Chemical Week articles from October 2009

Chemical Week archives from October 2009

A new response to regulation.(VIEWPOINT)
October 26, 2009... In-depth interviews with senior executives at AkzoNobel, BASF, Dow Chemical, DuPont, and Shell Chemical, combined with the findings of a survey undertaken jointly by CW and CSC (Falls Church, VA), a business solutions and IT provider, show that...

Celanese doubles VAE.(vinyl acetate ethylene )(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... Celanese says it plans to double capacity of the company's vinyl acetate ethylene (VAE) complex at Nanjing, China to 120,000 m.t./year by the first half of 2011. The plant will manufacture vinyl-based homo- and copolymers, pure acrylic and VAE...

DuPont licenses VAM.(E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co.)(vinyl acetate monomer)(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... DuPont says that it will license vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) technology to Jiangau Sopo Group (Sopo; Shanghai) for a 330,000-m.t./year plant at Zhenjiang, China. The site includes a methanol plant and a 1.2-million m.t./year acetic acid plant...

Brenntag buys out JV.(Eastern Chemicals (Mount Pearl))(joint venture)(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... Brenntag says it has acquired full ownership of Canadian industrial chemicals distributor East-Chem (Mount Pearl, NL), its joint venture with Eastern Chemicals (Mount Pearl). Terms were not disclosed. East-Chem supplies markets including food...

Arkema expands PVDF.(polyvinylidene fluoride)(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... Arkema says it has nearly completed a $20 million debottlenecking at its Calvert City, KY polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) plant. Production capacity will increase by about 15% by early 2010, the company says.

Ineos plans biofuel.(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... Ineos Bio, the third generation biofuel business of Ineos, says it plans to build its first ethanol plant at an undisclosed Southeast U.S. site using agricultural, construction, and demolition waste as feedstock. The company has selected KBR to...

Nova appoints Randy Woelfel as CEO.
October 26, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Nova Chemicals says Randy Woelfel has joined the company as CEO. He replaces Chris Pappas, who announced his retirement in September (CW, Sept. 14/21, p. 7). Woelfel began his career with Shell Oil Co. in 1977, and was...

Lubrizol to close Ohio plant.(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... Lubrizol says it will close its Chagrin Falls, OH overprint coatings plant by January 31. About 35 employees will be affected, some of whom will be relocated to other Lubrizol sites. The company says it will continue to produce polymer, I...

Univar appoints Zillmer president and CEO.
October 26, 2009... Univar has appointed John J. Zillmer president and CEO to succeed Gary Pruitt, who-announced last April that he planned to retire as CEO. Pruitt will retain the post of nonexecutive chairman at Univar. Zillmer was chairman and CEO of...

Cereplast to launch algae-based resin.(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... Cereplast says it is developing a technology to produce plastics from algae that could replace 50% or more of the petroleum content in plastic resins. The company expects to launch an algae-based resin product line in coming months. "We are...

ExxonMobil found liable in New York MTBE case.(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... A federal jury in Manhattan has ruled that ExxonMobil is liable for contaminating the New York City drinking water wells with fuel additive methyl tert-butyl ether, awarding the city $105 million. The city had sought about $250 million in...

ExxonMobil Chemical earnings decline; ConocoPhillips sees gain at CPChem.(Financial report)
October 26, 2009... ExxonMobil Chemical reported third-quarter earnings of $867 million, down 20% from the year-ago period. Lower margins drove the decline, reducing earnings by $170 million, the company says. U.S. chemical earnings, however, were up...

Japanese firms upgrade first-half earnings and sales forecasts.(Financial report)(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... Several major Japanese chemical companies have upgraded consolidated sales and earnings projections for their fiscal first half ended September 30, 2009, mainly due to a recovery in demand. Mitsubishi Chemical expects to record a net loss of...

SGL links with BMW in carbon fiber JV.
October 26, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] SGL Group (Wiesbaden, Germany) and car manufacturer BMW plan a 51-49 joint venture to manufacture carbon fibers and fabrics for the automotive industry. SGL and Mitsubishi Rayon will form a separate jv to produce...

Lonza plans major workforce reduction.(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... Lonza plans to eliminate about 450 jobs, 5% of its workforce, due to market volatility and worse-than-expected financial performance, reports say. Lonza says that unexpected order cancellations and postponements, and price and volume reductions,...

PKN seeks bids for Anwil.(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... Refining company PKN Oden (Plock, Poland) has invited bids to acquire the company's 84.8% stake in chemicals firm Anwil (Wloclawek, Poland). PKN says it sent invitations to more than 10 companies including financial entities and chemical...

