Solvay S.A. (Brussels, Belgium; www.solvay.com) has signed an agreement to buy the Ryton PPS (polyphenylene sulphide) business from U.S.-based petrochemical company Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. for $220 million, expanding its offering of high-performance polymers and entering a solid growth market.…
Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) has announced an expansion of its specialty silica capacities in Ako, Japan through a holding in DSL Japan Co. (DSL). Evonik holds 51% of shares in DSL, a joint venture with the Japanese Shionogi…
Technip (Paris, France; www.technip.com) has been awarded by Air Products and Chemicals Inc. (Lehigh Valley, Pa.; www.airproducts.com) a contract to provide project management, as well as engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) services for a new industrial gas complex for…
Following its recent acquisition of the biotechnology company Virdia, Inc. (Redwood City, Calif.; www.virdia.com), Stora Enso Oyj (Helsinki, Finland; www.storaenso.com) is investing €32 million ($43 million) in a demonstration and market development plant to be built at Raceland, Louisiana. The…
Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) is investing in its German operations with new large- scale industrial plants, capacity expansions, and new research centers. The company plans to invest some €2 billion of the extensive investment program it has developed…
A. Schulman, Inc. (Akron, Ohio; www.aschulman.com) has announced that it has acquired Compco Pty. Ltd., located near Melbourne, Australia, for $6.7 million in cash. Compco is a manufacturer of a variety of plastic compounds and products, including masterbatches and custom performance colors.…
Methes Energies International Ltd. (Las Vegas, Nev.; www.methes.com), a renewable energy company that offers an array of products and services to biodiesel fuel producers, has announced the introduction of the Methes PP-MEC catalyst. Dorf Ketal Speciality Catalysts LLC (Houston; www.dorfketal.com)…
KBR Inc. (Houston; www.kbr.com) has been awarded a reimbursable contract by Koch Nitrogen Company, LLC to provide engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services for a new grassroots urea plant, part of a $1.3-billion expansion project by Koch Nitrogen at its…
In collaboration with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (MHI; Tokyo, Japan; www.mhi-global.com), Haldor Topsøe A/S (Lyngby, Denmark; www.topsoe.com) has been selected for the design of a new ammonia plant for a major fertilizer project in Turkmenistan. The project has been awarded…
The preliminary value for the June CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; the most recent available) rose 0.3% from the final May value, after gains the previous two months. Subcategories of the equipment index generally saw small increases, or were relatively…