Chemical Week articles from February 2012

Chemical Week archives from February 2012

Pharma supply chain under threat.(chemweek.com)(Brief article)
February 27, 2012... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] CW reports from the Informex USA fine and specialty chemicals expo held recently in New Orleans on an expert panel's findings that the pharma supply chain is under threat. This comes from several sources, including...

Merck KGaA to cut costs and jobs.(chemweek.com)
February 27, 2012... Merck KGaA (Darmstadt, Germany) is poised to restructure all of its businesses to improve efficiency. An undisclosed number of jobs will be cut as a result of the restructure. chemweek.com/markets/fine_chemicals

Aromatics prices mixed mid-month.(chemweek.com)
February 27, 2012... In contrast to recent weeks, there was no clear pattern in aromatics, either among products, or from one side of the Atlantic to the other. chemweek.com/pricewatch

Collaboration key for Greek industry.(chemweek.com)
February 27, 2012... The Hellenic Association of Chemical Industries, Greece's chemical industry association, says it plans to overcome its country's economic challenges through collaboration with its stakeholders. chemweek.com/home/top_of_the_news

Blog: retirements set to take their toll.(chemweek.com)
February 27, 2012... Within a few years a large wave of senior-level managers will retire from the industry. chemweek.com/chem_ideas

Most read stories online.(chemweek.com)
February 27, 2012... As of CW press time on March 1 1. Greek Chemical Industry Can Overcome Economic Challenges 2. Jacobs Receives Contract for Solvay Polymers Plant in China 3. DuPont and Australian Center for Plant Functional Genomics Collaborate 4....

Ethylene Expansion
February 27, 2012... With Formosa Plastics' confirmation last week of plans for a world-scale ethylene plant at Point Comfort, TX there are now at least five new crackers announced in the U.S., plus several more incremental additions planned. More expansions are...

Investing in bee health.
February 27, 2012... Bayer says it will establish two "Bayer Bee Care Centers" to consolidate existing and future bee health projects from Bayer companies in cooperation with external partners. The first center, located at Monheim, Germany, is expected to open...

Lanxess BioAmber deal.(Brief article)
February 27, 2012... Lanxess has invested $10 million in biobased succinic acid firm BioAmber (Minneapolis, MN). Jorge Nagueira, head of Lanxess' functional chemical business unit, will take a seat on Lanxess' board.

BioNitrogen plans plant.(Brief article)
February 27, 2012... BioNitrogen Corp (Miami), a developer of renewable biomass waste into high-nitrogen urea and urea fertilizer, says it has secured 49 acres of land at Lubbox, TX to construct the company's first urea plant. The plant will have the capacity to...

Momentive expands.(Momentive Performance Materials Inc.)(Brief article)
February 27, 2012... Momentive Performance Materials say it has expanded its manufacturing facility and application development center at Chennai, India. The facility, which opened in 2009, focuses on manufacturing high-end specialty silicones to serve customers in...

Amyris Secures $83.7 Million in Financing
February 27, 2012... Biobased fuel and chemical firm Amyris (Emeryville, CA) says it has secured $83.7 million in financing to fund working capital, two weeks after the company told investors it was having trouble maintaining peak yields and was scaling back efforts...

Berkshire Hathaway unit buys precious metals group.
February 27, 2012... Cookson Group (London) has agreed to sell its U.S. precious metals business to Richline Group, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway (p. 11). Cookson announced late last year that it had initiated a strategic review and significant downsizing of...

U.S. Court Dismisses Suit against Monsanto
February 27, 2012... The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has dismissed a lawsuit filed by organic growers seeking protection from potential patent infringement lawsuits by Monsanto in the event that transgenic plants are found in organic...

Mosaic settles lawsuit over Florida phosphate expansion.(Brief article)
February 27, 2012... Mosaic has reached an agreement with environmental groups that will allow the company to reopen and expand a phosphate mine at South Fort Meade, FL. The agreement in part requires Mosaic to build a 4,400-acre ranch and donate it for use as a...

DuPont expands Australian plant research.(E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co.)(Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics )(Brief article)
February 27, 2012... DuPont says it has expanded its research collaboration with Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics (ACPFG; Adelaide, Australia) to increase research scale on improving the overall productivity of wheat and other crops. Pioneer Hi-Bred...

