- Email: [email protected]
China & Japan: Nippon Kayaku – dyes
FOCUS
MARKETS China produces 2.45 M tonnes of talc, but how much does it consume? China’s current talc production is assessed at 2.45 M tonnes/y, of which 800,000-900,000 tonnes/y from Liaoning province; 500,000-600,000 tonnes/y from Shandong province; 500,000-600,000 tonnes/y from Guangxi province; 100,000 tonnes/y from Jiangxi province; 100,000 tonnes/y from Sichuan province; and 300,000 tonnes/y from other provinces. China currently produces about 500,000 tonnes/y of high-grade white talc and there is little scope for expansion, despite the prospect of global supply shortages. China also produces a small quantity of “black talc”, notably in Shandong, Guangxi, Sichuan and Jiangxi provinces. This is relatively low-grade material, the black or grey colour being attributable to contamination with organic material. Chinese producers have considerable potential for expanding supplies of “black talc” if warranted by increased local and global demand. China’s domestic consumption of talc is assessed by ‘CCR’ at 2.1 M tonnes/y. This is a much higher figure than the estimate published last year in ‘IM’ – 1.2 M tonnes, of which 98,000 tonnes for sanitaryware and ceramics. Industrial Minerals, May 2007, 39 & China Chemical Reporter, 26 Mar 2008, 19 (9), 16
IRL forecasts 9% per annum growth for Central & East European paint demand Paint consumption in the 21 countries of Central and Eastern Europe is assessed at 4.82 M tonnes by IRL (the world’s leading source of market intelligence on the paint industry). Over the next five years, average growth for this region is forecast at 9% per annum thanks to strong growth in the construction industry and in infrastructure, increased production in industry generally, rising salaries and higher disposable income for households. The two largest markets in this region are Poland and Russia, each consuming 1.25 M tonnes of paint in 2007. The Polish market is expected to grow at a faster rate than the Russian market,
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partly as a result of EU sponsorship of a number of major construction projects. Meanwhile, Russia will continue to enjoy modest growth in architectural (decorative) paint consumption, with do-it-yourself (DIY) consumers looking for better-quality paints, while “professional tradesmen” are tending to stand by their preferred low-cost, low-quality paints. Competition from wallpaper and plastic-based ceilings is cutting into the potential for rapid growth in architectural paint consumption in Russia. Together with Poland and Russia, three markets highlighted for their size and growth potential are: Turkey (where paint consumption is forecast to rise from 748,500 tonnes in 2007 to 1.26 M tonnes in 2012); Ukraine (from 335,000 tonnes to 673,800 tonnes); and Romania (from 180,000 tonnes to 394,700 tonnes). The other 16 markets analysed in this survey are: Armenia, Belarus, BosniaHerzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Uzbekistan. Throughout the region, there has been a distinct shift in emphasis from industrial paints towards architectural paints. In fact, many customer accounts for industrial paints are now being fulfilled by imports from multinationals and this trend has exacerbated the reduction of market awareness for industrial paint production from indigenous factories. ‘A Profile of the Central & Eastern European Paint Industry’, 3rd edition, Jan 2008, published by Information Research Ltd (IRL), 97-107 Uxbridge Road, London W5 5TL, E-mail: [email protected]. Website: http://www.informationresearch.co.uk. Report price: €3250
PLANTS Australia: Tronox & Exxaro – TiO2 Tiwest, a 50:50 joint venture between Tronox (of the US) and Exxaro (of South Africa) has confirmed final approval from the two parent companies’ Boards of Directors for its project to step up capacity at its Kwinana chloride-route TiO2 pigment plant. The project was first announced in February 2007 (See ‘Focus on
Pigments’, Mar 2007, 3), but it has been slightly modified since then. Previously, the cost of the expansion was estimated at $35-45 M; now the budgeted cost is reported as $91 M. Funding was originally going to be provided on a 50:50 basis by the two partners – the same basis on which all previous capital investment at Kwinana has been funded. This time, Exxaro will provide ongoing funding for the expansion, while Tronox will have the option to contribute its share of the capital at its discretion throughout the project and until a date two years after the date of commissioning. The eventual share of the capital input from Tronox (if less than 50%) will be taken into account when calculating the percentage shares of pigment production in future years. In fact, no matter what the change in equity ownership, if any, may be, Tronox will continue to have exclusive marketing rights for all the pigment produced by the Tiwest plant. Tronox sells Exxaro’s equity share of the pigment output from Kwinana and it remits to Exxaro the realised sales revenue, after deducting a management fee. TiO2 Worldwide Update, Jan/Feb 2008, 16 (1), 16-17
China & Japan: Nippon Kayaku – dyes Nippon Kayaku has declared that it will make China the centre of its colour chemicals business, with colorants being sourced from its Chinese plants to meet the requirements of its customers in Japan and elsewhere. Presumably, this means that the company’s textile colorants units at Tokyo and Fukuyama will be closed down. Nippon Kayaku already sources all its paper dyes from Chinese facilities. The company’s major plant in China is a joint venture operation – Wuxi Advanced Kayaku Chemical – producing 2000 tonnes/y of disperse dyes and 1000 tonnes/y of reactive and disperse dyes at Wuxi (Jiangsu province). A new 2000 tonnes/y unit for making reactive dyes is scheduled to come on-stream here in April 2008. Nippon Kayaku also has a majorityowned plant at Zhaoyuan (Heilongjiang province), making fluorescent dyes. Japan Chemical Week, 14 Feb 2008, 49 (2453), 2
