Chemical Week articles from April 2007

Chemical Week archives from April 2007

Shareholders OK MacDermid buyout.(mergers and acquisitions)(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... MacDermid says that its shareholders have agreed to sell the company to a group led by chairman and CEO Daniel Leever and private equity firms Court Square Capital Partners (New York) and Weston Presidio (Boston) in a deal valued at more than...

Angus to invest in Louisiana.
April 25, 2007... Angus Chemical, a subsidiary of Dow Chemical, plans to build a $10-million product development plant at Sterlington, LA for new novel nitrated compounds used in multiple markets, Mark Henning, Angus president and CEO and Dow Biocides general...

CPH Holding renamed HallStar.
April 25, 2007... CPH Holding (Chicago) says it has changed its name to The HallStar Co. The new name "emphasizes a shared brand identity among the company's key group members as they meet new growth opportunities in the global marketplace," the company says....

Univar closes ChemCentral acquisition.(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... Univar says it has completed the acquisition of privately held rival ChemCentral, for about $650 million in cash, including assumed debt (CW, March 21, p. 10). The deal boosts Univar's market position to the number one spot, overtaking...

Honeywell specialty materials first-quarter profits rise.(Financial report)
April 25, 2007... Honeywell's specialty materials unit posted first-quarter segment profit of $192 million, an 18.5% gain over the year-ago quarter. Sales increased 4%, to $1.2 billion, driven by stronger than expected performance at UOP, partly offset by...

Mitsui, Petrobras in ethanol jv talks.
April 25, 2007... Mitsui & Co. (Tokyo) and Brazilian state-owned oil company Petrobras are in talks for a ,joint venture to produce ethanol, press reports say. The jv could be worth $8 billion, and will supply as much as 3 billion liters/year of ethanol to...

Flint to acquire day International.(mergers and acquisitions)(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... Privately owned Flint Group (Luxembourg) says it has signed an agreement in principle to acquire Day International (Dayton, OH), a producer of printing blankets, sleeves, image transfer media, and pressroom chemicals. Financial details were...

Praxair Electronics Technology upheld by U.S. Court.
April 25, 2007... Praxair said it received favorable decisions in U.S. patent litigation with Advanced Technology Materials Inc. (ATMI; Danbury, CT) related to the companies' respective sub-atmospheric ion implant dispenser technologies for semiconductor...

Bill seeks tax breaks for rail improvement projects.(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... The Association of American Railroads (AAR; Washington) says it supports a new bill that would provide a 25% tax incentive for capital expenditures by any business investing in new track, intermodal facilities, rail yards, locomotives, or...

Ethylene and carbon black plants to join Emission-Trading scheme.(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... Steam crackers producing ethylene and propylene, and plants making carbon black, will participate in the second phase of the European Union's (EU) carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions-trading scheme (EU ETS), from 2008 until 2012, sources say. Only...

Ciba debuts Electronic inks ...(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... Ciba says it has begun offering its XYMARA Electra range of conductive electronic inks to manufacturers for use in the rapidly growing field of printed electronics. Product applications include: radio frequency identification (RFID) antennae...

... Awards antioxidant contract to Jacobs.(Jacobs Engineering)(contracts)(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... Ciba Specialty Chemicals says it has awarded Jacobs Engineering a contract to provide engineering, procurement, and construction management services for an antioxidants project at Jurong Island, Singapore. The contract value was not...

Akzo to buy protective coatings maker.(Akzo Nobel mergers with Ceilcote)(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... Akzo Nobel says it has agreed to buy protective coatings maker Ceilcote (Berea, OH) from KCH Group (Siershahn, Germany) for about C12 million ($16.3 million). Ceilcote specializes in high-performance, polymer-based corrosion control solutions...

GrowHow to sell some Danish assets.(Kemira GrowHow mergers with Gropa)(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... Fertilizers producer Kemira GrowHow (Helsinki) plans to sell its hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, and canning operations in Denmark to Gropa (Copenhagen) for an undisclosed sum. Kemira GrowHow says it will continue to supply nitric acid and...

Toyo ink invests and cuts jobs at French sites.(Toyo Ink Manufacturing Company Ltd.)(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... Toyo Ink (Tokyo) says it will invest 10 million [euro] ($13.6 million) in technical upgrades at its Oissel and Villers-Saint-Paul, France plants. The upgrades will make the plants less labor-intensive and will result in 83 job cuts, Toyo...

