ECN-European Chemical News articles from May 2004

ECN-European Chemical News archives from May 2004

A sign of market fragmentation?(Comment)
May 3, 2004... Does BP's decision to off load its petrochemicals business spell the beginning of the end for the paradigm of the integrated oil and petrochemical producer? Shareholders are demanding creatures and petrochemical plants simply cannot give the...

Bond offering.
May 3, 2004... Linde has successfully placed a 550m [euro] five-year convertible bond with international investors. Proceeds from the offering will allow it to improve its debt structure and financing terms. If the over-allotment option of 50m [euro] is...

Earnings jump.(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... Bayer expects its first quarter earnings before interest and tax (Ebit) and before exceptional items to be about 25-30% above analysts' expectations. However, Bayer said it expects profits for the three months ending 31 March to approximately...

Spolchemie stake.
May 3, 2004... Ceska Financni, a Czech bailout institution, has cancelled the sale of a 53.73% stake in Czech resins maker Spolchemie. A spokesman said none of the bids were satisfactory. Bids came from Dehtochema Bitumat, a Czech producer of bitumen...

Aventis/Sanofi end battle to pave way for merger.(MERGER: PHARMACEUTICALS)
May 3, 2004... Nearly a week after Aventis accepted an improved 54.5bn [euro] cash and share takeover bid by French rival Sanofi-Synthelabo, parties to the bitter dispute were endeavouring to clear the battlefield and prepare for a merger. The fusion...

Profits soar on strong demand.(SHELL: Q1 PROFITS)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... Shell has more than doubled first quarter chemicals profits before exceptional items to $159m from $77m last time due to higher volumes and margins. The result, on a current cost of supplies basis, was achieved despite the impact of...

US sales rocket as economy improves.(US: CHEMICALS)
May 3, 2004... Sales at major US chemical makers showed strong gains during the first quarter of the year helped by an improving US economy and the weak dollar. However high raw material and natural gas prices persisted. The country's largest chemical...

BP to spin-off olefins unit in 2005.(OLEFINS & DERIVATIVES: SPIN-OFF)
May 3, 2004... BP is to spin off its olefins and derivatives (O&D) division into a stand-alone business in the second half of next year, as the company switches capital into more profitable businesses. The new O&D business will incorporate more than half...

Ciba upbeat on volume spire.(MARCH: TRENDS)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... Ciba Specialty Chemicals sounded a note of optimism last week when it said a pick-up in March may be the start of a recovery, while reporting flat first quarter profits and sales. 'We had a slow start to the year. However, the trends we...

ICI's cost cuts bear firm fruit.(Q1: PROFITS)
May 3, 2004... ICI delivered a 29% hike to 67m [pounds sterling] (100m [euro]/$118m) in first quarter pre-tax profits as the company continued to experience improved trading conditions, especially in the US. Sales fell 5% to 1.34bn [pounds sterling], but...

Solvay cites caustic soda dive for woes.(BELGIUM: REPORT)
May 3, 2004... Solvay last week blamed rising competition, the strong euro and a significant drop in caustic soda prices at the start of the year for poor first quarter results from its chemicals sector. Earnings before interest and tax from continuing...

BASF boosted by strong Q1.(Q1: REVENUE)
May 3, 2004... Much improved chemical results plus strong volume growth across all main divisions helped BASF boost first quarter earnings before interest and tax by 10% to 1.04bn [euro]. Pre-tax income rose 16.6% to 978m [euro], while group sales were up...

IT workforce cut.
May 3, 2004... Plans by Royal Dutch/Shell to axe 20-30% of its approximately 9300 strong information technology staff over the next three years will have some impact on the group's chemicals business. Aimed at saving some $850m a year across the entire group...

Cost-cutting plan.
May 3, 2004... Eastman Chemical says it will reduce staffing at its Voridian polyethylene terephalate polymer plant near Columbia, South Carolina in the US, by 20-25% or as many as 150 workers. The move is part of a cost-cutting programme aimed at returning...

Bain sells Interfer.
May 3, 2004... US private equity group Bain Capital has sold steel group Interfer, acquired when it bought chemicals distributor Brenntag, to German private investor Albrecht Knauf for an undisclosed sum. Turnover at Interfer is approximately 800m [euro]. ...

