thus VOC-free because it does not use petroleum solvents for inks or adhesives.

Incorporating Kumagai’s package manufacturing and processing technologies resulted in a mono-material film packaging material. This breakthrough makes the material far easier to recycle than regular counterparts.
Under this collaboration, Toray is leading the way with its printing technology. Mitsui Chemicals is providing total coordination for the new setup with its materials technology. Kumagai is leveraging its industry-leading package manufacturing technology. The three look to commercialize the new film packaging material for food and other daily necessities.

We remind, Toray Industries, Inc., announced that it has developed a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film that combines excellent applicability and adhesion for water-based and solvent-free coatings and can eliminate solvent-derived carbon-dioxide emissions. The company looks to produce the film at a domestic plant by end-March 2024 to help popularize eco-friendly film products for which decarbonization during manufacturing is desirable. These items include release, adhesive, printing, packaging, and automotive films.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sika, a US provider of innovative construction materials, has announced the installation of a new packaging and extrusion line at its SikaFiber plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, said Packaging-gateway.

This investment will significantly boost the capacity of concrete reinforcing fibers by up to 4 million pounds, allowing Sika to meet the growing demands of the market and ensure timely production for its valued customers.

The newly installed extrusion line boasts several advanced features that enhance productivity and sustainability. With a focus on energy efficiency, the line is approximately 30% more energy efficient than the existing lines. This achievement is attributed to higher output and lower energy consumption, effectively reducing the carbon dioxide (CO2) footprint.

Sika’s commitment to sustainability is reinforced through the integration of state-of-the-art controllers, energy-efficient motors, automatic temperature controls, and complete insulated ovens with direct air passage.Safety is a top priority for Sika, and the new production and packaging lines are equipped with advanced safety features to ensure the well-being of employees.

The lines feature a completely enclosed guarding system around godet rolls, incorporating safety interlocks. Additionally, thread guide rolls facilitate easy machine startup while preventing access to pinch points. The oven system is equipped with a two-hand safety switch system, further enhancing safety measures. The improvements made to the quench tank also contribute to better ergonomics during thread-up operations.

Sika’s dedication to employee safety remains unwavering, as the company continually enhances these systems to create a safe working environment for all employees.

We remind, Sika has completed the acquisition of MBCC Group after having received all necessary regulatory approvals, said the company. MBCC Group, headquartered in Mannheim, Germany, and formerly owned by an affiliate of Lone Star Funds, is active in the field of construction systems and admixture systems. To close the transaction and to comply with regulatory requirements, Sika sold MBCC Group’s chemical admixtures assets in the UK, the USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand to the international private equity firm Cinven. The business now acquired by Sika employs 6,200 people and operates in over 60 countries and 95 production facilities.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Nordic beauty company LUMENE has partnered with paper manufacturer UPM and chemical business SABIC for a new biobased packaging application, said Packaging-gateway.

The company is launching a jar, topped with self-adhesive labels that are made of BioVerno naphtha, a wood-based material developed by UPM in Finland. The biobased material is then processed by SABIC into certified renewable polypropylene, before it is converted into various recyclable cosmetics containers and product labels.

The labels are printed on UPM’s Raflatac Forest Film, which is claimed to be the world’s first film label material made with wood-based biomaterials. SABIC PP & E4PS general manager Lada Kurelec said: “We firmly believe that collaboration and innovation are driving the sustainable transformation of our industry.

“SABIC’s certified renewable materials demonstrate how our TRUCIRCLE solutions can contribute toward our shared goals for carbon neutrality. We are delighted to work with our value chain partners LUMENE and UPM Biofuels as a further step towards creating a more circular and sustainable economy for plastics.”

LUMENE opted to use the renewable biobased raw material in order to reduce its packaging carbon footprint. The materials will reduce the company’s fossil-based plastics usage by more than 60 tonnes per year and cut its carbon footprint by 1.5 million jars every year.

LUMENE R&D packaging and sustainability head Essi Arola said: “By cooperating with UPM and SABIC we are taking the next important step in our sustainability journey and driving transition to renewable resources. LUMENE’s ambition is to have 80% of its packaging made from recycled and biobased plastics by 2025.”

We remind, SABIC participated in a ceremony to announce the first package of Shareek projects involving large companies in Saudi Arabia. The event was held in the presence of several dignitaries, senior businessmen and heads of major companies participating in the program. During the ceremony, SABIC announced a strategic project to manufacture catalysts, aiming to transform Saudi Arabia into a manufacturing hub for specialized materials in line with the national industrial strategy.

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