Air Water breaks ground on new ASU in New York

Air Water Gas Solutions, a subsidiary of Air Water America Inc. (Bedminster, New Jersey), has broken ground on a new air separation unit (ASU) at Eastman Business Park (EBP) in Rochester, as per Chemweek.

This multimillion-dollar investment is set to enhance the industrial gas supply chain for RED Rochester LLC (Rochester, New York) and its customers, while fortifying supply networks across the US Northeast.

The company said the new facility will be constructed, owned and operated by Air Water Gas Solutions under a comprehensive 20-year supply agreement with RED Rochester. Once operational in 2026, the ASU will provide high-purity liquid nitrogen, oxygen and argon to customers located at EBP and throughout the broader New York and Northeastern US merchant market.

Air Water America Inc. operates as an affiliate of Air Water Inc. (Osaka, Japan).

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DIC Corp.’s affiliate, DIC Graphics Corp., has announced a revision of prices for its commercial printing inks, effective Dec. 1, 2025. The company will implement price increases across various product lines, including commercial web offset inks, oil-based sheet-fed inks, UV inks, newspaper inks and special kneading inks, as per Chemweek.

The new pricing structure will see the following increases:

- Commercial web offset inks: 10% or more

- Oil-based sheet-fed inks: 10% or more

- UV inks: Color inks will increase by 5% or more, while black inks will see a rise of 10% or more

- Newspaper inks: 10% or more

- Specially milled inks: 20% or more

This decision comes in response to a combination of factors, including rising raw material and energy prices influenced by the current international situation, as well as ongoing increases in logistics and packaging costs.

Additionally, DIC Graphics has reported a decline in demand for printing inks used in paper media, such as advertisements, books and newspapers, which has significantly impacted the company’s profit structure.

In light of these challenges, DIC said it has undertaken various cost-cutting measures, including enhancing production efficiency and reducing fixed costs. However, the company has determined that it is increasingly difficult to absorb these cost increases solely through internal efforts. As a result, the price revision aims to ensure a stable supply of products while maintaining and improving quality for its customers, it added.

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Sunrise (Guizhou) New Energy Materials Co. Ltd. has signed a one-year contract to supply 10,000 metric tons of artificial graphite anode materials to China Sodium Times (Shenzhen) New Energy Technology Co. Ltd., a lithium battery pack manufacturer, as per Chemweek.

The deal underscores the growing demand for battery materials as the electric vehicle and energy storage sectors continue to expand.

Sunrise New Energy Co. Ltd. said in an Oct. 2 statement that the contract’s value is $29 million. Sunrise New Energy, via its wholly owned subsidiary Zhuhai Zibo, owns 39.35% of Sunrise Guizhou.

According to the statement, Sunrise Guizhou recently completed construction of a 50,000 metric tons per year graphite anode manufacturing plant in Guizhou province. The company, headquartered in Zibo, Shandong province, has also been expanding its production capacity, with a $41.1 million loan secured earlier this year to finance infrastructure for an additional 50,000 metric tons per year of capacity. On Sept. 19, Sunrise New Energy began construction of a new 20,000 metric tons per year graphite anode material line, a project valued at $64 million. China Sodium Times is a lithium battery pack manufacturer.

Sunrise New Energy said, “This long-term contract demonstrates strong market demand for Sunrise’s advanced anode materials and further strengthens its position as a key supplier to downstream battery and energy storage manufacturers.”

According to company data, Sunrise New Energy expects its graphite anode shipments to reach 40,000 metric tons to 50,000 metric tons in 2025, up from 28,200 metric tons in 2024. The company has projected operating at or near full capacity in 2025, with phase 1 of its Guizhou production base designed for 50,000 metric tons per year of output.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed natural flake graphite at $405 per metric ton FOB China on Oct. 2, unchanged day over day but down $5 per metric ton week over week. The price reflects the spot value of natural flake graphite with 94%-95% carbon content and a minus 100 mesh size delivered to Qingdao port.

On the same day, Platts assessed natural flake graphite on a CIF Northeast Asia basis at $505 per metric ton, unchanged day over day and down $5 per metric ton week over week. The price reflects material in Northeast Asia, normalized to Japan’s main ports.

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Private equity firm Carlyle Group LLC has emerged as the front-runner to acquire BASF SE’s coatings business, according to a report by Reuters on Oct 6. BASF’s coatings business, which primarily produces automotive coatings, generated revenue of roughly €3.8 billion last year, as per Chemweek.

Previously, according to a May 30 Bloomberg report, Carlyle and paints and coatings firm Sherwin-Williams Co. were considering a joint bid on the BASF coatings unit. There was also early buying interest from two more private equity firms, CVC Capital Partners PLC and Lone Star Funds LLC, it said.

However, according to a report by the Financial Times on Oct. 6, Caryle topped other private capital groups in an auction that raised the price of BASF’s coatings business to roughly €7 billion.

BASF sold its decorative paints business in Brazil to Sherwin-Williams in February 2025 for $1.15 billion. In March, BASF said it planned to divest the rest of its coatings business as a single entity.

In 2013, Carlyle acquired DuPont’s performance coatings unit for $4.9 billion and later renamed the business Axalta Coating Systems. In 2014, Carlyle took Axalta public and raised $975 million, selling roughly 25% of the company’s shares. In 2016, Carlyle sold the rest of its shares in Axalta for $29 per share.

As of 2 p.m. Oct. 6, Axalta is trading at $28.36 a share.

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Trinseo PLC (Wayne, Pennsylvania) plans to permanently shut down methyl methacrylate (MMA) production in Rho, Italy and upstream acetone cyanohydrin (ACH) production in Porto Marghera, Italy by the end of the year, as per company.

It is also evaluating whether to shut down polystyrene (PS) production at Schkopau, Germany, the company said Oct. 6. Trinseo estimates that together, the measures would improve its profitability by $30 million annually.

“These plans are a byproduct of the continuing challenges we and our peers in the European chemical industry have been facing for the past several years, including weak end-market demand, high energy prices and increased imports from Asia,” said Frank Bozich, Trinseo’s president and CEO.

Trinseo also said its board of directors has voted to suspend the quarterly dividend, freeing up another $1.5 million per year.

Trinseo’s stock was trading at $2.08 per share as of 1:47 p.m. local time the day of the announcement, down from the previous close of $2.33.

Trinseo expects the closures in Italy to result in an annualized profitability improvement of about $20 million and an annual reduction in capital expenditures of about $10 million. Trinseo expects to record pre-tax charges ranging from $80 million to $100 million.

The potential closure at Schkopau, which is being negotiated with the Works Council of Trinseo Deutschland GmbH, would improve profitability by about $10 million annually. European PS production would be consolidated at the company’s Tessenderlo, Belgium facility.

Trinseo reported a net loss of $348 million in 2024 on sales of $3.5 billion. The company finished the year with long-term debt of $2.2 billion, according to data from S&P Capital IQ.

The Rho MMA plant has a capacity of 100,000 metric tons per year, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights.

The Schkopau PS plant has a nameplate capacity of 130,000 metric tons per year, while the Tessenderlo plant has a combined capacity of 180,000 metric tons per year, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights.

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