Chemical Business Newsbase articles from March 2010, page 4

Chemical Business Newsbase archives from March 2010

Growth drivers for energy security for next decade.
March 31, 2010... Presently, India is largely dependent on oil imports for its growing energy demand that is obstructing the country's rising economy since the prices for oil imports are rising in tune with the global demand. India's energy consumption rose by 7%...

Indian Speciality Chemicals sector offers opportunity to expand horizons beyond domestic territory.
March 31, 2010... The Indian speciality chemicals sector is rapidly turning into a favoured destination for the global companies by virtue of its ability to provide highly skilled and immensely talented personnel, experts, optimum labour as well as lesser...

Genzyme Corp intends India as their base for clinical development and manufacturing.
March 31, 2010... Genzyme Corp, dealing with advanced technologies for the life science industry, is motivating India for new developments in the coming years. The activities in pipeline are collaborative deals, research proposals, clinical developments and...

SIRO forms alliance with Korean CRO.
March 31, 2010... A contract research organization, SIRO Clinpharm, having units in India, Europe and US makes an agreement with Dream CIS. Dream CIS is a South Korean contract research organisation.

ClinTec's sales revenue up by 45%.(Financial report)
March 31, 2010... ClinTec International, a contract research organization obtained organic growth which resulted in 45% hike of global sales revenues from Mar 2009 to Mar 2010.

BD, ReaMetrix tie up to develop CD4 test.
March 31, 2010... Becton Dickinson's BD Biosciences in collaboration with ReaMetrix will develop dried reagents for BD FACSSount Flow Cytometry System used for examining HIV/AIDS patients. ReaMetrix is a biotechnology company at Bangalore in India.

Biocon, Bayer tie-up to fight diabetes in India.
March 31, 2010... Biocon, a biotechnology company in India along with Bayer Healthcare, a division of Bayer AG, will work together to cope up with the threat of diabetes in India. The disease is on the verge of engulfing Indian population. Further, to measure the...

One million lost. (Plastics Italy. [1 figure in original article].
March 31, 2010... The 2009 annual report from Plastic Consult gives the behaviour on the Italian market of the major thermoplastic polymers. There was a fall of 9% compounding the 8% fall in 2008 giving a fall of 1 M tonnes over the 2 years. The only polymer...

Global chain for polyolefins.
March 31, 2010... The world congress on polyolefins (PEPP 2009) was held in Zurich. Overall world capacity has quadrupled in the last 20 years. The quota from the Middle East, China and Pacific Asia has tripled to hold half of world capacity. Of PP capacity...

Chinese market (plastics).
March 31, 2010... The Chinese market for masterbatch is the most dynamic in the world. According to AMI (Applied Market Information) growth has been in double figures with volume growing at 8%/y/ There is a wide range of companies from state controlled to those...

Britain optimistic (plastics).
March 31, 2010... According to BPF (British Plastics Federation) there is increased optimism in the local plastics industry. In a sample of companies interviewed, 70% expected increases of 2-10% in turnover in 2010 compared with a fall of 15-40% in 2009. Increase...

Polymers in Russia.
March 31, 2010... According to MRC (Market Report Company) in Russia the overall estimate for the 4 major polymers (PVC, PE, PP and PS) in 2009 fell by 15%. In 2009 sales of these polymers reached 3 M tonnes, the same as in 2006. Worst hit was PVC with imports pf...

Extrusion in America.
March 31, 2010... According to the Freedonia Group, demand for extruded plastic in the US will increase by 2.6%/y passing form 13.5 M tonnes in 2008 to 15.3 M tonnes with cost of the resin ($59.2 bn) making up 40% of the cost of the finished product. After the...

Antidumping regulations for fibres.
March 31, 2010... In Dec 2009 the European Union set up an antidumping regulation relating to imports from China of some types of glass fibre and continuous thread. The APFE (Association of European Glass Fibre Producers) advised of the situation and, according...

Pointers from Canada.
March 31, 2010... In a survey of 380 injection moulding companies in the Ontario region of Canada, 77% registered a decrease in turnover in 2009 but 66% expected an upturn in 2010. There was an increase in the number of firms exporting more than 75% of...

