News Watch

26 July 2005 17:22  [Source: ICB Americas]

Degussa expands in china with jv

Degussa AG has signed an agreement with Yingkou Sanzheng Fine Chemicals (YSFC) to participate in a joint venture in northern China to manufacture cyanuric chloride (CYC) and derivatives. Degussa will hold a 65 percent stake in the joint venture, Degussa Sanzheng (Yingkou) Fine Chemicals Co. Ltd., and YSFC, a major CYC producer in northern China, will hold 35 percent. The joint venture will operate primarily in Asia and is expected to generate sales of roughly €35 million ($43 million). CYC is an intermediate product used in a variety of agriculture and industrial applications.

Albemarle lays groundwork in China

Albemarle Corp. has signed a letter of intent to acquire land in China where it will construct a new technology center, a repackaging facility for polyolefin cocatalysts, and future production centers for various polymer additives. The site is in Nanjing and will initially include basic flame retardant technical services for Chinese and other Asian customers. The site will also feature a complete flexible polyurethane foam flame retardant testing lab and polymer testing capability for AlBlend, Albemarle’s proprietary polymer additive blend systems.

PPG industries posts record sales

PPG Industries Inc. posted a 27 percent gain in underlying second-quarter earnings to $245 million as sales surged 9 percent to a record $2.66 billion. Earnings per share of $1.42 came in 2 cents ahead of Wall Street estimates. “We made progress in restoring our coatings margins and expect this improvement to accelerate the remainder of the year,” says chairman and CEO Charles Bunch. “While the global economy shows signs of moderating, we see continued strength in our coatings and chemicals segments, which achieved record sales each of the past two quarters.”

Clariant to add new glyoxylic acid plant

Clariant is looking to build a 10,000 metric-ton-per-year glyoxylic acid unit based on proprietary technology. Start-up is targeted for early 2007. Since most of the production from existing capacity at the company’s glyoxylic acid unit north of Paris, which was recently debottlenecked, is exported, the plant would most likely not be situated in France, according to a company official. Strong demand for glyoxylic acid from the paper and textile industries as well as the pharmaceutical and agrochemical sectors is the primary factor behind the expansion.

Novartis completes Eon labs acquisition

Novartis has completed the acquisition of approximately 98 percent of US-based Eon Labs Inc., catapulting Sandoz, its generics division, to the top of the global generic drug industry. Last month, Novartis completed the acquisition of Hexal AG, Germany’s second-largest generic drug company.

Dow Corning ups rubber capacity

Dow Corning Corp. will increase the manufacturing capacity of certain liquid silicone rubbers by up to 50 percent to meet rapidly growing global demand. The expansion will take place at the company’s Wiesbaden, Germany, plant and is the latest in a series of advancements Dow Corning has made to develop additional long-term manufacturing and supply capabilities.

ASM to market Sterling ethanol

Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) has formed an agreement with Sterling Ethanol LLC under which ADM will market all ethanol produced by that company at its Sterling, Colo., facility. Sterling Ethanol is building the plant, the first of its kind in Colorado, with an initial ethanol capacity of 42 million gallons per year.

SQM buys Kemira shares in Kefco

SQM Nitratos SA has bought Kemira Oyj’s 50 percent share in Kemira Emirates Fertilizers Company (Kefco), which was a part of Kemira’s water soluble fertilizer business unit. SQM will also acquire technology and brand name rights to Kefco’s Magnum P44 urea phosphate.

Celanese buys acetex after ec approves

Celanese Corp. has completed the acquisition of Acetex. The closing follows the European Commission’s unconditional approval for the $492 million deal, which expands Celanese’s acetyls chain of products.

Dow gets Total’s DVB business

Dow Chemical Company will acquire Total Petrochemicals’ divinylbenzene (DVB) business for an undisclosed sum. Dow says the acquisition does not include manufacturing assets. DVB is used to modify polymers that can be used in adhesives, ion exchange resins, specialty plastics, elastomers and other applications.

Chemtura halts two Geismar EPDM Units

Chemtura Corp. has announced maintenance shutdowns of two of its three Royalene ethylene propylene terpolymer rubber (EPDM) units in Geismar, La. The units will be staggered during the shutdown period, which runs six weeks as of July 18th, says a company official, who says the company will be able to adequately supply customers based on forecasted demand.

Sigma-Aldrich licenses MA Patent

Sigma-Aldrich Corp. has licensed a patent estate for RNA interference (RNAi) technology from Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. The patent estate covers short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and their use in mediating RNAi in mammalian cells. The deal strengthens Sigma-Aldrich’s position as an siRNA supplier to the scientific community.

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