Latest News: Business
Illa International and Neste Jacobs to co-operate in the phenol-process business
Illa International LLC (ILLA; Long Grove, Ill.; www.illallc.com) and Neste Jacobs Oy (Porvoo, Finland; www.nestejacobs.com) have agreed to develop a combined offering in phenol and acetone production technologies, engineering and project services. Together, the companies intend to offer petrochemical companies…
Stamicarbon to revamp NFC urea plant in Iraq
Stamicarbon B.V. (Stittard, the Netherlands; www.stamicarbon.com), the Licensing and IP Center of Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. (www.mairetecnimont.com), has signed a contract with First Global Company for revamping the urea plant of State Company for Fertilizer North Area (NFC) in Iraq. The…
U.S. CPRI slips in March, ACC says
The U.S. Chemical Production Regional Index (US CPRI) slipped by 0.1% in March, following a revised 0.4% gain in February, according to the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com). In its latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report, ACC…
Outotec to deliver concentrator technology to Mexico
Outotec Oyj (Espoo, Finland; www.outotec.com) has signed a contract with various Industrias Peñoles' mines ("Grupo Peñoles") for the delivery of grinding mills and filters for three new concentrators to be built in Mexico in the next years. The contract value…
BASF and Petronas Chemicals Group to build an integrated aroma-ingredients complex in Malaysia
BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) and Petronas Chemicals Group Berhad (PCG; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; www.petronaschemicals.com) intend to invest $500 million (MYR 1.5 billion) in an integrated aroma-ingredients project at their existing joint venture site BASF Petronas Chemicals in Gebeng, Kuantan.…
CAB leading economic indicator shows 9th consecutive monthly gain in April
Despite headlines to the contrary, the U.S. economy remains in a state of slow growth, according to the American Chemistry Council's (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) monthly Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB), released this week. The economic indicator, shown to lead U.S.…
U.S. transactions drive Q1 deal value in chemicals M&A, PwC says
U.S. transactions led merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the chemicals industry in the first quarter of 2013, driving almost 45% of the total deal value as companies focused on domestic growth, according to PwC US (PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLC; New York;…
Sulzer awarded contract for biopolymer production Plant in Asia
Sulzer Ltd. (Winterthur, Switzerland; www.sulzer.com) has been awarded a contract for the delivery of a production plant based on Sulzer's proprietary polylactic acid (PLA) technology (for more process details, see Chem. Eng., March 2012; www.chemengonline.com/chementator/9161.html). The facility, with a capacity of…
MAN supplies compressor technology for a major CTL project in China
MAN Diesel & Turbo SE (Augsburg, Germany; www.man.eu) has been awarded the contract for a major project to construct eleven turbomachinery trains in China. The contract value is in excess of €125 million. The site of the project is Yinchuan…
Rennovia launches HMD as next product, enabling 100% bio-based nylon-6,6
Rennovia, Inc. (Menlo Park, Calif.; www.rennovia.com), announced at the PCI 6th American Nylon Symposium that it has successfully demonstrated production of hexamethylenediamine (HMD) from widely available, renewable feedstocks. Coupled with Rennovia’s previously announced renewable adipic acid, this enables for the…