Latest News: Business
Lanxess starts up newly expanded cresol plant
Specialty chemicals company Lanxess (Cologne, Germany; www.lanxess.com) has completed the expansion of its cresol production plant in Leverkusen, Germany, and has now begun operating a newly constructed reaction system as well as a second distillation column. The expansion increases capacity…
Evonik expanding capacities for isophorone and isophorone diamine
Evonik Industries (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) is significantly expanding its global isophorone (IP) and isophorone diamine (IPD) capacities by funding an investment of more than €100 million in Shanghai, China. The new production plants will be completed in the first quarter…
Leading economic indicators suggest growth for OECD economies, ACC report says
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; Paris; www.oecd.org) released its composite leading indicator (CLI) for September and, according to the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), the data signal improvements in growth in most major OECD countries…
Airgas to build air-separation unit near Chicago
Airgas, Inc. (Radnor, Pa.; www.airgas.com) has announced that the Prologis International Centre South in Minooka, Ill. will be the site for its new air-separation unit (ASU) in the Chicago area. Construction of the facility is scheduled to begin in February…
Jacobs awarded contract for Honeywell project in China
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (Pasadena, CAlif.; www.jacobs.com) has received a contract from Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, N.J.; www.honeywell.com) to provide Integrated Project Management Team (IPMT) services for a new production project in Zhangjiagang City, Jiangsu Province, the People’s Republic of…
Rockwell Automation to acquire Jacobs Automation
Rockwell Automation (Milwaukee, Wis.; www.rockwellautomation.com) has announced that it has agreed to purchase Jacobs Automation, a leader in intelligent-track motion-control technology. Jacobs Automation provides a motion-control solution called the iTRAK System. This technology improves performance across a wide range of…
Chandra Asri and Michelin partner on new synthetic rubber manufacturing plant
PT Chandra Asri Petrochemical Tbk (CAP; Jakarta, Indonesia; www.chandra-asri.com) along with Compagnie Financière Michelin (Michelin) have formed a partnership for the inauguration of a synthetic rubber plant ,which is managed by PT Synthetic Rubber Indonesia (SRI). This partnership is a…
Autodesk to acquire U.K.-based software company Delcam
Autodesk, Inc. (Mill Valley, Calif.;www.autodesk.com) has announced its intention to acquire Delcam (Birmingham, U.K.; www.delcam.com), a supplier of advanced software for the manufacturing industry. Autodesk plans to acquire Delcam for £20.75 per share, or approximately £172.5 million. The transaction will be…
Mitsui Chemicals expands polypropylene capacity in North America
Mitsui Chemicals Group (Tokyo; www.mitsuichem.com) and Prime Polymer, a Mitsui Chemicals subsidiary, have announced expansions to polypropylene production in the U.S. and Mexico, to meet the growing demands of the automotive sector. The U.S. expansion will increase production at the…
KBR to execute study on ammonia plant revamp in Algeria
KBR, Inc., (Houston; www.kbr.com), a global engineering, construction and services company, announced that it has been awarded a contract by Fertial SpA to conduct a study that will improve safety, reliability and energy efficiency of two Algerian ammonia plants. The…