Sika acquires tile setting materials manufacturer in Peru

Sika has agreed to acquire a leading manufacturer of tile setting materials operating under the umbrella brand Chema in Peru, said the company.

The acquisition strengthens Sika’s position in the fast-growing mortar market and provides major cross-selling opportunities through increased presence in the distribution channel. In addition, it significantly extends Sika’s manufacturing footprint. In 2022, the business to be acquired generated sales of CHF 50 million.

Chema is a family-owned, high-performing business with strong, well-established brands in the Peruvian mortar market. The company provides a wide range of tile adhesives, tile grouts, as well as other complementary products renowned for their high quality and ease of application. Chema has a strong presence in the distribution channel serving home centers, builders’ merchants, hardware stores, and smaller retailers. The wide, loyal customer base appreciates the efficient logistic organization and reliability of supply coupled with a top product offering. Four modern plants and seven warehouses allow a nationwide manufacturing and distribution coverage.

The acquisition accelerates the development of Sika’s Building Finishing portfolio and significantly strengthens its presence in the distribution channel in Peru, providing exciting cross-selling opportunities for complementary products such as sealants, adhesives, liquid applied membranes, and waterproofing products. Chema’s manufacturing footprint perfectly complements the one of Sika Peru. With the combined presence, Sika will have a nationwide manufacturing coverage that will enhance its ability to serve and supply customers with its products throughout the country. The transaction is subject to clearance by the local anti-trust authorities.

We remind, Sika has increased production capacities for macro fibers at its plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, thus extending a product line of strategic importance for Region Americas. With this innovative fiber technology, Sika is further strengthening its position as the leading single-source supplier to the mining industry and a strong partner for sustainable construction projects.

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TotalEnergies began restarting the reformer at its 238,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) Port Arthur, Texas, refinery on Monday, people familiar with plant operations said, said Reuters.

The 35,000-bpd continuous catalytic reformer was shut on Thursday to repair a leak, the sources said.

TotalEnergies spokesperson Tricia Fuller declined to comment on Monday.

Reformers use a catalyst to convert naphthas into high-octane liquids that are added to unfinished gasoline to make premium gasoline.

We remind, TotalEnergies is pursuing its profitable growth in the renewable energy sector with today’s announcement that it is buying out Total Eren’s other shareholders, increasing its stake from close to 30% to 100%, said the company. The Total Eren teams will be fully integrated within TotalEnergies’ Renewables business unit. The deal follows the strategic agreement signed between TotalEnergies and Total Eren in 2017, which granted TotalEnergies the right to acquire all of Total Eren (formerly EREN RE) after a five-year period.

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Saudi Basic Industries Corp (Sabic), one of the leading global petrochemical companies, today (August 3) reported a 85% plunge in its net profit for the second quarter which fell to SR1.18 billion (USD315 million) from SR7.9 billion (USD2.1 billion) last year mainly due to lower average sales prices, said the company.

The net profit beat analysts’ mean estimate of SR1.05 billion, according to data compiler Refinitiv.

Announcing its results for the three-month period ended June 30, 2023, Sabic said the group's average selling prices fell by 26%, while sales volumes were 4% lower due to scheduled maintenance activities.

"The global economy is continuously slowing down as a result of tightening monetary policies to confront inflation, leading to weaker demand and a decrease in the average selling prices of the company’s products as well as lower quantities sold," stated Sabic in its filing to the Saudi bourse Tadawul.

As a result, there was a sharp decline in gross profit and earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) despite lower feedstock cost and lower selling and distribution expenses, it stated.

Sabic’s share in results of non-integral joint ventures and associated companies also fell substantially in the second quarter, the company said.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, Sabic said its ebitda at the petrochemicals & specialties operations rose by 8% to SR4.27 billion in the April-June period because of lower feedstock prices. Revenue was down by 7% at SR31.6 billion on lower sales volumes and prices.

The petrochemical giant said monoethylene glycol (MEG) prices fell by 10% quarter on quarter during the April-June period “as a result of higher supply and new capacities, despite improvement in the polyester demand in China.”

The polyethylene (PE) global prices declined by 7% quarter on quarter in the April-June period, weighed by low demand from downstream sectors while increased capacity from US and China, it added.

