ICIS - Search Articles by Date : February 24 2003 - March 02 2003

Product profile: n-Butanol
Players hope the planned Celanese/Oxeno joint venture will spur further consolidation moves as Europe remains hampered by surplus capacity more
(28 February 2003 17:31)

New project summary
Reported in ECN on 10 and 17 February more
(24 February 2003 10:31)

Legal costs batter Roche's profits
Swiss pharmaceuticals group Roche made a net loss of SF4.03bn (E2.75bn/$2.97bn) in 2002, affected by the sale of its vitamins and fine chemicals.... more
(28 February 2003 14:52)

Volatile gas prices could mean disaster for olefins
Unprecedented volatility in the US natural gas markets is creating a climate of trepidation within the US olefins industry more
(28 February 2003 14:52)

Gas prices hit production
North American ammonia producers say higher natural gas numbers are pushing production costs above current ammonia prices in the US more
(28 February 2003 14:52)

Refocusing and repositioning
The shape of the pharma and fine chemical industries is set to change: Last week's Informex focused on customer service, restructuring and new.... more
(28 February 2003 14:52)

News in brief
Chance & Hunt wins Brenntag has lost a contract to the UK's Chance & Hunt which has been appointed to distribute epoxy resins and.... more
(28 February 2003 14:52)

BOC closes pension scheme
The collapse in equity markets has caused BOC to close its final salary pension scheme to new UK employees and replace it with a money purchase.... more
(28 February 2003 14:52)

OGS dismisses offer as 'cheap'
British biotechnology firm Celltech has made a hostile cash takeover bid for rival Oxford GlycoScience (OGS), which immediately branded the offer as.... more
(28 February 2003 14:52)

Croda climbs back into profit
A recovery in its core oleochemicals business enabled UK speciality chemicals firm Croda to unveil a strong improvement in 2002 earnings more
(28 February 2003 14:52)

Petchem losses slide further
Net losses in Swiss engineering group ABB's oil, gas and petrochemicals division nearly quadrupled to $93m in the fourth quarter (Q4) last year more
(28 February 2003 14:52)

Raids across Rhine region
A European Commission cartel investigation into possible price-fixing among operators of inland chemical barges along the Rhine, Germany, and.... more
(28 February 2003 14:52)

Bayer on trial as first Baycol lawsuit goes to court
Bayer was busy last week fighting negative publicity as the first litigation related to the recall of its cholesterol drug Lipobay/Baycol began in.... more
(28 February 2003 14:52)

Clariant plans a swathe of job cuts
Around 1400 jobs - some 5% of its global workforce of around 28 000 - are to be lost by Clariant over the next two years more
(28 February 2003 14:52)

Elementis gains after cutbacks
The benefits of plant closures and other cost-saving measures continued to pay off for UK speciality chemicals company Elementis, which has unveiled.... more
(28 February 2003 14:52)

Atofina to Boost US Styrene Monomer
Atofina Petrochemicals Inc. will expand its Cos-Mar styrene monomer joint venture in Carville, La., by roughly 500 million pounds to a total of 2.5 more
(28 February 2003 20:38)

Business In Brief
Solutia's Motion Denied Solutia Inc. announced that the Alabama Supreme Court affirmed the November 8, 2002 decision of a state circuit court more
(28 February 2003 20:38)

Breaking News Roundup
Isochem to Make Bayer CropScience Herbicide Isochem , a subsidiary of SNPE of France, is investing about  28 million for the construction of a more
(28 February 2003 20:38)

DuPont and Cargill Dow See Long-Term Growth Potential for Natural Polymers From Biological Feedstocks
Although the run-up in oil and natural gas costs is putting the traditional US plastics industry under severe pricing pressure, producers are more
(28 February 2003 20:38)

Plastics & Coatings In Brief
BASF CORP. is raising its prices for Ultramid spinning polymers by 10 percent effective March 3. Mark Dobson, marketing and sales director for more
(28 February 2003 20:38)

Global TiO2 Market Sees Best Growth in Plastics Applications
Plastics will continue to be the strongest market for titantium dioxide (TiO2), although only moderate growth is projected for this year. The more
(28 February 2003 20:38)

Consultants Offer Tips for Survival in Bleak Business Landscape
Beyond staying in business, custom manufacturers of pharmaceutical actives and intermediates had little to celebrate when they gathered at the more
(28 February 2003 20:38)

UCB Completes Synthetic Peptide Lab
UCB-Bioproducts has completed its first US customer application laboratory, built to meet the increasing demand for peptide pilot production. The more
(28 February 2003 20:38)

Dow Debuts New Business for Personal Care
Dow Chemical Company has established a new business that specializes in novel emulsion solutions for the personal care industry. The business, more
(28 February 2003 20:38)

DSM Expands Research Activities
DSM NV is expanding its research activities into processes for the production of active ingredients for new medicines in the early stages of more
(28 February 2003 20:38)

Soaring Feedstock Prices Crimp Chemical Industry Profit Margins
Natural gas rockets over $18 per mmbtu on spot market. Bo Glasgow reports. more
(28 February 2003 20:38)

