Economic Indicators
BUSINESS NEWS PLANT WATCH Lonza to expand ADC manufacturing capacity January 8,2013 —Lonza (Basel,Switzerland;www. lonza.com) plans to invest 14 million Swiss francs (CHF; about $15 million) to expand antibody drug conjugate (ADC) manufacturing capacity in Visp, Switzerland. Oncology therapeutics including ADCs represent one of the fastest growing segments of the pharma and biotech industry.The expansion of the ADC facility,which is expected to be complete in the second quarter of 2014, will double the existing largescale manufacturing capacity in Visp. Technip awarded FEED contract for ammonia plant in Louisiana January 3, 2013 — Technip (Paris, France; www. technip.com) was awarded by The Mosaic Co. (www.mosaicco.com) the front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract, as well as preparation of the corresponding engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) proposal, for a new ammonia plant under consideration by the global crop-nutrient company. Mosaic’s preference is to locate the proposed plant adjacent to the company’s existing Faustina fertilizer manufacturing operations in St. James Parish, La. It would have a capacity of 2,200 metric tons (m.t.) per day. The proposed design would feature Haldor Topsøe A/S’ (Lyngby, Denmark; www.topsoe. com) proprietary ammonia-process technology that Technip has successfully engineered and constructed.The FEED and corresponding EPC are targeted for completion by mid-2013.
in the lower double-digit million euros range, is scheduled to become operational in 2014.The capacity expansion in Chester underscores the plans of the Evonik Group to expand its global silica capacities by about 30% over the level of 2010 by 2014. New acrylic acid plant planned in the Republic of Bashkortostan December 19,2012 — Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.(MHI;Tokyo,Japan;www.mhi.co.jp) and Sojitz Corp., jointly with Renaissance Construction (RC),have received an order from JSC Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat (GNS) of the Republic of Bashkortostan,Russian Federation,for a project to construct a new acrylic acid plant with process technology licensed by Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. (MCC).The plant is planned to produce 80,000 m.t./yr of acrylic acid, 80,000 m.t./yr of butyl acrylate and 35,000 m.t./yr of glacial acrylic acid, and it is expected to reach its projected capacity in 2015. Caloric to supply hydrogen-generating plant to the Czech Republic December 19, 2012 — Caloric Anlagenbau GmbH (Gräfelfing,Germany; www.caloric.com) has won a contract for a hydrogen-generating plant with a capacity of 2,000 Nm³/h based on naphtha feed stock.The hydrogen unit will be located in the Czech Republic and will provide hydrogen to a benzene production unit. The plant design will follow Caloric’s expertise in highly efficient and customized concepts.The operation of the plant will start in mid-2013.
BASF increases global capacity for hexanediol January3,2013— BASF SE (Ludwigshafen,Germany; www.basf.com) will increase its global capacity for manufacturing the chemical intermediate 1,6-hexanediol (HDO) by more than 20% to more than 50,000 ton/yr by 2014. For this purpose, the company will invest more than €30 million to further optimize its production processes, carry out various infrastructure projects and enhance its logistical processes. BASF operates HDO production facilities at its sites in Freeport, Tex., and Ludwigshafen, Germany.
Toyo wins fertilizer plant order in Indonesia December 18, 2012 —The consortium of Toyo Engineering Corp. (Toyo; Chiba, Japan; www. toyo-eng.co.jp) and PT Rekayasa Industri (Rekind) has been awarded a fertilizer project from the Indonesian fertilizer company, PT Pupuk Sriwidjaja Palembang (PUSRI).The project,named “PUSRI IIB,” is to be constructed in Palembang of South Sumatra, Indonesia.The contract is for EPC services for the facilities to produce 2,000 ton/d of ammonia and 2,750 ton/d of urea,plus utility facilities.The ammonia plant and utility facilities are provided by Rekind and urea plant together with urea technology by Toyo.
Evonik expands U.S. production of precipitated silica December 20,2012 — Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) plans to increase its production capacities for precipitated silica at its site in Chester,Pa.by around 20,000 m.t./yr. The new facility, which received an investment
CP Kelco announces CMC capacity expansion plans December 12, 2012 — CP Kelco (Atlanta, Ga.; www.cpkelco.com) has announced plans to increase the carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) capacity at its production facility in Äänekoski, Finland. CP Kelco will be expanding purified
CMC capacity up to 25% at this facility over the next 12 to 18 months.The Äänekoski plant is already said to be the largest purified CMC manufacturing facility in the world.
MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS Clariant divests several businesses to SK Capital January 2,2013 — ClariantAG (Muttenz,Switzerland; www.clariant.com) has signed an agreement to divest its textile chemicals, paper specialties and emulsions businesses to SK Capital, a U.S.based private investment firm with a focus on the specialty materials, chemicals and healthcare sectors. The divestment has been approved by the Boards of both companies. Subject to regulatory approvals,the transaction is expected to close by the end of the second quarter of 2013.The total consideration of the sale amounts to approximately CHF 502 million. BASF to sell Meyco Equipment business to Atlas Copco December 21, 2012 — BASF SE has signed a contract with Atlas Copco to sell its Meyco Equipment business, which provides concrete spraying machines to the mining industries. The machinery manufacturer, which is based in Stockholm, Sweden, will continue operations at the production site of Meyco Equipment in Winterthur, Switzerland. Both parties have agreed to not disclose financial details of the transaction. AkzoNobel to divest its North American Decorative Paints business December 14, 2012 —AkzoNobel (Amsterdam, The Netherlands; www.akzonobel.com) has announced the divestment of its North American Decorative Paints business to PPG Industries, Inc. (PPG; Pittsburgh, Pa.; www.ppg.com), for the value of $1.05 billion. In 2011, the North American Decorative Paints business had revenues of $1.5 billion. Altana acquires the business of the wax additive manufacturer ChemCor December 7, 2012 — The specialty chemicals group Altana (Wesel, Germany; www.altana. com) has signed a contract to acquire the business of Chemical Corporation of America Inc. (ChemCor), a U.S. manufacturer of wax additives.Altana will acquire the production site in Chester, N.Y.The business will be integrated into BYK USA Inc., which is based in Wallingford, Conn. and belongs to the Altana Additives & Instruments div. ■ Dorothy Lozowski
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