Honeywell (Morristown, N.J.; www.honeywell.com) announced that its Performance Materials and Technologies division has opened a new manufacturing facility in China to produce state-of-the-art catalysts used to make components for plastics production. This new site in Zhangjiagang City, Jiangsu Province, has…
Solvay S.A. (Brussels, Belgium; www.solvay.com) has begun the construction of its production plant for highly dispersible silica (HDS) in Gunsan, South Korea, to address growing demand in Asia for energy-saving tires and to develop innovative HDS grades. Solvay officially broke…
Ineos Technologies (Rolle, Switzerland; www.ineos.com) has licensed its Innovene S Process for the manufacture of polyethylene (PE) to SOCAR Polymer for their high-density PE project in the Chemical Industrial Park located in Sumgait, Azerbaijan. The Innovene S HDPE plant will…
Endress+Hauser (Reinach, Switzerland; www.endress.com) is acquiring 100% of the process automation business of Colsein Ltda., its longtime sales and service partner in Bogotà, Colombia. “We believe Colombia represents a market with great potential for further growth,” explains Michael Ziesemer, Chief…
Showa Denko K.K. (SDK; Tokyo, Japan; www.sdk.co.jp) has expanded its capacity to produce high-purity hydrogen bromide (HBr), which is used in the manufacture of semiconductors, to 600 metric tons per year (m.t./yr), 1.5 times as much as the previous level.…
Mitsui Chemicals Inc. (MCI; Tokyo; www.mitsuichem.com) held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new plant within the Omuta Works site (Omuta City, Kyushu) to manufacture its new and advanced polyurethane elastomer, Fortimo (1,4-Bis (isocyanatomethyl) cyclohexane), and the polyisocyanate (using 1,5-pentamethylene diisocyanate),…
Showa Denko K.K. (SDK; Tokyo, Japan; www.sdk.co.jp) has doubled the capacity of its existing high-purity hydrogen fluoride (HF) production facility in Kawasaki, Japan. SDK has also decided to build a new HF production facility in China. High-purity HF is used…
Total S.A. (Paris, France; www.total.com) has announced investments to upgrade the Donges refinery in western France and transform the La Mède refinery in southern France. Three of Total’s five refineries in France — Gonfreville in Normandy, Grandpuits in the Paris…
Henkel AG & Co. (Düsseldorf, Germany; www.henkel.com) has announced Project Xina, a €27-million expansion project named for a volcano near its Toluca production site in Mexico. Project Xina will simultaneously double the capacity and reduce the environmental impact of Henkel’s…
At a press conference at the Hanover Messe 2015 event, ABB (Zurich, Switzerland; www.abb.com) announced its latest acquisition to expand its technological leadership in collaborative robotics. Germany’s Gomtec GmbH, based near Munich, brings with it 25 employees whose expertise, in…