Business & Economics
Ashland acquires Hercules for $3.3-billion
Ashland Inc. (Covington, Ky.) and Hercules Inc. (Wilmington, Del.) today announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Ashland would acquire all of the outstanding shares of Hercules for $18.60 per share in cash and 0.093…
Airgas to build 450 ton/d liquid CO2 plant
Airgas, Inc. (Radnor, Pa.; www.airgas.com) today announced that it will build a new 450-ton/d liquid-carbon-dioxide plant at the First United Ethanol LLC, (FUEL) complex in Camilla, Ga. Airgas entered into a 15-year agreement with FUEL, which will supply the feedstock…
UOP Selected by PetroChina for New Refining and Petrochemicals Complex
PetroChina Sichuan Petrochemical Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the PetroChina Co., Ltd. (Beijing; www.petrochina.com), has selected UOP LLC (Des Plaines, Ill.; www.uop.com) to supply technology, basic engineering services and equipment for a new integrated refining and petrochemicals complex, according to…
Dow Chemical to acquire Rohm and Haas
The Dow Chemical Co. (Midland, Mich.) and Rohm and Haas (Philadelphia, Pa.) today announced a definitive agreement, under which Dow will acquire all outstanding shares of Rohm and Haas common stock for $18.8 billion ($78 per share) in cash. The…
Uhde to build turnkey urea plant for Yara
The Dutch company Yara Sluiskil B.V., part of the Norwegian chemicals group Yara International ASA, has commissioned Uhde GmbH (Dortmund, Germany; www.uhde.biz) to design and build a major urea plant at its production site in Sluiskil (Zeeland Province), near the…
ACC names CEO to succeed Jack Gerard
Bob Wood, Chairman of the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Arlington, VA; www.americanchemistry.org) Board of Directors and Chairman and CEO of Chemtura, today announced that Cal Dooley, currently the President and CEO of the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), has been selected…
Emerson acquires TopWorx
Emerson (St. Louis, Mo.;www.emerson.com) today announced it has acquired TopWorx (Louisville, Ky.; www.topworx.com). Terms of the deal were not disclosed. TopWorx becomes part of Emerson Process Management (www.emersonprocess.com), expanding Emerson’s valve instrument offering and extending the reach of Emerson’s PlantWeb…
Thermal black project in Russia
Evonik Industries AG’s (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) Inorganic Materials Business Unit and the Russian Synttech Group are considering working together to manufacture Thermal Blacks. On June 30, 2008 representatives from both companies signed a letter of intent in Frankfurt, Germany. In…
Messer buys another part of Asco
On 4 July, the privately managed industrial gas specialist Messer (Sultzbach, Germany; www.messergroup.com) signed a contract of purchase to take over the majority share of 51% of Asco Carbon Dioxide Ltd. in New Zealand, a constructor of production plants for…
M.W. Kellogg awarded StatoilHydro contract
KBR Inc. (Houston, Tex.; www.kbr.com) today announced its 55% owned subsidiary, M.W. Kellogg Ltd. (MWKL; www.mwkl.co.uk) has been awarded a contract to provide detailed engineering and procurement services for a coker-revamp project at StatoilHydro's Mongstad Refinery, near Bergen, Norway. The…