Albemarle Shuffles Management
February 27, 2012... Albemarle has made several changes to its executive leadership team. Tony Parnell has been named v.p./global supply chain, a newly created position. Parnell will be responsible for all parts of the company's supply chain, including procurement,...

China API acquisition.(active pharmaceutical ingredients)(Changzhou Kony Pharm)(Shanghai Pharmaceuticals)(Brief article)
February 27, 2012... Shanghai Pharmaceuticals (Shanghai) says it will acquire a 70% stake in Changzhou Kony Pharm (Changzhou, China) and that it will purchase the remaining 30% stake in the next two years. Kony Pharm manufactures active pharmaceutical ingredients...

Frohn quits AkzoNobel.(Rob Frohn)(Brief article)
February 27, 2012... AkzoNobel has announced that Rob Frohn, board member/specialty chemicals will leave the company on May 1, 2012. Werner Fuhrmann, executive committee member/supply chain and sourcing will manage specialties until Frohn's successor is appointed,...

Odfjell losses stable.(Financial report)(Brief article)
February 27, 2012... Shipping and storage firm Odfjell says net losses in the fourth quarter of 2011 were $8 million, exactly the same net result as in the year-ago quarter. Odjfell's sales increased 19% year over year, to $322 million. The results were negatively...

Cefic Confirms Late-2011 Drop in EU Chemicals Output
February 27, 2012... Output of chemicals grew 1.1% in the European Union (EU) in 2011 compared with 2010, Cefic says. The rate is lower than Cefic's most recent projection of 2% for 2011 EU chemical production growth, made last December. Full-year chemicals output...

Aramco and Pertamina Sign Deal for Petchems Project
February 27, 2012... Saudi Aramco says it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Indonesia's state-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina (Jakarta) to evaluate jointly the economic feasibility of an integrated refining and petrochemical project at Tuban...

DSM Reports a Decline in Fourth-Quarter Profits
February 27, 2012... DSM reported net profits for the fourth quarter of 2011 down 43% compared with the year-ago quarter, to 85 million [euro] ($114 million) on corresponding sales up 1%, to 2.2 billion [euro]. Net earnings for the quarter before exceptional items...

BASF Reports Record Results, Talks to Petronas on New JV
February 27, 2012... BASF reported record annual sales and learnings for 2011 but the company's fourth-quarter earnings before interest and taxes (Ebit) were below the level achieved in the year-earlier period. BASF chairman Kurt Bock and CFO Hans-Ulrich Engel...

Westlake May Drop Bid for Georgia Gulf
February 27, 2012... Westlake Chemical says it will abandon its $35/share, or $1.3 billion, unsolicited bid for Georgia Gulf if the rival vinyls maker does not enter negotiations. "We continue to believe our proposal is a good one and represents superior value...

Symrise Finalizes Two Acquisitions and a Strategic Partnership
February 27, 2012... Symrise (Holzminden, Germany), a flavors and fragrances producer, says it has finalized its acquisition of the Brazilian activities of fragrance manufacturer Belmay (New York) as well as the acquisition of Trilogy Fragrances (Lakewood, NJ)....

Formosa Plastics Updates Plans for U.S. Expansion
February 27, 2012... Formosa Plastics says it will invest about $1.7 billion at its Point Comfort, TX site to build a new, grassroots 1.76-billion lbs/ year ethane cracker. Planned downstream investments include an associated 1.32-billion lbs/year propane...

Late Reporting Companies Post More Mixed Results
February 27, 2012... Late reporting chemical companies again posted mixed results, with Ecolab earnings significantly impacted by Nalco merger charges, and Westlake hit by high feedstock costs. Meanwhile, Rockwood's sales rose on higher selling prices, and Chemutra...

Berkshire Plans More Specialty Acquisitions for Lubrizol
February 27, 2012... Berkshire Hathaway chairman and CEO Warren Buffett said in his annual letter to company shareholders, released February 25, that its recently acquired Lubrizol subsidiary will "have many opportunities for bolt-on acquisitions in the specialty...

EPA's Final Dioxin Assessment Sets More Stringent Standard
February 27, 2012... EPA has issued its assessment of dioxin's noncancer health effects, part of an effort that has been in progress for more than 20 years and represents one of industry's longest running and most contentious disputes with regulators. The cancer...

