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Austria, Poland, Russia, Taiwan & the US: Sun Chemical – pearlescents
FOCUS
PLANTS Austria, Poland, Russia, Taiwan & the US: Sun Chemical – pearlescents Sun Chemical (a wholly-owned subsidiary of DIC of Tokyo) acquired BendaLutz in mid-2012 and immediately began integrating the metallic effect pigments activities into its Performance Pigments business. (See also 'Focus on Pigments', Aug 2012, 7). The acquisition included manufacturing plants at: Nussdorf-ob-der-Traisen (25 km north of St Polten, Austria); Kaohsiung (southern Taiwan); Volzhsky (25 km northeast of Volgograd, Russia); Skawina (20 km south of Krakow, Poland); and Independence (Kentucky, about 20 km south of Cincinnati, US). In fact, the Skawina site housed two pigments plants, one of which was operated as a joint venture with the Alpoco subsidiary of AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group (headquartered in Amsterdam). Effective 31 December 2014, Sun Chemical acquired AMG's 51% stake in the Skawina joint venture, bringing this operation entirely under its control. Now Sun Chemical plans to spend more than $10 M to raise its metallic effect pigments capacity by more than 40% worldwide. At this stage, the specific locations for the planned expansion have not been identified. Original Source: Sun Chemical, 25 Jun 2015 (35 Waterview Boulevard, Parsippany, NJ 07054-1285, USA, Website: http://www. sunchemical.com) © Sun Chemical 2015
Belgium: Schulman – PET masterbatch Schulman, one of the world's leading suppliers of plastics masterbatch, has recently commissioned a new production line at its Bornem plant (30 km southwest of Antwerp). The new line will be dedicated to making additive concentrates and white masterbatch for the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) sector. Schulman is already a prominent supplier of PET compounds, marketed under the brandname PolyPet, mainly for beverage and food packaging applications. In a separate move affecting its operations in Belgium, Schulman plans to shut down its shared service centre for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at Londerzeel (30 km south of
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Antwerp). The functions of the shared service centre will be transferred to a new facility at Poznan (mid-west Poland) between now and May 2016. Original Source: Compounding World, May 2015, 12 (Website: http://www.amiplastics. com/mags) © Applied Market Information Ltd 2015
Bosnia Herzegovina & Russia: Henkel – Ceresit cement-based fillers Henkel (headquartered in Dusseldorf, Germany) has started-up its new plant at Bileca in Bosnia-Herzegovina (about 65 km northeast of Dubrovnik) for the production of up to 100,000 tonnes/y of Ceresit cement-based adhesives and fillers. Investment in this project was around €9 M, which is more than double the originally reported estimate of €3.6 M. (See also 'Focus on Pigments', Jun 2013, 3). Henkel also recently commissioned a new plant at Novosibirsk (southern Siberia) for the production of up to 70,000 tonnes/y of Ceresit and Thomsit fillers, mortars and similar construction materials. Investment in this project was €12.2 M. Henkel plans to raise capacity here to 120,000 tonnes/y by 2018. Original Source: Chemie Aktuell, 19 Jun 2015, (115), (Website: http://www.maerkte-weltweit. de) (in German) © MBM Martin Brueckner Medien GmbH 2015
China: Fujian Kuncai – pearlescent pigments Fujian Kuncai Material Technology Co Ltd is currently expanding its capacity for making mica-based pearlescent pigments from 12,000 tonnes/y to 40,000 tonnes/y. Construction work on this project began in 2014 and should be completed next year. The company's sole manufacturing complex is located at Fuqing (about 60 km south of Fuzhou, capital of Fujian province). As well as pearlescent pigments, the company also produces borosilicate pigments and bismuth oxychloride here. On 20 April 2015, Fujian Kuncai and QolorTech (of the Netherlands) announced the creation of a joint venture – Kuncai Europe – which will market Kuncai's entire range of pigments throughout Europe, including Turkey. The company will maintain inventories at QolorTech's site in Vaassen (10 km north of Apeldoorn). QolorTech is a specialist distributor of pigments and additives to the paint,
