Europe top stories: weekly summary

LONDON (ICIS)–Here are some of the top stories from ICIS Europe for the week ended 16 March.

Wacker past capex guarantees ‘cash cow’ going forward, Siltronic’s value rockets
A recovery in the solar panels industry has allowed Wacker Chemie’s subsidiary for production of polysilicon wafers, Siltronic, to increase its market capitalisation nearly tenfold in two years.

Protectionist measures to backfire, EU should lead free trade push – Wacker chief
Wacker Chemie’s CEO on Tuesday made an emphatic defence of global free trade following the US President’s tariffs imposed on steel and aluminium, which Rudolf Staudigl said could backfire in coming months if other countries were to respond in kind.

Russia’s EuroChem marks first potash production, plans Q2 market entry
EuroChem has produced its first muriate of potash (MOP) fertilizer, the Russian major announced on Tuesday, and remains on course to enter the market in the second quarter.

Circular economy a distant idea, German car makers to fight the EV battle – Wacker CEO
The advent of a greener industrial economy where companies fine-tune their recycle and reuse methods could be an opportunity for chemicals to enter new sectors, but that “ideal world” is still far off, according to the CEO at German chemical producer Wacker Chemie.

Plastic tax possible, PET industry needs to be aware – Coca-Cola exec
The European polyethylene terephthalate (PET) industry needs to give serious consideration to an EU plastics tax becoming a reality, according to an executive with US-based beverage maker Coca-Cola.

Europe PS March talks ongoing, hopes for lower April styrene as correction continues
March contract discussions are still ongoing in the European polystyrene (PS) market as some players in the packaging industry have just started first negotiations and others will follow next week, sources said.

Italy’s Versalis 2018-21 earnings outlook muted on US, Asia capacities
Versalis’ has adopted a ‘conservative’ outlook on its earnings over the next few years despite a banner 2017 as a result of new low-cost capacity coming onstream in the US and growing Asian independence for some chemicals, the CEO of the Italy-based producer said.