Industry News
INKSOLUTIONS TO SELL AND
DISTRIBUTE SYNKOLOID/MURALO
BRANDS OF PRODUCTS
Effective Feb. 1, 2009, Inksolutions
LLC has been awarded the license to
sell and distribute the Synkoloid and
Muralo brands of products West of the
Rockies, in Western Canada and
throughout Mexico. Inksolutions has
been the toll manufacturer of all of
these products for the past two years.
EVONIK REGISTERS
SYNTHETIC AMORPHOUS SILICA
In compliance with the new EU
REACH chemicals regulation, Evonik
Industries has successfully registered
synthetic amorphous silica with the
European Chemicals Agency in
Helsinki. This authorizes the company, now and in the future, to produce,
import, and market its own brands of
precipitated (Ultrasil, Sipernat, etc.)
and fumed (Aerosil) silicas. Evonik is
thus the first producer to have successfully registered synthetic amorphous silica.
resulting from the plant’s closure will
be approximately $28 million.
WACKER POLYMERS EXTENDS ITS
VINNAPAS AND VINNOL PORTFOLIO
Wacker Polymers changed the name of
its Airflex, Flexbond, Flexcryl and Vinac
products. All vinyl acetate homopolymer,
vinyl acetate-ethylene and acrylic copolymer grades will be known as Viannpas.
All copolymer dispersions that contain
vinyl chloride will be renamed Vinnol.
BAYER REDUCES WORK TIME
Bayer MaterialScience, in an effort
to offset the effects of the financial
crisis, has temporarily lowered the
company’s work time by 6.7% with
corresponding reductions in salaries
for non-managerial employees.
CYTEC ACCELERATES
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Cytec Industries’ polymer additives
group is accelerating the expansion of its
Cyasorb Cynergy Solutions stabilizers
product range. Products for the automotive, construction, coatings and agricul-
tural film markets will now be available
starting in 2009.
DOW TO CLOSE LDPE
PLANT IN FREEPORT, TX
Driven by current economic conditions
and overcapacity for low density polyethylene (LDPE) in the North American
marketplace, Dow Chemical will shutdown its Poly 2 LDPE plant in Freeport,
TX. Approximately 40 people will lose
their jobs. The shutdown is expected to
be completed by end of March 2009. The
Poly 2 plant includes three autoclave
low density reactors with a combined
capacity of 225 million lbs. It has been in
operation since 1959.
LYONDELLBASELL TO
TEMPORARILY IDLE LDPE UNITS
LyondellBasell Industries has taken
steps to temporarily idle its low density
polyethylene units at Carrington, UK,
and Fos-sur-Mer, France, into the second
quarter of 2009. The Carrington unit has
a nameplate capacity of 185 KT per year,
and the Fos plant has a nameplate
capacity of 110 KT per year. CW
HUNTSMAN CUTS WORKFORCE,
CLOSES TITANIUM DIOXIDE PLANT
Huntsman Corp. has recently enacted a
company-wide initiative to reduce costs
across its division and functions, which
will eliminate 117 jobs by year-end, or
nine percent of its workforce. Full-time
contractors working in the company’s
divisions and functions will be reduced
by an additional 490 positions. Together, these reductions will result in
operating cost savings to the company
of approximately $150 million.
Huntsman also announced that its
pigments division plans to close its titanium dioxide plant located in Grimsby,
UK. The UK plant has an annual
capacity of 40,000 tons of titanium
dioxide. Pigment products at the plant
would cease during the first quarter of
2009. Approximately 200 full time
employees and contractors work at the
site. Annual operating cost savings
CHINESE PIGMENT MAKER ESTABLISHES U.S. OPERATION
Nanjing, China-based Trust Chem, an independent supplier of Chinese-made organic pigment, has formed a U.S. company under the name Trust
Chem USA. Previously, Trust Chem has sold their pigment in the U.S.
through private label distribution. Rick
Campbell, general manager of Trust Chem
USA, said they will now be able to offer the
same quality pigment with the cost advantage
of buying direct from U.S.-based inventory.
Trust Chem supplies to their customers
throughout the world from their own joint
venture factories and from a large number of
pigment factories in China. Many of the pigments are made to the Trust Chem specifica-
tions and developed and tested in Trust
Chem’s lab, the largest organic pigment lab in
China, according to the company. According to Campbell, Trust Chem is one
of a very few Chinese sources who has stated they will fully register a wide
range of organic pigment through the EU’s REACH program.
For additional information contact Rick Campbell at rick@trustchemusa.com.
