ECN-European Chemical News articles from April 2004

ECN-European Chemical News archives from April 2004

Smashing offer in China factory.(chemical industry growth )
April 5, 2004... China just will not go away. So ECN makes no apology for returning to the topic (ECN Comment, 12 January). Why? Because many western chemical producers are basing their growth strategies on the country and its burgeoning need for chemicals. ...

Operations transfer.
April 5, 2004... Sumitomo Chemical has agreed to transfer its Singapore acrylic acid operations to Nippon Shokubai and Toagosei. The Japanese petrochemical major said the equity transfers are scheduled to take place at the end of June. In its basic chemicals...

PS acquisition.
April 5, 2004... US thermoplastics producer Spartech has acquired BASF's European speciality polystyrene (PS) compounds business. The speciality PS business, which generated revenues of $11m in 2003, includes the production of flame retardant compounds and...

Foil coatings.
April 5, 2004... BASF has announced that its acquisition of compatriot Treffert's foil coatings business now excludes operations in Germany. When the acquisition was first announced, BASF said the deal covered the whole of the business. ...

Deadline extended.
April 5, 2004... The deadline for receipt of binding bids for Romanian oil and chemicals group Petrom has been extended to 16 April, according to press reports. Seven companies have registered interest in taking a majority stake in Petrom: OMV, Hellenic...

ISP buys Hallcrest.
April 5, 2004... US firm International Specialty Products (ISP) has acquired the business of UK microencapsulation and liquid crystal firm Hallcrest. ISP president and chief executive officer Sunil Kumar said Hallcrest products would strengthen its position in...

Blackstone looks set to win tender for Celanese.(Blackstone Group L.P. bid for Celanese AG)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... Blackstone's 3.1bn [euro] takeover bid for Celanese has succeeded, preliminary data suggest. BCP Crystal Acquisition, the German-based purchase vehicle controlled by Blackstone, said that it has appeared 'to have successfully reached the...

Rhodia unveils bond issue.(RHODIA: FINANCIAL MEASURES)
April 5, 2004... Rhodia has hiked the planned size of its rights issue by 50% to 450m [euro] and unveiled a 600m [euro] bond issue to be launched at the same time, taking the troubled group a step closer towards financial stability. The company said that...

Merck to restructure business.(FRANCE: REORGANISATION)
April 5, 2004... Merck KGaA is to reorganise its French activities in moves that will affect 312 jobs, Elmar Schnee, the chief executive of French affiliate Merck Sante, said last week. The Lacassane laboratory near Lyon will be gradually shut down and...

BP unveils new petchem strategy.(PETROCHEMICAL: STRATEGY)
April 5, 2004... BP last week revealed a twin-track strategy and management approach for its petrochemicals business. It will invest aggressively in three of its seven core products--paraxylene (PX), purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and acetyls--which it...

Sanofi files US pitch for Aventis.(SEC: FILING)
April 5, 2004... Sanofi-Synthelabo has filed its offer document for Aventis with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the US, as it prepares to pitch for investors' American Depository Shares. The offer document was filed with gaps left for data, such...

BASF mulls Polish investment.(LYSINE: PLANT)
April 5, 2004... BASF may make a multimillion dollar investment in a new lysine plant in Poland, says the country's number one melamine producer Zaklady Azotowe Pulawy (Pulawy). BASF declined to comment. Pulawy, which also makes fertilisers and caprolactam...

Flint grabs BP unit in Illinois.(US: ACQUISITION)
April 5, 2004... Flint Hills Resources, part of privately owned US conglomerate Koch, has bought BP's Joliet, Illinois, US-based speciality intermediates facilities. These include capacities to make trimellitic anhydride (TMA), purified isophthalic acid (PIA)...

Fulcrum spin-off.
April 5, 2004... Dow Chemical is spinning off its Fulcrum thermoplastic composite unit into Fulcrum Composites, a new company headed by Chris Edwards, the former Dow business manager for Fulcrum. The initial Fulcrum technology for the production of continuous...