Ethylene XXI Financing Slated for Completion by End of April
February 27, 2012... Negotiations for a financing package for the Ethylene XXI complex planned by Braskem (Sao Paulo) and Grupo Idesa (Mexico City) for Coatzacoalcos, Mexico are "going well" with final closing expected by the end of April, says Cleantho Leite Filho,...

Monsanto Settles Dioxin Lawsuit
February 27, 2012... Monsanto says it has reached a settlement with plaintiffs in a medical monitoring lawsuit related to the company's legacy liability for a former Agent Orange production unit at Nitro, WV. Plaintiffs allege Monsanto's manufacturing of the...

Bayer Sees Slow Growth; Targets Higher Pharma Rank
February 27, 2012... Bayer says its fourth-quarter and full-year 2011 results, announced on February 28, were a success despite a challenging economic environment. The company also provided guidance for 2012, saying that it expects sales to increase by about 3% with...

Borealis Sees Challenging Year Ahead, Outlines 2020 Vision
February 27, 2012... Borealis reported a big drop in fourth-quarter 2011 net profits and a slide in quarterly sales, but the company's full-year results were stronger than in 2010. Net profits were 58 million [euro] ($76.7 million) in the fourth quarter compared...

Mitsui to License Technology for Sabic Isocyanates Project
February 27, 2012... Mitsui Chemicals has agreed to license its toluene diisocyanate (TDI) and methylene di-pa-ra-phenylene isocyanate (MDI) technology to Sabic for a previously announced project in Saudi Arabia. The agreement also provides for joint technology...

Asian Chemical Companies Report Mixed Financial Results
February 27, 2012... Leading Asian chemical companies ported mixed financial results for the quarter or the full year ended December 31, 2011. LG Chem (Seoul) and SCG Chemicals, the chemical subsidiary of Siam Cement Group (SCG; Bangkok) reported falls in profits...

Sumitomo to Build Second SSBR Plant in Singapore
February 27, 2012... Sumitomo Chemical tells CW that it is planning to build an additional solution-polymerized styrene-butadiene rubber (SSBR) manufacturing plant at Jurong Island, Singapore. The second plant is expected to have a production capacity of about...

BP, SK, Sinopec Build Acetic Acid-Butanediol Complex in China
February 27, 2012... BP Chemicals Investment Ltd. (BPCIL), a wholly owned subsidiary of BP; SK Global Chemical (Seoul); and Sinopec Sichuan Vinylon Works (SVW) say they have signed a memorandum of understanding to build an integrated acetic acid and 1,4 butanediol...

Foster Wheeler Awarded Contract for Sadara Propylene Oxide Plant
February 27, 2012... Foster Wheeler says it has been awarded an engineering, procurement, and construction management contract for a propylene oxide (PO) plant that will form part of the $20-billion Sadara Chemical project of Saudi Aramco and Dow Chemical at Jubail,...

Kao to Expand Surfactants Capacity in Indonesia with New Plant
February 27, 2012... Kao Corp. (Tokyo) says that its Kao Indonesia Chemicals (Bekasi, Indonesia) subsidiary will construct a plant for the production of surfacrants at the Karawan International Industry City (KIIC), located in the suburbs of Jakarta. The new...

Lanxess to Hike Cresols Capacity at Leverkusen Complex
February 27, 2012... Lanxess says its advanced industrial intermediates business will expand capacity for cresols at Leverkusen by a further 20%. The 20-million [euro] ($27 million) project is due for completion in mid-2013. Current and planned capacity for cresols...

Ineos licenses polypropylene technology to Chinese firm.(new construction projects)(Brief article)
February 27, 2012... Ineos Technologies says it has licensed its Innovene polypropylene (PP) process to Zhong Tian He Chuang Energy Co., a joint venture between Sinopec and China Coal Group (Beijing). The technology will be used at a new facility at Ordos, China....

Industrial Gases: Emerging Markets, New Applications Lift Growth: Leading Industrial Gases Companies Including Air Liquide, Air Products, Linde, and Praxair Are Showing Resilience in a Tough Economic Climate. Plant Start-Ups, Particularly in Emerging Markets, Are Driving Industry Growth, and Gas Applications in the Energy and Environmental Sectors Have Created a Range of Additional Opportunities
February 27, 2012... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The industrial gases sector achieved robust growth in 2011, despite economic d political turmoil, and a series of natural disasters around the world. Spiritus Consulting (Truro, U.K.), an industrial gases consulting...

