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U.S. specialty chemical markets end 2nd quarter on positive note, ACC says

The American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) reported that U.S. specialty chemicals market volumes rose 0.3 percent in June after rising only 0.1 percent in May, falling 0.3 percent in April and showing a weak first quarter. In June,…

Leading economic indicator, the CAB, fell in July, ACC says

The Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB), a leading economic indicator created by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), eased 0.2 percent in July on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis following three months of gains in March-May and weak…

2019 CEPCI Updates: May (prelim.) and April (final)

The preliminary value for the CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; the most recent available) for May 2019 decreased from the previous month’s value. The decline is the third within the last four months. The lower value for the overall CEPCI…

Alliance to End Plastic Waste adds 12 new companies

The Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW; Washington, D.C.; www.endplasticwaste.org) today welcomed 12 new companies from across the plastics value chain, including Chinese state-owned Sinopec. The new members expand both the global footprint of the Alliance and the participation of…

Victaulic acquires Globe Fire Sprinkler

Effective July 8, 2019, Victaulic (Lehigh Valley, Pa.; www.victaulic.com) has purchased Globe Fire Sprinkler (Standish, Mich.; www.globesprinkler.com). Combined, the two companies will look to bring new solutions to the fire protection industry around the world. Steven Worthington, who will continue…

Catalent extends commercial spray-drying capacity in Europe

  Catalent, Inc. (Somerset, N.J.; www.catalent.com), a leading global provider of advanced delivery technologies, and development and manufacturing solutions for drugs, biologics, gene therapies, and consumer health products, today announced that it has significantly expanded the capacity of its global…

Air Liquide to supply GCGV, and will build new air separation unit in U.S.

  Air Liquide (Paris, France; www.airliquide.com) has signed a long-term agreement with Gulf Coast Growth Ventures (GCGV), a 50/50 joint venture between ExxonMobil and SABIC, to supply oxygen and nitrogen from its industrial gas pipeline network to GCGV’s planned ethane…

Chevron Phillips Chemical and Qatar Petroleum announce joint petrochemicals project in U.S.

Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC (The Woodlands, Tex.; www.cpchem.com) and Qatar Petroleum (Doha, Qatar; www.qp.com.qa) today announced they have signed an agreement to jointly pursue development of a new petrochemical plant in the Gulf Coast region of the United States.…

MFG Chemical announces plan to upgrade plants in Georgia

Fresh off the completion of a multi- million upgrade of its Pasadena, Texas plant, MFG Chemical (Dalton, Ga.; www.mfgchemical.com), a global leader in specialty and custom chemical manufacturing, is announcing another  significant investment to upgrade safety and efficiency of production…

Archroma to acquire optical brightening agent (OBA) business from BASF India

Archroma (Reinach, Switzerland; www.archroma.com), a global leader in color and specialty chemicals towards sustainable solutions,  announced that Archroma India Private Limited and BASF India Limited (BIL) have signed an agreement for the acquisition by Archroma of BASF’s stilbene-based OBA (optical…