Mexican addition.
April 5, 2004... Henkel has acquired the MAS liquid detergent business in Mexico from local firm Master Products. Adding the MAS brand will complement Henkel's existing Mexican detergents business, it said. The MAS brand includes MAS Color, MAS Ropa Fina, MAS...

Yara stake sold.
April 5, 2004... Norsk Hydro has sold its remaining 10% holding in newly launched international agrochemicals major Yara International. In a statement the Norwegian energy group said it had sold its last 31.9m shares just days after selling the first 10% of its...

Xanthan venture.
April 5, 2004... Danisco's 80:20 joint venture with Chinese firm Henan Tianguan Group for the production of xanthan is now in place. Since signing the jv agreement in October 2003, Danisco has signed a pact to take over the ingredients arm of French Rhodia,...

Uhde takeover.
April 5, 2004... German engineering company Uhde said it has integrated the business of sister firm ThyssenKrupp EnCoke from 1 April. Both firms belong to the plant technology division of parent ThyssenKrupp Technologies. Uhde said it will take over around 150...

Mood upbeat as NPRA sees signs of recovery.(NPRA: PETROCHEMICALS)(National Petrochemical and Refiners Association)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... Optimism about a pick-up in the economy was balanced by concern over the cost of natural gas at the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association (NPRA) conference in Houston, US, last week. Its president, Bob Slaughter, said NPRA members...

Shell: industry relies on Asia.(Shell Asia-Pacific)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... A downturn in Asian demand growth would create extreme competition within Europe, with only the strongest polyethylene (PE) value chains able to compete, Fran Keeth, deputy chief executive of Shell Chemicals, warned last week. Speaking at...

Production plants to close.(CLARIANT: EASTMAN CHEMICAL)
April 5, 2004... Clariant and Eastman Chemical are both closing UK production sites with a total of 195 jobs being lost. Production of leather chemicals is being transferred from Clariant's Beverley, northeast England, site to Selby, in the same region,...

Lyondell snaps up Millennium.(MILLENIUM: ACQUISITION)
April 5, 2004... Lyondell Chemical is buying illennium Chemicals in a stock and debt swap transaction worth $2.3bn. The deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter, will create the third largest chemical group in the US behind Dow Chemical and...

Solvay splits off pharma unit.(BELGIUM: CORPORATE STRUCTURE)
April 5, 2004... Solvay's pharmaceutical activities are to be ring-fenced inside a newly created company giving greater autonomy to the division and making easier the possibility of future merger and acquisition activity. The Belgium chemicals and...

Sabic sounds out strategy.(SAUDI ARABIA: GROWTH)
April 5, 2004... Sabic wants to grow aggressively outside Saudi Arabia. Speaking in the US last week, Sabic's vice chairman and chief executive officer Mohamed Al-Mady said this expansion strategy may involve acquisitions or grassroots investments. But he...

Monsanto lets go of wheat/barley arm.(EUROPE: SEEDS)
April 5, 2004... Monsanto has agreed to sell its European wheat and barley seed business--except one facility in the UK--to the French group RAGT Genetique. RAGT will take over Monsanto's Cambridge, UK-based, wheat and barley seed breeding business,...

UK Johnson Matthey buys catalyst firm.(US: AMC)
April 5, 2004... UK chemicals and precious metals company Johnson Matthey announced last week the acquisition of US catalyst firm AMC for $43m. Based in Tennessee, privately owned AMC had sales of $24m in 2003, and employs 55 people. The US firm primarily...

New futures to trade on LME.(HEDGING: PP/LLDPE)
April 5, 2004... The London Metal Exchange (LME) in the UK is on track to launch futures contracts for polypropylene (PP) and linear low-density polyethylene (lldPE) by the end of the year. The PP contract will apply to 'barefoot' homopolymer general...

Players express dismay as benzene prices rocket.(AROMATICS: CONTRACTS)
April 5, 2004... The European monthly benzene contract has rocketed to 566 [euro]/tonne for April, an increase of 116 [euro]/tonne. Players are shocked at the rise and there are already worries as to how, and if, downstream markets will be able to absorb the...