We remind, Aramco, TotalEnergies, and SABIC have converted oil derived from plastic waste into ISCC+ certified circular polymers in the hopes of creating a domestic value chain for the advanced recycling of plastics into circular polymers in Saudi Arabia.

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Saudi Aramco's CEO Amin Nasser said on Monday that the company's supplies to customers remain adequate even with recent voluntary oil production cuts by the kingdom, adding that global demand remained resilient despite economic headwinds, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Saudi Arabia last week decided to extend a voluntary oil output cut of one million barrels per day for another month to include September and said it could be extended beyond that or even deepened. "We still have adequate supply to satisfy our customers," Nasser said on Monday.

Oil futures are now at their highest since mid-April after Saudi Arabia and Russia pledged to keep supplies down for another month to tighten global markets further. Brent was trading around USD86 a barrel on Monday.

Aramco reported on Monday a near 38% drop in second-quarter net profit on the back of weaker oil prices and thinner refining and chemicals margins.

Despite the economic challenges, Aramco has seen positive signals that global demand remains resilient and that Chinese demand will continue to grow, Nasser told reporters on a media call.

"There is still a lot of mileage for China and the economy (to pick) up," he said, adding that the aviation sector was at 85% compared to pre-pandemic levels, indicating room for growth. On the Durra shared offshore field with Kuwait, Nasser said plans were going ahead.

"Durra field is going as planned with the Kuwaitis, (with) no issue at this stage in terms of... the engineering and development," he said. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait claim exclusive joint rights to the field. Iran also claims a stake and says a Saudi-Kuwaiti agreement to develop it that was signed last year is illegal.

Both countries renewed calls for Iran to negotiate on the demarcation of the eastern border of the Gulf's maritime "Divided Area" last week. They say they want to negotiate with Iran together.

We remind, Aramco, one of the world’s leading integrated energy and chemicals companies, has successfully closed a landmark transaction to acquire a 10% interest in Rongsheng Petrochemical Co. Ltd. for USD3.4 B through its subsidiary Aramco Overseas Company BV, based in the Netherlands.

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Origin Materials, Inc., the world’s leading carbon negative materials company with a mission to enable the world’s transition to sustainable materials, and Terphane, part of Tredegar Corporatio, a global leader in specialty PET polyester films (“BOPET”), announced today a strategic partnership to produce sustainable, high-performance bio-polymer films, said the company.

As part of the partnership, Terphane signed a multi-year capacity reservation agreement to purchase the advanced bio-polymer PEF for use in film applications, including food and beverage packaging and high-value industrial applications. BOPEF is biaxially oriented PEF, and BOPET is biaxially oriented PET. These stretched polymer films are valued for their strength, transparency, barrier properties, and electrical insulation.

“We are pleased to partner with Terphane, a trusted global leader in films with expansive customer and partner relationships,” said Rich Riley, Co-CEO of Origin Materials. “We are thrilled to work together to develop advanced, performance-enhanced products that help to enable a net zero material economy. This partnership represents further progress in Origin’s mission to enable the world’s transition to sustainable materials.”

According to Marcos Vieira, global director of R&D for Terphane, “The development of this film will be critical to our efforts to meet this new global demand for sustainable flexible packaging solutions. The film is partially made from PEF and has all the traditional properties of a regular PET film, including post-consumption recycling. In addition, PEF provides an excellent thermal resistance and superior barrier performance, extending the shelf life of the packaged products.” Vieira adds that initial tests in the U.S. proved the material works perfectly in extrusion lines.

Origin Materials’ patented technology platform represents a potential breakthrough in the commercialization of cost-competitive and low-carbon PEF. Made from furandicarboxylic acid (“FDCA”), the primary precursor to PEF, Origin PEF is a polymer with an attractive combination of sustainability and performance characteristics for packaging including enhanced barrier properties. Origin’s PEF is expected to be 100% plant-based, fully recyclable, have attractive unit economics, and to offer a significantly reduced carbon footprint, with superior strength, thermal properties, and barrier properties compared to today’s widely used petroleum-based materials.

We remind, Origin Materials, a leading carbon negative materials company with a mission to enable the world’s transition to sustainable materials, and Husky Technologies, a pioneering technology provider enabling the delivery of essential needs to the global community, announced a milestone in the commercialization of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) incorporating the sustainable chemical FDCA (furandicarboxylic acid) for advanced packaging and other applications.

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