Plant Expansions

Chinese chemicals maker Wanhua Chemical Group has, through its Hungarian subsidiary, acquired Swedish manufacturer of MDI, TDI, hydrogen peroxide and bioethanol-derived chemicals Chematur Engineering for around EUR120 million. Wanhua acquired a 75% stake in Chematur from Chinese chemical group Jilin Connell Investment. The remaining 25% equity was from Hong Kong-registered…

Altivia Ketones & Additives, an affiliate of Altivia Petrochemicals, is to acquire Dow’s Acetone Derivatives Business and associated chemical manufacturing assets in West Virginia, as well as the Institute Industrial Park. The 460-acre Institute Industrial Park was originally operated by Union Carbide and became an industrial park in the mid-1980s.…

Belgian family-owned nylon integrated producer Domo Chemicals is to acquire the Performance Polyamides Business of Solvay (Brussels) in Europe. The business needed to be divested to a third party as part of the European Commission’s merger control clearance process, towards completing the divestment of Solvay’s remaining polyamides business to Germany-based…

US provider of colourant technology Chromaflo Technologies Corp., which is owned by private equity firm American Securities, has concluded the purchase of South Africa’s Liquid Colours (Pty) Limited. Chromaflo has acquired the colorant dispersion division of Liquid Colours further enhancing its position in the African region. The purchase price has…

North American Pexco LLC, a specialty plastics extruder, has acquired profile maker HPE Extrusion Solutions (HPE), based in Bally, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1972 as Hunsinger Plastic Extrusions, HPE began as a niche custom manufacturer of extruded plastic profile products. In the ensuing decades, HPE gained vast experience in the extrusion…

Swiss chemicals maker Clariant’s catalysts business has set up a new services and support office in Jubail, Saudi Arabia. Located in the eastern coast of the country, Jubail is the world’s largest industrial city and an important site for the petrochemicals market. Clariant’s new office is thus ideally positioned to…

Styrenics maker Ineos Styrolution held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new 100 kilotonne ASA (acrylonitrile styrene acrylate) plant in Bayport, Texas, recently. The development of the new site is part of a bigger expansion plan for the Americas, which includes increased ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) capacity at the Altamira site…

State owned oil/gas firm Saudi Aramco will buy a 20% stake in the oil-to-chemicals business of India’s Reliance Industries Ltd, in a deal valued at US$15 billion, as the Indian company seeks to cut its massive debt of US$22 billion, and secure an assured supply of crude oil to its…

Malaysia’s Lotte Chemical Titan Holding Bhd (LCT) is to divest 49% of its equity interest in PT Lotte Chemical Indonesia (LCI) to its major shareholder, Lotte Chemical Corporation, Korea (LCC), which is also the parent company, for US$65.4 million cash. Public-listed LCT will still hold a 51% stake in the…

Set up a year ago, new Canadian chemical firm West Coast Olefins is taking the first steps towards the construction of a C$5.6 billion petrochemical facility in Canada. The Calgary-based firm has secured a 300-acre site in the BCR Industrial Area within the city of Prince George, British Columbia, to…