Chemical Business Newsbase articles from June 2010, page 41

Chemical Business Newsbase archives from June 2010

Aurcana completes expansion to 1500 tonnes/day at La Negra: Mexico.
June 1, 2010... Vancouver-based Aurcana has finished the expansion of the mill at the La Negra polymetallic mine in Mexico. The mill's capacity has been raised to 1500 tonnes/day from 1000 tonnes/day. La Negra will ramp up to 100% capacity in the coming weeks....

Genco receives explosives permit, La Guitarra to return to full production: Mexico.
June 1, 2010... Mexican authorities have authorized Genco Resources to use explosives at the La Guitarra gold-silver mine. This is the last permit that the Vancouver-based firm needs to bring back the mine into full production. La Guitarra, located in the...

In brief: Chariot shareholders approve acquisition by China Sci-Tech: Peru.
June 1, 2010... Shareholders of Canadian firm Chariot Resources are in favour of China Sci-Tech Holdings' acquisition of the firm via a plan of arrangement for roughly C$244 M ($232 M). Chariot expects that the EIS for its Mina Justa copper project in southern...

CRP exports third load of RBOB: Venezuela.
June 1, 2010... Venezuelan state oil firm PDVSA has shipped the third cargo of RBOB (reformulated blendstock for oxygenate blending) gasoline produced at its Paraguana refining complex (CRP) in Falcon state. The firm's RBOB gasoline complies with international...

PDVSA reports progress with Amuaycito oil spill: Venezuela.
June 1, 2010... Around 85% of the oil slick on the coast of Amuaycito in Falcon state has been reportedly cleaned up by PDVSA. The Venezuela's state oil firm, however, denies any association with the incident. PDVSA blames heavy shipping in the area as the...

Americas Petrogas sees 1Q 2010 losses decline: Argentina.
June 1, 2010... Canadian oil junior Americas Petrogas managed to shrink its losses to C$1 M ($950,000) in 1Q 2010 from C$1.5 M in 1Q 2009. The firm's revenues rose to C$365,239 from C$21,016. The improvement was credited to the startup of the firm's Medanito...

Alba Petroleos storage plant nears completion: El Salvador.
June 1, 2010... El Salvadorian firm Alba Petroleos is near completing the construction of a new fuel storage plant at the Acajutla port. The $120 M project is reportedly scheduled to be finished after Jul 2010. The plant will have capacity for 350,000 bbls of...

AkzoNobel formally acquires Dow powder business.
June 1, 2010... On 1 Jun 2010, AkzoNobel completed its acquisition of the Dow Chemical Co's powder coatings activities. The deal was first announced in Nov 2009. Originally purchased by the Dow Chemical Company in 2009 as part of its acquisition of Rohm and...

Wacker Polymers to raise prices for dispersions in Europe.
June 1, 2010... Wacker Polymers is to raise its prices in Europe for Vinnapas and Vinnol dispersions. Effective 1 Jul 2010, prices for these dispersions will be increased by up to EUR 80/tonne, or as customer contracts allow. This measure has been necessitated...

Southern Clay Products increases prices on select additives for paints and coatings.
June 1, 2010... Southern Clay Products Inc will increase the prices for its paint and coatings additives in the Americas by 5% to 9%, effective 1 Jul 2010 or as agreements allow. This includes Claytone and Tixogel organoclays for solvent-based coatings and off...

Solutia completes acquisition of Etimex Solar.
June 1, 2010... Solutia Inc has consummated the previously announced purchase of Etimex Solar GmbH, producer of Vistasolar encapsulants, including a ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) encapsulant to the photovoltaic market. The EUR 240 M ($294 M) acquisition of...

Flint Group announces price increase for Narrow Web inks in Europe.
June 1, 2010... Since start 2010 market demand has increased (particularly in Asia where the Chinese economy grew by 12%+ in 1Q 2010) but this economic revival has caused a supply/demand imbalance on the raw material markets. The economic collapse at the end of...