plastics, inks and cosmetics sectors. QolorTech is also a manufacturer in its own right, producing 40,000 tonnes/y of Masterminds plastic masterbatches plus HiQon mono-pigment concentrates and pigment pastes. Original Source: Farbe & Lack (Online Version), 12 Jun 2015, (Website: http://www. farbeundlack.de) (in German) © Vincentz Network 2015
China: US Zinc/Votorantim – ZnO US Zinc Corp (of Houston, TX) plans to raise the capacity of its zinc oxide plant at Changshu (100 km northwest of Shanghai) from 16,000 tonnes/y to 25,000 tonnes/y by 1Q 2016. Virtually all of the output from this facility will continue to be supplied to customers in China. US Zinc has been part of the Votorantim Metais group (headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil) since early 2008. Besides the Changshu plant, the group operates: a 43,000 tonnes/y plant at Clarksville, TN (80 km northwest of Nashville); a 34,000 tonnes/y plant at Millington, TN (25 km northeast of Memphis); and a plant in Brazil, the capacity of which has not been revealed. Original Source: Rubber and Plastics News, 15 Jun 2015, 44 (23), 3 (Website: http://www. rubbernews.com) © Crain Communications Inc 2015
China: Xuzhou/Jiangsu GPRO – TiO2 Xuzhou Titanium Dioxide Chemical Co Ltd recently began trial production at its new 80,000 tonnes/y sulfate-route TiO2 plant at Xuzhou, Jiangsu province (200 km west-southwest of the port of Lianyungang and 350 km north-northwest of Nanjing). The company was registered in 2012 as a subsidiary of the long-established Nanjing TiO2 Chemical Co Ltd, which itself has a 100,000 tonnes/y sulfateroute TiO2 plant on a 12 hectares site at the Chemical Industrial Park in Nanjing. Since 2005/06, Nanjing TiO2 Chemical has been a wholly-owned subsidiary within the Jiangsu/Jilin GPRO group. In recent months, there have been indications that GPRO may be about to acquire Jiangsu Taibai, which would add another 80,000 tonnes/y TiO2 plant to its portfolio. Original Source: ICIS Chemical Business, 1-7 Jun 2015, 287 (20), 9 (Website: http://www. icis.com) © Reed Business Information Limited 2015
August 2015
PLANTS Austria, Poland, Russia, Taiwan & the US: Sun Chemical – pearlescents Sun Chemical (a wholly-owned subsidiary of DIC of Tokyo) acquired BendaLutz in mid-2012 and immediately began integrating the metallic effect pigments activities into its Performance Pigments business. (See also 'Focus on Pigments', Aug 2012, 7). The acquisition included manufacturing plants at: Nussdorf-ob-der-Traisen (25 km north of St Polten, Austria); Kaohsiung (southern Taiwan); Volzhsky (25 km northeast of Volgograd, Russia); Skawina (20 km south of Krakow, Poland); and Independence (Kentucky, about 20 km south of Cincinnati, US). In fact, the Skawina site housed two pigments plants, one of which was operated as a joint venture with the Alpoco subsidiary of AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group (headquartered in Amsterdam). Effective 31 December 2014, Sun Chemical acquired AMG's 51% stake in the Skawina joint venture, bringing this operation entirely under its control. Now Sun Chemical plans to spend more than $10 M to raise its metallic effect pigments capacity by more than 40% worldwide. At this stage, the specific locations for the planned expansion have not been identified. Original Source: Sun Chemical, 25 Jun 2015 (35 Waterview Boulevard, Parsippany, NJ 07054-1285, USA, Website: http://www. sunchemical.com) © Sun Chemical 2015
Belgium: Schulman – PET masterbatch Schulman, one of the world's leading suppliers of plastics masterbatch, has recently commissioned a new production line at its Bornem plant (30 km southwest of Antwerp). The new line will be dedicated to making additive concentrates and white masterbatch for the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) sector. Schulman is already a prominent supplier of PET compounds, marketed under the brandname PolyPet, mainly for beverage and food packaging applications. In a separate move affecting its operations in Belgium, Schulman plans to shut down its shared service centre for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at Londerzeel (30 km south of