China-Kuwait Petchem JV.
October 26, 2009... Sinopec, Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI), and local authority officials have signed a memorandum of understanding for a previously announced $9-billion refinery and petrochemicals joint venture at Donghai Island near Zhanjiang, China (CW,...

Czech firm cuts jobs.(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... Spolchemie (Usti Nad Labem, Czech Republic) plans to cut at least 200 jobs by year-end as part of a plan to "stabilize" the company. Spolchemie says it is "struggling with a lack of free cash funds" following a steep fall in demand for its...

Earnings rebound at most basic and diversified firms.(TOP OF THE WEEK)
October 26, 2009... Basic and diversified chemical firms posted stronger-than-expected earnings in the third quarter, even as sales fell sharply. Cost-cutting actions, as well as lower raw material costs, provided some lift to earnings. Dow Chemical reported net...

Specialties earnings mixed, but sales fall across the board.(BUSINESS & FINANCE NEWS: UNITED STATES/AMERICAS)(Financial report)
October 26, 2009... Third-quarter earnings were mixed at specialty chemical firms, but most companies beat analysts' estimates as cost-cutting implemented throughout the year improved margins. Nalco's earnings fell 51%, to $28 million, compared with the year-ago...

Aceto realigns management structure ahead of CEO's departure.(BUSINESS & FINANCE NEWS: UNITED STATES/AMERICAS)(Vincent Miata succeeds Leonard Schwartz )(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... Fine chemicals distributor Aceto (Lake Success, NY) says its chairman and CEO Leonard Schwartz will leave the company on November 20. Aceto will divide his responsibilities between two executives, separating the office of chairman from that of...

Ineos Nova idles Texas City monomer plant.(BUSINESS & FINANCE NEWS: UNITED STATES/AMERICAS)(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... Ineos Nova says it has idled its 1 billion lbs/year styrene monomer plant at Texas City, TX, citing weak economic conditions. The plant will be restarted when market conditions improve, the company says. Weak margins led the company to idle the...

Lawmakers Advance Plant Security Bill, Including IST
October 26, 2009... The House Energy and Commerce Committee recently passed the Chemical Facility Antiterrorism Act legislation, modifying current rules to require consideration of inherently safer technologies (ISTs) and expanding security requirements to cover...

Air products sells pre-polymers business; plans hydrogen plant and ASU.(BUSINESS & FINANCE NEWS)(air separation)
October 26, 2009... Air Products has agreed to sell its polyurethane (PU) pre-polymers business to Italian specialty chemicals firm COIM (Milan) for an undisclosed sum. The deal includes the Airthane and Versathane brands, as well as a plant at Paulsboro, NJ. Air...

ACC Protests Senate Climate Bill
October 26, 2009... ACC says the Senate's version of cap-and-trade legislation for reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) would be "a significant step back" in U.S. climate negotiations. "The bill truly jeopardizes our ability to compete globally, will cost U.S....

PPG UPS dividend.(BUSINESS & FINANCE NEWS)
October 26, 2009... PPG Industries says it will increase its dividend by 2%, to 54 cts/share. The increase is payable December 11 to shareholders of record November 10.

Weak demand and prices cut fertilizer profits.(BUSINESS & FINANCE NEWS: UNITED STATES/AMERICAS)(Financial report)
October 26, 2009... Third-quarter earnings were down sharply at fertilizer firms, which continue to contend with weak demand and lower prices. Terra Industries said price declines accounted for 84% of its drop in revenue, while lower volumes made up 16%. All...

Markey challenges White House endocrine directive.(BUSINESS & FINANCE NEWS: UNITED STATES/AMERICAS)(Law overview)(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... Representative Edward Markey (D., MA) has asked officials at the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to explain the basis for their comments to EPA in a recent endocrine disruptor screening program (EDSP) rule approval, saying it...

DOE announces funding for ambitious energy projects.(BUSINESS & FINANCE NEWS: UNITED STATES/AMERICAS)(Department of Energy)(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) says it has formed a new agency within DOE, endowed with $400 million in American Recovery and Investment Act funds, to advance "bold, transformative" energy-research projects. The agency, dubbed Advanced...

CMS providers expect global market to triple in 5-10 years.(BUSINESS & FINANCE NEWS: UNITED STATES/AMERICAS)(Chemical Management Services)
October 26, 2009... Chemical Management Services (CMS) providers say revenue grew 30%/year from 2006-2008, as customers took advantage of their services to manage chemical use and reduce waste and emissions, according to a survey of CMS providers and customers...