Q1 profits up.(EVC International operation profit)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... EVC International, Europe's largest manufacturer of polyvinyl chloride, has revealed a 3.9m [euro] first quarter (Q1) operating profit after exceptional items, despite significantly higher raw material costs. The Q1 operating profit, which...

Sales growth.
May 3, 2004... Swiss agrochemicals group Syngenta raised its full year earnings per share growth expectations after unveiling a 15% rise to $2.3bn in first quarter sales. Growth came from a strong finish to the Latin American season. News editor...

Phosphorous arm sold in divestment programme.(AKZO NOBEL: PHOSPHOROUS CHEMICALS)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... Akzo Nobel is to sell its phosphorous chemicals business to US financial buyer Ripplewood Holdings for 230m [euro] as part of its 1bn [euro] divestment programme. Akzo, which announced in September last year plans to sell the 187m [pounds...

Lurgi Life Science to spin off.(GERMANY: MANAGEMENT BUYOUT)
May 3, 2004... Lurgi Life Science, based at Chemnitz, eastern Germany, is to be spun off in a management buyout and merged with Lurgi AG's engineering arm, also based at Chemnitz, to create a new company, Chemieanlangenbau Chemnitz (CAC). The new firm...

Yorkshire shares suspended.(UK: DYES)
May 3, 2004... Shares of UK-based Yorkshire Group have been suspended on the London Stock Exchange, after the cash-starved dye manufacturer announced it was locked in asset-disposal talks with its lenders. Yorkshire has been in financial difficulties...

PKN Orlen at finish line for Unipetrol.(CZECH REPUBLIC: PRIVATISATION)
May 3, 2004... The Czech state has accepted Polish oil and petrochemical group PKN Orlen's bid for its Czech counterpart Unipetrol, after Shell and Mol pulled out. PKN Orlen offered Koruna13bn (402m [euro]/$479m) for a 63% equity stake, plus a package of...

Promising forecast from DSM.(2004: FORECAST)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... DSM pleased analysts last week by raising its full year 2004 profit forecasts after unveiling first quarter (Q1) operating income of 110m [euro], substantially higher than the company had predicted three months ago. Analysts were...

Borden to file ipo in the US.(US: EQUITIES)
May 3, 2004... Privately-owned Borden Chemical intends to file an initial public offering with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to sell shares in the third quarter. The company's owners Kohlberg Kravis Roberts will receive all proceeds from the sale....

Grim tidings for UK.(UK: INDUSTRY TREND)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... UK chemicals manufacturers remain largely pessimistic over the prospects for a recovery this year, according to the latest Confederation of British Industries (CBI) monthly industrial trends survey. The survey, carried out in late March...

Yukos' future teeters as creditors call.(RUSSIA: LOANS)
May 3, 2004... Troubled Yukos may default on a $1bn pre-export loan facility and has been warned by a ratings agency of a potential liquidity crisis. The default could occur because its lending banks may foreclose on bank accounts which are secured on the...

SBS polymers.
May 3, 2004... Kraton Polymers is seeking price increases for its clear and oil extended SBS polymers. The 100 [euro]/tonne increase will be effective in Europe from 1 May. Markets editor jane.gibson@rbi.co.uk

Site closure.
May 3, 2004... Hampshire Chemical Corp intends to shut down its production facility in Nashua, New Hampshire, US, after 46 years of operation. The site, which produces sarcosinate-based surfactants and has more than 60 staff, is closing within the next six...

Melamine plant.
May 3, 2004... NPC's 20 000 tonne/year melamine crystal plant in Bojnoord, northeast Iran, is now onstream. The plant at the Khorasan Petrochemical Complex also produces 70 000 tonne/year of ammonium carbamate as a by-product. Markets editor...

Price increase.
May 3, 2004... Basell plans to raise European prices for all grades of polyethylene and potypropylene by 50 [euro]/tonne from 1 May in order to restore margins. Markets editor jane.gibson@rbi.co.uk

Dow ups prices.
May 3, 2004... Dow is targeting a price increase from 1 May of 50 [euro]/tonne for all low-density polyethylene resins, Dowlex polyethylene resins, Attane ultra low density polyethylene copolymers, Elite enhanced polyethylene resins, and Aspun fibre grade...

