PRA News

A new Sino/Italian venture, Europoligrafico (Fibrapak), based in Perugia, Italy, says it was able to improve efficiencies and line performance with a new control system from ER-WE-PA GmbH, a subsidiary of US-headquartered machine maker Davis-Standard. Fibrapak, which produces biodegradable and compostable packaging, is a venture set up between Europoligrafico and…

US welding equipment supplier Dukane has acquired all the assets and intellectual property of Aurizon LLC, in Kimberly, Wisconsin, a developer of high-power rotary ultrasonic systems for converting nonwoven materials, bonding textiles & films and sealing packages. With 30+ years of R&D in product design and application experience, Aurizon holds a significant patent…

Materials firm Covestro says it is further developing its offerings and capabilities in continuous fibre-reinforced thermoplastic (CFRTP) composites, with a new tape line commissioned in Germany. Its Maezio brand of CFRTP composites are based on continuous carbon fibres impregnated with thermoplastics like polycarbonates. The new tape line is now commissioned…

Meanwhile in other news, India’s Nayara Energy will utilise W. R. Grace & Co’s Unipol PP process technology for its facility located at the Vadinar Refinery in Gujarat. The new, world-scale capacity PP facility will utilise 450 KTA of propylene feedstock. Nayara Energy intends to produce phthalate-free homopolymer products for the Indian…

Swiss speciality chemical firm Clariant’s Healthcare Packaging business unit is now producing desiccant packets at its plant in Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu, India. The addition expands the range of desiccant products immediately available to customers in the region and increases global capacity. The plant now manufactures both Continu-Strip continuous-roll desiccant packets…

UK’s independent providers of materials and product qualification testing, Element Materials Technology, has integrated into its company Admaterials Technologies, a Singapore-based business that provides testing to the construction sector, as well as chemical, environmental and mechanical testing and certification services. This represents the final stage of an extensive integration program…

Speciality chemicals firm Evonik Industries is extending its corporate venture capital activities in the US with an investment in New Jersey-based early-stage investor Tech Council Ventures II. The German firm says it is investing a single-digit million US-dollar amount. Tech Council Ventures finances young, innovative start-up companies and actively supports…

US firm ExxonMobil has started production on a new high-performance polyethylene (PE) line at its Beaumont, Texas, PE plant. The expansion increases plant production capacity by 65% or 650,000 tonnes/year, bringing site capacity to nearly 1.7 million tonnes/year. This expansion builds upon supply advantages created by ExxonMobil’s two new performance…

The European recycling industry is going to miss a 2025 target for recycling PET bottles unless there is a reversal of the slowing growth rate in recycling, according to a new study by market research firm ICIS. The study also found evidence that bottle-deposit schemes are working better as an…

Röhm GmbH having successfully completed the carve-out from Evonik Industries has been transferred to its new owner, Advent International, as an independent company. With revenues of EUR1.9 billion (2018 figures), the company is one of the global market leaders in methacrylate chemicals. With the implementation of production technology for methyl…