Plant Expansions

French speciality chemicals firm Safic-Alcan has acquired 100% of Langley-Smith & Company in the UK, a specialty chemicals distributor with a focus on adhesives, paint and coatings, polymer modification, road marking and rubber processing, inks and varnishes. The family-run business is also a player in the beverage, animal feed and detergency sectors. Terms were…

Eni Chief Refining & Marketing Officer Giuseppe Ricci (L) and COREPLA President Antonello Ciotti have signed an accord to explore ways to produce hydrogen from waste plastics. March 11 (UPI) — Italian state oil company Eni has signed an accord with the country’s waste collection and recycling organization to research commercial…

Eero Laakso and Quadrivium Advisors of Toronto have recently announced a management buy-in of Elmes Packaging Inc. of Mississauga. Elmes Packaging supplies thermoformed packaging, such as blister, tray, clamshell, display and dunnage packaging to a variety of industries in Canada and the U.S. Elmes Packaging was acquired by a syndicate…

Nouryon (formerly AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals) has selected a location in the US for a world-scale polymerization plant for its Expancel expandable microspheres. Advanced engineering is under way and long delivery item procurement has started. The project is scheduled for completion in late 2020, subject to final board approval. The planned…

Thailand-based integrated chemicals firm Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL) has completed the acquisition of 74% of the share capital of Medco Plast for Packing and Packaging Systems S.A.E. (Medco Plast) from Middle East Glass Manufacturing Co. S.A.E. (MEG) and the Samaha family. Following the acquisition, MEG will retain a 16% shareholding…

Dutch chemicals firm DSM has completed the sale of Fibrant BV and 60% of the shares of Fibrant China to the Highsun Holdings Group Ltd. Through the joint venture Chemicalnvest, DSM and CVC Capital Partners indirectly owned 35% and 65% respectively of the shares of Fibrant BV and in the…

Filling and packaging solutions provider Krones has acquired MHT Holding AG (MHT). Based in Hochheim, Germany, MHT together with its subsidiaries is providing injecting moulding tools and services to the PET industry. The company generates approximately EUR25 million revenues with 125 employees. The acquisition of MHT represents an extension of…

Japanese chemical maker Mitsui Chemicals is setting up a new production facility for long glass fibre-reinforced polypropylene (LGFPP) at the Ohio plant of its US subsidiary, Advanced Composites. With a capacity of 3,500 tonnes/year, it will be completed and started up by 2019. LGFPP is a composite material made by melting and…

German materials supplier Covestro plans to invest US$12 million to expand MDI capacity at its plant in Shanghai. The Leverkusen-based company says that capacity for MDI at the Shanghai facility will rise by 100,000 tonnes/year, from 500,000 tonnes/year to total 600,000 tonnes/year. Its monomer MDI capacity will go up by 50,000 tonnes…

Ineos Oxide’s Antwerp site in Belgium was the first to be acquired by Ineos in 1998 almost 20 years ago. From this one site Ineos says it has grown to become a global leader in petrochemicals, with interests in more than 170 sites employing 20,000 people, generating sales of around…