Sustainability: Flooring Producers Lay out Cradle-to-Cradle Approach
February 27, 2012... The manufacture of some carpets is becoming more sustainable with assistance from chemical firms including Dow Chemical and DSM. Leading carpet producers around the world are adopting manufacturing systems which have, so far, involved the...

Bright Spot Ahead for North American Soda Ash Producers
February 27, 2012... The U.S. soda ash industry is expected to remain robust this year as growth in domestic and export demand should support a continued recovery in production, industry experts say. "As we begin 2012, the global soda ash market remains healthy,"...

Butadiene Producers Eye Hikes
February 27, 2012... North American butadiene producers have nominated hefty price increases for March. As of CW press time, three U.S. producers have separately proposed increases of 25 cts/lb, 27 cts/lb, and 32 cts/lb. Higher prices are warranted because of...

Eastman Chemical says it will increase the price of methyl acetate by 3 cts/lb in North America on March 15.(Basic Chemicals Price Watch)(Brief article)
February 27, 2012... Eastman Chemical says it will increase the price of methyl acetate by 3 cts/lb in North America on March 15, due to elevated operating costs, particularly for raw materials and freight.

Perstorp (Perstorp, Sweden) says it increased the price of pentaerythritol by 120 [euro]/m.t. in Europe.(Basic Chemicals Price Watch)(Brief article)
February 27, 2012... Perstorp (Perstorp, Sweden) says it increased the price of pentaerythritol by 120 [euro]/m.t. in Europe, by 7 cts/ lb in the U.S., and by $150/m.t. in all other markets on March 1 or as contracts allow, due to rising raw material costs.

Kraton Polymers says it will increase the price of styrene-isoprene-styrene (SIS) and styrene-isoprene-butadiene-styrene (SIBS) thermoplastic elastomers by 250 [euro]/m.t. in Europe on March 15.(Basic Chemicals Price Watch)(Brief article)
February 27, 2012... Kraton Polymers says it will increase the price of styrene-isoprene-styrene (SIS) and styrene-isoprene-butadiene-styrene (SIBS) thermoplastic elastomers by 250 [euro]/m.t. in Europe on March 15, or as contracts allow.

Codexis on Track despite Executive Exodus
February 27, 2012... Codexis (Redwood City, CA) management and partnerships remain on track despite the recent departures of CFO Bob Lawson and CEO Alan Shaw, according to interim CEO Peter Strumph. Speaking at the Jefferies 2012 Global Clean Technology conference,...

Europe Unveils Bioeconomy Strategy
February 27, 2012... The European Commission last month adopted an interdisciplinary plan for advancing a sustainable bioeconomy in Europe that underscores the sector's role in addressing global resource constraints and emphasizes the need for more funding and...

BDO partnership advances.(renewables)(butanediol)(Brief article)
February 27, 2012... Genomatica (San Diego) says Mitsubishi Chemical has agreed to exclusively negotiate definitive agreements for a joint commercial operation in Asia using Genomatica's biobased 1,4-butanediol (BDO) process technology. Under the terms of the...

Arkema signs biopolymer deal.(renewables)(Elevance Renewable Sciences)(Brief article)
February 27, 2012... Arkema says it has entered into a global partnership for the development and production of renewable specialty polymers with Elevance Renewable Sciences (Bolingbrook, IL), a maker of renewable chemicals based on metathesis technology. Under the...

Lysine-based nylon collaboration.(renewables)
February 27, 2012... Ajinomoto and Toray Industries say they have entered into an agreement to begin joint research for manufacturing the nylon raw material 1,5-pentanediamine (1,5-PD) from lysine produced by Ajinomoto via fermentation. The agreement includes joint...

CW75 Stock Performance
February 27, 2012... [GRAPHIC OMITTED] [GRAPHIC OMITTED] Overview The CW75 index rose 1.3% for the week ended February 28, outpacing the MSCI World Index and the S&P 500, which rose 0.6% and 0.7%, respectively. Basic chemical shares rose 2.6%,...

The American Cleaning Institute.(key changes--leading indicator)(appointments)(Brief article)
February 27, 2012... The American Cleaning Institute has named six executives to its board of directors. These include Dirk Buengel, senior v.p./care chemicals and formulation technologies at BASF, David Del Guercio, global senior v.p. and general manager/household...