Polyolefin textiles.
March 31, 2010... According to EATP (European Association of Textile Polyolefins), a fall of 8% in production in 2008 will be followed by a fall of 7% in 2009. However the polyolefin textiles have proved more resilient than other textile sectors increasing market...

Less lead (PVC).
March 31, 2010... According to the Centro di Informazione (Information Centre) on PVC on producers of Green PVC there is a significant decrease of lead used in producing this product. In 2008 the ratio between lead used and compound produced was 0.00419 compared...

Reduced emissions.
March 31, 2010... According to the Jan 2010 annual report of EBRIB (European Brominated Flame Retardant Industry Panel) on VECAP (Voluntary Emissions Control Action Programme) there has been significant reduction in potential emissions to air, earth and water in...

Decalogue (ten commandments) on recycling.
March 31, 2010... Generation of plastic waste in Europe reached 25 M tonnes in 2008 and, although 51% of this is recuperated, much remains to be done. EuPR (European Plastics Converters) has published a document entitled How to Increase Recycling of Plastics....

Sustainable nappies.
March 31, 2010... Every year the European Union (EU) produces 25 bn disposable nappies. Disposable nappies hold 98% of the world market for nappies. However although turnover in this sector is EUR 1 bn there are no exhaustive regulations governing this area. Half...

Reversible adhesion.
March 31, 2010... Medical engineers at the Northwestern University have studied geckos and mussels and developed a new adhesive material, Geckel. This is able to adhere to any materials including wet ones in a reversible manner. This could be useful for...

The year in retrospect: 2009.
March 31, 2010... Overall, the value of the global surfactant market in 2009 is estimated at $14 bn, and this is forecast to grow to $18 bn by 2015. Growth rates of 1-3%/y are expected in the developed markets of Western Europe, North America and Japan but demand...

Decreases in crude oil and gas prices affected the results of Spain's largest oil companies. [2 tables in original article].
March 31, 2010... Factors not under the control of Spain's main oil companies, includng the large fall in crude oil and natural gas prices, and low refining margins, adversely affected the 2009 results of Cepsa and Repsol. Cepsa reported an adjusted EBITDA of EUR...

CLH signs an agreement with Indra to push forward the internationalisation of its business model.
March 31, 2010... In Spain, Grupo CLH and Indra have signed a collaborative agreement to boost the internationalisation of CLH's business model in the petroleum products logistics sector. The companies will work together to structure CLH's business model in order...

Cepsa and BP Oil Espana sign a bioethanol supply agreement with Abengoa Bioenergia.
March 31, 2010... In Spain, Abengoa Bioenergia has signed bioethanol supply agreements with BP Oil Espana and Cepsa. The bioethanol will be blended with petrol, enabling the oil companies to meet legal obligations regarding the use of bioethanol in petrol. In...

CLH's profit after tax rose by 9.4% in 2009.
March 31, 2010... In 2009, Spanish petroleum products distributor Grupo CLH generated a turnover of EUR 536.2 M, EUR 1.6 M more than for 2008. Net operating profit was EUR 223.5 M (-0.7%). Operating expenditure rose by 1.3% and operating income rose by 0.5%. In...

Cepsa invested EUR 951 M in 2009.
March 31, 2010... During 2009, Cepsa invested EUR 951 M, mainly in Exploration and Production, Refining and Distribution, and Gas and Electricity. Projects included the construction of new crude and hydrocracking units at its La Rabida refinery in Spain, which...

Spain's consumption of petroleum products: Nov 2009 and Jan-Nov 2009. [1 table in original article].
March 31, 2010... In Nov 2009, Spain consumed 5.506 M tonnes of petroleum products, 5.6% less than in Nov 2008. LPG consumption fell by 20.8% to 130,000 tonnes, and diesel consumption fell by 8% to 2.690 M tonnes. Consumption of kerosene increased, however, by...