Terra to acquire 50% stake in Agrium nitrogen assets.(BUSINESS & FINANCE NEWS: UNITED STATES/AMERICAS)
October 26, 2009... Terra Industries says it has agreed to acquire a 50% stake in Agrium's nitrogen facility at Carseland, AB for about $250 million. The deal is contingent on Agrium being able to complete its proposed acquisition of CF Industries, and Terra being...

Results fall on weak demand; economy begins to stabilize.(BUSINESS & FINANCE NEWS: UNITED STATES/AMERICAS)(Industry overview)
October 26, 2009... European chemical industry third-quarter earnings were mostly down from year-ago levels, but rose sequentially as the global economy began to stabilize. Revenues were down across the majority of sectors because of decreased sales volumes and...

BASF to close maleic anhydride facility in Belgium.(BUSINESS & FINANCE NEWS: EUROPE/MIDEAST)
October 26, 2009... BASF says it will close permanently its Feluy, Belgium manufacturing operation by year-end with the loss of 133 jobs. There is only one remaining BASF production unit at Feluy: a 115,000m.t./year maleic anhydride (MA) plant. BASF says its MA...

Solvay to buy Arkema?(BUSINESS & FINANCE NEWS: EUROPE/MIDEAST)
October 26, 2009... Arkema's share price has risen sharply in the past month on investor speculation that the company may be an acquisition target for Solvay. The speculation follows Solvay's announcement in September that it has agreed to sell its pharmaceuticals...

Sabic's profits fall year on year; improve sequentially.(BUSINESS & FINANCE NEWS: EUROPE/MIDEAST)(Saudi Basic Industries Corp.)(Financial report)(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... Sabic reported a sharp decline in profits in the third quarter of 2009 compared with the same quarter in 2008, but earnings rose sharply compared with the preceding quarter. Third-quarter gross income was down 45%, to SR8.6 billion ($2.3...

Tosoh ups specialty rubber; raises chlor-alkali stake.(BUSINESS & FINANCE NEWS: ASIA/PACIFIC)(Nanyo, Japan)(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... Tosoh says it has decided to increase capacity for the specialty rubber chlorosulfonated polyethylene (CSM). The company will invest [yen] 3 billion ($33 million) to construct a production line at its Nanyo, Japan complex that will increase CSM...

Private equity company Carlyle Group acquires stake in Chinese fertilizer firm.(BUSINESS & FINANCE NEWS: ASIA/PACIFIC)(China Agritech)(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... Private equity firm The Carlyle Group has acquired a 16.5% stake in China Agritech (Beijing) in a deal valued at $15 million. The transaction took the form of a private placement with Carlyle Asia Growth Partners, a Carlyle subsidiary. Proceeds...

China freezes coal chemical projects to curb overcapacity.(BUSINESS & FINANCE NEWS: ASIA/PACIFIC)(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... China will stop approving coal-to-chemical projects for three years and restructure existing plants, in an effort to curb overcapacity and protect the environment, a report by the country's official Xinhua news agency says. The report cites a...

Azerbaijan builds methanol and downstream complex.(NEW CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS)(Karadagh, south of Baku)(Azerbaijan Methanol Co.)
October 26, 2009... Azerbaijan Methanol Co. (Azmeco; Baku, Azerbaijan) is investing $330 million to build a methanol manufacturing complex at Karadagh, south of Baku. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD; London) has agreed to provide $120...

Sabic and Albemarle form Organometallics Production JV.(NEW CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS)
October 26, 2009... Ibn Hayyan Plastic Products, a Sabic affiliate, has signed an agreement with Albemarle to form a 50-50 joint venture, Saudi Organometallic Chemicals Co. (SOCC), to build a world-scale organometallics production facility at Al Jubail, Saudi...

Ineos awarded polyolefin technology contract in China.(NEW CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS)(Ineos Technologies Ltd.)(Yulin Energy and Chemical Co.)(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... Ineos Technologies has signed a contract to license its Innovene S high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and Innovene polypropylene (PP) technology to Yulin Energy and Chemical Co. (Yulin, China), a part of China's Yanchang Petroleum Group. The...

Wacker and Dow Corning start work on Chinese Fumed Silica Hike.(NEW CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS)(Wacker Fumed Silica)(Zhangjiagang, China)(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... Wacker Chemie and Dow Corning, joint venture partners in a siloxanes and fumed silica project at Zhangjiagang, China, have held a groundbreaking ceremony for phase two of the fumed silica part of the complex. Wacker Fumed Silica (Zhaugjiagang) a...

