The American Chemistry Council’s (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) Global Chemical Production Regional Index (Global CPRI) shows that headline global production started the year on a strong note, rising 0.6 percent in January after a similar gain in December, as measured…
Plant Watch AkzoNobel announces startup of bio-steam facility at Delfzijl plant February 13, 2017 — AkzoNobel N.V. (Amsterdam, the Netherlands; www.akzonobel.com) and utility company Eneco announced the startup of a bio-steam facility at AkzoNobel’s Delfzijl site in the Netherlands. Eneco…
KBR, Inc. (Houston; www.kbr.com) announced today it has been awarded a technology licensing and basic engineering design (LBED) revamp contract by LG Chem for its ethylene plant at Daesan, South Korea.Under the terms of the contract, KBR will provide license…
Clariant (Muttenz, Switzerland; www.clariant.com), a world leader in specialty chemicals, today opens its first global R&D center for haircare ingredients. Located in São Paulo, Brazil, the new global Competence Center Haircare (gCCH) puts Clariant’s experts at the heart of the…
The Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB), a leading economic indicator created by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), posted a strong gain in February of 0.4 percent, following a similar 0.4 percent gain in January. This follows a steady…
The American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) reported that U.S. specialty chemicals market volumes rose 0.2 percent in January. This follows a downwardly revised 0.3 percent gain in December. Volumes have generally been moving up since May. All changes…
On January 31, Nidec Corporation completed the acquisition of Leroy-Somer and Control Techniques, Emerson Electric’s motors, drives and electric power generation businesses. The acquisitions broaden Nidec’s motor offering and product lineup, including variable speed drives and a complete range of…
The preliminary value for the December CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; the most recent available) was higher than the previous month’s value by a signficant margin for the second consecutive month. The jump was due to a rise in the…
Clariant (Munich, Germany; www.clariant.com), a world leader in specialty chemicals, announced today that it has been awarded a contract by Dongguan Grand Resource Science & Technology Co. Ltd. to develop a new propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit in cooperation with CB&I…
Archroma (Reinach, Switzerland; www.archroma.com), a global leader in color and specialty chemicals, today announced that it will invest in a new production facility for tetrasulfonated optical brightening agents (OBAs) at its existing production site in Prat del Llobregat, Spain. The…