Spain's consumption of automotive petrol and diesel, Nov 2009 and Jan-Nov 2009. [1 table in original article].
March 31, 2010... In Nov 2009, Spain consumed 449,000 tonnes of petrol, 5.7% less than in Nov 2008. Diesel consumption fell by 8% to 2.690 M tonnes. Biodiesel consumption fell by 46.9% to 3000 tonnes, whilst consumption of biodiesel blends rose by 45.8% to 15,000...

Spain's foreign trading of petroleum products, Nov 2009 and Jan-Nov 2009. [1 table in original article].
March 31, 2010... During Nov 2009, Spain imported 2.260 M tonnes of petroleum products, 10.4% more than during Nov 2008. Fuel oil imports increased by 52.8% to 414,000 tonnes, and kerosene imports rose by 5.6% to 170,000 tonnes. Exports of petroleum products...

CLH's new transport and distribution facilities in Mahon, Menorca.
March 31, 2010... CLH has built new petroleum product storage and distribution facilities near Mahon Airport on Menorca. The facilities replace existing facilities at Cala-Figuera and eliminate the need for petroleum products to be transported by road tanker...

Petroleum product storage in Spain. [1 table in original article].
March 31, 2010... Two companies handle most of the petroleum product storage in Spain: Grupo CLH and Repsol Butano. In this article, brief overviews are given of the storage operations of these two companies, and a table gives details of CLH's sorage capacities...

The transport and distribution of petroleum products in Spain. [6 tables in original article].
March 31, 2010... In this article an overview is given and statistics reported for the transport and distribution of petroleum products in Spain. In 2009, 2.666 M tonnes of petroleum products were transported by sea, 2.6% less than in 2008. Ninety nine tankers...

Grupo CLH invested EUR 137 M in 2009 for the expansion and improvement of its infrastructure.
March 31, 2010... In 2009, Grupo CLH allocated over EUR 137 M to continue with the expansion and improvement of its infrastructure network. The investment is part of its strategic plan 2007-2011 which anticipated investments of over EUR 730 M to continue the...

Yarn likely to cost more.
March 31, 2010... The Indian government has raised from 8% to 10% the excise taxes on petrochemicals in the organic chemicals category. The regulation covers DMT, PTA, MEG and benzene used in the manufacture of caprolactam and acrylonitrile. The move is expected...

Lanxess: finishing touch of rubber chemicals.
March 31, 2010... Germany-based Lanxess is one of the world's largest rubber chemical producers and suppliers. The company has manufacturing sites in Europe, the United States, South Africa and Asia. Two of its key products, in volume terms, are Vulkanox...

Photovoltaics market: a global outlook. [2 tables, 1 figures in original article].(Industry overview)
March 31, 2010... The rapid growth of the solar power market since 2000 has been spurred by widespread awareness on the limitations of petroleum-based resources, their environmental impact, and the high volatility of oil prices. The high costs of producing...

IndianOil to commission Rup 3700 crore projects at Haldia refinery soon.
March 31, 2010... IndianOil will soon complete bringing online a series of projects with a combined value of around Rup 3700 crore at its Haldia refinery. The company already finished the commissioning and capacity expansion of the Haldia crude distillation unit...

Fertilizer sector: right moves.
March 31, 2010... The fertilizer industry is benefiting from the nutrient-based subsidy system and free prices for DAP and MOP implemented by the Indian government effective 1 Apr 2010. The pricing decontrol will help firms in terms of margins and provide...

Dishman joins hands with Californian firm.
March 31, 2010... Indian firm Dishman Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals Ltd has signed a strategic deal that permits it to use USA-based Codexis Inc's proprietary enzymatic bioacatalysis process in the production of intermediates and active pharmaceutical...

Jayashree Chemicals to adopt a new tech.
March 31, 2010... Caustic soda producer Jayshree Chemicals Ltd (JCL) will adopt the advanced membrane cell technology at its Ganjam facility in south Orissa beginning in Oct 2010. The implementation of the new process will happen simultaneously with JCL's...

Chennai Petroleum Corp Ltd invests in auto fuels.
March 31, 2010... Chennai Petroleum Corp Ltd is investing Rup 2615 crore in plants that would cut sulfur content in petrol and diesel to 50 parts per million (ppm) versus 350 ppm for diesel and 150 ppm for petrol, currently. Companies usually recover their...

