Clariant Doubles
Capacity for Pigments
and Pigment
Preparations in
Roha, India
Clariant announced the inauguration of
an important new extension to its production facility in Roha, southeast of
Mumbai, India.
The expansion doubles its capacity
at the facility for pigments and pigment
preparations. This higher output will enable the company to increase its market
coverage in India and the neighboring
countries of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka,
and to provide products better tailored to
customer needs, according to Clariant.
The increase in capacity has been
made possible with the introduction of
the very latest equipment for high-end
pigment preparation. The improved
plant, in which Clariant has invested CHF 3.2 million (INR 20 crores),
forms part of a strategic program that
the company has been carrying out in
recent years to support customers in
emerging markets with high quality
pigments and pigment preparations
that comply with local and international eco-labeling schemes.
Pigments and pigment preparations
produced at the Roha plant are for a wide
range of applications, including interior
and exterior coatings, packaging, personal, home and fabric care products seed
coatings, and dispersions for printing.
“Clariant is investing across Asia to
develop production, technical support
and commercial service capabilities that
will enable our customers in this rap-
idly growing region to be successful in
growing their business,” said Hariolf
Kottmann, CEO of Clariant. “The en-
hanced capability in Roha complements
improvements we have made and contin-
ue to make in our various operations in
China, Indonesia, and elsewhere.”
“The capacity expansion in pigments
and pigment preparations will support
our dynamic growth in the domestic
Indian market for high quality, environ-
mentally safer colorants and point of sales
tinters used by our customers in coatings,
printing and other special applications
where we continue to experience double
digit growth,” said Marco Cenisio, se-
nior vice president and general manager
Business Unit Pigments, Clariant.
BASF Starts Up Butadiene
Extraction Plant in Antwerp
BASF announced the start-up of a new
butadiene extraction plant at its Verbund
site in Antwerp, Belgium. The plant
has an annual production capacity of
155,000 metric tons.
The plant in Antwerp is BASF’s
second butadiene extraction plant in
Europe. BASF already operates a butadiene extraction plant at its Verbund site in
Ludwigshafen, Germany, with an annual
production capacity of 105,000 metric
tons. With the plant in Antwerp, BASF is
more than doubling its production capacity for butadiene in Europe.
The butadiene will be extracted from
crude C4, a product from the steam
cracker. “With the new plant we are further developing the integration of the C4
value chain in Antwerp,” said Wouter
de Geest, CEO of BASF Antwerpen NV.
“This important investment strengthens
the Verbund at the Antwerp site.”
Butadiene is a raw material that can be
used to produce synthetic rubber, among
other applications. The tire industry is
one of the main consumers of butadiene.
Other applications for butadiene include
plastics production and paper chemicals.
Huntsman Installs Aromatic
Polyol Reactor at Facility
Huntsman Corporation’s Polyurethanes
division has completed the installation of
a new reactor at its TEROL Performance
Polyols manufacturing facility in
Houston, Texas.
Construction on the new reactor began in late January 2014, and it is now
fully operational. The new aromatic polyol reactor has significantly increased the
site’s annual production capacity.
According to Huntsman, it offers
one of the broadest ranges of aromatic
polyester polyols for rigid foam applications, with hydroxyl values ranging
from 120 to 350. Additionally, its customized polyol solutions can meet the
most demanding industry applications,
the company stated.
Huntsman TEROL polyols are used
in a wide range of applications, including spray polyurethane foam, boardstock,
insulated metal panels, structural insulated panels, appliances and commercial
refrigeration.
Earlier this year, Huntsman installed
a new 22 MMBTU furnace at the site to
accommodate the addition of up to three
polyol reactors. This is the first new reactor installed under the increased capacity
of the new furnace.
Huber Completes Capacity
Expansion at Precipitated
Alumina Trihydrate Facility
Huber Engineered Materials has in-
creased capacity at its precipitated
alumina trihydrate (ATH) plant in
Bauxite, Arkansas by 30 percent. The
continuous investments at Bauxite will
effectively position Huber to continue
supporting its customers’ growth strat-
egies with the manufacture of a broad
range of precipitated ATH products.
“Phase two of the expansion at Bauxite
is already in motion and targeted for
completion in 2015,” says Don Mills,
global sales director for Huber’s Fire
Retardant Additives business. “We are
well-positioned to serve our customers
in a number of markets.”
“The growth plans we are implement-
ing build upon the initial strategy we set
when we entered the precipitated ATH
market with the purchase of Bauxite,”
said Jerry Bertram, vice president and gen-
eral manager for Huber’s Fire Retardant
Additives Business. “These continuing
investments to expand and improve our
manufacturing capabilities underline
Huber’s ongoing, long-term commitment
to the fire retardant additives business
and the customers we serve.”
Huber is a global supplier of non-
halogen fire retardant additives includ-
ing ATH, magnesium hydroxide (MDH)
and engineered molybdate compounds
for a variety of consumer, electrical and
industrial applications, including rein-
forced plastics, engineering thermoplas-
tics, rubber, carpet backing, cast polymer,
coatings, roofing, adhesives, high-voltage
insulators and wire and cable insulating
and jacketing. CW