Sinopec reports big sales and profit hikes.(China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. revenue report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... Sinopec's chemical business posted a 21% increase in 2006 operating profits, to Rmb17.2 billion ($2.2 billion), on sales up 28%, to Rmb228.1 billion. "Petrochemical product prices remained at a high level," Sinopec says. Fourth-quarter...

Yara forms Indian fertilizer jv.(contracts)(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... Yara says it has signed an agreement with Krishak Bharati Cooperative (Kribhco; New Delhi) for an international fertilizers joint venture. The companies will each hold 50% of the jv. "The joint venture's objective is to establish an Indian...

Basell lands Qatar LDPE contract.
April 25, 2007... Basell says that its Lupotech T technology has been selected by Qatar Petrochemical Co. (Qapco) for a previously announced low-density polyethylene (LDPE) project in Qatar. The LDPE unit will have a capacity of 250,000 m.t./year and is due to...

Snia buys oleochemicals firm.(Grupo Undesa)(mergers and acquisitions)(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... Snia (Milan) says it has agreed to acquire oleochemical producer Grupo Undesa (Barcelona) for 24.5 million [euro] ($33 million). The deal is due to close on June 15.

Degussa returns to net profit.(revenue report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... Degussa posted 2006 net profits before taxes of 1.83 billion [euro] ($2.5 billion), compared with a 290-million [euro] net loss in 2005, on sales up 12%, to 10.9 billion [euro]. Fourth-quarter figures were not disclosed. Profits include...

Air Liquide acquires Lurgi and Zimmer.(mergers and acquisitions)(Air Liquide America L.P.)
April 25, 2007... Air Liquide says it has agreed to buy engineering contractor Lurgi, and Lurgi's polyester plant contracting subsidiary Lurgi Zimmer, from GEA Group (Bochum, Germany) for 200 million [euro] ($270.3 million). The acquisition is based on an...

Dow plans Petchem jv in Libya; eyes ethane cracker.(top of the week)
April 25, 2007... Dow Chemical and Libya's state-owned National Oil Corp. (NOC; Tripoli) have announced plans to form a joint venture to refurbish and operate NOC's Ras Lanuf petrochemical complex in Libya, on North Africa's Mediterranean coast. The Ras Lanuf...

Dow moves to drop Reinhard from board.(Dow Chemical Co. )(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... The board of Dow Chemical has authorized a revised slate of nominees for election at its annual meeting at Midland, MI next month, dropping the nomination of former CFO Pedro Reinhard. Dow charged earlier this month that Reinhard and Romeo...

Valspar completes share repurchase.(business & finance news)(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... Valspar says it has completed the repurchase of two million shares of common stock at an initial purchase price of $27.61/share. The move was part of an accelerated share repurchase agreement with Goldman Sachs announced earlier this month.

Dow boosts DVB capacity.(business & finance news)
April 25, 2007... Dow Chemical says it will boost capacity of divinylbenzene (DVB) at Midland, MI by about 3 million lbs/year. The additional capacity is due onstream in the fourth quarter. The project will also include process improvements at the plant, Dow...

Stolt delists from Nasdaq.(Stolt-Nielsen Transportation Group Ltd.)(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... Stolt-Nielsen says it will voluntarily delist from Nasdaq and will terminate its American depositary receipt program next month. Stolt says less than 10% of its shares currently trade on the Nasdaq, and the costs and expenses associated with...

R&H enters LCD films with acquisition.(UNITED STATES/AMERICAS)
April 25, 2007... Rohm and Haas (R&H) says it will acquire Eastman Kodak's light-management films business, a producer of polycarbonate-based films used in liquid crystal displays (LCD). Terms were not disclosed. R&H says it will acquire all intellectual...

Corrections.(UNITED STATES/AMERICAS)(Correction notice)
April 25, 2007... In "U.S. to Become Net MEG Importer" (CW, April 4, p. 37), the first sentence of the story should read, "The startup of new monoethylene glycol (MEG) capacity in Asia and the Mideast over the coming years, and the lack of new MEG capacity in...

Early earnings are mixed; weak end markets to drag down profits.(UNITED STATES/AMERICAS)(Financial report)
April 25, 2007... PPG Industries reported first-quarter net income down about 4%, to $199 million ($1.20/share), excluding a $5-million charge (3 cts/share) related to an asbestos settlement, on sales up 11%, to $2.9 billion. Earnings include a 10-cts/share...