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Antwerp). The functions of the shared service centre will be transferred to a new facility at Poznan (mid-west Poland) between now and May 2016. Original Source: Compounding World, May 2015, 12 (Website: http://www.amiplastics. com/mags) © Applied Market Information Ltd 2015
Bosnia Herzegovina & Russia: Henkel – Ceresit cement-based fillers Henkel (headquartered in Dusseldorf, Germany) has started-up its new plant at Bileca in Bosnia-Herzegovina (about 65 km northeast of Dubrovnik) for the production of up to 100,000 tonnes/y of Ceresit cement-based adhesives and fillers. Investment in this project was around €9 M, which is more than double the originally reported estimate of €3.6 M. (See also 'Focus on Pigments', Jun 2013, 3). Henkel also recently commissioned a new plant at Novosibirsk (southern Siberia) for the production of up to 70,000 tonnes/y of Ceresit and Thomsit fillers, mortars and similar construction materials. Investment in this project was €12.2 M. Henkel plans to raise capacity here to 120,000 tonnes/y by 2018. Original Source: Chemie Aktuell, 19 Jun 2015, (115), (Website: http://www.maerkte-weltweit. de) (in German) © MBM Martin Brueckner Medien GmbH 2015
China: Fujian Kuncai – pearlescent pigments Fujian Kuncai Material Technology Co Ltd is currently expanding its capacity for making mica-based pearlescent pigments from 12,000 tonnes/y to 40,000 tonnes/y. Construction work on this project began in 2014 and should be completed next year. The company's sole manufacturing complex is located at Fuqing (about 60 km south of Fuzhou, capital of Fujian province). As well as pearlescent pigments, the company also produces borosilicate pigments and bismuth oxychloride here. On 20 April 2015, Fujian Kuncai and QolorTech (of the Netherlands) announced the creation of a joint venture – Kuncai Europe – which will market Kuncai's entire range of pigments throughout Europe, including Turkey. The company will maintain inventories at QolorTech's site in Vaassen (10 km north of Apeldoorn). QolorTech is a specialist distributor of pigments and additives to the paint,
plastics, inks and cosmetics sectors. QolorTech is also a manufacturer in its own right, producing 40,000 tonnes/y of Masterminds plastic masterbatches plus HiQon mono-pigment concentrates and pigment pastes. Original Source: Farbe & Lack (Online Version), 12 Jun 2015, (Website: http://www. farbeundlack.de) (in German) © Vincentz Network 2015
China: US Zinc/Votorantim – ZnO US Zinc Corp (of Houston, TX) plans to raise the capacity of its zinc oxide plant at Changshu (100 km northwest of Shanghai) from 16,000 tonnes/y to 25,000 tonnes/y by 1Q 2016. Virtually all of the output from this facility will continue to be supplied to customers in China. US Zinc has been part of the Votorantim Metais group (headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil) since early 2008. Besides the Changshu plant, the group operates: a 43,000 tonnes/y plant at Clarksville, TN (80 km northwest of Nashville); a 34,000 tonnes/y plant at Millington, TN (25 km northeast of Memphis); and a plant in Brazil, the capacity of which has not been revealed. Original Source: Rubber and Plastics News, 15 Jun 2015, 44 (23), 3 (Website: http://www. rubbernews.com) © Crain Communications Inc 2015
China: Xuzhou/Jiangsu GPRO – TiO2 Xuzhou Titanium Dioxide Chemical Co Ltd recently began trial production at its new 80,000 tonnes/y sulfate-route TiO2 plant at Xuzhou, Jiangsu province (200 km west-southwest of the port of Lianyungang and 350 km north-northwest of Nanjing). The company was registered in 2012 as a subsidiary of the long-established Nanjing TiO2 Chemical Co Ltd, which itself has a 100,000 tonnes/y sulfateroute TiO2 plant on a 12 hectares site at the Chemical Industrial Park in Nanjing. Since 2005/06, Nanjing TiO2 Chemical has been a wholly-owned subsidiary within the Jiangsu/Jilin GPRO group. In recent months, there have been indications that GPRO may be about to acquire Jiangsu Taibai, which would add another 80,000 tonnes/y TiO2 plant to its portfolio. Original Source: ICIS Chemical Business, 1-7 Jun 2015, 287 (20), 9 (Website: http://www. icis.com) © Reed Business Information Limited 2015
August 2015