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Nippon Shokubai to divest its polyester business to Takiron

Nippon Shokubai Co. (Osaka, Japan; www.shokubai.co.jp) has entered into a letter of intent with Takiron Co., Ltd. (Tokyo; www.takiron.co.jp) to transfer all of the shares of its subsidiary, Nippon Polyester Co. Final share transfer agreements will be signed after negotiations…

Vencorex announces plans for isocyantes expansion in the U.S., France and Thailand

Vencorex (Saint-Priest, France; www.vencorex.com) is expanding its capacity of aliphatic isocyanates to further strengthen the company’s positions worldwide.  Several industrial projects will enhance the ability to serve the growing market for years to come.   Vencorex’s objective is to strengthen…

Yokogawa and Murata form alliance for development of wireless-device communication modules

Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (Kyoto, Japan; www.murata.com) and Yokogawa Electric Corp. (Tokyo, Japan; www.yokogawa.com) announce that they have reached an agreement whereby they will cooperate in the development of communication modules for field wireless devices used in plants. Under the…

Westlake to expand ethylene capacity in Lake Charles

Westlake Chemical Corp. (Houston; www.westlake.com) has announced that it will expand its ethylene capacity and make other capital improvements in Lake Charles, La. with an investment in excess of $330 million.  This expansion is expected to be completed in late…

Foster Wheeler awarded contract for ExxonMobil’s Antwerp refinery upgrade

Foster Wheeler AG (Zug, Switzerland; www.fwc.com) has announced that a subsidiary of its Global Engineering and Construction Group has been awarded an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract by ExxonMobil Petroleum & Chemical BVBA (“Esso”) for the Antwerp Northwest Europe…

BP announces contracts for Indonesia liquefaction project

BP plc (London, U.K.; www.bp.com) has announced that the following two consortia have been awarded the onshore Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) for the $12-billion Tangguh Expansion Project (Train 3): PT. Tripatra Engineers and Constructors, PT. Tripatra Engineering, PT.…

AkzoNobel exits paper chemicals market with divestment of Eka Synthomer JV

AkzoNobel N.V. (Amsterdam, the Netherlands; www.akzonobel.com) has announced the €5 million divestment of its 50% share in non-consolidated joint venture (JV) Eka Synthomer Oy, to Synthomer. The divestment of these shares follows a strategic review of the businesses within AkzoNobel's…

Endress+Hauser invests in tank-calibration technology in Japan

Endress+Hauser (Reinach, Switzerland; www.endress.com) has invested €2.7 million in the new test rig for the calibration of high-precision tank-gaging instruments developed and produced at its site in Yamanashi, Japan. The plant is equipped with state-of-the-art laser technology, and can precisely…

Chemtura expanding antioxidant production capacity in Italy, Canada and Taiwan

Chemtura Corp. (Philadelphia, Pa.; www.chemtura.com) has announced that three of its major production sites are now increasing capacity for its Naugalube alkylated diphenyl amine (ADPA) liquid antioxidants to prevent predicted future shortages of antioxidants in the automotive petroleum additive industry…

Manufacturing software provider Camstar acquired by Siemens

Siemens AG (Munich, Germany; www.siemens.com) has entered into an agreement to acquire Camstar Systems, Inc., one of the proven market leaders in enterprise Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) software. The acquisition will build on Siemens’ industrial digitalization strategy by broadening its…