Braskem signs JV with Pequiven for Venezuela projects.(UNITED STATES/AMERICAS)
April 25, 2007... Braskem (Sao Paulo) says it has signed an agreement to form a previously announced 50-50 joint venture with Venezuelan state chemical company Pequiven (Caracas) to build an ethylene and derivatives complex at Jose, Venezuela. The companies...

Bayer ponders new-process TDI plant in Europe.(toluene diisocyanate)(Bayer MaterialScience)
April 25, 2007... Bayer MaterialScience (BMS) unveiled its "revolutionary" gas-phase phosgenation technology to produce toluene diisocyanate (TDI), at a presentation in Dormagen, Germany last week. BMS will employ the technology in a previously announced...

Swiss firm to buy BASF's LAB business.(linear alkyl benzene)(Hansa Chemie International)(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... BASF says it has agreed to divest its Chemische Fabrik Wibarco (Ibbenbiiren, Germany) linear alkyl benzene (LAB) and linear alkyl benzene sulfonate (LAS) business, to Hansa Chemie International (HCI; Zurich) for an undisclosed sum. The deal...

Sabic's profits rise.(Saudi Basic Industries Corp. revenue report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... Sabic reported first-quarter net income up 50%, to SR6.3 billion ($1.68 billion) led by higher selling prices across most of its businesses, and increased production and marketing, says Sabic CEO Mohamed Al-Mady. Sabic does not report...

Rhodia makes bond offering.(business & finance news)(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... Rhodia says it has launched a 450-million [euro] ($612 million) bond offering due January 1, 2014 that is convertible and/ or exchangeable for new and/or existing shares. Rhodia says it has signed a 600-million [euro] syndicated credit...

Orica rejects private equity bid.(ASIA/PACIFIC)
April 25, 2007... Orica, the biggest producer of explosives, says it has rejected a A$9.95-billion ($8.3 billion) takeover bid from a consortium of private equity capital companies. "The board of Orica has carefully considered the consortium's proposal and...

Celanese plans China comonomer JV.(ASIA/PACIFIC)(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... Celanese says it has agreed to form a joint venture in China to produce vinyl ester of neodecanoic acid. Celanese has agreed to form a 50-50 jv with Hebei Shield Technology Co., a subsidiary of Tianjin Shield Fine Chemical Co. (Tianjin,...

Lenzing plans rayon fiber venture in India.(new construction projects)(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... Lenzing says it will build a rayon fiber plant in India, in cooperation with Modi Group (New Delhi). Lenzing chairman, Thomas Fahnemann, and Modi Group chairman, Satish Modi, signed an agreement last week in Vienna for the project. Shares in...

Sasol proceeds with hike in MIBK capacity.(new construction projects)(methyl isobutyl ketone)(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... Sasol has decided to go ahead with previously announced plans to double capacity for methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK) at Sasolburg, South Africa, to 60,000 m.t./year (CW, Dec. 21/28, 2005, p. 14). The expansion is expected to come onstream in...

Belarus studies its first soda ash plant ...(new construction projects)(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... The regional government of Gomel Oblast, Belarus says it is studying plans to build a soda ash plant with capacity for 1 million m.t./year. The plant will be built at Mozyr, Belarus. Construction is expected to begin in 2008 and the first...

... ICI Pakistan plans further expansion of soda ash unit.(new construction projects)(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... ICI Pakistan has confirmed plans to expand soda ash capacity at Khewra, Pakistan by 65,000 m.t./year, to 350,000 m.t./year (CW, May 17, 2006, p. 18). The project is expected to cost PRs1.36 billion ($22 million) and is scheduled for...

Gazprom subsidiaries firm up polyolefin venture.(new construction projects)(Orenburggazprom)(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... Sibur (Moscow) and Orenburggazprom (Orenburg, Russia) say that their previously announced polyolefins complex in the Orenburg region will have capacity to produce 450,000 m.t./year of polypropylene (PP) and 650,000 m.t./year of polyethylene...

Lonza breaks ground on Singapore biologics plant.(new construction projects)(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... Lonza and Bio*One Capital (Singapore) have broken ground on a previously announced project to build a large-scale commercial mammalian cell culture manufacturing facility in Singapore (CW, Dec. 13, 2006, p. 29). The plant is being built in...