Al-Mady details PE deficits.(POLYOLEFINS: IMPORTS)
April 5, 2004... Mohamed Al-Mady, vice president and chief executive officer of Sabic, told conference delegates at the International Petrochemical conference in San Antonio, Texas, US, that by 2005, China will have a polyethylene (PE) capacity deficit of 4.5m...

PX demand to grow as PET bottle resins increase.(PARAXYLENE: GROWTH)
April 5, 2004... Paraxylene (PX) demand will not falter was the message from Chase Willet at CMAI's petrochemical conference in Houston, Texas, US. Indeed the strongest growth over the next five years in percentage terms will be registered in Europe, the Middle...

Outlook improves for polymers.(POLYMERS: GLOBAL DEMAND)
April 5, 2004... Polymer producers are expected to see improved profitability in the next few years, as margins inch up despite soaring feedstock costs. The Middle East, with its feedstock cost advantage, and China, the main demand driver, will be the focus of...

Acetate rises.(Celanese Corp. increases chemical prices)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... Celanese is targeting hikes across a range of products from 1 April on its off-list selling prices including 130 [euro]/ tonne for ethyl acetate and isobutyl acetate in Europe, 7 cent/lb in the US and $170/ tonne in Asia. Meanwhile 140...

PO/styrene jv.
April 5, 2004... Bayer MaterialScience and Lyondell Chemical have inaugurated their world-scale propylene oxide(PO)/styrene monomer plant at Maasvlakte near Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The plant can produce 635 000 tonne/year styrene and 285 000 tonne/year...

PG capacity up.
April 5, 2004... Dow Chemical has increased its global propylene glycol (PG) capacity to 545 000 tonne/year for 2004, a 14% increase globally, with European capacity growing by 20%. The higher capacity was achieved through production optimisation prompted by...

Polyamide demand.
April 5, 2004... DSM Engineering Plastics has announced a 120 [euro]/tonne hike from 1 April on its Alkulon polyamide 6 range. jane.gibson@rbi.co.uk

Dow hikes PET.
April 5, 2004... Dow Chemical is aiming to increase polyethylene terephthalate prices in Europe by 100 [euro]/tonne from 1 April. Dow says the rise is supported by firm feedstock costs and strong demand. It also hopes to raise its allyl chloride prices in...

Styrene soars on back of benzene; styrene leapt to $900-940/tonne fob NWE, tracking benzene, as players complain of an overly erratic marketplace which was already volatile.(Market trends)
April 5, 2004... European naphtha prices have risen to $330-335/tonne cif NWE, following the spike in crude oil prices in response to speculation regarding the upcoming Opec meeting. The naphtha market is slow, with the arbitrage to Asia giving less support to...

PVC hikes put pressure on buyers; while the level of increases slowed in polymer prices, PVC buyers expressed concern that any future hikes might reduce margins.(Plastics monitor)
April 5, 2004... European commodity polymer producers agree that the level of price increases slowed noticeably last month in the majority of markets. Players report a variety of price scenarios ranging from a rollover to increases of up to 40 [euro]/tonne. ...

Bulk chemical prices.(Market trends)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
April 5, 2004... [GRAPHIC OMITTED] EUROPEAN 01 2003-Q2 2004 QUARTERLY AND MONTHLY CONTRACTS, [euro]/TONNE Ethylene Propylene Butadiene Q1 2003 575 520 557 Q2 2003 575 ...

DMT: the crucial factor for DMT is the survival of the fibre industry in Europe. It will continue to lose out to PTA, but will benefit from its preference in the engineering resins sector.(Product profile)
April 5, 2004... Uses Dimethyl terephthalate (DMT) is used mainly to produce polyester resins, fibres and films as well as engineering resins. The polyesters produced are used in fibres for the textile industry, the manufacture of food and drink containers...

Catalysts deal.(Degussa AG signs distribution agreement with Strem Chemicals Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... Proprietary ligands and homogeneous catalysts from Degussa in Dusseldorf, Germany, are to be distributed by Strem Chemicals, Newburyport, Massachusetts, US. The deal broadens the existing collaboration between the two companies. Ephraim Honic,...

