Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (Waltham, Mass.; www.thermofisher.com) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Alfa Aesar, a leading global manufacturer of research chemicals and part of Johnson Matthey Plc (London; www.matthey.com), for £256 million (or approximately $405 million) in cash.…
Assiut Oil Refining Co. (ASORC) of Egypt has selected Axens (Rueil-Malmaison, France www.axens.net) to supply technologies for its refinery-upgrade project, which consist of a new complex for the production of high-octane gasoline. This project aims to satisfying domestic market needs…
DuPont’s (Wilmington, Del.; www.dupont.com) Performance Polymers business has increased production capacity of DuPont Zytel PA 66 and PA 6 at its Uentrop facility in Hamm, Germany by 20% to meet growing demand primarily in the global automotive industry. Lightweight, high-performance…
PPG Industries, Inc. (Pittsburgh, Pa.; www.ppg.com) has reached a definitive agreement to acquire IVC Industrial Coatings, Inc., a U.S.-based specialty-powder and liquid-coatings manufacturer with 2014 sales of more than $100 million. The transaction is expected to close in the third…
Solvay S.A. (Brussels, Belgium; www.solvay.com) has started production at its two new large-scale and “on-pipe” alkoxylation facilities in Moerdijk, the Netherlands, and in Singapore. Both units are located in integrated petrochemical hubs and receive ethylene oxide via dedicated pipelines, providing…
Air Products (Lehigh Valley, Pa.; www.airproducts.com) announced that it has been awarded a major contract to supply industrial bulk gases and bulk specialty-gas supply system for a new semiconductor fab in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Air Products will build…
Sumitomo Chemical Co. (Tokyo; www.sumitomo-chem.co.jp) has announced plans to more than double its production capacity for lithium-ion secondary battery separators, which are marketed under the Pervio brand name. The production at its Ohe Works in Niihama, Ehime Pref., Japan will…
Total S.A.’s (Paris, France; www.total.com) Total Fluides (www.totalspecialfluids.com) and Neste Oil Oyj (Espoo, Finland; www.nesteoil.com) have signed a collaborative agreement for the supply of Neste’s proprietary NEXBTL renewable isoalkane to be used by Total Fluides as feedstock to produce innovative…
ABB (Zurich, Switzerland; www.abb.com) has opened a new facility in Houston that will build fully integrated analyzer shelters for the downstream oil-and-gas industry. The new 40,000-ft2 Analytical Systems Integration Facility will manufacture integrated shelters containing analyzer systems that are designed…
Messer Group GmbH (Bad Soden, Germany; www.messergroup.com) has announced the successful commissioning of a new production facility, where the company has been producing the noble gases krypton and xenon, located in the central Chinese city of Panzhihua, Sichuan province. In…