ECN-European Chemical News articles from December 22 2003

ECN-European Chemical News archives from December 22 2003

20 years ago ECN 19/26 December 1983.(Shell Chemicals, rationalisation of complex in England)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... Shell Chemicals is now implementing the fourth phase of its rationalisation plan for its Carrington complex in the north of England, UK. The company has revealed plans for 110 job losses and the closure of its polystyrene and toughened...

Acrinor looks to double ACN throughput.(acrylonitrile capacity, Brazil)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... Brazils Acrinor is considering doubling its acrylonitrile (ACN) capacity to 180a000 tonne/year within the next three years. Officials said the $70m project, to be located in Camacari, Bahia state, northeast Brazil, is expected to be approved...

Altana to divest industrial coatings.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... German pharmaceutical and chemicals group Altana intends to sell its industrial coatings activities within two years. Altana said it was only a small player in the industrial coatings market and the proposed divestment was part of its plan to...

An eye on the bottom line.(chemical industry, technology)
December 22, 2003... When technology is bought to improve asset efficiency and reduce maintenance costs but fails to produce results, companies often choose to change the technology. However, the problem usually rests not with the technology but with implementation...

APME goes pan-European.(Association of Plastics Manufacturers in Europe )(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... The Association of Plastics Manufacturers in Europe (APME) has set 1 January 2005 as the target date for its full evolvement into a pan-European plastics industry association. Plans for a new association incorporating the APME plus 18 national...

Aventis to sell blood unit to CSL.(Australian biopharmaceuticals company )(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... Aventis is divesting its blood plasma unit Aventis Behring to Australian biopharmaceuticals company CSL for up to $925m. The two companies have signed an agreement in which CSL will pay $550m in cash upon closing the deal for the therapeutic...

News in brief.
December 22, 2003... US assets sale Polimeri Europa in the US has agreed to sell its Baytown, Texas, thermoplastic assets to Lee Chang Yung Chemical Industry for $44m. The deal is expected to close in January. The Baytown plant can make 50a000 tonne/year of...

News in brief.
December 22, 2003... Pentagon buys The UKEs Pentagon Chemicals has bought a Great Lakes pharmaceutical intermediates and agrochemicals plant near Widnes, northwest England. The plant has sales of [pounds sterling]21m (C30m/$37m) and 135 staff. The purchase will...

Bain moves to distribution with Brenntag purchase.(Bain Capital acquisition of Brenntag)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... Bain Capital has extended its chemicals empire into the distribution arena through the acquisition of Brenntag, sold by railways operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) in a package costing 1.4bn. The purchase price includes steel manufacturing company...

Bayer faces first year loss.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... Bayer is facing a full year operating loss for the first time since its reformation in 1952 due to a 2.2bn asset impairment charge linked to the spin-off of NewCo, poor performances in some of its weaker units plus investment writedowns. Some...

Bayer uses platform.(Bayer HealthCare, Pharmagene; use of Pharmagenes Custom Validation Platform)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... Bayer HealthCare has signed an agreement with Pharmagene of the UK to use Pharmagenes Custom Validation Platform for preclinical testing, based on the use of human tissue. The agreement will initially focus on cardiovascular diseases,...

Best practice pays off.(Europe, chemical companies; cost effectiveness)
December 22, 2003... European chemical companies are losing ground to their US competitors in the area of cost effectiveness says Paul Barshop, where best practice has become a key factor The market valuations of chemical companies are strongly driven by their...

Blackstone plays chess in mega-deal.(Blackstone Capital Partners, proposed acquisition of Celanese)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... Blackstone Capital Partners has offered 3.1bn for Celanese in what could be the biggest private equity take-over of a stock market-listed European company. The proposed 32.50 per share acquisition price is 13% above 12 December trading. In...

BOC turns on gas.(industrial and medical gases firm, business brand)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... Industrial and medical gases supplier BOC has introduced a business brand to meet the requirements of the scientific community and a market that the company estimates to be worth over 1bn annually. BOC Scientific brings together a range of...

Borouge plans huge boost.(polyethylene capacity, joint venture company; United Arab Emirates)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... Borouge will invest $40m in debottlenecking its polyethylene (PE) capacity and conducting a feasibility study for a 1.4m tonne/year ethylene cracker on the same site in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi, UAE. The Middle Eastern joint venture, 40% owned by...

