- Email: [email protected]
UK: Cristal – TiO2
FOCUS 2014. The company plans to sell its wollastonite for applications related to friction (such as brake linings), construction and plastics. The iron content, higher than 0.4%, means that Namaqua will be unable to compete in the high-end wollastonite markets. The resumption of mining by Namaqua means that South Africa becomes one of only six countries producing wollastonite, alongside China, India, Finland, Mexico, Spain and the US. Industrial Minerals, Mar 2010, (510), 24
UK: Colorite Europe – plastic compounds Colorite Europe has installed a second production line for plastic compounds, based on polyvinyl chloride (PVC), at its plant on the Springbank Industrial Estate in West Belfast. This project, together with associated specialist training, entailed capital investment of around £3 M, of which £420,000 was funded by Invest NI (part of the UK Government’s Department of Enterprise, Trade & Investment). The expansion will create 12 new jobs. It should also enable Colorite to increase its annual sales by about £3 M per annum over the next 9-15 months. Colorite specialises in the production of high-quality plastics for medical applications. The company has two other plants similar to the Belfast plant, one at Sparks, NV (in the United States), the other at Suzhou (Jiangsu province, China). Colorite is a subsidiary within the TekniPlex group (headquartered at King of Prussia, PA in the US). Two investment funds – Oaktree Capital Management and Avenue Capital – recently became major shareholders in TekniPlex. Plastics and Rubber Weekly, 2 Apr 2010, (Supplement Plastics Ireland 2010), 16
UK: Cristal – TiO2 The 150,000 tonnes/y chloride-route TiO2 plant at Stallingborough (near Grimsby, on the northeastern coast of England) was closed for seven weeks following a fatal accident in the early hours of 5 March 2010. A glassreinforced plastic vessel in a gasscrubbing system ruptured, releasing gaseous and liquid titanium
6
ON
PIGMENTS
tetrachloride. A dense cloud of gas drifted across the River Humber, prompting the Coastguard to close the river to shipping for several hours. Four plant operatives were injured, mainly as a result of burns and respiratory damage caused by inhaling toxic fumes. Mr Paul Doyley died of his injuries on 18 March. The plant was immediately closed on the orders of the Government’s Health & Safety Executive (HSE) to decontaminate the area, to carry out structural assessments and to leave certain items of plant and equipment undisturbed so as to facilitate the first stages of accident investigation. Cristal Global declared force majeure on scheduled deliveries of pigment from Stallingborough. On Tuesday 13 April, a company spokesman said: “We are continuing to work with the HSE, as they continue their investigation. We are also continuing with our own investigation. We have now commenced proceedings to restart operations at the plant and we hope to be back to full production by the end of this week. Although the plant has not been running these past few weeks, all of our employees have been reporting for work as normal and they will continue to do so. We don’t expect any impact on jobs whatsoever.” TCE (formerly The Chemical Engineer), Apr 2010, (826), 12 (Website: http://www.tcetoday.com) & BBC News Channel transcript, 13 Apr 2010 (Website: http://www.bbc.co.uk)
US, Germany & Italy: Sensient Technologies – natural food colorants Sensient Technologies Corp (of Milwaukee, WI) is planning to spend $16 M to build a plant at its St Louis, MO site for the production of natural colour emulsions and dispersions for use in the foods and beverages sector. On completion, St Louis will be the largest and most advanced facility for the production of natural colours in North America. This project will be third of three projects in a $50 M investment programme covering the US and Europe. The other two projects, recently completed, were for an expansion of anthocyanins capacity at Reggio di Emilia (southern Italy) and for an expansion of emulsions capacity at Hamburg (Germany). Sensient also recently established a new production facility
in China. (See ‘Focus on Pigments’, May 2010, 5). Mr Kenneth Manning (Chairman and CEO of Sensient) commented: “The trend towards natural colours is accelerating, and this new manufacturing plant will further promote the conversion to natural colours by large food and beverage manufacturers.” Sensient recently extended its Fusion range of natural food colorants, combining hydrophilic and lipophilic pigments. The new Fusion Redcurrant Red is manufactured from selected carrot and beetroot varieties and it is marketed for colouring confectionery and dairy products. Chemical Week, 26 Apr 2010 (Website: http://www.chemweek.com) & NutraCos, Mar-Apr 2010, 9 (2), 42 (Website: http://www.b5srl.com)
US: Clariant – organic pigments Clariant shutdown its Coventry, RI organic pigments plant at the end of 2008. Nevertheless, the site was retained as a base office for certain sales and technical personnel. By the end of September 2010, all these people will have been relocated to Charlotte, NC. Meanwhile, environmental remediation work at Coventry continues in preparation for the eventual sale of the site. Plastics News, 14 Apr 2010, (Website: http://www.plasticsnews.com)
US: Plastics Color Corp – colorants Plastics Color Corp (headquartered at Calumet, IL) is building a new colour and additive concentrates facility at Sun Valley, CA. The new plant will have a floor area of about 2800 sq metres and it will employ 14 people. It should be ready to begin operating in Autumn 2010. Commissioning of this plant will enable the company to substantially raise its annual sales revenue beyond the current level of around $40 M. Plastics News, 7 May 2010, (Website: http://www.plasticsnews.com)
