News From Around The Industry

• Vinyls Italia Issues New Invitation for Acquisition Bids
  The government-appointed commissars at Vinyls Italia (Porto Marghera, Italy), the troubled producer of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), currently in special...
• H.C. Starck Sells Its Conductive Polymers Business
   Precious metals firm Heraeus (Hanau, Germany) has agreed to buy the global conductive polymers business of H.C. Starck (Goslar, Germany). Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed...
• Fluorochemicals: Halocarbon Legacy Thrives in Modern World
  Robert Ehrenfeld, a pioneering U.S. chemist, played an integral role in the development of fluorine-based materials for the Manhattan Project- the first atomic weapons program - in the 1940s. He...
• Uhde Inventa-Fischer Awarded Nylon 6 Plant Contract in China
  Uhde Inventa-Fischer has signed a contract with Hangzhou Hangding Nylon Tech. Co., a subsidiary of Sanding Holding Group, to build a nylon 6 polymerization plant. The...
• AkzoNobel to Become Main Paint Supplier to Walmart
  AkzoNobel, the world's largest paints and coatings company, has been selected by Walmart to be the primary paint supplier to Walmart's U.S. stores. The company will develop and manufacture a...
• Sherwin-Williams Completes Purchase of Swedish Industrial Wood Coatings Producer
   Sherwin-Williams (SW) has completed its previously announced acquisition of Becker Acroma (Stockholm) from Wilh. Becker (Stockholm) for SK1.7 billion ($227 million). Becker Acroma...
• La Seda More than Doubles Ebitda as PET Capacity Utilization Nears 100%
  La Seda de Barcelona (El Prat de Llobregat, Spain) reported a 123% increase in consolidated Ebitda to €30.3 million ($38.8 million) in the first six months of this year. Consolidated...
• BP Sells Malaysian Petrochemical Business to Petronas
  BP says it has agreed to sell its interests in ethylene and polyethylene (PE) assets in Malaysia to its partner Petronas. Under the terms of the deal, BP will sell its 15% stake in Ethylene...
• Gaining Local Perspectives on a Global Business
  A recent survey featuring 1,300 companies conducted jointly by Accenture and the American Chemistry Council (ACC) has reveals that chemical firms will have to be more deliberate if they are to meet the varied expectations of customers across regions. The survey also found that building operational excellence that enables customers to deliver the basics of product performance, quality and supply reliability is key to customer’s success....
• Rhodia Signs Green Chemistry Deal with Chinese, French Institutes
  Rhodia says it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS; Paris), the Ecole Normale Superieure (ENSL; Lyon, France) and the...