BpA limit to be lowered.(bisphenol A)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... The European Commission has proposed lowering the specific limit of migration of bisphenol A (bpA) in food from 3mg/kg of food to 0.6mg/kg. This proposed amendment to Directive 2002/72/EC regulating plastics for food applications will be...

Brenntag predicts sales rise.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... Freed from the shackles of the parent company and distracting sales process, Brenntag will quickly enter the Asian market and achieve 5-10% of sales there within the next five years, said the companys chief executive officer Klaus Engel. He...

Brostrom gets shipshape.(tanker order placed with Jinling Shipyard)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... An order for four 14a500dwt chemical and product tankers has been placed by Brostrom, Sweden, with Jinling Shipyard of Nanjing, China. The vessels, to be delivered in 2006 and 2007, have been ordered to replace four ships in the companys fleet,...

Carbon black.(demand, prices)
December 22, 2003... Growing imports have hit European producers hard and capacity has shut. The pressure remains and more closures could happen as imports look set to continue increasing Uses Carbon black is used as a reinforcing, pigmenting, UV stabilising...

CEC polishes China service.(Chlorine Engineers)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... Electrolysis technology supplier Chlorine Engineers (CEC) of Tokyo, Japan, is supplying BiTAC electrolysers, used in the production of chlorine and caustic soda, to a 250a000 tonne/year caustic soda production facility for the joint venture...

Chemicals testing agency to be situated in Finland.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... The new European chemical testing agency, central to the proposed Reach (registration, evaluation and authorisation of chemicals) scheme, is to be located in Helsinki, Finland. A European Commission spokesman told CNI the decision was taken by...

CNPC revamps EB plant.(CNPC Daqing Petrochemical, ethylbenzene)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... CNPC Daqing Petrochemical has chosen Lummus/UOPs EBOne and Smart technology to revamp its ethylbenzene (EB) and styrene plant in Daqing, China. Production of styrene will be boosted by 30a000 tonne/year to 90a000 tonne/year. Basic design...

Nearer, but not yet in Reach?(European chemicals policy)
December 22, 2003... We have now had two months to assess the details of the European Commissions proposed new chemicals policy for Europe. Industry has been heartened by the substantial amendments made to the first draft issued by the Commission in its White Paper...

Confronting stress.(BP studies stress in project design stage)
December 22, 2003... Prevention is better than cure and BP is putting this into practice by studying stress at the design stage of a project. Karen Harries-Rees reports Stress is an area of occupational health that does not naturally spring to mind when...

Dow adjusts US pricing.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... Dow Chemicals has announced that it will be moving its contract pricing for solvents and intermediates in the US in line with contract timing mechanisms already in place in Europe. Dow states that regular monthly pricing adjustments are planned...

News in brief.
December 22, 2003... Maize rejected SyngentaEs genetically modified Bt11 maize has been turned down by the European CommissionEs Standing Committee on the Foodchain and Animal Health. Six members voted in favour (Finland, Sweden, Ireland, UK, Netherlands, Spain),...

Eka plans silica sols plant.(Eka Chemicals to build a paper chemicals plant in Brazil)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... Eka Chemicals, the Swedish subsidiary of Akzo Nobel, is to build a paper chemicals plant in Brazil. Construction has begun on the 12a000 tonne/year silica sols facility in Santa Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, with completion expected by the end of...

Feedstocks pressurise margins.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... Volatile crude and feedstock values are proving to be a problem for solvent hydrocarbon producers trying to raise prices. White spirit, hexane and solvent naphtha light price levels have undergone little improvement over the last three months...

Gas supply upped.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... Linde Gas Xiamen is investing 30m in a third air separation unit at its complex in Xiamen, Fujian province of China, to provide oxygen and nitrogen to Xiang Lu Petrochemicals under a long-term supply contract. This investment reiterates our...

Henkel buy to grow sales.(to acquire Dial)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... With the envisaged acquisition of personal care products manufacturer Dial for $2.9bn, Henkel will increase the US share of its 9.7bn annual sales from 14% to 23% and become the countrys second largest player in the detergents, cleansers and...

Higher recycling targets agreed.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... The minimum recycling targets for packaging waste have been increased from 25% to 55% by 2008, in an agreement reached by the European Parliament and Council conciliation committee. Specifically, the targets are 60% for glass and paper, 50% for...

