Mauser to set up reconditioning joint ventures in Spain

March 11 (plasteurope) -- Industrial packaging company Mauser is setting up two reconditioning joint ventures in Spain. The company said it had entered a strategic alliance to establish the jvs with Empresa de Gestiуn Medioambiental, an environmental agency owned by the regional government of Andalusia, and businessman Jose Enrique Sendil.

The joint ventures are: Arbiden (Aprovechamiento y Recuperaciуn de Bidones y Envases), located in Seville, and NCG Iberia Reconditioning, located in Barcelona.

MRC

Arkema increases EVA price

March 11 (yourpetrochemicalnews) -- Arkema is implementing a price increase of 80┬/T (110 $/T) , for all Evatane╝ resins (High Content Ethylene Vinyl Acetate Copolymers). This increase will take effect globally on 1st April 2010, or as customer contracts allow.

The reason for this price increase is the continuing escalation in raw material costs, which previous price adjustments have not been able to compensate. In order to support the long term financial health of the business and ensure continuous supply of high-quality polyolefins, Arkema needs to pass a further portion of these costs on to the value chain. We remain committed to our partnership with dedicated resources and a complete offering, including the supply of high performance ethylene copolymers.

Arkema's EVA products are used in highly diverse industrial applications, including hotmelt, cable, multilayer packaging film, technical polymer modification, solar panel, petroleum additives, bitumen and ink.

MRC

MRC Reference

Arkema.

EuPC enters trade dialogue with European Parliament

March 11 (plasteurope) -- The European plastics converters association EuPC recently organised a meeting with members of the European People's Party (EPP) to discuss the theme ⌠Plastics and trade. The event, held in February 2010 and hosted by the European Parliament, was aimed at raising awareness among MEPs of the current economic position of the European plastics converting industry.

The gathering was warned by EuPC managing director Alexandre Dangis that plastics converters in Europe are seeing the delocalisation of plastic raw material production out of Europe and becoming increasingly dependent on non-European suppliers.

MRC

Blavatnik seeks up to 15 pct stake in new Lyondell

March 11 (Reuters) -- Billionaire Len Blavatnik, who led the 2007 leveraged buyout that created LyondellBasell, will seek a stake of up to 15 percent in the reorganized petrochemical maker when it exits bankruptcy protection, a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Blavatnik's New York-based industrial holding company Access Industries has agreed to commit as much as $800 million to backstop a rights offering to take the company out of bankruptcy, along with private equity investors Apollo Management and Ares Corporate Opportunities Fund.

"Access has actively supported Lyondell during its reorganization because we believe in the company's future," Blavatnik said in a statement on Wednesday. "We have backed up that belief with our commitment to invest up to $800 million."

Apollo, which has committed to invest up to $1.5 million, according to court papers, would likely end up with a larger stake in the new Lyondell than Access, while Ares would end up with a smaller stake than Access, this person said. The person asked not to be named because the details about the equity stakes are not public.

Ares may invest up to $475 million in the rights offering, according to court papers.

Access had acquired control of Basell AF, which is known for producing polypropylene chemicals in 2005. The 2007 merger with Lyondell created the third largest independent chemicals maker in the world, with 2008 revenues of $50.7 billion.

Lyondell filed for bankruptcy in January 2009 as it suddenly faced a cash crisis, under the weight of billions in debt and a decline in global demand for petrochemicals during the recession.

Earlier this week the company rejected a takeover bid from India's Reliance Industries Ltd that valued the firm at $14.5 billion, and said it will seek court approval to send its own reorganization plan out to its creditors for a vote.

Lyondell hopes to exit bankruptcy later this year and plans to list new shares on the New York Stock Exchange once it emerges from court protection.

MRC

MRC Reference

LyondellBasell. The share in the Russian market in 2008:
PE - 1.4% (including HDPE - 2.5%, LDPE - 0.3%);
PP - 4.1% (including block-copolymers - 9.5%).

Annual sales growth in Russia, during the recent 5 years:
PE - 27%;
PP - 88%.

The leader in the following polymers processing technologies:

pipe extrusion;

film extrusion;

injection molding.


Ineos's PE swing facility in Grangemouth resumes operations

March 10 (plasteurope) -- Ineos has resumed operations at its swing plant for the production of HDPE and LLDPE, located in Grangemouth / UK.

However, in response to a query by PIE, a company spokesman said that force majeure - announced in January 2010 - remained in place.

MRC

MRC Reference

Ineos is a petrochemical group.
In Russia Ineos's interests are represented by Ineos Polyolefins and IneosChlorVinyls.

The share in the Russian market in 2008:
PVC - 4.5%;

polyethylene - 1.9%
(HDPE - 2.8%, LDPE - 1.2%);
polypropylene - 1.4%
(PP-random - 22.1%, PP-impact - 2.0%);
polystyrene - 0.9%.

Imports by polymers processing technologies:
profile extrusion;
pipe extrusion;
film extrusion;
injection molding.