Uhde converts chlor-alkali plant in India to membrane technology.(NEW CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS)(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... Uhde India (Mumbai), an Uhde subsidiary, has been awarded a contract by Audhra Sugars (Tanuku, India) to convert a chlor-alkali production facility at Saggonda in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India to use membrane-cell technology. The plant,...

Linde builds India's largest air separation plant.(NEW CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS)(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... Linde says it will invest 85 million [euro] ($126 million) to construct what will be India's largest air separation unit (ASU) and one of Linde's largest ASUs in Asia. The 2,550m.t./day ASU will be built at Tata Steel's plant at Jamshedpur by...

Latin America: the global economic downturn has clearly not spared Latin America, although the effect has been uneven. Some economies were hard hit, while others have shown remarkable resilience. However, the region's large and growing populations make up a rapidly expanding consumer base that offers considerable growth potential.(Cover story)
October 26, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Latin America's GDP is expected to fall about 2.5% this year, although economists say there are signs of improvement. The pace of recovery is not uniform across the region, however (table). "Industrial production has...

Corporate responsibility: leading producers respond to increased regulatory complexity.
October 26, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The increasing complexity of regulation driving many chemical companies, including AkzoNobe], BASF, Dow Chemical, DuPont, and Shell Chemicals, to adopt specific business strategies for cutting costs and boosting...

Actavis expands into new markets; may enter biosimilars.(GENERICS)
October 26, 2009... Generic pharmaceuticals producer Actavis (Hafnarfjordur, Iceland) says it is expanding its presence in regions such as Japan, the Mideast, and South America. The company is also monitoring closely the biosimilars market and related activities...

Merck KGaA to add capacity.(STRATEGIES)
October 26, 2009... Merck KGaA says its pharma raw materials business unit is expanding its activities and that the unit was split last month into two divisions: biopharma tools and classical pharma raw materials. The pharma raw materials unit will invest about 8.5...

Dishman expects $3-billion investment at India SEZ.(PHARMACEUTICALS & FINE CHEMICALS)
October 26, 2009... Dishman Pharmaceuticals & Chemicals (Ahrnedabad, India), a producer of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), intermediates, and fine chemicals, will start marketing its previously announced 390-acre pharmaceutical and chemical special...

Consumer trends spell declines for specialty paper chemicals.(PAPER CHEMICALS)
October 26, 2009... Global consumption of specialty paper chemicals is expected to decline 0.2%/year in 2008-2013, caused by declining paper consumption in publishing and in packaging, particularly in Europe, according to a new report by SRI Consulting (SRIC; Menlo...

BASF expands epoxy resin lab.(SPECIALTIES)(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... BASF says it has expanded its application lab for epoxy resin systems at Ludwigshafen, Germany. The company says systems developed at the lab are used primarily for the production of wind turbine rotor blades made from fiber-reinforced composites.

Indian masterbatch plant in works.(SPECIALTIES)(A. Schulman, Inc.)(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... A. Schulman says it plans to establish a masterbatch facility in western India. A specific location for the facility has not yet been determined. The facility initially will consist of one line with a projected capacity of 12 million lbs/year....

Cargill partners in paper chems.(SPECIALTIES)(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... Cargill says it has partnered with specialty paper coating firm Topchim (Antwerp) to produce a line of products for paper and board applications in Brazil. The first product will be made from vegetal sources and is intended to replace...

Specialty chemicals pricewatch.(SPECIALTIES)(LANXESS Corp.)(BASF)(Arkema)(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... Lanxess says it increased global prices for toner oxides by 175 [euro]/m.t. or $250/m.t., depending on product and region, effective October 15 * BASF increased North American prices for ethylene carbonate and propylene carbonate by 4 cts/lb,...

Firms preparing to dig deeper to supply global oil needs.(OILFIELD CHEMICALS)(enhanced oil recovery)(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... Demand for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) chemicals is expected to experience strong growth due to the growing energy demands of a bigger population and the scarcity of "easy oil," producers say. The U.S. market for EOR products was valued at...

LyondellBasell files to abandon Chocolate Bayou olefins unit.(OLEFINS)(Bankruptcy Court (New York Southern District))(Equistar Chemicals L.P.)(Case overview)
October 26, 2009... Equistar Chemicals, a LyondellBasell subsidiary, is seeking to abandon its oleflns unit at Chocolate Bayou, TX in a motion recently filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The company idled the unit, which...