Sigma-Aldrich.(key changes--leading indicator)(appointment of Jan Bertsch)(Brief article)
February 27, 2012... Sigma-Aldrich has named Jan Bertsch executive v.p. and CFO, effective March 5. Bertsch was most recently v.p., controller and principal accounting officer at BorgWarner. She has also served in senior finance and operations roles with Chrysler...

Celanese.(key changes--leading indicator)(appointment of Jay Ihlenfeld)(Brief article)
February 27, 2012... Celanese has named Jay Ihlenfeld to its board of directors. Ihlenfeld is senior v.p./ Asia Pacfic at 3M. He has been with 3M for more than three decades and served in a variety of other roles, including president/ performance materials.

Ecolab.(key changes--leading indicator)(appointment of Michael Larson)(Brief article)
February 27, 2012... Ecolab has named Michael Larson to the company's board of directors. Larson is currently chief investment officer to Bill Gates and business manager at Cascade Investment, Gates' investment firm. He is also responsible for the assets of the Bill...

UBM Live.(key changes--leading indicator)(appointment of Jim Buckley)(Brief article)
February 27, 2012... UBM Live has named Jim Buckley brand manager/Informex. Informex is the company's flagship fine and specialty chemicals trade show, and the brand is behind other industry events throughout the year. Buckley was most recently v.p./sales at the...

Kraton Performance Polymers.(key changes--leading indicator)(appointment of Dominique Fournier)(Brief article)
February 27, 2012... Kraton Performance Polymers has named Dominique Fournier to the company's board of directors. The appointment took effect February 16. Fournier retired in December as CEO of Infineum International Limited, a specialty chemicals joint venture...

Maintaining Momentum
February 27, 2012... The leading indicator for the chemical industry rose a strong 1.2% in February, the fourth consecutive gain. The indicator is at its highest level in nearly four years, although it remains about 5% below its early 2008 peak. ...

Europe unveils bioeconomy strategy.(chemweek.com)(Brief article)
February 20, 2012... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The European Commission has adopted a coherent, interdisciplinary action plan for creating a sustainable bioeconomy in Europe that underscores the sector's role in addressing global resource challenges and emphasizes...

BASF invests in biotech expansion.(chemweek.com)(Brief article)
February 20, 2012... BASF says it will invest $33 million to expand its plant biotechnology and crop protection R&D facilities at Research Triangle Park (Raleigh, NC). Construction is expected to begin in March and be completed mid-2013.

FDA warns Merck API facility.(chemweek.com)(active pharmaceutical ingredient)(Brief article)
February 20, 2012... The U.S. FDA has issued a warning letter to Merck's active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) facility at Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland for deviating from current good manufacturing practice (cGMP).

Momentive shutters plant.(chemweek.com)
February 20, 2012... Momentive Specialty Chemicals says it will close its Pardubice, Czech Republic phenolic specialty resins facility June 30.

Huntsman opens Asia tech center.(chemweek.com)(Brief article)
February 20, 2012... Huntsman has broken ground on a $40 million technology center at Shanghai, China. The facility will include labs, machine halls and offices for up to 400 employees.

Most read stories online.(chemweek.com)
February 20, 2012... As of CW press time on February 16 1. DSM Engineering Plastics Moves Global Headquarters to Singapore 2. Linde to Build Air Separation Plant in New Zealand 3. FDA Issues Warning Letter to Merck KGaA's API Plant in Switzerland 4....

India's path to growth.(view point)
February 20, 2012... Investment in India may be about to take off, carrying chemical demand along with it. Bureaucracy, poor utilities and raw materials provision, and an uncompetitive environment have for many years undermined India's huge market potential, driving...

SCI Medal to Weidman.(Society of Chemical Industry)(David Weidman)(Brief article)
February 20, 2012... The Society of Chemical Industry's (SCI) America International Group will award the SCI Chemical Industry Medal to David Weidman, chairman and CEO of Celanese. Weidman "led Celanese's transformation from a German publicly traded company to an...

Hemlock CEO to retire.(Hemlock Semiconductors Inc.)(Richard Doornbos)(Brief article)
February 20, 2012... Dow Coming says that Richard Doornbos, chairman and CEO of its Hemlock Semiconductor Group subsidiary, the leading producer of polysilicon, has announced plans to retire from the company, effective February 29. Doornbos joined Dow Corning in...