Air Liquide plans gases units in Trinidad and China.(new construction projects)(Air Liquide America L.P.)(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... Air Liquide says it will invest more than 40 million [euro] ($54 million) to build an air separation unit in Trinidad and Tobago. The plant will be built at Point Lisas and is due to start up in mid-2009. It will have capacity to produce 720...

Refinery catalysts: fuels drive growth.
April 25, 2007... Refining catalysts firms say they are experiencing strong growth this year, due to a wave of new fuel standards coupled with refiners' increasing use of heavier and dirtier feedstocks and major additions to refining capacity. Producers of...

New Jersey: DHS rules uphold current law.(Department of Homeland Security)
April 25, 2007... New Jersey lawmakers continue to challenge the Bush administration's chemical plant security rules, saying they provide no protection for states that wish to pass stricter site security laws in the future. The final rules, which were written...

CIDX enters new territory with focus on plant floor.(OPEN STANDARDS)(Business management software)(Chemical Industry Data Exchange )
April 25, 2007... The Chemical Industry Data Exchange (CIDX) says it has launched an initiative to develop standards aimed at improving the interoperability of plant floor computers to back-office ERP systems, and to external systems of vendors that provide...

Oracle's suit against SAP raises user concerns.(MAINTENANCE SUPPORT)
April 25, 2007... Oracle's recent lawsuit against rival SAP and its TomorrowNow (Bryan, TX) subsidiary has caused some SAP users to question what, if any, impact the suit could have on them should Oracle's allegations be proved true, analysts say. Oracle sued...

EPCglobal ratifies standard.(information technology)(electronic product code information services)(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... EPCglobal (Brussels), a coalition of retailers and other companies that are developing standards for use of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, says it has ratified a global standard, called "electronic product code information...

Talking up a storm: firms bolster telecom networks ahead of hurricane season.(EMERGENCY RESPONSE)(Cytec Industries recover from hurricane damages)
April 25, 2007... The communications infrastructure of chemical plants along the U.S. Gulf Coast has vastly improved since 2005 when two major hurricanes devastated the region, crippling the information flow to and from many plants, industry firms say. That is...

Indian firm is first to join USP verification program.(PHARMA INGREDIENTS)(United States Pharmacopoeia)
April 25, 2007... Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (Hyderabad), one of India's biggest manufacturers of pharmaceuticals and pharma ingredients, has signed an agreement to become the first participant in United States Pharmacopoeia's (USP) pharmaceutical ingredient...

Siegfried divests Sidroga division.(mergers and acquisitions)(Santo Holding)(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... Siegfried (Zofingen, Switzerland) says that it has agreed to sell its Sidroga division, which produces medicinal beverages and herbal medicines, to Santo Holding (Zollikon, Switzerland) for an undisclosed amount. The deal is expected to go...

IPS opens two service offices in India.(pharmaceuticals & fine chemicals)(Integrated Project Services )(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... Integrated Project Services (IPS; Lafayette Hill, PA), a full-service engineering, design and build, validation, and compliance company that serves the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, says it has opened two offices in India. The...

Alembic completes acquisition of Dabur Pharma.(pharmaceuticals & fine chemicals)(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... Pharmaceutical company Alembic (Vadodara, India) says it has completed the acquisition of the non-oncology formulation business of Dabur Pharma (New Delhi) for approximately $37 million. Alembic acquired full rights to market 24 Dabur brands,...

Tate & Lyle to acquire German stabilizer system business.(FOOD INGREDIENTS)
April 25, 2007... Tate & Lyle (London) says it has agreed to purchase an 80% interest in privately owned G.C. Hahn & Co (Lubeck, Germany), a manufacturer of food stabilizer systems, for 116 million [euro] ($157 million). The deal is expected to be finalized by...

Lenzing buys filament maker.(specialties)(Pedex + Co)(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... Lenzing says it has acquired the assets of plastics producer Pedex + Co through its subsidiary Lenzing Plastics. Pedex produces specialty filaments for applications in cosmetics and hygiene, such as toothbrushes and medical equipment....

Delta buys federated paint.(Delta Coatings mergers with Federated Paint and Midwest Lacquer )(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... Delta Coatings (Melrose Park, IL) says it has acquired Federated Paint and Midwest Lacquer (Melrose Park), a custom liquid coating and lacquer paintmaker, for an undisclosed sum. Delta produces paint primers, and water-based paints and...