Nickel compounds.
April 5, 2004... Surface and materials science specialist Engelhard of Iselin, New Jersey, US, has appointed RGM Materials as its North America supplier of its nickel carbonate and nickel oxide engineered materials. The compounds ate used in the production of...

ISO for Distrupol.
April 5, 2004... Distrupol's operations in Paris, France, and Alphen aan den Rijn in the Netherlands, have been certified to ISO 9001:2000 standard. The Distrupol audit was carried out by quality inspection, surveying and certification specialist SGS. ...

Le Havre loan.
April 5, 2004... The Port of Le Havre Authority has secured a loan of 248m [euro] to assist in its continued expansion in the European container market. The loan was led by Societe Generale and Dexia Credit Local.

Peninsula head.
April 5, 2004... Kansas, US-based polymers distributor Peninsula Polymers has appointed Kenneth Moran as president. He was formerly director of sales with Reichhold, a subsidiary of Dainippon Ink & Chemicals. Peninsula Polymers distributes polymers and related...

Freight line hits the buffers.(UK: GOVERNMENT)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... Central Railway, the privately financed Franco-British project to provide freight transport directly by updated and new rail lines from Liverpool, UK, to Lille, France, has failed to gain support from the UK government for the required...

First Japanese deal.(ELEMICA: E-COMMERCE)
April 5, 2004... Elemica, the neutral e-commerce network founded by the world's leading chemical companies, has accepted its first order transaction from a company in Japan through its electronic messaging platform. The deal took place between Ciba Specialty...

Bond issue by Stolt-Nielsen.(NORWAY: SHIPPING)
April 5, 2004... In a further move towards securing its long-term financial future, Stolt-Nielsen has issued five-year unsecured bonds with a total borrowing limit of NKrlbn (118m [euro]/143m [euro]). The first tranche of bonds was priced at NKr500-700 in...

Transforming production: effective operating systems rely on many factors, not least the passing on of expert knowledge, Philip Eykermann, Jakob Fischer, Joe Hughes and Karsten Hofmann of McKinsey & Company, look at the latest approaches.(Operating systems)
April 5, 2004... Chemicals producers are among the most mature companies in modern business. While the industry has always found ways to cope with the cost/price squeeze associated with commoditisation, the stunning growth of extremely low-cost suppliers such...

20 years ago: ECN 16 April 1984.(Diary)
April 5, 2004... The wave of foreign interest in Italian pharmaceutical companies shows no signs of subsiding. The latest candidate for takeover is said to be Pierrel, which recently ceded its biomedical subsidiary Soxil to Gambro of Sweden. Midy SpA, part...

Avecia.(People on the move)
April 5, 2004... Charles Shields takes up the newly created position of director, global business development for DNA medicines at Avecia Biotechnology. He will lead the commercial activity and new customer programmes in DNA early phase and clinical development...

Cabot.(People on the move)(appointment of Carol Flack, Martin O'Neill and Friedrich von Gottberg )(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... US speciality chemical producer Cabot has announced the election of three new vice presidents. They are: Carol Flack, who becomes vice president, general manager Cabot Supermetals; Martin O'Neill, who becomes vice president, director, global...

Chance & Hunt.(People on the move)
April 5, 2004... Chance & Hunt, the UK arm of pan-European distribution group Azelis, has entered the food ingredients sector with the appointment of Bob Cantas market manager, food. Cant brings with him the experience of working in the food manufacturing...

Dow Chemical.(People on the move)
April 5, 2004... Dow Chemical has named Dan Gibbs as global marketing director, chlor-alkali, within the company's chlor-vinyl business. He replaces Rob Broomham, who has been named director of distribution sales for Dow's performance chemicals & thermosets and...

Peninsula Polymers.(People on the move)
April 5, 2004... Peninsula Polymers, a US distributor of polymers and related products to the paint and coatings industry, has appointed Kenneth Moran as president. Moran has been director of sales for Reichhold, a US subsidiary of Japan's Dainippon Ink &...