Automotive sector's recovery drives thermoplastic elastomers demand.(PLASTICS)(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... Global demand for thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) is forecast to rise 6%/year to reach 4.2 million m.t. by 2013, says a recent report from The Freedonia Group (Cleveland). Growth in the sector will be driven by recovery in the motor vehicle...

Mexichem ups Colombian stake.(BASIC CHEMICALS & PLASTICS)(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... Mexichem (Mexico City) has acquired from PolyOne the 50% stake it did not previously own in Colombian vinyl compounding firm Geon Polimeros Andinos (GPA; Cartagena). Purchase price was $13.5 million, PolyOne says. Mexichem says it plans to...

Cabot ups carbon black.(BASIC CHEMICALS & PLASTICS)(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... Cabot Corp. says it has doubled carbon at its Tianjin, China facility to about 300,000 m.t./year. The facility is a project of Cabot Chemical (Tianjin) Co., an equity joint venture between Cabot (China) Limited, and Shanghai Coking Chemical...

Arkema hikes prices.(BASIC CHEMICALS & PLASTICS)(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... Arkema says it will increase the price of oxygenated solvents in Europe by about 5% on October 26 due to rising raw material costs. Diacetone alcohol, hexylene glycol, isophorone and methyl isobutyl ketone will each increase by 100 [euro]/m.t.

PET recycling rates rise.(BASIC CHEMICALS & PLASTICS)(polyethylene terephthalate )(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... U.S. consumers recycled 27% of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) containers last year, say the National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR) and the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers (APR). This is the highest recycling...

Producers seek profitable responses to demand declines.(SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT)(Dow Chemical Co. (Midland, Michigan))(Dow Corning Corp.)(Shell Chemical Co.)
October 26, 2009... With volumes and sales down by around 20% in the first half of 2009, shippers, carriers, and third-party logistics providers attending the second-annual Elemica supply-chain conference in Houston last month noted that tight budgets and low...

CW price report.(COMMENTARY)(Statistical data)
October 26, 2009... Crude oil prices crept higher last week as mixed economic news left traders unsure about near-term trends. West Texas Intermediate crude oil tacked on half a dollar, to $79.55/bbl, while Brent crude gained $1.22/bbl, to $76.81/ bbl. Natural gas...

Bioethanol from 25 feedstocks: start-up firm TMO prepares its versatile technology for market entry.(COMPANIES)(TMO Renewables)
October 26, 2009... TMO Renewables (Guildford, U.K.), a start-up biotechnology firm, says it has developed a process capable of cost-effectively converting at least 25 different biofeedstocks into ethanol. The technology, if commercialized, would be one of the most...

CW75 stock performance.(Statistical data)
October 26, 2009... The CW75 fell 3.3% for the week ending October 27, slightly lagging broader markets. The overall stock market fell as a result of a strong U.S. Treasury auction, and on concerns that some big banks may not be able to pay back federal bailout...

PPG Industries.(KEY CHANGES--LEADING INDICATOR)(Patrick Kenny and Richard Beuke)(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... PPG Industries has appointed Patrick Kenny v.p./corporate marketing. Kenny is currently general manager/corporate marketing and construction markets. PPG has also named Richard Beuke v.p./silica products. Beuke is currently v.p./growth...

Dow Chemical.(KEY CHANGES--LEADING INDICATOR)(Javier Constante has been named)(Bob Harden and Pete Pendergast have also been appointed)(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... Dow Chemical has named Javier Constante director/basic plastics in Latin America. He replaces Diego Donoso, who has been named president/Japan and South Korea. Dow has also appointed Bob Harden and Pete Pendergast as heads of building solutions'...

Telles.(KEY CHANGES--LEADING INDICATOR)(appointment of Stan Haftka)(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... Stan Haftka has been appointed director/business development in Europe for Telles, the bioplastics joint venture between Archer Daniels Midland and Metabolix. Haftka joins Telles from Celanese, where he was global segment manager/GUR engineering...

Foster Wheeler USA.(KEY CHANGES--LEADING INDICATOR)(appointment of Robert Flexon)(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... Robert Flexon has been named CEO of Foster Wheeler USA. He replaces W. Troy Rider, who will become chairman and CEO of Foster Wheeler Energy in the UK. Flexon is currently v.p. and CFO of NRG Energy, a power generation company. He has been on...