Ashland chooses Group Arnaud.(specialties)(Ashland Composite Polymers)(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... Ashland Composite Polymers, part of Ashland Performance Materials, says it has chosen Group Arnaud (Paris) to distribute unsaturated polyester resins, gelcoats, and epoxy vinyl ester resins in France.

PPG acquires champion's high-performance and marine coatings assets.(M&A)
April 25, 2007... PPG Industries says it has acquired certain assets of Champion Coatings (Houston), a maker of high-performance coatings for the marine, rail, and overland industries. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Champion's sales and...

PE producers delay increase.(POLYMERS)(Polyethylene)
April 25, 2007... Polyethylene (PE) producers have delayed increases of 5 cts-7 cts/lb that were originally set to take effect on April 1, to May 1, due to lukewarm demand, market players say. Producers had originally sought a 7-cts/ lb increase for all grades...

Honeywell boosts nylon.(DIGEST)(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... Honeywell says it has increased output of its nylon resins at Chesterfield, VA by 10% through a series of productivity improvements. The company did not disclose capacity details. The additional production will boost supply of Honeywell's...

Another record for ethanol.(DIGEST)(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... Ethanol output in the U.S. rose 30% year-on-year, and 5% from December to hit another record in January, at 488 million gals, says the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA; Washington). About 116 biofuel refineries have combined capacity of 5.9...

BCS inks alliance with K2.(basic chemicals & plastics)(K2 Pure Solutions)(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... Basic Chemical Solutions (BCS; Redwood City, CA) says it has signed an agreement with K2 Pure Solutions (Concord, ON) to be the exclusive distributor of sodium hypochlorite, caustic soda, hydrochloric acid, and related products from K2's new...

Victrex buys Mitsui's PEEK stake.(basic chemicals & plastics)(polyether ether ketone)(Mitsui Chemicals)(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... Victrex (Thorton Cleveleys, U.K.) says it has acquired Mitsui Chemicals' 49% stake in their Victrex-MC joint venture, which sells polyether ether ketone (PEEK) polymers in Japan. Victrex says it paid Mitsui [yen] 531.5 million ($4.4 million)...

Dow plans Texas MDI turnaround.(basic chemicals & plastics)(Dow Chemical Co.)(polymeric methylene di-para-phenylene isocyanate)(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... Dow Chemical says it will carry out a seven-day maintenance turnaround at its polymeric methylene di-para-phenylene isocyanate (PMDI) plant Freeport, TX, until April 21. Dow recently announced that it would add 250 million lbs/year, about...

Gulf Ethanol opens Houston base.(basic chemicals & plastics)(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... Alternative fuels seller Gulf Ethanol says it has opened new headquarters in Houston, and plans to "rapidly" expand into ethanol production and blending from this base. The company currently imports ethanol-based fuel for blending operations...

Chlor-alkali.(product focus)
April 25, 2007... Prices U.S.: Caustic soda: $360-365/ton fob, April contracts; $320-$340/ton fob, spot. Chlorine: $310-335/ton del, first-quarter contracts; $300-310/ton fob, spot EUROPE: Caustic soda: 320 [pounds sterling]-350 [pounds...

Commentary.(cw price report)
April 25, 2007... European butadiene contracts have settled for the second quarter at a 25 [pounds sterling]/m.t. increase, to 895 [pounds sterling]/m.t. del, a record high. Strong demand and tight supplies boosted prices, market players say. European spot...

Washington State signs law regulating deca-PBDE.(PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE)(deca-polybrominated diphenyl ether)
April 25, 2007... Washington Governor Chris Gregoire (D.) has signed a law placing restrictions on use of the flame retardant deca-polybrominated diphenyl ether (deca-PBDE), provided that state authorities approve safer alternatives. The law prohibits the use...

EPA postpones decision on regulating MTBE, perchlorate.(methyl tert-butyl ether )(Environmental Protection Agency )(Brief article)
April 25, 2007... EPA has put off a decision on whether methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) and perchlorate should be included in its drinking water contaminant candidate list (CCL). The CCL is the agency's list of chemicals that are found in drinking water at...