SPIC hopes to restart Tuticorin plant soon.
March 31, 2010... Southern Petrochemical Industries Corp Ltd (SPIC) hopes to resume shortly operations at its Tuticorin facility. Shareholders approved the company's reorganization plan, which entails Asset Reconstruction Co (India) Ltd (ARCIL) to convert a...

IFFCO picks 20% stake in Canadian firm.
March 31, 2010... The Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd (IFFCO) has acquired a 20% interest in Canadian firm Growmax Agri Corp, which has potash mining concessions in Peru. The jv is developing the large surface brine reserves in North-West Peru's Bayovar...

Extracts from the economic survey 2010: chemical industry in India. [4 tables in original article].
March 31, 2010... Data compiled by India's Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals revealed that major chemicals production dropped 5.2% in 2008-2009 following the economic downturn, and posted a growth rate of -0.91% in Apr-Dec 2009. Total major...

Lanxess: new Jhagadia site up and running.
March 31, 2010... Lanxess has concluded the initial phase of development of its new Jhagadia site in Gujarat, India. The site's rubber chemical facility already commenced production, as planned, after being transferred from Thane, Maharashtra state. The plant...

Perstorp expands in India with new application laboratory and growing sales team.
March 31, 2010... Perstorp has set up a new applications laboratory in Ghatkopar, India to meet the rising demand for high quality and technologically advanced speciality chemical solutions in the country. Demand is growing, particularly from coatings producers,...

Brenntag opens new headquarters office in India.
March 31, 2010... Chemicals distributor Brenntag formally launched a new headquarters office in Mumbai, India. The company supplies a diversified range of speciality and industrial chemicals to various markets, such as electronics and electrical, paper and...

Solvay expands in Asia, opens three new R&D technology centres.
March 31, 2010... The Solvay Group is establishing a cluster of three research, development and technology (RD&T) centres in Asia, aimed at strengthening Solvay's foothold in the region. The centres will particularly be based near Vadodara India, in Ulsan,...

Taoka Chemical to double capacity at its plant in Chennai.
March 31, 2010... Taoka Chemical India has plans to raise twofold to 1200 tonnes/y the capacity of its cyanoacrylate instant adhesive facility at MEPZ-SEZ in Chennai, India. The project includes the introduction of new grades and adhesives, as well as expanding...

Kiri Dyes completes DyStar acquisition.
March 31, 2010... Indian reactive dye and intermediates maker Kiri Dyes and Chemicals Ltd (KDCL), via its SPV Kiri Holding Singapore Pvt Ltd, has concluded the acquisition of German multinational company DyStar and its subsidiaries with the backing of its jv...

Lanxess cuts its global climate gas emissions by more than 50%.
March 31, 2010... Lanxess has trimmed down by over 50% its direct climate gas emissions in the past two years. Emissions from the company's plants in 2007-2009 were reduced from 3.5 M tonnes/y to 1.5 M tonnes/y of carbon dioxide equivalents. Lanxess' emissions...

LLDPE market on the rebound.
March 31, 2010... Market research institute Ceresana Research forecasts significant growth in sales and distribution in the LLDPE market beginning in 2010. LLDPE revenue is climbing back after falling by up to a third in certain regions in 2009 to a combined...

Growth of boron industry is driven by Chinese demand.
March 31, 2010... A new study entitled 'Boron: global industry: markets and outlook,' reveals that global demand for boron, a key material for fibreglass and borosilicate glass production, has increased significantly in 2005-2008. The main growth driver has been...

Lanxess to expand global capacity of high-performance rubber neodymium butadiene rubber.
March 31, 2010... Lanxess will outlay about EUR 20 M to increase its global capacity for neodymium butadiene rubber, in response to an expected global demand growth in the near future. The company will raise production capacity by a combined 50,000 tonnes/y at...

Environmentally friendly energy generation in India and Belgium.
March 31, 2010... Lanxess will bring online more cogeneration power units in 2010 for resource-friendly power generation in India and Belgium. A total of EUR 70 M will be invested for these projects, spread over several years. The company is building a power...