Conferences.(Diary)(Calendar)
April 5, 2004... International wet end chemistry 11-12 May Nice, France Tel +44 1372 802 164 Fax +44 1372 802243 E-mail issyc@pira.co.uk Global petrochemicals 11-12 May Amsterdam, Netherlands Tel +4420 7067 1800 E-mail...

Did you know?(Diary)(chemical industry supplies virtually all sectors of the economy )(Brief Article)(Illustration)
April 5, 2004... EU chemical industry supplies virtually all sectors of the economy Textile and clothing 6.3% Agriculture 6.4% Electrical goods 3.9% Office machines 0.7% Industrial machinery...

Industry worry of mercury price dive proves baseless.(EUROPE: CHLOR-ALKALI)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... Fears that the price of mercury would collapse as European chlor-alkali producers switched to non-mercury technology have been unfounded. Prices have risen by more than 50% since the industry announced in 2001 that it would be returning mercury...

Union voices stance on Reach.(ETUC: LEGISLATION)(European Trade Union Confederation)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... For the first time since the adoption of Reach in October 2003, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has stated its position on the legislation. Following an executive committee meeting, ETUC said it was of the opinion that 'the...

Roche releases green report.(ANNUAL REPORT: SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT)
April 5, 2004... Roche has underlined its commitment to sustainable development by including, for the first time, a separate sustainability report with its annual report. Roche said that this move 'highlights its belief that long-term success requires business...

GM maize shelved.
April 5, 2004... Bayer CropScience has decided to shelve plans to commercialise its GM maize variety Chardon LL in the UK. While the UK government gave the go ahead for commercial cultivation of GM crops in early February, Bayer said that constraints were put...

WWF concerned.(World Wrestling Entertainment Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... The WWF has expressed its concem over Germany's decision to backtrack on targets for 002 production in the face of industry pressure. In a plan agreed one day ahead of the deadline for European Union countries to meet their national allocation...

Deep sea trouble.(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), there are nearly 150 oxygen starved or 'dead zones' in the world's oceans. These dead zones, say UNEP, are linked to an excess of nutrients, mainly nitrogen, which has originated...

GSK improves on Theravance pact.(PHARMACEUTICAL: AGREEMENT)
April 5, 2004... GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has boosted its stake in Theravance, a privately-held pharmaceutical company specialising in a multivalent small molecule discovery approach. It has formed an alliance with the company to develop and commercialise...

Fresh Shott for WH Promation.(UK: ENGINEERING SERVICES)
April 5, 2004... Longstanding fine chemical executive Ian Shott has acquired UK-based engineering firm WH Promation to design new plant and equipment for the pharmaceutical, food and biotechnology industries. The eponymous firm will specialise in plant and...

Commission okays J&J buy.(MERCK: STAKE)
April 5, 2004... Johnson & Johnson's (J&J) acquisition of US partner Merck's 50% stake in Johnson & Johnson MSD Europe, has been approved by the European Commission. The deal for the stake in the non-prescription drugs venture was announced last month (ECN 8...

Sweet smelling deal.(WACKER: SUGAR MOLECULES)(Wacker Chemical Corp. enters into contract with Procter & Gamble Co. to supply cyclodextrins)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... German specialities firm Wacker has bagged a deal worth 'double-figure' millions of euros to supply US consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble with the glucose-based molecular group cyclodextrins. A Wacker spokesman told ECN it was an...

Amgen merger.
April 5, 2004... Amgen, the world's largest biotechnology company, will merge with fellow Californian firm Tularik, a pioneer in gene regulation treatment of cancer and other diseases, in a $1.3bn all stock-transaction expected to close in the second half of...

Honeywell glows.
April 5, 2004... Honeywell has reached a licence agreement with Nemoto for the manufacture and distribution of strontium aluminate long afterglow materials worldwide. Both companies are entitled exclusively to produce and distribute these high-end materials...

Broccoli benefits.
April 5, 2004... Indena, the Italian drugs firm known for the manufacture of paclitaxel, a cytotoxic molecule widely used in anti-tumour chemotherapy, is researching into new oncological molecules derived from plants. Addressing the 95th World congress on...

