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Sunday, 3 December 2017

Sika opens first concrete admixture plant in Cameroon

Sika AG is further expanding its presence in Africa by opening its first facility for concrete admixtures in Cameroon. Following the foundation of the national subsidiary in 2016 to address the developing market potential the latest investment will enhance the local supply chain footprint.

Sika will use the new concrete admixtures factory, located in the major city of Douala, to supply customers in this growing construction market by providing locally manufactured products and technical support. The country’s building industry is growing significantly under the stimulus of investments in infrastructure and housing construction.

Important construction projects include the expansion of the Kribi seaport in the south of the country, the upgrading of the country’s rail network and the construction of stadiums for the 2019 African Cup of Nations. Sika is already supplying its product solutions manufactured by Sika plants in neighbouring countries for these key projects.

Praxair, GE Aviation opens new jet engine coatings facility in US

Praxair Inc (PX) and GE Aviation has opened a new facility for their PG Technologies business, which specializes in advanced coatings that enable jet engines to withstand higher temperatures and stresses.

PG Technologies is a joint venture between Praxair Surface Technologies Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of Praxair Inc and GE Aviation.

The 300,000 square-foot facility is expected to employ at least 250 people to meet demand for the latest generation of jet engines, including the GE9X and the CFM LEAP. CFM is a 50/50 joint venture between GE Aviation and SAFRAN of France

“We are pleased to open a world-class coatings facility in Ellisville that will house the next generation of coating technologies and applications for the aviation industry. PG Technologies is a direct result of the longstanding and highly successful commercial relationship we have enjoyed with GE for over 20 years and we look forward to driving steady growth in the business while supporting GE Aviation’s needs,” said Steve Angel, chairman and chief executive officer, Praxair.

ExxonMobil combines refining and marketing divisions

ExxonMobil Corporation (XOM) said that it will combine its refining and marketing operations into a single company, ExxonMobil Fuels & Lubricants Company, in the first quarter of 2018.

Bryan Milton, currently president of ExxonMobil Fuels, Lubricants & Specialties Marketing Company, has been appointed president of the combined division by ExxonMobil’s board of directors, effective 1 Jan 2018.

By combining activities of the two divisions – ExxonMobil Refining and Supply Company and ExxonMobil Fuels, Lubricants & Specialties Marketing Company – the company will achieve further integration to improve decision making and enhance performance in the market. The improvements will help the company to better respond to the needs of its customers and compete more effectively.

ExxonMobil Fuels & Lubricants Company, along with ExxonMobil affiliates, will manage crude purchasing and logistics, refining, supply, trading, midstream, marketing and sales of refined products.

Friday, 1 December 2017

AkzoNobel shareholders approve separation of speciality chemicals biz

AkzoNobel NV (AkzoNobel) said that its shareholders have approved the separation of its speciality chemicals business as part of its strategy to create two focused, high performing businesses; paints and coatings and speciality chemicals.

The appointment of new chief financial officer (CEO) Maarten de Vries as a member of the board of management, effective January 1 was also approved, in addition to the appointment of three new members to the AkzoNobel Supervisory Board: Sue Clark, Patrick Thomas, and Michiel Jaski.

Shareholder approval enables AkzoNobel to separate its speciality chemicals business through a private sale or legal demerger. The dual-track process ensures the appropriate flexibility necessary to obtain an optimal result for shareholders and other stakeholders as well as the certainty of execution.

As previously announced, AkzoNobel intends to return the vast majority of the net proceeds from the separation of Specialty Chemicals to its shareholders – starting with advance proceeds of €1 billion through a special cash dividend. The special dividend will be paid on December 7, 2017.

Read More: AkzoNobel shareholders approve separation of speciality chemicals biz

Merck opens €15 mn liquid crystal window modules facility

Merck has opened a new production facility for liquid crystal window modules in Veldhoven, near Eindhoven, Netherlands. The investment of around € 15 million is a further step by Merck to expand its expertise as the market and technology leader in liquid crystals for displays by moving into other applications beyond televisions, laptops, smartphones, and tablet PCs.

Merck is the world’s first supplier of this window module technology, which in comparison with previous technologies, offers new application possibilities and regulation within seconds.

Deliveries to start in 2018

“This new facility is a milestone in our strategy to capture new attractive and future-oriented application fields for liquid crystals beyond displays. We recently started taking orders from customers for modules that will be ready for delivery as of early 2018. The industry interest in liquid crystal windows we’ve seen so far is very positive,” said Kai Beckmann, member of the executive board of Merck and CEO performance materials.

Devan Chemicals launches new antimicrobial brand line

Devan Chemicals has launched a new multifunctional antimicrobial brand line. The brand line consists of their well-known, but recently rebranded quat-silane antimicrobial solution, combined with extra features. This enables textile manufacturers to apply multiple functionalities via one single treatment.

BI-OME, Devan’s recently rebranded antimicrobial solution, has been launched with interesting extra features. The speciality chemical provider has combined its antimicrobial technology with other functional finishes in its product range and now offers a variety of combinations:

BI-OME Quick dry combines the antimicrobial properties (for odour control) with advanced moisture management properties to promote efficient and faster evaporation to aid cooling and comfort.
BI-OME Stretch combines the antimicrobial solution with stretch recovery properties for better fit.
A more revolutionary variation is BI-OME AV, which has an antiviral activity in addition to its antimicrobial properties.
Of course, BI-OME, the antimicrobial solution without any extra features, remains available.

Thyssenkrupp to build two polymer plants for SASA in Turkey

Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions’ subsidiary Uhde Inventa-Fischer has signed a contract to build two new world-scale polymer plants for SASA Polyester Sanayi AS in Adana, Turkey.

One plant is planned to produce 1,050 metric tons per day (380,000 tonnes per year) of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) for low-viscosity applications. The second plant will use Uhde Inventa-Fischer’s proprietary patented MTR technology to produce 216,000 tons per year of resin for the production of PET bottles. Both new plants are among the largest single-line production plants for their respective products.

The scope of delivery for both projects will include basic and detail engineering, the delivery of all necessary components, and technical services for erection, pre-commissioning and commissioning supervision.

“We are very proud that SASA chose us to build another two state-of-the-art PET plants after we were already contracted to build one of the largest polyester lines last year. Our commercially tried-and-tested MTR process provides our customers with optimized energy consumption, maximum utilization of feedstocks and effective plant operation, thus significantly reducing the total conversion cost compared with conventional technologies,” said Werner Steinauer, CEO of Uhde Inventa-Fischer.