China says potash prices to remain balanced in 2010.
March 31, 2010... China, with its market looking stable, expects that potash prices will stay relatively steady in 2010 after being highly volatile since 2008. To date, potash prices are slowly moving up and are selling for about $430/tonne as of Mar 2010. Potash...

Japan's ethylene industry reconfigures.
March 31, 2010... The Japanese ethylene sector, like its European and North American counterparts, has been forced to cope with the new supply realities of the Middle East and China's fast polyolefin supply build-out. Japan's petrochemical sector is also...

Dumping duty on PTFE from Russia, China to continue.
March 31, 2010... India's Designated Authority in the Commerce Ministry has extended for another year the anti-dumping levy on polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) imports from Russia. The move followed a duly substantiated application from Gujarat Fluorochemicals Ltd,...

Aluminium: Prices to climb on rise in demand from Asia.
March 31, 2010... The price of Aluminium is likely to witness an upward trend in 2010 due to increasing demand from china and an expected 54% drop in the aluminium surplus. Primary aluminium surplus is expected to come down from 2.57 M tonnes to 1.19 M tonnes....

Copper: Prices rise on higher industrial growth. [1 figure in original article].
March 31, 2010... The price of copper spurted from $7,000/tonne to $7,500/tonne in Feb 2010 on LME. The end use sectors of copper such as housing sector and manufacturing sector are steadily picking up in US and Asia as well which is keeping the price of the...

Zinc: Chinese fiscal curbs, restarts hammer down prices.
March 31, 2010... Zinc prices are falling due to implementation of tough monetary policies by china and restarting of curtailed productions. According to the International Lead and Zinc Study Group (ILZSG), a surplus of 445,000 tones of zinc was reported for...

Lead: Prices gain on improved sentiments. [1 table, 3 figures in original article].
March 31, 2010... Lead prices in LME have shown a steady increase by 6.91% in Feb 2010 as against a loss of 16.74% in Jan 2010. The price rise was attributed to increased demand for lead-acid batteries due to severe winter in US. the price was up by about 106% in...

Nickel: Prices rise on surge in demand from stainless steel.
March 31, 2010... The price of nickel decreased in the initial days of Feb 2010 by virtue of Xstrata amicably inking a settlement deal with the striking labors belonging to CAW union. However, nickel started to move up in the mid Feb 2010 to touch $20,500/tonne...

Tin: China may play a key role in the market demand. [1 table in original article].
March 31, 2010... Tin prices bounced on in 2010 amid volatility prompted by persistent buying and selling. Meanwhile, the supply of higher grade tin was in great demand, although the commodity was short in supply. The booming sales of electronic and electrical...

Bullion: Prices to remain range bound on Dollar fluctuation. [2 figures in original article].
March 31, 2010... Historically Gold has been a safe haven investment portfolio. The demand for physical gold has picked up globally, notably from Europe as US currency Dollar and European Union's Euro lost its sheen considerably off late. India, which is the...

Future Challenges and opportunities in refractories.
March 31, 2010... The growth and de-growth of refractories moves in tandem with the world's steel industry. During 2001-2008 period, the 'BRIC countries' Brazil, Russia, India, and China accounted for 89% of the world's total steel capacity expansions. After a...

Recycling metal scrap to optimal usage.
March 31, 2010... Recycling is the best option available to conserve the scarce and precious natural resources of the world especially metals. Without recycling it is estimated that zinc could last for only till 2037, and indium and hafnium is likely to be used...

Greenstar wins WRAP funding.
March 31, 2010... Greenstar WES will use the GBP 1.2 M grant it received from UK Waste & Resources Action programme (WRAP) to increase its rigid plastics recycling capacity. The company will establish a facility in Redcar, UK capable of recycling 20,000...

A plastics separation technology recycles waste of an acoustic material manufacturer.
March 31, 2010... A UK-based acoustic materials producer is using plastics separation technology installed and developed by Axion Engineering for waste recovery and recycling reuse in the automotive, construction and industrial sectors. Under a WRAP Business...