Eisai's investigational anticancer agent eribulin mesylate (E7389) receives priority review status in the US.(Disease/Disorder overview)
June 1, 2010... On 1 Jun 2010, Eisai Co Ltd announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) accepted for review and granted priority review status to the New Drug Application (NDA) on 28 May 2010 (US Eastern Time) submitted by the US subsidiary...

Sun Chemical announces price increases for the publications market.
June 1, 2010... On 1 Jun 2010, Sun Chemical Europe announced that prices of its products in the publications marketplace will increase between 10% and 20% from 1 Jul 2010. The increases are in response to raw material shortages and increased raw material costs...

Germany's plastics sector hopes for 2010 recovery.
June 1, 2010... The German plastics industry hopes for a rebound in 2010 following a 15% volume decline in 2009 that saw output dropping to 17 M tonnes from 20 M tonnes in 2008, according to PlasticsEurope Deutschland. Export volumes fell 16.7% to 10.2 m...

DuPont and Tate & Lyle expand US resin capacity.
June 1, 2010... DuPont and Tate & Lyle's Bio-PDO resin plant in Tennessee, USA, will have a 35% capacity increase by mid-2011. Construction is slated to commence in Jul 2010. The expansion project is anticipated to generate 130 jobs.

Polykemi invests EUR 4 M in plant expansions.
June 1, 2010... Polykemi will allocate SKR 32 M (EUR 3.3 M) and SKR 10 M (EUR 1 M) for expansion projects in Sweden and China, respectively. Part of the Chinese budget will be allocated on the acquisition of the previously leased Polykemi China buildings. In...

Novamont suffers patent set-back.
June 1, 2010... Italian bioplastics maker Novamont's patent infringement claims against Sphere and Biotec were not upheld by France's Tribunal de Grande Instance court, causing a setback in Novamont's patent enforcement programme. The lawsuit involves three...

No relief in sight yet for buyers. [1 table in original article].
June 1, 2010... Thermoplastic producers capitalized on tight supply and improving demand situation to push for higher prices and increase their profit margins. Production outages at cracker and polymer facilities once again significantly limited material supply...

PS hit by outages.
June 1, 2010... Plant outages affected a number of producers, including Ineos Nova, Repsol and Dow. Ineos declared a force majeure at its Wingles plant in France on 4 May 2010. Repsol's SM plant and Dow's PS facility were also shut down for maintenance...

PP tightens.
June 1, 2010... Unscheduled plant outages were to blame for production restriction that led to severe unavailability of C3 and PP. PP producers successfully increased prices in May 2010 despite the relatively small hike in propylene contract prices. A force...

Sizeable margin gains for L/LDPE sellers.
June 1, 2010... L/LDPE prices remained on an upward trend in May 2010, due to robust demand and ethylene feedstock shortages brought about by a series of planned and unplanned cracker and polymer plant outages. The price increases led to improved margins....

HDPE falls short of target.
June 1, 2010... HDPE producers failed to reach their price increase target in May 2010, partly due to buyers' strong objection on the planned hikes. Material supply for HDPE grades was not as tight compared to that for lower-density PE. Blown film and injection...

PET profits from import shortfall.
June 1, 2010... European PET suppliers increased prices and margins in May 2010, taking advantage of market tightness brought about by a shortage in imported material May 2010 paraxylene contract prices increased, but MEG contract prices decreased. PET imports...

PVC sellers boost margins.
June 1, 2010... PVC sellers did not completely succeed in getting their target price hike for May 2010. The planned price hike was aimed at boosting the sellers' downed profit margins. However, downstream market conditions have improved, with increased demand...

ETP: PC/ABS up sharply as feedstocks soar. [1 table in original article].
June 1, 2010... Polycarbonate (PC) producers were able to increase prices in Feb-Mar 2010 and achieve significant gains in Apr 2010 on higher feedstock costs. PC producers are aiming at a further price increase in 2Q 2010 to boost profit margins and recoup the...

