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Cabot establishes new plastics applications development laboratory in Shanghai
STRATEGIES
in Poland, and create new job opportunities in the ŁódǍ region, the company says. Construction and commissioning of the new plant, which is located in the ŁódĨ Special Economic Zone, is expected to take around a year, with production slated to commence in the first months of 2014. The company says that the investment will strengthen its position on Polish and European markets. ‘You cannot underestimate the meaning of this investment for the entire company. The market for masterbatches, though demanding, develops dynamically and a modern facility, such as this in Konstantynów ŁódĨki, will allow us to develop effectively new solutions tailored to the specific needs of customers’, comments Hans Bohnen, head of Clariant Business Unit Masterbatches. The company, in the form of subsidiary Clariant Polska, has had a 22-year presence in Poland. Over that time, it has gained a reputation in the country for excellent performance as a result of its focus on quality and a reliable customer service model that has been implemented in other countries of Central and Eastern Europe, it says. This commitment was recognized by Clariant’s senior management and was one of the key factors in the decision to locate the new production facility in the ŁódĨ region. Clariant regards this decision as an important step in the development of its strategy in Europe. It also acknowledges the region’s role in the company’s long-term investment policy, it says. ‘Central Europe is a very promising market and Poland, as a large and dynamically growing country in the region, is the natural place for further investments. We are deeply convinced that our engagement in building a new facility in Konstantynów will prove to be beneficial for both Clariant and the ŁódĨ region’, concludes Clariant International’s CFO Patrick Jany. In other investment news, Clariant recently announced the installation of new micronization equipment at its site in Gersthofen, Germany to expand output for its Ceridust wax products by a further 15%. The addition of the new equipment makes the plant one of the largest wax micronization units worldwide, the company reports. The investment is in response to fast-growing demand from the plastics, coatings and ink industries, Clariant says. Contact: Clariant International Ltd, Muttenz, Switzerland. Tel: +41 61 469 6742, Web: www.clariant.com
6
Additives for Polymers
Cabot establishes new plastics applications development laboratory in Shanghai
I
n the Asia Pacific, Cabot Corp has completed the establishment of a new plastics applications development laboratory in Shanghai. The ‘significant investment’ includes advanced processing and testing equipment and experienced technicians, which will allow the company to serve and collaborate better with its customers in the China and Asia Pacific plastics industry, it says. According to Cabot, the Shanghai lab builds on its global capabilities, networking with existing applications labs in Europe and the USA, to ensure the latest technologies and products for speciality carbon black and speciality black masterbatch and compounds are implemented in the region. The new Shanghai laboratory contains the latest technologies and testing equipment to provide global, best-in-class technical service, the company says. The lab is capable of application testing and development that closely represents Cabot’s customer applications. With this lab, Cabot can better meet the ‘unique requirements’ of its China- and Asia-based customers across a range of critical applications, including agricultural film and irrigation pipe, gas and water pressure pipe, wire and cable jacketing, extrusion, moulding and compounding, as well as conductive products for electrostatic discharge protection, it says. ‘Cabot’s deep understanding of carbon black properties and speciality masterbatch and compound formulations allows the company to deliver innovations across the plastics value chain’, explains Fei Deng, Cabot vice president, Performance Materials, Asia Pacific. ‘With the expanded laboratory, we will be able to respond more quickly to our Asia Pacific and global customers, expediting product support and facilitating new product development. This investment enhances our ability to provide differentiated products and services that enable the regional plastics industry to offer value-added solutions to their customers’, Deng says. According to Applied Marketing Information Ltd, polymer demand in Asia is poised to grow from 98 million tonnes in 2011 to 126 million tonnes in 2016. This is more than double the growth rate projected for
May 2013
STRATEGIES
Europe and North America. According to Cabot, its new applications lab is an ‘important milestone’ allowing it to support the continuing expansion of the Asian plastics industry and ensuring that its customers have the latest and best products and services to enhance their product performance for colour, conductivity and UV protection. Cabot claims to be one of the largest producers of speciality black masterbatches and compounds in the world. In Europe, Cabot has increased production capacity for fumed silica by 25% at its facility in Barry, UK. The company says that the expansion project extends its long-term relationship with Dow Corning at the site as well as supporting its own growth in the expanding global silicones market. In other developments, Cabot has recently unveiled a new corporate brand identity that ‘emphasizes its strengths as a global leader in speciality chemicals and performance materials’, it says. To support the new brand, Cabot has also launched a new corporate logo. In addition, the company is introducing ‘Cabot Labs’, its new product incubator that highlights how its technical expertise and market knowledge is applied to create new products and processes. Contact: Cabot Corp, Boston, MA, USA. Tel: +1 617 345 0100, Web: www.cabot-corp.com