Waste polypropylene carpets can be reprocessed into polymer pellets.
March 31, 2010... Polymer pellets suitable for injection moulding can be produced from waste polypropylene carpets, according to an Axion Consulting study funded by UK-based Envirolink NW. However, mixed polymer carpet is not suitable for extrusion and more work...

Connecting with customizable cars.
March 31, 2010... General Motors has come up with a reusable adhesive that is 10 times stickier than Velcro. The adhesive allows easy disassembly of cars at their end-of-life and simple and inexpensive customization of vehicles with interchangeable bumpers and...

Recycling with colour.
March 31, 2010... US-based Plastic Color Corp has introduced a range of plastic colour concentrates produced from post-consumer and industrial recycled material. The colorants are suitable for construction materials, pallets and packaging applications.

Kronos reports end-2009 loss after profits fall in 4Q 2009.(Financial report)
March 31, 2010... US titanium dioxide maker Kronos Worldwide reported a net loss of $34.7 M in 2009 against a net profit of $9 M in 2008, after net income declined considerably in the final quarter despite higher sales and volumes at year-end. In 4Q 2009, income...

Dyrup narrows losses and predicts turnaround to profit: 2009.(Financial report)
March 31, 2010... Dyrup, a Danish paints and woodcare company, posted a pre-tax loss of DKR 25 M (EUR 3.4 M) in 2009, down from a pre-tax loss of DKR 90 M in 2008. Results include the sale of the company's industrial operations to Teknos and a separate sale of...

Hempel reports rise in net profit for 2009.(Financial report)
March 31, 2010... Danish marine and protective coatings company Hempel posted a 23%, or more than EUR 8 M gain, in net profit to EUR 44.4 M for 2009, on cost savings effects and a decline in raw material prices. However, sales were down 10% to EUR 826 M, partly...

Sika acquires construction sealant business in Japan and US auto glass adhesives business, 2009 profit falls.
March 31, 2010... Sika's Japanese subsidiary took control of Henkel Japan's construction sealant business, which includes the brands Bellace and Duribbon. These brands, which draw in sales of Yen 1115 M (SFR 225.7 M), are expected to bolster Sika's presence in...

Detroit private equity firm buys Texas adhesives supplier.
March 31, 2010... Construction and sealants company Q'SO Inc has been renamed Edge Adhesives, following its acquisition by US private equity, Superior Capital. Edge is anticipated to post revenues of more than $15 M in 2010. Superior says Edge fits well into its...

Rust-Oleum acquires Dutch speciality coatings company.
March 31, 2010... Chemtec Chemicals, a speciality coatings company based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, will be acquired by RPM's US subsidiary Rust-Oleum Corp. The deal will provide Rust-Oleum access to a wider range of anti-slip and anti-graffiti coatings, and...

Dyrup grows in Poland with paint manufacturer buy.
March 31, 2010... Danish paints and wood care producer Dyrup anticipates an almost threefold increase in revenue in Poland, after its purchase of Polish paint maker Malfarb. Malfarb generates revenues of DKR 85 M (EUR 11.4 M) and recently posted an operating...

BASF Coatings to set up technical centre in Korea.
March 31, 2010... BASF Coatings will construct a technical facility for the development of environmentally-friendly coatings technologies at the Gyeonggi Techno Park in Ansan City, Korea. The centre's research and development activities will concentrate on...

Perstorp expands in India with new application laboratory and growing sales team.
March 31, 2010... Swedish speciality chemicals maker Perstorp is setting up a new application laboratory in Ghatkopar, India, aimed at meeting growth in coatings demand, particularly from formulators supplying the construction, car and textile sectors. The...

Weilburger acquires French decorative glass coatings company.
March 31, 2010... German firm Weilburger Coatings has purchased 90% of the shares of Naber-Meyer, a decorative glass coatings company in France. Naber-Meyer, which has 27 workers, also makes plastic coatings and special industrial finishes. Weilburger plans to...

Sun Chemical invests in new German food packaging inks factory.
March 31, 2010... A new EUR 4 M production facility for sheetfed food packaging inks has been inaugurated by Sun Chemical in Frankfurt, Germany. The central site of the new plant will permit quick shipment of products across Europe, guaranteeing that products...