Venezuela: Ruscaolin – kaolin At the end of 1Q 2010, Ruscaolin (of Russia) reported that its 500,000 tonnes/y kaolin project was 80% complete. The mines at Canaima and Punta Cuchillo should be ready for production at the end of June. This
JUNE 2010
UK: Colorite Europe – plastic compounds Colorite Europe has installed a second production line for plastic compounds, based on polyvinyl chloride (PVC), at its plant on the Springbank Industrial Estate in West Belfast. This project, together with associated specialist training, entailed capital investment of around £3 M, of which £420,000 was funded by Invest NI (part of the UK Government’s Department of Enterprise, Trade & Investment). The expansion will create 12 new jobs. It should also enable Colorite to increase its annual sales by about £3 M per annum over the next 9-15 months. Colorite specialises in the production of high-quality plastics for medical applications. The company has two other plants similar to the Belfast plant, one at Sparks, NV (in the United States), the other at Suzhou (Jiangsu province, China). Colorite is a subsidiary within the TekniPlex group (headquartered at King of Prussia, PA in the US). Two investment funds – Oaktree Capital Management and Avenue Capital – recently became major shareholders in TekniPlex. Plastics and Rubber Weekly, 2 Apr 2010, (Supplement Plastics Ireland 2010), 16
UK: Cristal – TiO2 The 150,000 tonnes/y chloride-route TiO2 plant at Stallingborough (near Grimsby, on the northeastern coast of England) was closed for seven weeks following a fatal accident in the early hours of 5 March 2010. A glassreinforced plastic vessel in a gasscrubbing system ruptured, releasing gaseous and liquid titanium
6
ON
PIGMENTS
tetrachloride. A dense cloud of gas drifted across the River Humber, prompting the Coastguard to close the river to shipping for several hours. Four plant operatives were injured, mainly as a result of burns and respiratory damage caused by inhaling toxic fumes. Mr Paul Doyley died of his injuries on 18 March. The plant was immediately closed on the orders of the Government’s Health & Safety Executive (HSE) to decontaminate the area, to carry out structural assessments and to leave certain items of plant and equipment undisturbed so as to facilitate the first stages of accident investigation. Cristal Global declared force majeure on scheduled deliveries of pigment from Stallingborough. On Tuesday 13 April, a company spokesman said: “We are continuing to work with the HSE, as they continue their investigation. We are also continuing with our own investigation. We have now commenced proceedings to restart operations at the plant and we hope to be back to full production by the end of this week. Although the plant has not been running these past few weeks, all of our employees have been reporting for work as normal and they will continue to do so. We don’t expect any impact on jobs whatsoever.” TCE (formerly The Chemical Engineer), Apr 2010, (826), 12 (Website: http://www.tcetoday.com) & BBC News Channel transcript, 13 Apr 2010 (Website: http://www.bbc.co.uk)
US, Germany & Italy: Sensient Technologies – natural food colorants Sensient Technologies Corp (of Milwaukee, WI) is planning to spend $16 M to build a plant at its St Louis, MO site for the production of natural colour emulsions and dispersions for use in the foods and beverages sector. On completion, St Louis will be the largest and most advanced facility for the production of natural colours in North America. This project will be third of three projects in a $50 M investment programme covering the US and Europe. The other two projects, recently completed, were for an expansion of anthocyanins capacity at Reggio di Emilia (southern Italy) and for an expansion of emulsions capacity at Hamburg (Germany). Sensient also recently established a new production facility
in China. (See ‘Focus on Pigments’, May 2010, 5). Mr Kenneth Manning (Chairman and CEO of Sensient) commented: “The trend towards natural colours is accelerating, and this new manufacturing plant will further promote the conversion to natural colours by large food and beverage manufacturers.” Sensient recently extended its Fusion range of natural food colorants, combining hydrophilic and lipophilic pigments. The new Fusion Redcurrant Red is manufactured from selected carrot and beetroot varieties and it is marketed for colouring confectionery and dairy products. Chemical Week, 26 Apr 2010 (Website: http://www.chemweek.com) & NutraCos, Mar-Apr 2010, 9 (2), 42 (Website: http://www.b5srl.com)
US: Clariant – organic pigments Clariant shutdown its Coventry, RI organic pigments plant at the end of 2008. Nevertheless, the site was retained as a base office for certain sales and technical personnel. By the end of September 2010, all these people will have been relocated to Charlotte, NC. Meanwhile, environmental remediation work at Coventry continues in preparation for the eventual sale of the site. Plastics News, 14 Apr 2010, (Website: http://www.plasticsnews.com)
US: Plastics Color Corp – colorants Plastics Color Corp (headquartered at Calumet, IL) is building a new colour and additive concentrates facility at Sun Valley, CA. The new plant will have a floor area of about 2800 sq metres and it will employ 14 people. It should be ready to begin operating in Autumn 2010. Commissioning of this plant will enable the company to substantially raise its annual sales revenue beyond the current level of around $40 M. Plastics News, 7 May 2010, (Website: http://www.plasticsnews.com)
Venezuela: Ruscaolin – kaolin At the end of 1Q 2010, Ruscaolin (of Russia) reported that its 500,000 tonnes/y kaolin project was 80% complete. The mines at Canaima and Punta Cuchillo should be ready for production at the end of June. This
JUNE 2010