This upgrade also allowed
for the integration of these production lines into the plant’s
Distributed Control System
The investment in plant upgrades increases Lubrizol’s value by strengthening
our ability to be a global solution provider with the technologies and capacities that can help drive our customers’
growth and overall success.
Wacker Expands Technical
Center in Moscow
Munich-based chemicals group Wacker
has expanded its technical center in
Moscow, Russia. Auguste Willems of
Wacker’s Executive Board and Dr.
Christian Hartel, head of Wacker
Silicones, dedicated the new service lab in
the presence of several customers.
The facility will serve as a test lab
for silicone elastomers and ready-to-use silicone compounds and will cater
to the energy, electrical and automotive
industries. This investment aims at further enhancing services to key customers in Russia and Eastern Europe and
spurring Wacker’s silicone business in
the region.
The lab is located south of downtown
Moscow, next to the technical center,
which has supported customers of polymeric binders for construction and dry-mortar applications since 2003. The new
lab, which opened today, is entirely geared
to silicones customers. It will formulate
and test high- and room-temperature-curing silicone rubber and ready-to-use
silicone compounds.
“The silicones lab makes it pos-
sible for us to adapt our products to
customer needs and local industry re-
quirements,” said Dr. Christian Hartel
during the official opening ceremony.
“Providing quicker and more flexible
support to key industries such as the
cable, energy, and automotive indus-
tries will strengthen our position as one
of the leading silicones manufacturers
in the region and provide a basis for
future growth.”
U.S. Zinc Commences Zinc
Oxide Capacity Expansion
Project in China
U.S. Zinc has begun implementation of
its project to expand production at its
Changshu, China zinc oxide plant. The
expansion is slated for completion by the
first quarter of 2016.
The full project, which includes facility additions, new employees and
new equipment, will increase zinc oxide production by 9,000 metric tons
per year. The expansion will enable
U.S. Zinc to cater to the specialty zinc
oxide markets.
The plant will continue to serve the
domestic demand in China for zinc
oxide. The U.S. Zinc plant, located
in Changshu approximately 60 miles
northwest of Shanghai, has been the recipient of numerous environmental and
safety awards.
Evonik Industries Expands
Capacities for VISIOMER
MAAH
Evonik Industries, a supplier of methac-
rylate chemistry products, has doubled
its production capacities for VISIOMER
MAAH (methacrylic anhydride) at its site
in Worms, Germany, in 2015.
VISIOMER MAAH is an important
building block in the production of spe-
cialty methacrylates, which are used in
concrete additives, paints and colorants,
electronics applications, and plastics.
In addition to MAAH, Evonik
Industries produces and markets a wide
range of specialty methacrylates as well
as MMA, GMAA, n-BMA, i-BMA,
and hydroxy methacrylates under the
VISIOMER brand.
Dow Starts Up a New
Polyether Polyols Plant in
Thailand for Coatings
Dow Polyurethanes, a business of The
Dow Chemical Company announced
the successful start-up of a new state-of-the-art polyether polyols plant in Asia
Industrial Estate, Rayong, Thailand.
Dow invited customers to the site for a
celebration and facility tour to showcase
the unique technologies and capabilities
the plant provides to the industry.
Dow said that it works closely with
customers in the industrial, energy effi-
ciency and consumer comfort industries
to maximize opportunities that arise from
shifting markets, sustainability trends,
new regulations and energy dynamics.
Utilizing DMC catalyst technology,
Dow stated that the facility will deliver
local, high quality, reliable supply of poly-
ether polyols into a variety of consumer
comfort and industrial applications.
“This new polyols production facility
truly demonstrates Dow’s commitment to
our customers in Asia and to our manufacturing standards in Thailand. We are
setting new performance standards by
utilizing cutting-edge technologies in this
new plant, which can reduce the overall
footprint of our facility, including energy consumption and waste water generation by 50-70 percent, and eliminating
100 percent of solid waste,” said Jirasak
Singmaneechai, managing director of
Dow Thailand.
The facility’s annual capacity of up
to 200 kilotons will increase Dow’s participation in one of the largest and fastest-growing regions in the world. This
solidifies Dow’s position as one of the key
players in foam technology for furniture,
mattresses and bedding, and in specialty
markets like high-performing coatings,
adhesives, sealants and elastomers serving infrastructure, transportation and
construction markets.
Announced in 2006, the project
began with cracker and polyethylene
chain developments and has expanded
to include the company’s most recent
advancements. The production site will
largely serve customers in Southeast
Asia, China and India.
The plant is one in a recent series
of global polyol investments by Dow
to deliver growth in targeted markets,
with the first coming on line in Freeport,
Texas late last year, the next slated for
start-up in 2016 as part of the company’s Sadara joint venture with Saudi
Aramco in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia,
and another at the company’s Terneuzen
site in The Netherlands. CW
