BASF is investing approximately € 7 million to expand and optimize the resin
production at its Münster site. The capacity expansion supports the company’s
plans for growth.
“With this investment, we are primarily strengthening the competitiveness of the Münster site,” explained
Walter Jouck, head of Operations
Coatings Europe at BASF. “Our resin
competence is an important competitive edge and by expanding the resin
capacity, we are adapting to the future
market development. We will be able
to serve our customers more flexibly,
especially those from the automotive
industry.” The investment in resin production will result in an expansion of
the production capacity and, thanks to
a better heating technique, it will also
contribute to a significant improvement
of the environmental performance. The
energy efficiency for heat generation
and the exhaust gas combustion will be
increased. The investments are scheduled to be completed in 2016. At present, BASF is also building a new resin
plant in Shanghai to meet the growing
demand for automotive OEM coatings
in Asia Pacific. The resins produced by
BASF are integral components of industrial and automotive OEM coatings
and automotive refinish products. As
binders, they contribute to good adhesion, gloss and scratch resistance of the
coating. Resins also provide corrosion
protection and weather resistance for
BASF’s products.
Bayer Takes Over DuPont’s
Aniline Production Plant
Bayer MaterialScience LLC has acquired
DuPont’s Baytown, Texas, aniline production facility. With the acquisition,
Bayer assumes responsibility for the facility’s direct operating personnel. Financial
terms were not disclosed. Aniline is a
primary feedstock used to manufacture
methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI),
a versatile chemical used to produce rigid
polyurethane foams for insulation in the
construction industry, as well as coatings,
adhesives, sealants, elastomers and binders. The aniline facility is located within
Bayer’s Baytown plant - the company’s
largest manufacturing facility in the U.S.
and a critical asset in its global manufacturing portfolio. Adding aniline production fully integrates the Baytown plant
along the MDI value chain for enhanced
production flexibility. “North America
is poised for strong MDI growth driven
by recovery in the construction market,
energy code advancement and home
comfort trends,” said Craig Caputo,
vice president - polyurethanes regional
product manager, Bayer MaterialScience
LLC. “This strategic acquisition positions Bayer to meet this growing demand
while further strengthening our leadership in the polyurethane industry.” The
acquisition also reinforces Bayer’s commitment to the Baytown facility. Over
the last two years, Bayer has invested
roughly $120 million in process, reliability, quality and environmental improvements at the plant, which in addition
to MDI produces toluene diisocyanate
(TDI) and polycarbonate.
Evonik Acquires Silbond, a
Supplier of Silicic Acid Esters
Evonik Industries AG has acquired
Silbond Corp., one of the leading suppliers
of silicic acid esters. The transaction, with
a purchase price in the mid-double-digit
million Euro range, closed on February
28, 2014. As a special group of functional
silanes, silicic acid esters are used in a wide
variety of applications with a promising
future-for example in the electronics in-
dustry or in chemical applications such as
coatings. The most important silicic acid
ester is Tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) which
is manufactured by Silbond. Evonik al-
ready produces functional silanes at its
sites in Rheinfelden (Germany), Antwerp
(Belgium), Rizhao (China) and Mobile
(USA). With the Weston site, the Group
is now extending its production network
with efficient technology for silicic acid
esters, primarily for the attractive North
American region. With its TEOS specialty
business, Silbond supplies end markets
with above-average growth. These mar-
kets include the electronics industry as
well as markets for chemical applica-
tions with an annual growth of five to six
percent. In addition, TEOS is used as a
binder for foundry molds and in anti-cor-
rosion paints. There is further growth po-
tential when connecting it to the current
growth fields of the Resource Efficiency
Segment, such as insulation. The com-
pany has about 60 employees. The over-
all market for functional silanes, which
includes silicic acid esters, is growing
faster worldwide than the global gross
domestic product. The growth is driven
by the increasing demand for new appli-
cations such as high-performance insula-
tion materials. Another growth driver is
the increasing demand from emerging
countries. The silanes portfolio of Evonik
comprises chlorosilanes as well as orga-
nofunctional silanes and will be perfectly
supplemented by the Silbond business.
The specialty chemicals company has
an annual overall capacity for silanes
of about 300,000 metric tons per year,
which are sold to the automobile, con-
struction, plastics and electronics indus-
tries. The silanes are used in adhesives,
sealants, paints and coatings, architec-
tural protection, optical fibers and semi-
conductors, as well as in tires and rubber.
INEOS To Take Over
Production Facilities of
Sasol
INEOS Enterprises recently announced
that it has agreed to purchase Sasol
Solvents Germany GmbH, one of
Europe’s leading solvent manufacturers.
The acquisition, which is conditional
on approval by the relevant competition authorities, comprises production
BASF Invests Approximately € 7 Million at its
Resin Site in Germany