Chlorine output.
May 3, 2004... Chlorine production in western Europe climbed to 840 329 tonne in March, an 8.8% increase over February. Figures issued by EuroChlor also show that caustic soda stocks fell to 351 380 tonne, down 4.9% on the month before. Markets editor...

BP fires up VAM plant after six-month outage.(BP: PRODUCTION)
May 3, 2004... BP has finally lifted the force majeure at its vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) plant in Hull, UK, and resumed production after more than six months. Players say the end of the shutdown is good news for the market, which has been suffering from a...

ACN producers seek increase.(EUROPE: ACRYLONITRILE)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... European acrylonitrile (ACN) quarter two (Q2) contract prices have yet to be settled. Nevertheless, producers are adamant that prices have to move up, in response to higher feedstock costs and a balanced to tight market. In Q1, ACN...

Changeover to monthly pricing slow to take hold.(TOLUENE: CONTRACTS)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... A mixture of contract prices has emerged from the toluene market in April, with a published quarterly reference price now set to become a thing of the past. There was no first quarter reference price published on the market, although...

Shortage of acrylic acid as force majeure declared.(EUROPE: SUPPLY PROBLEMS)
May 3, 2004... A second European producer has announced force majeure on acrylic acid supply. StoHaas, the Rohm & Haas/ Stockhausen joint venture made the announcement last week on its 200 000 tonne/year plant at Marl, Germany, which is running at reduced...

Basell opts for 'no frills' site.(WEBSITE: POLYOLEFINS)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... Basell has launched an online polyolefins business, Alastian, which will offer a no frills package for purchasing polymers at attractive prices. Niels Nielsen, general manager of Alastian, told ECN that the business 'is designed with the...

Ethylene prices take a tumble: despite on-going outages ethylene slumped as low as $745-765/tonne, Elsewhere orthoxylene went short while paraxylene went long, MTBE is on a rapid rise as gasoline hits record levels.(Market trends)
May 3, 2004... Naphtha prices moved above $340/tonne cif NWE, tracking the spike in crude oil prices. However, by mid-week numbers had trended down to $334-336/ tonne cif NWE, as supply continued to outstrip demand. Ethylene spot price ideas have begun to...

Polystyrene firms on tighter supply: despite high feedstock costs and production difficulties, plastics prices in many markets remained unchanged, rolling over into April, Polystyrene, however, saw increases of 80-100 [euro]/tonne.(Plastic monitor)
May 3, 2004... Although European commodity plastic producers had proposed increases of 50 [euro]/ tonne for polyolefins, it is generally accepted that prices largely rolled over in April. PVC prices also remained unchanged, yet tightness in PS coupled with...

Acrylic acid: markets are set to remain tight until 2005, but new capacity plans will not be resurrected until profits recover to reinvestment levels.(Product profile)
May 3, 2004... Uses Acrylic acid's major derivative is acrylic esters which account for over half of world demand. Crude (unrefined) acrylic acid is used captively and almost exclusively to make acrylates and other derivatives used in the paint, paper,...

Positive results posted by nascent BASF IT Services.(UK: BASF)
May 3, 2004... Three years since BASF merged its 50 IT units into BASF IT Services, the newly-formed independent subsidiary painted a bright picture for its future at a press conference in London last week. It announced an annual turnover in 2003 of...

Stolt-Nielsen's profits rising.(operating profit)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... Stolt-Nielsen has reported a 22% increase in its first quarter operating profit before restructuring costs for its tanker, container and terminals business. Operating income rose to $29.4m in the three months to 29 February compared with $24.0m...

No 5 under way.(ware house of Bandar Imam Petrochemical )(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... Construction work is well under way at the 27ha warehouse and tank farm complex for petrochemicals and chemicals storage and distribution at Bandar Imam Petrochemical Special Economic Zone site number 5. Eight silos covering an area of 16...