CPChem names CFO.(Chevron Phillips Chemical appointed Tim Leveille)(Brief article)
February 20, 2012... Chevron Phillips Chemical (CPChem) says it has appointed Tim Leveille as senior vice president, chief financial officer and controller, effective March 1. Leveille comes to CPChem from Chevron, most recently serving as an assistant treasurer.

NatureWorks and BioAmber form biopolymer venture.(Brief article)
February 20, 2012... Cargill's NatureWorks (Minnetonka, MN) polylactic acid (PLA)-based biopolymer subsidiary and biobased succinic acid firm BioAmber have formed a joint venture to develop and manufacture compounded resins from PLA and polybutylene succinate (PBS)....

Bayer to acquire KMG Animal Health Unit.(KMG Chemicals Inc.)(Brief article)
February 20, 2012... Bayer has signed an agreement to acquire the Animal Health business of KMG Chemicals in a deal that expands Bayer's product range for insecticides in the U.S. market. Financial terms were not disclosed. KMG Animal Health revenues for the last...

Dupont to build technology hub in China for seeds.(E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co.)(Brief article)
February 20, 2012... DuPont says it will build a technology hub for its Pioneer seed business at Beijing, China. The new facility will open later this year and will employ nearly 50 researchers. The technology hub will use Pioneer's global capabilities in molecular...

Albemarle, PolyOne raise dividends.(Brief article)
February 20, 2012... Albemarle has raised its quarterly dividend 14%, to 20 cts/share, while PolyOne has raised its dividend by 25%, to 5 cts/share. Albemarle's new dividend will be paid on April first to shareholders as of March 15. Polyone's new dividend will be...

Dow to invest in 2,4-D choline.(Dow AgroSciences L.L.C.)(Brief article)
February 20, 2012... Dow AgroSciences says it is moving forward with a significant, multi-year asset investment in the U.S. for its 2,4-D choline herbicide product line, which will be sold under the Enlist trade name. 2,4-D choline will be included in a Colex-D...

Honam firms up Petchems project in Indonesia.(Honam Petrochemical Company Ltd.)(Brief article)
February 20, 2012... Honam Petrochemical (Seoul) has firmed up plans to build a major petrochemical complex in Indonesia. The company announced in March 2011 that it was considering the project as part of plans to expand its presence in Southeast Asia. Honam signed...

Clariant considers plans to divest several businesses.(Brief article)
February 20, 2012... Clariant says it is evaluating options--including divestments or joint ventures--for its underperforming textile chemicals; paper specialties; and emulsions, detergents, and intermediates business units, "with the goal of realization in the mid-...

Nuplex to form resins joint venture in Russia.
February 20, 2012... Polymer resins producer Nuplex Industries (Auckland, New Zealand) has agreed to form a 50-50 joint venture with paints and resins maker KVIL Group (Belgorod, Russia). The jv will initially sell and market, in Russia, resins produced by KVIL and...

Indorama relocates.(Indorama Ventures)(Brief article)
February 20, 2012... Indorama Ventures (Bangkok) plans to relocate the texturizing capacity of its Trevira (Bobingen, Germany) joint venture from Poland to Germany by the end of 2012. Texturizing capacity will move from the jv's site at Zielona Gora, Poland to...

DSM plastics head east.(DSM Engineering Plastics)(Brief article)
February 20, 2012... DSM Engineering Plastics says that its global headquarters will be relocated from Sittard, the Netherlands to Singapore this year. DSM Engineering Plastics, which has development, sales, and manufacturing operations in Belgium, China, India,...

IMCD acquires in Italy.(IMCD Group BV acquired Nutrivis)(Brief article)
February 20, 2012... IMCD (Rotterdam) has acquired specialty food ingredients distributor Nutrivis (Milan). Nutrivis's employees will move to IMCD's subsidiary IMCD Italia (Milan) in May 2012, under the terms of the deal. It is the second acquisition by IMCD in...

Siam Cement and partners sign JV agreement for $4.5-billion petchem project in Vietnam.(joint venture)(petrochemical)(Brief article)
February 20, 2012... Siam Cement has notified the Bangkok stock exchange that the company and its Vietnamese and Qatari partners have signed a joint venture agreement for a previously announced petrochemical complex in Vietnam. The partners will invest $4.5 billion...