Jacobs' EPC contract.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... Jacobs Engineering has received an EPC contract, for an undisclosed sum, from Kerr-McGee Chemical, for its titanium dioxide pigment plant in Hamilton, Mississppi, US. We are delighted to continue our relationship with Kerr- McGee Chemical by...

Kiel prepares for ills.(Kiel Laboratories to invest in an extended-release prescription products plant in Northern Ireland)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... Kiel Laboratories will invest [pounds sterling]5.4m (7.7m/$9.4m) in an extended-release prescription products plant in Northern Ireland, UK, for the treatment of coughs, colds and allergies. Initially, output from the plant will be sold in the...

News in brief.(Lehmann & Voss additives )(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... Fluid agreement The Luvotix range of rheology additives from Lehmann & Voss is to be distributed throughout the UK by Univar. The range, based on both castor oil and polyamide derivatives, comprises thixotropic agents for coatings, sealants and...

LNG receiving terminal to be developed.(Golden Pass LNG Terminal, Texas)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... An ExxonMobil affiliate, Golden Pass LNG Terminal, has announced plans to develop a $600m liquified natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal near Sabine Pass, Texas, US. The facility is expected to be operational in the 2008-09 timeframe, with an...

Lonza scoops Rituxan contract.(Lonza biologics division, non-Hodgkins lymphoma drug; Genentech)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... Lonzas biologics division has signed a long-term agreement to manufacture commercial quantities of the non-Hodgkins lymphoma drug Rituxan (rituximab) for San Francisco, US-based biopharmaceutical firm Genentech at the Lonza plant in Portsmouth,...

Lukoil seeks deal with PKN.(PKN Orlen, petrochemicals cooperation)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... Lukoil and PKN Orlen are seeking ways of cooperating in petrochemicals. Russian Embassy officials and Lukoil executives visited PKN Orlen recently to seek areas of joint cooperation, but no agreement has yet been signed. Lukoil is Russias...

Lurgi reorganises for profits.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... Lurgi is taking major first steps towards a return to profitability with a new slimmed-down structure, possible plant closure and site spin-off. The German engineering firm said it would merge its Lurgi Oel Gas Chemie and Lurgi Life Science...

News in brief.
December 22, 2003... Potash agreement Canpotex International has sold 1.5m tonne of Canadian standard grade potash to ChinaEs Sinochem, covering sales for 2004. This contract covers the first year of the three-year memorandum of understanding signed in August. The...

Market hit by overcapacity.(global caprolactam market )(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... Demand developments in the global caprolactam market indicate that there is no room for additional new plants, according to Sim Van Der Linde, business development director for DSM Fibres Intermediates. New plants would be responsible for a...

More job cuts to come at Akzo.(Akzo Nobel's polymer chemicals division)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... Akzo Nobels polymer chemicals division has said a further 100 full-time jobs are to go over the next two years as the Dutch group tries to lower its fixed manufacturing costs. The decision reflects Akzos latest attempt to keep costs in line...

Naphtha soars on Asian demand.(prices, Europe)
December 22, 2003... Naphtha rocketed to $316-320/tonne cif NWE on the back of robust Asian demand and higher oil prices. Ammonia is at record high on three large sales to Turkey and the US Naphtha prices soared to $316-320/tonne cif NWE. Prices have been...

New plants to swell olefins production.(Sasol plans to construct two new polymer plants in South Africa)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... Sasol is planning to construct two new polymer plants in South Africa. Board approval is imminent for a large-scale tubular low density polyethylene (ldPE) unit and a polypropylene (PP) plant. The project is being driven by a Rand5.5bn...

News in brief.
December 22, 2003... Edison deal signed Edison, ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum have signed agreements giving ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum majority ownership of Edison LNG, which is 100% in charge of constructing a regasification terminal in the Northern Adriatic....

News in brief.
December 22, 2003... Pushing plastics GE Plastics will invest $60m to expand its plastics compounding and film extrusion plant in Nansha, Guangdong province, China. The construction of eight new lines, to be completed by November 2004, will double the plantEs...

BOXHEAD: REPORTED IN ECN 30 NOVEMBER/07 DECEMBER 2003.(Illustration)
December 22, 2003... REPORTED IN ECN 30 NOVEMBER/07 DECEMBER 2003 Company****Product****Capacity****Process****Contractor****Cost****Startup****Status**** BASF Ludwigshafen Verbund, Germany****amino glue/resin****(x)1mT****-****-****10m****2004****P****...