European deals.
May 3, 2004... Lehmann & Voss have been appointed to distribute Atofina's Orgasol polyarnide cosmetics powders in Switzerland. In a separate agreement, Biophil Chimica Fine has been appointed distributor for the range in Italy. The two companies also offer...

BDP expands.(acquires Merlin Logistics)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... Global logistics and transportation services company BDP International of Philadelphia, US, has acquired a majority interest in the transportation division of Merlin Logistics, Kriftel, Germany, and full ownership of ACTA, Paris, France....

Carota returns.
May 3, 2004... Univar subsidiary Performance Polymers of Lecminster, Massachusetts, US, has appointed Michael Carota as its president. He was one of the original founders of the company when it was established in 1989. Contact mark.whitfield@rbi.co.uk

20 years ago: ECN7 May 1984.(Diary)
May 3, 2004... Gaenentech scientists have cloned and produced factor VIII, the so-called anti-haemophilia factor. Rival gene-splicing outfit, Genetics Institute, last November announced that its workers had produced fragments of the factor VIII gene. The two...

Bayer.(People on the move)(appointed Joe Martin and Hans Hiller)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... Joe Martin will head the self-test business section of Bayer's diagnostics division when the division is split into two new entities on 1 June. The new business section will be based in Elkhart, Indiana, US. Bayer took the decision to split...

Dynea.(People on the move)
May 3, 2004... Finnish adhesives and resins producer Dynea has appointed Garry McClean as senior vice president of the firm's Panel Board Resins, North America. His responsibilities include operations, plants and sales and marketing. McClean joined Dynea...

Kemira.(People on the move)(appointed Michael Strand as new vice president )(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... Finnish chemicals group Kemira has appointed a new vice president of mergers and acquisitions to lead the company's strategy for growth in pulp and paper chemicals markets. Michael Strand takes up that challenge on 1 June when he will move...

National Starch.(People on the move)
May 3, 2004... National Starch Personal Care has announced the appointment of Matthias Pfaffernoschke as technical service supervisor at its European development laboratory in Sempach-Station, in Lucerne, Switzerland. Before joining National Starch...

Rhodia.(People on the move)
May 3, 2004... Wolfgang Muhs has been made vice president, custom manufacturing and intermediates at Rhodia Pharma Solutions. He will take responsibility for expanding Rhodia's custom manufacturing operations and pharmaceutical intermediates business. ...

Conferences.(Diary)(Calendar)
May 3, 2004... Global petrochemicals 11-12 May Amsterdam, the Netherlands Tel +44 20 7067 1800 Fax +44 20 7430 9513 MetCon2004 13-14 May Houston, Texas Tel +1 215 628-4447 Fax +1 215 628-2267 Website www.catalystgrp.com Bio 2004 6-9 June San...

Enzyme lengthens bread's shelf life.(US: BREAD MARKET)
May 3, 2004... Danish enzyme specialist Novozymes has thrown a new dimension into the bread market in the US through the introduction of a new enzyme, but European consumer preference for daily-baked bread may keep it off the shelf over here. The latest...

Hotmelt-adhesives technology used for pesticide alternative.(UK: SUBSTRATE DEVELOPMENT)
May 3, 2004... Asmall UK company has discovered an unconventional use for the kind of hotmelt-adhesives technology normally used in the packaging industry. John Williams, managing director of Advanced Technical Products, is using the technology to develop...

Novozymes gets whiter whites.(EUROPE: LAUNDRY DETERGENT)
May 3, 2004... Whiter whites at lower temperatures--what every modern housewife demands from her laundry detergent- can now be delivered with the help of a new enzyme launched by enzymes and micro-organisms specialist Novozymes. What makes this enzyme...

Innovation may gain from EU accession.(EUROPE LIFE-SCIENCES)
May 3, 2004... Europe leads the world in manufacturing of pharmaceuticals but lags behind in terms of innovation in life-sciences according to a recently published report from Cap Gemini Ernst & Young. The report goes on to say that potential success in...