Dow joins Climate Action Partnership.(regulatory)
April 25, 2007... Dow Chemical says it has joined the United States Climate Action Partnership (USCAP; Washignton), a coalition of companies and environmental organizations that has called on the federal government to enact laws to help reduce greenhouse gas...

CW75 stock performance.(Statistical table)
April 25, 2007... The CW75 Index rose 2.5% for the week ending April 18, slightly ahead of broader markets indexes. Positive inflation data and earnings results from bellwether companies including Coca-Cola helped lift the overall stock market, analysts say....

Chemical fire burns in Midland.(Dow Chemical Co.'s acquisition rumours)(Viewpoint essay)
April 11, 2007... Those rumors about a planned leveraged buyout of Dow Chemical may not have been exaggerated after all. Dow charged last week that Pedro Reinhard, a senior adviser, former CFO, and current member of its board, and Romeo Kreinberg, executive...

GE Plastics reports earnings decline.(Financial report)
April 11, 2007... General Electric (GE) says its plastics unit posted a 46% decline, to $121 million, in first-quarter earnings. Sales were down 3%, to $1.5 billion. "Operating profit for plastics was down about $120 million, driven by raw material inflation...

Lubrizol expects strong results.(revenue report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
April 11, 2007... Lubrizol says it expects first-quarter earnings to be 98 cts/share, excluding a restructuring credit of about 2 cts/share. The consensus of analysts' estimates as reported by First Call (Boston) is for 78 cts/ share. Lubrizol says it earned...

Rail shippers seek 'reliable' service.(American Chemistry Council on railroad prices and services)(Brief article)
April 11, 2007... ACC says that both rail capacity and competition should be considered by the Surface Transportation Board (STB; Washington), which held a hearing last week to address rail infrastructure concerns. "While railroads are earning record profits,...

Merck to license Codexis technology.(Brief article)
April 11, 2007... Codexis (Redwood City, CA) says it has entered into an agreement with Merck, under which Merck will gain non-exclusive access to Codexis's biocatalysts for in-house screening. Financial details were not disclosed. Codexis says it has...

Nova expects strong ethylene and PE demand through 2011.(Nova Chemicals)(Brief article)
April 11, 2007... Growing demand and delays in new ethylene and polyethylene (PE) capacity additions will likely keep operating rates strong through at least 2011, says Jeff Lipton, president and CEO of Nova Chemicals. Although operating rates are likely to...

BNSF to offer tariff incentives next year for new rail tank cars.(Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp.)(Brief article)
April 11, 2007... BNSF says it will offer tariff incentives to hazardous material shippers that use the "most improved and strongest tank cars available," effective January 1, 2008. The incentives will apply to shippers using tank cars approved by the...

Braskem raises funds to buy Ipiranga Group.(Brief article)
April 11, 2007... Braskem (Sao Paulo) says it has secured up to $1.2 billion through a bridge loan to finance its part of the previously announced acquisition of the Ipiranga Group (Sao Paulo), a petrochemical, refinery, and fuel distribution firm. Braskem...

CN locks out workers on 'rotating' strike.(Canadian National )(Brief article)
April 11, 2007... Canadian National (CN) locked out about 280 workers at various CN terminals last week in response to a rotating strike called by the United Transportation Union (UTU; Cleveland) on April 10. This is the latest action between the railroad and...

Huntsman starts up pilot plant.(Brief article)
April 11, 2007... Huntsman says it has completed construction of a multimillion-dollar specialty chemicals pilot plant at Conroe, TX that will produce intermediate-scale quantities, ranging from a few drums to a railcar. "As our customers develop and introduce...

Stolt and Odfjell face antitrust charges in Europe.(by European Commission)(Brief article)
April 11, 2007... Stolt-Nielsen says it has received a statement of objections from the European Commission "concerning alleged infringements of European competition rules regarding the maritime transport of bulk liquids on deep-sea routes in the period August...

RAG's IPO postponed until 2008.(initial public offerings)(Brief article)
April 11, 2007... The planned initial public offering (IPO) of RAG (Essen, Germany), including Degussa, is not likely to take place before early 2008, RAG chairman Werner Muller says. The IPO was previously expected to take place this fall. Muller, quoted in...

Some chemical firms to gain from global warming.(Brief article)
April 11, 2007... Certain leading manufacturers of chemicals are likely to benefit from the effects of global warming, according to a recent report, Climatic Consequences: An Update, by Citigroup. The report names 12 firms that will benefit in particular. They...