JUNE 2008
MARKETS China produces 2.45 M tonnes of talc, but how much does it consume? China’s current talc production is assessed at 2.45 M tonnes/y, of which 800,000-900,000 tonnes/y from Liaoning province; 500,000-600,000 tonnes/y from Shandong province; 500,000-600,000 tonnes/y from Guangxi province; 100,000 tonnes/y from Jiangxi province; 100,000 tonnes/y from Sichuan province; and 300,000 tonnes/y from other provinces. China currently produces about 500,000 tonnes/y of high-grade white talc and there is little scope for expansion, despite the prospect of global supply shortages. China also produces a small quantity of “black talc”, notably in Shandong, Guangxi, Sichuan and Jiangxi provinces. This is relatively low-grade material, the black or grey colour being attributable to contamination with organic material. Chinese producers have considerable potential for expanding supplies of “black talc” if warranted by increased local and global demand. China’s domestic consumption of talc is assessed by ‘CCR’ at 2.1 M tonnes/y. This is a much higher figure than the estimate published last year in ‘IM’ – 1.2 M tonnes, of which 98,000 tonnes for sanitaryware and ceramics. Industrial Minerals, May 2007, 39 & China Chemical Reporter, 26 Mar 2008, 19 (9), 16
IRL forecasts 9% per annum growth for Central & East European paint demand Paint consumption in the 21 countries of Central and Eastern Europe is assessed at 4.82 M tonnes by IRL (the world’s leading source of market intelligence on the paint industry). Over the next five years, average growth for this region is forecast at 9% per annum thanks to strong growth in the construction industry and in infrastructure, increased production in industry generally, rising salaries and higher disposable income for households. The two largest markets in this region are Poland and Russia, each consuming 1.25 M tonnes of paint in 2007. The Polish market is expected to grow at a faster rate than the Russian market,
4
ON
PIGMENTS
partly as a result of EU sponsorship of a number of major construction projects. Meanwhile, Russia will continue to enjoy modest growth in architectural (decorative) paint consumption, with do-it-yourself (DIY) consumers looking for better-quality paints, while “professional tradesmen” are tending to stand by their preferred low-cost, low-quality paints. Competition from wallpaper and plastic-based ceilings is cutting into the potential for rapid growth in architectural paint consumption in Russia. Together with Poland and Russia, three markets highlighted for their size and growth potential are: Turkey (where paint consumption is forecast to rise from 748,500 tonnes in 2007 to 1.26 M tonnes in 2012); Ukraine (from 335,000 tonnes to 673,800 tonnes); and Romania (from 180,000 tonnes to 394,700 tonnes). The other 16 markets analysed in this survey are: Armenia, Belarus, BosniaHerzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Uzbekistan. Throughout the region, there has been a distinct shift in emphasis from industrial paints towards architectural paints. In fact, many customer accounts for industrial paints are now being fulfilled by imports from multinationals and this trend has exacerbated the reduction of market awareness for industrial paint production from indigenous factories. ‘A Profile of the Central & Eastern European Paint Industry’, 3rd edition, Jan 2008, published by Information Research Ltd (IRL), 97-107 Uxbridge Road, London W5 5TL, E-mail: [email protected]. Website: http://www.informationresearch.co.uk. Report price: €3250
PLANTS Australia: Tronox & Exxaro – TiO2 Tiwest, a 50:50 joint venture between Tronox (of the US) and Exxaro (of South Africa) has confirmed final approval from the two parent companies’ Boards of Directors for its project to step up capacity at its Kwinana chloride-route TiO2 pigment plant. The project was first announced in February 2007 (See ‘Focus on
Pigments’, Mar 2007, 3), but it has been slightly modified since then. Previously, the cost of the expansion was estimated at $35-45 M; now the budgeted cost is reported as $91 M. Funding was originally going to be provided on a 50:50 basis by the two partners – the same basis on which all previous capital investment at Kwinana has been funded. This time, Exxaro will provide ongoing funding for the expansion, while Tronox will have the option to contribute its share of the capital at its discretion throughout the project and until a date two years after the date of commissioning. The eventual share of the capital input from Tronox (if less than 50%) will be taken into account when calculating the percentage shares of pigment production in future years. In fact, no matter what the change in equity ownership, if any, may be, Tronox will continue to have exclusive marketing rights for all the pigment produced by the Tiwest plant. Tronox sells Exxaro’s equity share of the pigment output from Kwinana and it remits to Exxaro the realised sales revenue, after deducting a management fee. TiO2 Worldwide Update, Jan/Feb 2008, 16 (1), 16-17
China & Japan: Nippon Kayaku – dyes Nippon Kayaku has declared that it will make China the centre of its colour chemicals business, with colorants being sourced from its Chinese plants to meet the requirements of its customers in Japan and elsewhere. Presumably, this means that the company’s textile colorants units at Tokyo and Fukuyama will be closed down. Nippon Kayaku already sources all its paper dyes from Chinese facilities. The company’s major plant in China is a joint venture operation – Wuxi Advanced Kayaku Chemical – producing 2000 tonnes/y of disperse dyes and 1000 tonnes/y of reactive and disperse dyes at Wuxi (Jiangsu province). A new 2000 tonnes/y unit for making reactive dyes is scheduled to come on-stream here in April 2008. Nippon Kayaku also has a majorityowned plant at Zhaoyuan (Heilongjiang province), making fluorescent dyes. Japan Chemical Week, 14 Feb 2008, 49 (2453), 2
JUNE 2008