Polymers PET Petrochemicals Textile 12-01-2019 - Arhive
Clariant has been seeking support from the Deutsche Bank to find a suitable buyer for its pigments business, reported Reuters citing unnamed sources.
The business is estimated to value nearly $821m.
Clariant is expected to send information packages on the sale by the end of this quarter, the news agency added. Clariant pigments business plastics coatings
In the last few years, the pigments industry was subjected to intense competition with Asian firms representing a large percentage of the market share.
Mexico’s Alpek to purchase PET recycling plant in Indiana
Mexican petrochemical company Alpek, a unit of conglomerate Alfa, said on Wednesday it had agreed to purchase a PET recycling plant in Richmond, Indiana from Perpetual Recycling Solutions, LLC.
The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2019, Alpek said in a statement, without providing further details. The plant has a capacity of 45,000 tonnes per year.
UK’s Third Largest Manufacturing Sector Concerned About Brexit
With the UK government set to vote on the current Brexit deal, new data shows the vast majority of companies in the UK’s third largest employer within the manufacturing sector believe that ‘no deal’ will have a negative impact on their business and that Brexit will not ultimately benefit their business.
The British Plastics Federation is the UK’s leading trade association representing plastics companies and plastics recyclers. In December 2018, it conducted a survey of its members and received responses from over 100 senior figures from within the plastics and plastics recycling industries. It found that two-thirds of plastics companies do not expect Brexit to benefit their business. 7% of respondents feel it will.
DAK Americas LLC(DAK), an Alpek Polyester business, announces that it has signed an Asset Purchase Agreement with Perpetual Recycling Solutions, LLC (Perpetual) to acquire the Perpetual PET recycling facility in Richmond, IN. DAK Americas Polyethylene Terephthalate Recycling
The Perpetual PET recycling operations have an approximate annual capacity of 100 million lbs/yr (~45,000 tons/yr) of high quality Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate (rPET) flake.
Lenzing and Hyosung to Launch Sustainable Collection at ISPO Munich
Austrian textile firm Lenzing and South Korea’s Hyosung fabrics are partnering on a new collection that brings greater comfort through more options in activewear and intimate apparel manufactured through a process that reduces the impact on the environment. The new collection combines Lenzing’s Tencel Modal and Hyosung’s Creora elastane.
Fabrics from the collection will be promoted for the Spring/Summer 2020 market and unveiled at ISPO (the International Trade Fair for Sports Equipment and Fashion) Munich 2019, the German edition of the global trade-show brand that caters to the sportswear business. The show will be held at Messe München Feb. 3–6.
Expanded Turkish offer at Texworld Paris
Sharply increasing its offer this year at Texworld Paris, an international trade show for fashion, which takes place from 11-14 February, Turkey will present about a hundred exhibitors, with a selection of finely made knits, cotton, embroidery and lace.
Thanks to wider booths, the Turkish offer will spread over more than 2,300 square metres, organisers report.
“Turkey has numerous advantages: an experienced creative scene, a major industrial base and most of all an in-depth knowledge of the customs and attitudes of its European neighbours.
Turkey is, therefore, an absolute must for many companies, and the country maintains a key position when it comes to textile imports in Europe (second in European textile imports in 2017).
Also, the total exports of textiles and raw materials in Turkey increased by 8% in the first half of 2018,” they say.
OUTLOOK ’19: Turkey’s PE, PP downbeat players face slow year of rebuilding
Turkey’s polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) players are bracing for a difficult year ahead after the market shrank in size in 2018, with most converters having reduced their outputs by 50-60%.
Climbing interest rates and the collapse in the lira’s exchange rate against other major currencies also meant that some of those who relied on bank credit found themselves bankrupt, having to shut their companies.
There are no obvious jolts anticipated that could prompt a sudden recovery in the Turkish economy, and many players are instead predicting a gradual recovery based on the slowly rising value of the lira.
Low feedstock prices, higher supplier inventories and slowed demand in most cases are key drivers.
PE, PP, PS, PVC, and PET prices are generally projected to be flat in January.
With ‘starring roles’ for PP and PS, prices of commodity resins were lower starting in 2019, with the exception of PVC, which stayed flat. For this month, and possibly February, resin prices of PE, PP, PS, PVC, and PET are generally projected to be flat. Driving the trend were continued lower feedstock prices globally, starting with crude oil, and globally higher supplier inventories, with lackluster seasonal demand.
Here is a look at how things were being viewed as we approached mid-January from purchasing consultants at Resin Technology, Inc. (RTi), Fort Worth, Texas; senior editors from Houston-based PetroChemWire (PCW); and CEO Michael Greenberg of the Plastics Exchange in Chicago.
Overused plastic bottles ‘carcinogenic’
Bhubaneswar: Despite Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) best efforts to curb of plastic use in the city, small street restaurants, roadside eateries and tea stalls run by the civic body are blatantly violating rules to provide drinking water to customers in overused and soiled plastic bottles which are turning into a potential health and environmental hazard.
Health experts in the city have also pointed out that uninformed people are drinking water from these bottles which are intended for single use only. They warn that random use of such overused and unhygienic plastic bottle may result in severe health challenges.
North American commodity resin prices take a December dive
Materials Resin Pricing Canada Mexico United States
Prices for most North American commodity resins spent the end of 2018 racing to the bottom.
In December, average selling prices for polypropylene fell 8 cents per pound, according to market sources contacted by Plastics News. Regional prices for all grades of polyethylene slipped 3 cents per pound, while solid polystyrene prices slid 7 cents and PET bottle resin prices declined by 4 cents.
These declines mostly were tied into lower seasonal demand and higher supplies of both resins and feedstocks, sources said.
The PP drop follows a 10-cent tumble in November for a major two month drop of 18 cents per pound. These slides were tied to changes in price for polymer-grade propylene feedstock. Those prices have dropped as propylene supplies have increased.
Neopac presents new recycled plastic tube at PCD Paris
Neopac will showcase a new recycled plastic tube at Perfume, Cosmetics & Design Paris, January 30-31. The new tube is the latest addition to Neopac’s EcoDesign line of products, which the company created to satisfy customer desire for more sustainable packaging materials. EcoDesign products comply with EU legislation requiring minimized environmental impact for packaging solutions.
Neopac’s recycled tubes, which are used for a variety of applications, are made from a body and shoulder mixture containing up to 75% recycled, food-grade compliant polyethylene plastics. The recycled material contains 50% PCR (post-consumer recycled) – for example, milk bottles from closed loop recycling in Western European countries, and 25% from PIR (post-industrial recycled) material from tube laminate production waste.
Sinochem completes acquisition of Elix Polymers
China’s Sinochem International (Overseas) Pte. Ltd. has completed the 195 million euro ($223.8 million) acquisition of Spanish ABS specialist, Elix Polymers SL, from private equity firm Sun European Partners LLP.
The supplier of ABS polymers and products started off as part of Germany’s Bayer AG, moved to Lanxess and Ineos and since 2012 has been owned Sun European Partners.