P&G/Kaneka evaluate bio-production sites.(NODAX: COMMERCIALISATION)
April 5, 2004... Procter & Gamble Chemicals and Japan's Kaneka have finalised a joint R&D agreement which will lead to the commercialisation of biobased biodegradable plastics. At the same time the companies are jointly evaluating several sites around the...

Aventis hands back drug rights.(PHARMA: MARKETING RIGHTS)
April 5, 2004... Aventis Pharmaceutical has returned European marketing rights to Dynepo, an anaemia drug, to the biopharmaceutical company Transkaryotic Therapies (TKT). The drug was developed using TKT's patented gene activation technology and is...

Alliance to develop nanotech.(ALTANA: NANOPHASE TECHNOLOGIES)
April 5, 2004... Germany-based speciality chemicals company Altana Chemie has formed an exclusive global partnership with Nanophase Technologies, a company involved in nano-materials and nano-engineered products. The partnership will collaborate on...

Fruitful alliance.(Syngenta AG enters into a partnership agreement with Tanimura and Antle Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... A partnership between Syngenta and produce company Tanimura & Antle has been established to grow and market fresh produce under the Dulcinea brand name. The produce will include miniature seedless watermelon and ultra-sweet Tuscan-style...

Polyurethane deal.(Bayer MaterialScience AG enters into an agreement with Tanex Plasty a.s.)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... Bayer MaterialScience has signed an agreement with Prague-based Tanex Plasty concerning the supply of polyurethane raw materials and technical cooperation. Tanex Plasty develops, produces and markets raw material systems for the production of...

Clean coal licence.
April 5, 2004... Royal Dutch Shell has licensed its clean coal technology to China's Shenhua Group. Said to be China's largest coal producer, the company will use the technology to produce hydrogen, part of a liquefying process to produce oil products from...

Joint development.
April 5, 2004... IsoTis OrthoBiologics has established a commercial alliance with French-based Teknimed to develop jointly synthetic-based products for use in orthopaedic, spine and trauma surgery. Teknimed develops calcium phosphates and other biomaterialbased...

HFC jv in China.
April 5, 2004... DuPont and Zhonghao New Materials have formed a joint venture in China to produce hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants (ECN 28 April 2003). The new company, DuPont 3F Fluorochemicals Changshu, is majority owned by DuPont. HFC blends will be...

Caustic progress.(Equapac plans to build a 75 000 tonne/year chlor-alkali plant )(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... US chlor-alkali distributor, Equapac, is progressing its plans to build a 75 000 tonne/year chlor-alkali plant in Longview, Washington. Construction should start in quarter three and the facility should be operational by fourth quarter 2005....

Flint picks UOP.
April 5, 2004... Flint Hills Resources, a wholly owned division of Koch Industries, has selected UOP's Unicracking technology for a new unit at its Pine Bend refinery in Minnesota, US. The facility will produce ultra-low-sulphur diesel and naphtha from a 36 000...

Debt all paid up.
April 5, 2004... Methanex has repaid all of the project debt related to its 850 000 tonne/year Titan methanol plant in Trinidad, which started up in early 2000. The company has repaid $182m leaving it with cash balances in excess of $100m and the availability...

Sabic cracker under way.(EUROPE: ETHYLENE)
April 5, 2004... Sabic has begun basic engineering for its long-awaited cracker expansion at Geleen in the Netherlands, but a decision to go ahead with the project is not likely to be taken until towards the end of 2004. Speaking at the International...

Asia to be a leading producer.(PHENOL: EXPANSIONS)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... Asia looks set to become the number one producer of phenol by 2007 as the emerging economies of China and East Asia start to dominate production, says CMAI's Ben Smith. The vast majority of new capacity is planned for Asia and if...

Shanghai: consortium breaks ground.(New projects)
April 5, 2004... BASF, Huntsman and its Chinese partners, Shanghai Hua Yi, Sinopec Shanghai Gao Qiao Petrochemical and Shanghai Chlor-alkali Chemical, broke ground on their integrated isocyanates project last week. The complex at the Shanghai Chemical Industry...