The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA; www.epa.gov) has finalized a rule adding a hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) category to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) list of reportable chemicals. This action will expand the scope of chemicals subject to TRI reporting and provide…
Mexichem S.A.B. de C.V. (Tlalnepantla, Mexico; www.mexichem.com) announced that it has acquired Vinyl Compounds Holdings Ltd. (VCHL), a leading U.K.-based technical PVC compounds manufacturer serving a broad range of industries including: building and construction, pipe and profile manufacturers, footwear and…
Sasol Ltd. (Johannesburg, South Africa; www.sasol.co.za) has completed yet another major capital investment in South Africa as part of its dual-regional, multi-asset hub growth strategy in Southern Africa and North America. The company unveiled the C3 Expansion Project, which enables…
Showa Denko K.K. (SDK; Tokyo, Japan; www.sdk.co.jp) has decided to acquire all shares of the GMM Group, a specialty non-stick coating chemicals manufacturing company headquartered in Hong Kong, China, and concluded a stock purchase and sale agreement with GMM. GMM…
BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) has entered into an agreement to sell its Inorganic Specialties business to Edgewater Capital Partners LP, of Cleveland, Ohio. Inorganic Specialties includes the Evans City, Pennsylvania, USA, production site and the Specialty Alcoholates, Boranes and…
Honeywell (Morris Plains, N.J.; www.honeywell.com) announced the launch of a new business, Honeywell Research Chemicals, that will now include several brands and solvent and inorganic chemical products that were acquired from Sigma-Aldrich in December 2015. Honeywell Research Chemicals combines more…
Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) is expanding its production facilities in Birmingham (Alabama, USA) and Darmstadt (Germany). This will create additional capacity for the production of biodegradable polymers marketed globally under the brand names Resomer and Resomer Select. These…
Tesoro Corp. (San Antonio, Tex; www.tsocorp.com) and Western Refining, Inc. (El Paso, Tex.; www.wnr.com) jointly announced a definitive agreement under which Tesoro will acquire Western at an implied current price of $37.30 per Western share in a stock transaction, representing…
Zachry Group (San Antonio, Tex.; www.zachrygroup.com) has been chosen by ExxonMobil to support its Beaumont, Texas, 650,000-metric tons per year (m.t./yr) polyethylene (PE) expansion, which begins this quarter. Zachry will provide constructability and execution planning, electrical and instrumentation design, and…
Total S.A. (Paris; www.total.com) and Corbion (Amsterdam, the Netherlands; www.corbion.com) are joining forces to develop bioplastics by creating a 50-50 joint venture to produce and market polylactic (PLA) polymers. The two partners plan to build a world-class PLA polymerization plant…