A fresh EU coat: the European paints and coatings industry is seeing a new wave of consolidation and innovation, as it prepares to meet the EU legislation on VOC emissions as well as the introduction of the Reach chemical policy.(Paints & coatings: overview)(Industry Overview)(Cover Story)
May 3, 2004... There's never a dull moment for paints and coatings manufacturers operating in western Europe, despite the difficult operating conditions that face the industry at present. Within the region, many companies are in the process of...

Paints spread eastward: sales growth for the paints and coatings sector in western Europe provides a discouraging picture, Major players are looking to restructure in these mature markets and seek growth opportunities in the more promising markets of Asia and eastern Europe.(Paints & coatings: Eastern Europe)
May 3, 2004... Last year provided scant relief for Europe's major paints and coatings manufacturers. Demand for paint, according to estimates from Cepe, the European council of the paint, printing ink and artists' colours industry, remains static and dry. Its...

Finishing touch: the battle for market share in the automotive coatings market continues as growth in European car manufacturing slows down. Dede Williams looks at investment worldwide.(Paints & coatings: automotive)
May 3, 2004... Little or no growth in car manufacturing in Europe and North America has led to consolidation in the market for OEM automotive coatings. Today, there are only three major players that can offer a broad range of products. BASF and PPG Industries...

Flame retardant scare refuted by BSEF studies.(REVIEW: HEALTH RISKS)
May 3, 2004... Two independent peer reviews, commissioned by the Bromine Science Environment Forum (BSEF), have shown that the presence of the flame retardant deca-BDE in blood, does not pose a health risk. The BSEF studies came after a biomonitoring...

Recycling projects hit target.(WASTE MANAGEMENT: PVC)
May 3, 2004... According to the fourth annual progress report of Vinyl 2010, PVC resin producers, additive and plasticiser manufacturers and converters have met their 2003 recycling targets for window frames, profiles, pipes and roofing membranes. In...

US reach visit.(chemical industry regulation)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... Europe's environment minister Margot Waistrom (pictured) was in the US last week discussing the EU chemicals reform, Reach. The visit coincides with a congress investigation into US diplomatic pressure to overturn the EU chemical proposals. ...

Dutch group urges change on Reach.(NETHERLANDS: REACH CONSULTATION)(Dutch Association of Chemical Distributors )(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... The Dutch Association of Chemical Distributors (VHCP) has said that last year's internet consultation on Reach proved to be useful in the sense that 'it has led to a number of essential improvements on the original proposal'. However, the...

Commercial fuel.(bio-ethanol)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... Bio-ethanol, which is made from biomass, such as wheat straw, has been shipped, in commercial quantities, for the first time. It is claimed that this alternative fuel which can be used to fuel cars could significantly reduce greenhouse gas...

State security.(chemical security legislation)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... The state of Maryland has become the first in the US to pass state-wide chemicals security legislation. The legislation requires prioritisation of facilities, the development and implementation of security measures in line with risk, as well as...

Ban supported.(mercury, cadmium and lead usage in batteries banned)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... The European Environmental Bureau and Greenpeace have congratulated the European Parliament on implementing a ban on cadmium, mercury and lead in batteries. The ban was imposed in spite of fierce opposition from industry. But the parliament...

Peptide offering.
May 3, 2004... Dowpharma is beefing up its biologics custom manufacturing capability by adding 'manufacturing solutions for peptides' using Dowpharma's suite of leading biologics technologies. Nick Hyde, business director, Dowpharma, said the company's...

Bio agreement.(Evotec OAI and Oxford Bioscience Partners)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... German biopharma company Evotec OAI and Oxford Bioscience Partners, the US based life-sciences venture capital firm, have expanded their 2002 agreement by integrating Evotec OAI's newly established rational drug design platform, EVOrationale....

Orica acquires.
May 3, 2004... Australian firm Orica has continued the expansion of its food and fine chemicals distribution business buying leading Australasian speciality distributor Bronson and Jacobs for Aus$110m (68.0m [euro]/$80.7m). Bronson supplies the food,...

R&D coatings lab.
May 3, 2004... Akzo Nobel has opened a new R&D laboratory at Felling in the UK to serve its global marine and yacht coatings activities. Akzo Nobel said the new laboratory is part of a continuing investment of over 10m [euro] in R&D for its marine and...

