Breaking News Roundup

10 September 2001 00:00  [Source: ICB Americas]

Petrochemical Companies Settle for $120 Million

A group of refining and petrochemical companies have settled with the US Justice Department and the State of Texas, agreeing to pay $120 million to clean up a contaminated dump site in Texas. The settlement represents the second largest in the history of the US Superfund program. It involves ExxonMobil, Shell Oil, Crown Central Petroleum, Occidental Chemical, Goodyear Tire & Rubber, Rohm and Haas, El Paso Group, Phillips Petroleum and Vacuum Tanks. Terms of the settlement call for the federal government to receive $111.3 million plus interest, with $8.7 million plus interest going to Texas. The funds will be used to reimburse the costs of cleaning up the contaminated Sikes Disposal Pits Superfund Site near Crosby, Tex.

Rockwood Restructures Electronics Business

Rockwood Specialties Inc. is restructuring its electronics businesses. Rockwood's electronic chemicals, wafer reclaim and photomasks businesses will now conduct operations as a specific business of Rockwood. The electronic chemical business includes two sectors--ultra-pure chemicals for the semiconductor industry and printed circuit board chemicals. Rockwood Specialties' other businesses include additives (clay-based additives, pigments, timber treatment, water technologies) and specialty compounds.

BP Increases Its Capacities for Sulfone Polymers

BP's engineering polymers unit is expanding the capacity of its sulfone polymers plant in Marietta, Ohio, and its sulfone monomer plant in Augusta, Ga. BP expects the new capacity to be on stream by the fourth quarter of this year. The Marietta expansion will boost the plant's Radel R polyphenylsulfone production by 40 percent. The Augusta monomer expansion will add 15 percent. The polysulfone monomer and polymer businesses are part of BP's engineering polymers business, which it has agreed to sell to Solvay Corp. as part of a swap for Solvay's PP business.

Atofina Ramps Up Intermediates

Atofina Chemicals Inc. has completed a 25 percent capacity expansion at its tin-intermediates facility in Mobile, Ala. This completes the second phase of a three-tiered capacity improvement program begun early this year. When the final phase is completed at year's end, total capacity will have increased by 37.5 percent. The company says the increase is partly in response to the recent withdrawal of a key supplier that has facilities based in South Carolina and North Carolina.

Boehringer Completes á250 Million Expansion

As part of its push into biopharmaceuticals, Boehringer Ingelheim completed a á250 million investment by topping out its new plant in Biberach, Germany, its largest single investment to date. The expansion is expected to double the company's present capacity. The company expects the production of biopharmaceuticals to start as early as 2003.

Stinnes Reorganizes Its Chemical Division

Stinnes AG, a Germany-based global chemical distributor, has established a new regional structure for its subsidiary Brenntag following the integration of Brenntag with Holland Chemical International (HCI). Brenntag and HCI sites have been combined in six regional companies in North America. The Northeast is headed by Anthony Gerace, the Mid-South by Roger Gilbert, the Southwest by Kevin Kessing, the Southeast by Gil Steadman, the West by Bill Huttner, and the Great Lakes by Cindy Cox.

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