I recall from the time that I worked as a research and development (R&D) engineer, the concept of a “rainmaker” — a talented researcher who was challenged to come up with new technologies that could eventually lead to new businesses.…
Plant Watch BASF and Sinopec inaugurate world-scale isononanol plant in Maoming October 12, 2015 — BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec; Beijing; www.sinopec.com) have inaugurated a world-scale isononanol (INA) plant in Maoming, China.…
Conditions in the U.S. CPI continue to support high salaries for engineers and skilled technical workers, but conditions also continue to sustain ongoing workforce challenges Engineering expertise and technical know-how continue to be in high demand in the chemical process…
The American Chemistry Council’s (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) Global Chemical Production Regional Index (Global CPRI) ended the third quarter by rising 0.3% on a three-month-moving-average basis. The Global CPRI data are discussed in the ACC’s latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic…
DuPont (Wilmington, Del.; www.dupont.com) celebrated the opening of its cellulosic biofuel facility in Nevada, Iowa, with a ceremony including Iowa Gov. Terry Brandstad and many other dignitaries. This biorefinery is the world’s largest cellulosic ethanol plant, with the capacity to…
Elevance Renewable Sciences, Inc. (Woodbridge, Ill.; www.elevance.com), a company that creates novel specialty chemicals from natural oils, has announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Tony Parnell as the company’s Chief Executive Officer. Parnell succeeds K’Lynne Johnson, who has…
The preliminary value for the August 2015 CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; the most recent available) fell compared to the previous month’s value, driven by declines in the Equipment and Buildings subindices. The Construction Labor and Engineering & Supervision subindices…
Overall production in the U.S. chemical industry rebounded in September, rising by 0.4% to 103.5% of its average 2012 value, according to the latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com). Pharmaceutical production…
Global specialty chemical maker Clariant (Muttenz, Switzerland; www.clariant.com) officially opened its new Group Biotechnology Research Center in Planegg, near Munich, today. In a ceremony attended by Ilse Aigner, the Bavarian Minister for Economic Affairs, Media, Energy and Technology, the key…
Plant Watch Technip to provide EPC services for Unipetrol HDPE plant September 10, 2015 — Technip (Paris, France; www.technip.com) was awarded a contract by Unipetrol (Prague, Czech Republic; www.unipetrol.cz), covering the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of a new polyethylene…