The Plaza Group.(KEY CHANGES--LEADING INDICATOR)(Ron Munos is appointed as sales manager)(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... Ron Munos has been named sales manager/ aromatics and oxygenated solvents for The Plaza Group, a petrochemical marketing firm. Munos joins the company from ExxonMobil chemical, where he was a global account representative for solvents and fluid...

Kansas City Southern.(KEY CHANGES--LEADING INDICATOR)
October 26, 2009... Donald Emery has been appointed assistant v.p./labor relations for Kansas City Southern. He was previously general director/labor relations.

Halocarbon.(KEY CHANGES--LEADING INDICATOR)(Shaun Julian appointed as account manager)(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... Halocarbon has named Shaun Julian account manager. Julian was previously a technical sales representative for EM Sullivan and an assistant manufacturing engineer with Pharmacia Biotech. He is currently president of the New York Society of...

Council for Chemical Research.(KEY CHANGES--LEADING INDICATOR)(appointment of C. Paul Mendez)(Brief article)
October 26, 2009... C. Paul Mendez has been named executive director of the Council for Chemical Research. Mendez has been involved in association management for 28 years, most recently as executive director of the National Association of Workforce Development...

Huber Decorative Packaging.(KEY CHANGES--LEADING INDICATOR)
October 26, 2009... Huber Decorative Packaging has appointed Carsten Buchmann speaker of the management board. Buchmann succeeds Thomas Schuh, who has left the board.

Indicator on the rise.(KEY CHANGES--LEADING INDICATOR)(Statistical data)
October 26, 2009... The leading indicator for the chemical industry advanced in October following a slight dip in September. All components of the indicator posted gains. After several months hovering at low levels, the indicator appears to be on an upward...

Billion-Dollar Club.(VIEWPOINT)(Financial report)
October 12, 2009... BASF, with chemical sales of $58.3 billion, again tops CW's fifteenth annual Billion-Dollar Club ranking of the largest chemical companies in the world by revenue (p. 23). Less than $1 billion separates the top three players this year with...

Clariant shuts plants.(Brief article)
October 12, 2009... Clariant says it will close its Milford, DE and Lachine, PQ masterbatches facilities and transfer production to sites at Albion, MI and Toronto, ON respectively. Production at Milford will be phased out through mid-2010, while production at...

RPM acquires Indian JV.(RPM International Inc. purchased CDC Carboline (India) Private Limited.)(Brief article)
October 12, 2009... RPM International's Carboline subsidiary has acquired an 80% stake in CDC Carboline India (Chennai, India), its joint venture with CDC Carboline's founder Daniel Chittayagam. Terms were not disclosed, but RPM says the jv has annual sales of...

Solutia to restart Crystex.(Brief article)
October 12, 2009... Solutia will reopen its insoluble sulfur plant at Monongahela, PA in November, the company says. The plant was idled in June. Demand for Crystex-brand insoluble sulfur, which is produced at the plant, "has improved significantly since the first...

Evonik to acquire Eli Lilly manufacturing site.(Lilly Tippecanoe Laboratories)(Brief article)
October 12, 2009... Evonik Industries has agreed to acquire Eli Lilly's Tippecanoe Laboratories manufacturing facility at Lafayette, IN. The site, which employs about 700, makes active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and precursor materials for the pharmaceutical...

Ethylene contracts settle in three-month deal.(Brief article)(Statistical data)
October 12, 2009... North American ethylene contract negotiations finally settled in a three-month deal that will lower July prices by 3.75 cts/ lb, to 29.5 cts/lb; boost August prices by 2.75 cts/lb, to 32.5 cts/ lb; and lift September by 2 cts/ lb, to 34.5...

Milliken acquires pigment and dispersions maker.(Milliken Chemical Co. acquired Rebus )(Brief article)
October 12, 2009... Privately owned specialty chemicals producer Milliken Chemical (Spartanburg, SC) says it has acquired Rebus (Aston, PA), a producer of pigment and additive dispersions for the thermoset plastics and high-performance industrial coatings markets....

Cargill's earnings slide on weak industrial segment.(financial news)(Financial report)(Brief article)
October 12, 2009... Cargill reported net earnings of $525 million in its fiscal first quarter ended August 31, down 65% from the year-ago period. Cargill cites "a sizeable decline" in earnings at Mosaic, in which Cargill owns a majority stake. The company does not...

Three win Nobel Prize for ribosome research.(Brief article)
October 12, 2009... The 2009 Nobel Prize for chemistry was awarded jointly to three scientists for their roles in determining the structure and functions of ribosomes, cellular complexes that synthesize proteins coded within DNA. The winners are Venkatraman...