PolyOne and Kautex develop container production system.
June 1, 2010... PolyOne and Kautex demonstrated at Chinaplas a process for the production of multilayer extrusion blow-moulded containers with a soft touch TPE surface. The process is compatible with virgin and recycled PE. The system eliminates the secondary...

European injection moulding market value shrinks 23%. [1 figure in original article].
June 1, 2010... The market value of the European plastics injection moulding industry in dropped 23% to EUR 42.6 bn in 2009 from EUR 55 bn in 2008, according to AMI. Polymer volume was growing at a rate of approximately 2%/y until 2008 but the market...

Global BOPA demand to grow 3.7%/y.
June 1, 2010... World demand for bi-oriented polyamide (BOPA) is predicted to grow 3.7%/y through 2014, adding a further 36,000 tonnes to demand, according to PCI Films Consulting. Global demand has risen by an average rate of 8% since 2004, reaching 177,000...

BOPP market to grow 7% in 2013-2014. [1 figure in original article].
June 1, 2010... Global demand for BOPP film is predicted to grow 6-7% in 2013-2014, driven by Asia, Eastern Europe, Russia and Brazil, according to AMI Consulting. Investment is strong in China, India and the Middle East, where producers set their sights on...

Foam manufacturers focus on efficiency and sustainability.
June 1, 2010... Suppliers of insulation materials to the construction industry are developing products that can deliver exceptional weather and sound interference protection with minimal environmental impact. BayerMaterialScience' polyisocyanurate foam can...

Waterproof roofing.
June 1, 2010... Dow Chemical has introduced Verdiseal, a new polyurethane spray that gives protection to roofs against water and root penetration by providing a continuous barrier across the roof deck, side walls and sloping surfaces. Verdiseal offers rapid...

Balanced in PC.
June 1, 2010... A mock city, dubbed 'a city of balance,' shown at the Expo 2010 show in Shanghai, China, showcased polycarbonate sheet from Bayer. Bayer Sheet Korea's polycarbonate sheets (PC) were used to denote water in the harbour and Bayer Sheet Europe's...

Europe's leading pipe and profile producers. [1 table in original article].
June 1, 2010... Most of the companies featured in the list of Europe's top 30 pipe and profile producers saw sales drop by 20% or more, including bigger companies, such as Deceuninck, KWH, Pipelife, Uralita and Wavin. Suppliers to the building were...

DSM Somos has thermoplastics matched.
June 1, 2010... DSM Somos' new NeXt range of stereolithography resins is claimed to provide components with stiffness and roughness levels that can match those of parts made of real thermoplastics, including all feature detail, dimensional accuracy and...

Bioplastics rise to the challenge.
June 1, 2010... The injection moulding sector is incorporating bio-based polymers in its products using new additives and blending technologies. FKuR's Biograde C 7500CL cellulose ester compound and Tecnaro's Arboform, a waste-wood- and paper-based colourable...

Lanxess India inks research pact with Institute of Chemical Technology.
June 1, 2010... Lanxess India (Lanxess), a manufacturer of speciality chemicals, has inked a Memorandum of Understanding with the Mumbai-based Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT) involving various research and scientific projects. The Lanxess projects upon...

Government to push for mandatory domestic sourcing of solar cell modules by solar energy players.
June 1, 2010... The Ministries of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and Power, Government of India, are contemplating on making it compulsory for solar power developers to purchase crystalline silicon-based modules for their photovoltaic projects only from Indian...

Thirumalai Chemicals back in black.(Financial report)
June 1, 2010... Thirumalai Chemicals Ltd has recorded a net profit of Rup 25.85 crore in 2009-2010 (net loss of Rup 46 crores in 2008-2009). The company reported net sales of Rup 623.73 crores in 2009-2010 (net sales of 469.25 crores in 2008-2009). (1 crore =...

Roquette Freres of France eyeing higher stake in Riddhi Siddhi group company.
June 1, 2010... France-based Roquette Freres (Roquette) is in negotiations with Riddhi Siddhi Gluco Biols Ltd (Riddhi), India's largest manufacturer of starch and starch derivatives, to increase its stake in Riddhi from 14.93% to 51%. Riddhi presently enjoys a...