Songwon Additive Technologies Americas to start up OPS plant in Houston
T
he American arm of Songwon Industrial’s recently formed joint venture Songwon Additive Technologies AG [ADPO, December 2012] is commencing production of one pack system (OPS) products at a new facility in Houston, TX, USA. Start-up was scheduled for April this year. The Houston facility has an initial capacity of 7000 tonnes per year. The Houston plant is part of Songwon’s global OPS strategy being driven by Songwon Additive Technologies, the joint venture between Songwon Industrial Group, Pan Gulf Holding Co of Saudi Arabia and Polysys Industries of Abu Dhabi, for the
May 2013
manufacture and sale of Songnox® OPS. Songwon Additive Technologies and Polysys Industries are also jointly building an OPS manufacturing plant in Kizad, Abu Dhabi – also with a capacity of 7000 tonnes/ year – which is expected to come on stream in the first quarter of 2014 [ibid., January 2013]. The company already operates a 14 000 tonnes/year OPS plant in Greiz, Germany. OPS products combine a range of additives into one dust-free pellet form and offer a number of significant advantages to moulders and compounders of thermoplastic materials, according to Songwon. According to Doug Excell, VP OPS Operations, the North American polymer industry is rebounding strongly with the advent of shale gas-oil and lower energy costs. A few years ago the discussion was about rationalization in the North American polyolefin industry and now it is about expansion. ‘This OPS facility is coming on stream at just the right time to serve the needs of our customers as the industry expands. The new physical form capability, combined with the security of supply through our back integration on the polymer stabilizer components, allows Songwon to present an integrated value proposition to the polymer producers’, he explains. Songwon is committed to continuously extending its offering to the global polymer industry, states Jongho Park, chairman and CEO of the Songwon Industrial Group. ‘Songwon Additive Technologies AG is the vehicle we have created to accelerate the network of global facilities that offer a wide range of OPS products that are based on identical regional production processes’, he further comments. In other news, Songwon has recently created the ‘critical new position’ of global director of marketing and business analysis. The role is intended to ‘contribute to the company’s determination to continue to deliver products and services that are salient to its customers, when and where they need them’ through the generation of business data, identification of market opportunities and definition of the company’s ‘roadmap’ to meet its growth objectives. Doris Peters has been appointed to the role, joining Songwon from Wacker Chemie AG. She is based in Frauenfeld, Switzerland. Contact: Songwon Industrial Co, Ltd, Ulsan, Korea. Tel: +82 522 739 841, Web: www.songwonind.com
Additives for Polymers
7
in Poland, and create new job opportunities in the ŁódǍ region, the company says. Construction and commissioning of the new plant, which is located in the ŁódĨ Special Economic Zone, is expected to take around a year, with production slated to commence in the first months of 2014. The company says that the investment will strengthen its position on Polish and European markets. ‘You cannot underestimate the meaning of this investment for the entire company. The market for masterbatches, though demanding, develops dynamically and a modern facility, such as this in Konstantynów ŁódĨki, will allow us to develop effectively new solutions tailored to the specific needs of customers’, comments Hans Bohnen, head of Clariant Business Unit Masterbatches. The company, in the form of subsidiary Clariant Polska, has had a 22-year presence in Poland. Over that time, it has gained a reputation in the country for excellent performance as a result of its focus on quality and a reliable customer service model that has been implemented in other countries of Central and Eastern Europe, it says. This commitment was recognized by Clariant’s senior management and was one of the key factors in the decision to locate the new production facility in the ŁódĨ region. Clariant regards this decision as an important step in the development of its strategy in Europe. It also acknowledges the region’s role in the company’s long-term investment policy, it says. ‘Central Europe is a very promising market and Poland, as a large and dynamically growing country in the region, is the natural place for further investments. We are deeply convinced that our engagement in building a new facility in Konstantynów will prove to be beneficial for both Clariant and the ŁódĨ region’, concludes Clariant International’s CFO Patrick Jany. In other investment news, Clariant recently announced the installation of new micronization equipment at its site in Gersthofen, Germany to expand output for its Ceridust wax products by a further 15%. The addition of the new equipment makes the plant one of the largest wax micronization units worldwide, the company reports. The investment is in response to fast-growing demand from the plastics, coatings and ink industries, Clariant says. Contact: Clariant International Ltd, Muttenz, Switzerland. Tel: +41 61 469 6742, Web: www.clariant.com
6
Additives for Polymers
Cabot establishes new plastics applications development laboratory in Shanghai
I