Agroferm deal progresses.(Degussa acquires Kyowa Hakko Kogyo)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... Degussa is close to finalising a deal to acquire a Hungarian amino acids business from the Japanese speciality chemicals company Kyowa Hakko Kogyo. The directors of both companies have already approved the deal and all that remains is for...

Alliance offers high-tech output.(SWITZERLAND: OLINGONUCLEOTIDES)
May 3, 2004... Swiss fine-chemicals and biotech firm Lonza has signed a collaboration agreement with RNA-TEC in the area of TBDMS-based oligonucleotides. RNA-TEC is a biotechnology spin-off from the University of Leuven in Belgium and focuses on modified...

Merger creates antimony jv.(Great Lakes Chemical and OxyChem's Laurel Industries joint venture)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... Great Lakes Chemical has finalised the merger of its antimony business with OxyChem's Laurel Industries unit to form a 50:50 joint venture called GLCC Laurel. The transaction includes antimony oxide and synergists manufacturing assets,...

Centres give R&D strength.(Albemarle Corp. created three technology centres)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... Albemarle has created three technology centres in a move to strengthen its position in key chemistries and capabilities and help position it as a leader in emerging areas such as nanotechnology. Employees from Albemarle's business and...

Plastics jv offers added value.(PLASTICS: DESIGN & ENGINEERING)
May 3, 2004... Radici Plastics has established a partnership with Negri Bossi and Incos in a move to offer its customers an additional range of services, to help in the design and transformation phases of an engineering plastics project. As well as...

Few holes in ozone sector's growth trend.(INDUSTRY: FORECAST)
May 3, 2004... According to a report from Business Communications, the global market for ozone technology is expected to reach $305m by 2009, from an estimated $224.9m in 2004. The report says that ozone is rapidly gaining market share in water treatment...

Collaboration gets savvy with sulfinol.(Sulfinol process to measure water in sulfinol)
May 3, 2004... A collaboration between Servomex and engineers at ExxonMobil Chemical has developed a method for measuring the amount of water in sulfinol, which is in the Sulfinol process. Sulfinol is an organic solvent mixture used to remove C[O.sub.2]...

Plastics process.
May 3, 2004... Dow Automotive has developed a production concept which the company says provides a cost-efficient and flexible method for precise adjusting of plastic parts to different temperature requirements. The process, which is called Autoblend, is a...

Patent info online.
May 3, 2004... Fiz Kerlsruhe, a European provider of information services and European partner of science and technology online service STN International has launched Derwent World Patents Index First View (DWPI First View) on STN International. DWPI users...

US biotech boost.
May 3, 2004... US-based Consulting Resources says the US biotechnology sector ended 2003 on a positive note. According to its latest industry update, fertile pipelines and fast-paced growth rates led to long-term forecasts, which continue to look promising....

Cepsa eyes China market.(ASIA: PETROCHEMICALS)
May 3, 2004... Spain's Cepsa is planning to build a petrochemicals plant in southeast Asia. The company's objective is to be present in the Chinese market within three years, confirmed a company spokesperson. Cepsa's president Perez de Bricio said the...

Mexico hosts new facility.(INDELPRO: POLYPROPYLENE)
May 3, 2004... Polypropylene producer Indelpro, a subsidiary of Basell and Alpek, the petrochemicals arm of Mexico's Alfa, has announced plans for a new plant. A 350 000 tonne/year facility will be built at Altamira, Mexico, and is scheduled to begin...

Invista picks Aker Kvaerner for upgrade.(adipic acid plant upgrade contract)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... Invista has awarded Aker Kvaerner Engineering Services a 10.5m [pounds sterling] (15.61m [euro]/$18.64m) contract to overhaul and upgrade its adipic acid plant in Wilton, Teesside, UK. The work will centre on the ketone alcohol (a mixture...

DSM puts money on Akulon capacity.(DSM Engineering Plastics polyamide capacity upgrade)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... DSM Engineering Plastics is investing 'several tens of million euros' to raise polyamide 6 (PA6) capacity in Emmen, the Netherlands. Production of its high-viscous PA6, known as Akulon, will rise by over a third when the expansion is completed...