BASF to move HQ for dispersions and
pigments division to Hong Kong
BASF plans to establish the global headquarters of its dispersions and pigments
division in Hong Kong. As of January 1,
2012, the division head and approximately 50 global positions, currently located in Ludwigshafen, Germany and
Basel, Switzerland will transition to
Hong Kong.
“Asia is already the largest market for
our division today. We want to further
participate in the dynamic growth in that
region and beyond,” said Markus Kramer,
president of BASF’s dispersions and pig-
ments division. To this end, we want to
change the perspective from which we
view our customer industries.”
The regional business and production
units located in Europe and Asia are not
affected by this move.
BASF’s portfolio of the dispersions and
pigments division includes pigments,
resins, dispersions and additives such as
photoinitiators, light stabilizers and formulation additives. Main customer industries are the coatings and paints industry,
as well as the adhesive, printing and packaging industries. The division posted sales
of € 3.2 billion in 2010.
Evonik establishes R&D center
for coatings additives in Asia
Evonik opened its first research and development center for additives for paints
and coatings in Asia. The company reported a single-digit million U.S. dollar
amount has been invested to set up the
Tego Innovation Center in two locations,
Singapore and Shanghai, as part of the
global Evonik innovation network.
The Tego Innovation Center will cater
to manufacturers in the paints and coatings
industry in India and Asia. Collaborations
with regional customers and research institutions aim at providing individual solutions to strengthen the competitiveness and
innovative capabilities of Evonik’s Asian
customers. Research is geared to meet regional demands and centers on developing
cutting-edge, environmentally-friendly
coating systems to accommodate the mega-trend of resource efficiency.
Together, three laboratory groups installed in Singapore and Shanghai will
cover all research and development activities relating to additives for paints and
coatings: The synthesis laboratory will develop chemical structures for potential
new products, the laboratory for formulation development will perform screening
and preliminary product design, and the
laboratory for strategic market development will be responsible for developing
and marketing end products.
Dow Chemical and Saudi
Aramco form Sadara Chemical
Co.
The Dow Chemical Company and Saudi
Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco)
announced the official formation of
Sadara Chemical Company (Sadara), a
joint venture between the two companies.
Also announced were Sadara’s Board of
Directors and its senior officers.
The Sadara Board is comprised of
eight members, with Abdullatif A. Al-Othman, senior vice president, engineering and project management, Saudi
Aramco as Board chairman and James
D. McIlvenny, Dow senior vice president,
as the deputy chairman.
“Today’s announcements mark an-
other exciting and significant step forward
for Sadara as it fulfills its commitment to
building and operating a world scale, fully
integrated chemicals complex in Jubail In-
dustrial City,” said Andrew Liveris, Dow’s
chairman and chief executive officer. “I’m
truly delighted to see the progress that
we’ve made, and I’m most impressed with
this line-up of outstanding leadership for
Sadara. I have no doubt they will bring
this premier partnership between Dow
and Saudi Aramco to life and build a ven-
ture that is well positioned to create value
on every front.”
Once complete, the JV complex now
being built in Jubail will be one of the
world’s largest integrated chemical facilities, and the largest ever built in a single
phase. First production units are expected
to come on line in the second half of 2015.
All units are expected to be up and running in 2016.
Sadara is expected to deliver annual
revenues of approximately $10 billion
within a few years of operation. The JV
and related investments are expected to
generate thousands of direct and indirect
employment opportunities. For the JV
alone, by the end of 2011, Dow and
Saudi Aramco are aiming to recruit hundreds of Saudi nationals for the first
batch of technical trainees for competitive and unique manufacturing and engineering training programs.
Utilizing Dow’s cutting-edge product
technologies and Saudi Aramco’s world-class project management and execution capabilities, the manufacturing units will
produce a wide range of performance products such as polyurethanes (isocyanates,
polyether polyols), propylene glycol, elastomers, linear low density polyethylene,
low density polyethylene, glycol ethers and
amines. Sadara will market products within
a regional zone consisting of Middle Eastern countries, including the Kingdom. Dow
will leverage its global marketing know-how to market and sell on behalf of Sadara
to the rest of the world.
Saudi Aramco and Dow announced
their respective Board authorizations to
form Sadara in July 2011 and signed a
joint venture shareholders’ agreement in
October 2011.
Dow Performance Monomers
increases capacity of crude
acrylic acid
The Performance Monomers business of
The Dow Chemical Company has increased crude acrylic acid (CAA) capacity at its Deer Park, Texas facility by
15%. This capacity increase is a result
of various improvement projects implemented in the CAA Oxidation facility.