n the Asia Pacific, Cabot Corp has completed the establishment of a new plastics applications development laboratory in Shanghai. The ‘significant investment’ includes advanced processing and testing equipment and experienced technicians, which will allow the company to serve and collaborate better with its customers in the China and Asia Pacific plastics industry, it says. According to Cabot, the Shanghai lab builds on its global capabilities, networking with existing applications labs in Europe and the USA, to ensure the latest technologies and products for speciality carbon black and speciality black masterbatch and compounds are implemented in the region. The new Shanghai laboratory contains the latest technologies and testing equipment to provide global, best-in-class technical service, the company says. The lab is capable of application testing and development that closely represents Cabot’s customer applications. With this lab, Cabot can better meet the ‘unique requirements’ of its China- and Asia-based customers across a range of critical applications, including agricultural film and irrigation pipe, gas and water pressure pipe, wire and cable jacketing, extrusion, moulding and compounding, as well as conductive products for electrostatic discharge protection, it says. ‘Cabot’s deep understanding of carbon black properties and speciality masterbatch and compound formulations allows the company to deliver innovations across the plastics value chain’, explains Fei Deng, Cabot vice president, Performance Materials, Asia Pacific. ‘With the expanded laboratory, we will be able to respond more quickly to our Asia Pacific and global customers, expediting product support and facilitating new product development. This investment enhances our ability to provide differentiated products and services that enable the regional plastics industry to offer value-added solutions to their customers’, Deng says. According to Applied Marketing Information Ltd, polymer demand in Asia is poised to grow from 98 million tonnes in 2011 to 126 million tonnes in 2016. This is more than double the growth rate projected for
May 2013
STRATEGIES
Europe and North America. According to Cabot, its new applications lab is an ‘important milestone’ allowing it to support the continuing expansion of the Asian plastics industry and ensuring that its customers have the latest and best products and services to enhance their product performance for colour, conductivity and UV protection. Cabot claims to be one of the largest producers of speciality black masterbatches and compounds in the world. In Europe, Cabot has increased production capacity for fumed silica by 25% at its facility in Barry, UK. The company says that the expansion project extends its long-term relationship with Dow Corning at the site as well as supporting its own growth in the expanding global silicones market. In other developments, Cabot has recently unveiled a new corporate brand identity that ‘emphasizes its strengths as a global leader in speciality chemicals and performance materials’, it says. To support the new brand, Cabot has also launched a new corporate logo. In addition, the company is introducing ‘Cabot Labs’, its new product incubator that highlights how its technical expertise and market knowledge is applied to create new products and processes. Contact: Cabot Corp, Boston, MA, USA. Tel: +1 617 345 0100, Web: www.cabot-corp.com
Songwon Additive Technologies Americas to start up OPS plant in Houston
T
he American arm of Songwon Industrial’s recently formed joint venture Songwon Additive Technologies AG [ADPO, December 2012] is commencing production of one pack system (OPS) products at a new facility in Houston, TX, USA. Start-up was scheduled for April this year. The Houston facility has an initial capacity of 7000 tonnes per year. The Houston plant is part of Songwon’s global OPS strategy being driven by Songwon Additive Technologies, the joint venture between Songwon Industrial Group, Pan Gulf Holding Co of Saudi Arabia and Polysys Industries of Abu Dhabi, for the
May 2013
manufacture and sale of Songnox® OPS. Songwon Additive Technologies and Polysys Industries are also jointly building an OPS manufacturing plant in Kizad, Abu Dhabi – also with a capacity of 7000 tonnes/ year – which is expected to come on stream in the first quarter of 2014 [ibid., January 2013]. The company already operates a 14 000 tonnes/year OPS plant in Greiz, Germany. OPS products combine a range of additives into one dust-free pellet form and offer a number of significant advantages to moulders and compounders of thermoplastic materials, according to Songwon. According to Doug Excell, VP OPS Operations, the North American polymer industry is rebounding strongly with the advent of shale gas-oil and lower energy costs. A few years ago the discussion was about rationalization in the North American polyolefin industry and now it is about expansion. ‘This OPS facility is coming on stream at just the right time to serve the needs of our customers as the industry expands. The new physical form capability, combined with the security of supply through our back integration on the polymer stabilizer components, allows Songwon to present an integrated value proposition to the polymer producers’, he explains. Songwon is committed to continuously extending its offering to the global polymer industry, states Jongho Park, chairman and CEO of the Songwon Industrial Group. ‘Songwon Additive Technologies AG is the vehicle we have created to accelerate the network of global facilities that offer a wide range of OPS products that are based on identical regional production processes’, he further comments. In other news, Songwon has recently created the ‘critical new position’ of global director of marketing and business analysis. The role is intended to ‘contribute to the company’s determination to continue to deliver products and services that are salient to its customers, when and where they need them’ through the generation of business data, identification of market opportunities and definition of the company’s ‘roadmap’ to meet its growth objectives. Doris Peters has been appointed to the role, joining Songwon from Wacker Chemie AG. She is based in Frauenfeld, Switzerland. Contact: Songwon Industrial Co, Ltd, Ulsan, Korea. Tel: +82 522 739 841, Web: www.songwonind.com
Additives for Polymers
7