The American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) reported that U.S. specialty chemicals market volumes rose 0.4 percent in November. This follows a revised 0.1 percent gain in October and a 0.2 percent gain in September. Volumes have generally been…
The preliminary value for the October CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; the most recent available) edged slightly higher than the previous month’s value, reversing the small decline since July. The Equipment, Construction Labor and Engineering & Supervision subindices all ticked…
The Dow Chemical Company (Midland, Mich.; www.dow.com) announced today that it will invest in a new, state-of-the-art innovation center in Midland, Michigan. The innovation center will support approximately 200 research and development jobs in Michigan, including 100 newly created jobs…
Plant Watch GTC to provide aromatics extraction technology to JG Summit’s Batangas site November 11, 2016 — GTC Technology US LLC (Houston; www.gtctech.com) has signed an agreement with JG Summit Petrochemical Corp. (Mandaluyong City, the Philippines; jgspetrochem.com) to provide its…
Insights about complex CPI workforce issues come from a variety of sources, including survey data on corporate attitudes, salary and diversity The chemical process industries (CPI) continue to face an interconnected web of workforce challenges, including the retirement wave of…
The differences between industrial-scale facilities and pilot plants go beyond size, and these intricacies must be understood when estimating the costs associated with pilot-scale facilities Estimating the construction costs of pilot plant facilities can be tricky, and many of the…
Before any engineering or design work can take place, a project’s feasibility must be considered. Reasonably accurate costs can be obtained using the preliminary estimate methodologies presented here Evaluating the feasibility early in an investment project’s timeline is critical for…
The American Chemistry Council’s (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) Global Chemical Production Regional Index (Global CPRI) shows that the fourth quarter started on a soft note, with the index for October showing no gain or loss on a three-month moving average…
The Specialty Chemicals Market Volume Index, a tool created by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), showed that U.S. specialty chemicals market volumes were essentially flat in October. This follows a revised 0.2 percent gain in September and…
The Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB), a leading economic indicator created by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), featured another solid gain of 0.3 percent in November, following a gain of 0.3 percent in October and a 0.4 percent…