On-site advantages.(on-site logistics, chemical plant designs; China)
December 22, 2003... Substantial benefits could be achieved from the integration of on-site logistics into chemical plant design in China. A report by Erwin den Breejen and Jan van Riet Chemical companies are investing heavily in new production capacity in...

Optimising assets.(how chemical producers can create maximum value from their assets)
December 22, 2003... Analysis of the life cycle of manufacturing plants has shown chemical producers how to create maximum value from their assets. Hans-Joachim Leimkuhler and Tobias Scheele explain Maximising returns from plant assets has become a major focus...

People on the move.(chemical industry appointments, promotions, resignations)
December 22, 2003... Vopak John Paul Broeders, currently president of Vopaks Asian division, will replace Paul Govaart on the executive board in May. In a reversal of roles, Govaart will take on Broeders job as president of the Asia division. The Dutch chemical...

Peroxides cartel is fined [euro]70m.(Europe, organic peroxides )(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... The European Commission has slapped fines totalling around 70m on five companies which operated an organic peroxides cartel in Europe for 29 years, the longest running scheme ever identified by the Commission. The cartel was led by Akzo Nobel,...

Players accept rollover for quarter one C4 contract.(butadiene contracts, European prices)
December 22, 2003... European quarter one (Q1) butadiene contracts have been settled at 520/tonne FD, representing a rollover from quarter four. A number of producers and consumers confirm they have reached agreement. Butadiene producers had argued that European...

Polyurethanes move on track.(Hoyer, Elastogran; transportation of polyurethane raw materials)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... Hoyer of Hamburg and Elastogran of Lemforde, both in Germany, have moved transport of polyurethane raw materials between four of BASFs plants from road to rail. The shift to rail transport from plants in Schwarzheide and Brandenburg in Germany...

Producers expect stronger demand in early 2004.(methanol, Europe)
December 22, 2003... European methanol producers have raised their expectations for the quarter one contract number to around 200-205/tonne from the current contract number of 190/tonne. Improving growth rates in the US and a strong economic performance in Asia...

Proud to be in chemicals.(BASF launches drive to communicate its commitment to chemicals)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... Through a new logo declaring it to be the chemical company and a more clearly defined business strategy, BASF has launched a drive to communicate its commitment to chemicals. At the same time, it is preparing for a tougher business environment....

Rhodia faces union backlash.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... Rhodia's plans to cut support staff in France by 572 or 20% is being met with bitter hostility by trade unions who blame management incompetence for the companys financial difficulties. The latest cuts will come during a rationalisation of...

Schering inks deal.(research agreement with Combi-nature Biopharm )(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... German drug firm Schering and its compatriot Combi-nature Biopharm have signed a research agreement to apply Combinatures proprietary combinatorial biosynthesis technology to generate derivatives of one of Scherings lead compounds in the area...

Solutia succumbs to the strain.(filed for bankruptcy protection )(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... Solutia finally threw in the financial towel last week and filed for bankruptcy protection under the US Chapter 11 bankruptcy code. The move by the US fibres, films and speciality chemicals maker follows a long and agonised struggle against...

Stolt-Nielsen struggles with long-term loan default.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... Stolt-Nielsen, which is under-going financial restructuring, was in talks last week with its main lenders to agree long-term loan covenant default waivers. The waiver extensions granted last month expired last week putting Stolt-Nielsen group...

Support for Kyoto.(United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, ministerial meeting)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... The ninth annual ministerial meeting of the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has concluded with agreement on a number of operational rules to implement the Kyoto Protocol and a hope that Russia will ratify...

US to adopt Sorb 33.(process for arsenic removable from drinking water; Severn Trent Services, Bayer Chemicals)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... Developed by Severn Trent Services in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, US, in cooperation with Bayer Chemicals of Leverkusen, Germany, the Sorb 33 process for removal of arsenic from drinking water is to be adopted for water treatment programmes...

VCP lines up CEE takeovers.(Vienna Capital Partners, Central Europe)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... BorsodChems majority owner Vienna Capital Partners (VCP) is eyeing Czech Republics Spolana, Romanias Oltchim and Polands PKN Orlens polyvinyl chloride business as it plans a central and east European plastics empire. VCP is expected to carry...

Vopak warehousing MBO.(management buy-out, warehousing activities)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... Vopak last week announced that it has signed a letter of intent to approve the management buy-out (MBO) of its warehousing activities. Included in the agreement is the intention to offer integrated logistics services to the market through a...