WHO finds no link between Panacea Biotec's vaccine and Bhutan infant deaths.
June 1, 2010... Delhi-based Panacea Biotec (Panacea) has stated that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has not found any link between the company's five-in-one vaccine (EasyFive) and the deaths of babies in Bhutan and has asked Panacea to commence supply of...

Elder develops first nutraceutical drug.
June 1, 2010... Mumbai-based Elder Pharmaceuticals (Elder) has developed its first new nutraceutical drug in the form of a chewable tablet, the first of this kind globally. The formulation, whose chemical name is 'coenzyme Q10', is a nutraceutical drug which...

IOL Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals to raise $5 M for new plant through FCCBs.
June 1, 2010... Punjab-based IOL Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals (IOL Chemicals) plans to raise $5 M for a proposed proton pump inhibitor plant to manufacture antiulcer drugs, by of issuing Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCBs) which will be listed on the...

Bilcare posts over 40% rise in net profit; launches business-specific websites.
June 1, 2010... Pune-based Bilcare has reported a consolidated net profit after tax of Rup 16.87 crores for the year ended 31 Mar 2010, a rise of 40.9% over that recorded in 2009. The company's consolidated net sales for 2010 were Rup 1047.48 crores (+22.4%...

Ranbaxy launches Lipitor generic in Canada.
June 1, 2010... Ranbaxy Laboratories has introduced the generic version of Pfizer's cholesterol lowering drug, Lipitor in Canada. Lipitor has a market worth C$1.2 bn in the country. Meanwhile, Canadian drug manufacturer Apotex Inc and Israel-based Teva...

Venus Remedies to launch once-a-day pain killer injection.
June 1, 2010... Panchkula-based Venus Remedies Ltd plans to introduce the world's first once-a-day painkiller injectable in India. The launch of the drug is slated for 4Q 2110. The painkiller Aceclofenac OD, which has received a patent from the Indian Patent...

US sourcing company Alvogen signs up 6 generic suppliers.
June 1, 2010... US-based generic pharmaceutical company Alvogen, which made a foray into the Indian market in Apr 2010, has inked agreements with six generic and bulk pharmaceutical producers in India, to cater to its global markets. Four of those Indian...

Government of India more than doubles administered natural gas prices.
June 1, 2010... The Government of India has recently given its approval to increase the price of natural gas sold under the administered regime (APM) by more than double the existing price of $1.79/M Btu to $3.82/M Btu with additional 10% royalty. This increase...

DSM Powder Coating Resins announces price increase for North America per 1st of Jul 2010.
June 1, 2010... On 1 Jun 2010, DSM Powder Coating Resins today announced its second price increase for 2010 for its product range Uralac Powder Coating Resins sold in North America. The increase is effective for all orders shipped on or after 1 Jul 2010 or as...

Copper nanowires enable bendable displays, solar cells.
June 1, 2010... A team of Duke University chemists has perfected a simple way to make tiny copper nanowires in quantity. The cheap conductors are small enough to be transparent, making them ideal for thin-film solar cells, flat-screen TVs and computers, and...

in-cosmetics Asia returns to Bangkok.
June 1, 2010... in-cosmetics Asia is returning to Bangkok in 2010. Over 200 exhibitors are predicted to sign up to present their latest products at BITEC, Hall 101-102, Bangkok, Thailand, on 2- 4 Nov 2010, representing more than a 50% increase on the 2009 show....

Polyscope Polymers expands scope of Xiran SMA as additive for amorphous thermoplastics: "SMA additive increases value of ABS, PMMA by boosting thermal performance, paintability and compatibility in multi-material systems".
June 1, 2010... Styrene maleic anhydride, long established as a high performance thermoplastic in its own right, is now finding increasing use as a functional additive and compatibilizer in other amorphous and to some extent crystalline thermoplastics. Major...