Seven States to File Clean Air Lawsuit
In the latest challenge to the Bush administration's clean air policies, seven states have announced their intention to file a lawsuit to force the more
(28 February 2003 20:38)

Calls for Restructuring Are All The Talk at a Subdued Informex
Clay Boswell and Lisa Jarvis report fromNew Orleans. more
(28 February 2003 20:38)

Mag Hydroxide/Oxide Market Faces Upward Pricing Pressure
The magnesium hydroxide/oxide market has been impacted by thinning margins and the spike in natural gas costs, prompting one major player to raise more
(28 February 2003 20:38)

Biogen Stumbles on European Agency Approval of Amevive
Biogen Inc. saw its stock slip in late February on a multiyear delay in the European launch of psoriasis drug Amevive (alefacept). Analysts lowered more
(28 February 2003 20:38)

Bayer Defends Itself on Baycol
Bayer AG defended itself last week against accusations concerning its cholesterol-lowering drug Baycol/Lipobay (cerivastatin) after its share price more
(28 February 2003 20:38)

Clariant May Divest Its Fine Chemicals Business
Clariant MAY divest or spin off its businesses in pharmaceutical and crop protection fine chemicals after their poor performances helped plunge the more
(28 February 2003 20:38)

Quest Enters Textiles Market With Fragrance Technology
Quest International, ICI's fragrance and flavors operation, is moving into textiles by launching a technology that incorporates fragrances into more
(28 February 2003 20:38)

Roche Posts Record Net Loss
Roche AG reported a record net loss of SFr4 billion ($2.9 billion) in 2002 after write-offs of SFr9.4 billion, some of which were criticized by more
(28 February 2003 20:38)

Inland Shipping Becomes Target of EC Cartel Probe
The European Commission (EC) has extended its investigation into suspected cartels in the chemical tanker business to inland shipping after more
(28 February 2003 20:38)

Syngenta Seeks to Leverage Chemistry And Biotech Beyond Crop Protection
For crop protection companies, the global spread of herbicide-resistant crops has been the most successful outcome of the marriage between more
(28 February 2003 20:38)

Mississippi Chemical Idles Ammonia Plant
Mississippi Chemical Corp. has made additional production changes at its Donaldsonville, La., nitrogen complex. The facility's number two ammonia more
(28 February 2003 20:38)

Monsanto Corn Gets EPA Approval
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week approved the use of a new plant-incorporated protectant designed by Monsanto Company to control more
(28 February 2003 20:38)

Natural Gas Rockets on Cold Forecast and Low Storage Levels
Much to the dismay of the beleaguered chemical industry, natural gas prices, already near historically high levels, shot up from the mid-$6 per more
(28 February 2003 20:38)

Jobs and People
Raymond J. De Hont Raymond J. De Hont has been elected as president, CEO and a director of Met-Pro Corp. Mr. De Hont joined the company more
(28 February 2003 20:38)

White Mineral Oil and Petrolatum Prices Remain Pressured on Higher Feedstock Costs and Continued Base Oil Rationalization
Pricing for white mineral oil and petrolatum remain under pressure with feedstock costs continuing an upward trek and base oil supply getting more
(28 February 2003 20:38)

Acidchem Expands Fatty Acid Market Share in the US
Acidchem USA Inc., a unit of Acid-chem International Sdn Bhd, a major oleochemicals producer in Malaysia, is expanding its fatty acid operations in more
(28 February 2003 20:38)

Oils in Brief
FATTY ALCOHOLS Huntsman Surface Sciences will increase its fatty alcohols list and off-list prices by 5c. per pound effective April 1 or as more
(28 February 2003 20:38)

Butadiene Pricing Climb Continues
Runaway feedstock costs and continued supply difficulties are the main culprits behind the ongoing run-up in butadiene pricing, which has nearly more
(28 February 2003 20:38)

Dow Chemical's Glycol Ethers Business Sees an Increase in Demand and Soaring Feedstock Costs
Sustained demand growth in the wake of a disastrous 2001 is tightening the glycol ethers business of industry leader Dow Chemical Company. However, more
(28 February 2003 20:38)

Battered Biotech Remains Driver for Innovation As M&As Surge
Once the darling of the investment community, the biotechnology industry has fallen distinctly out of favor. Biotech companies spent 2002 more
(28 February 2003 20:38)

Potash Corp. Sheds Natural Gas Contracts
Skyrocketing natural gas costs have prompted Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan to sell its 2003 natural gas futures contracts to take advantage of the more
(28 February 2003 20:38)

From the Street: Specialty Chemical Performance and Outlook
The challenging environment for specialty chemical companies serving the US is a product not only of difficult current economic conditions but more
(28 February 2003 20:38)

IT In Brief
ABB, Yamanouchi Team ABB, the power and automation technology group, has been chosen by Yamanouchi Ireland Co. Ltd. to upgrade Yamanouchi's more
(28 February 2003 20:38)

Increasing Strategic Importance of China
Accessing higher growth geographies, increasingly China, is an important source of top-line growth for specialty chemical companies as more
(28 February 2003 20:38)