Last month, this column discussed the continuing momentum of sustainability projects in industry, citing a couple of reports that showed sustainability to be valuable to business. More recent findings support those conclusions. Research by Aras (www.aras.com), a product lifecyle-management provider,…
Plant Watch Tosoh to construct new chloroprene rubber plant in Japan June 13, 2025 — Tosoh Corp. (Tokyo; www.tosoh.com) plans to increase its production capacity for chloroprene rubber (CR) by adding a second CR production facility at its Nanyo Complex…
Saipem SpA (Milan, Italy; www.saipem.com) has been awarded a front-end engineering design (FEED) contract by Sonatrach Petroleum (London, U.K.; www.sonatrach.co.uk), related to the phosphate integrated project for fertilizer production in Algeria. The contract was awarded through a competitive dual FEED…
Wood plc (Aberdeen, U.K.; www.woodplc.com) has been awarded a contract by Colombia's majority state-owned oil company, Ecopetrol, to deliver the detailed engineering design for upgrades at its Barrancabermeja refinery in Colombia. The project, known as Línea Base de Calidad de…
Versalis (Milan, Italy; www.versalis.eni.com), the chemical company of Eni , unveiled today, at its Mantua site, a demonstration plant based on Hoop®, the company’s new proprietary technology for the chemical recycling of mixed plastic waste. This technology, which complements mechanical…
Yokogawa Electric Corporation (Tokyo, Japan; www.yokogawa.com) announces that it has formalized a long-term agreement with Shell Global Solutions International B.V. (The Hague; the Netherlands; www.shell.com) to integrate and further develop technologies for utilizing robots and drones in plant monitoring and…
INEOS Phenol (Rolle, Switzerland; www.ineos.com), the world's largest producer of phenol and acetone, announced today its intention to permanently stop production at their site in Gladbeck, Germany. High European energy costs alongside Europe’s punitive CO2 tax policy have combined to…
The preliminary value for the CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI) for April 2025 (most recent available) rose slightly compared to the previous month’s value. The final value for March 2025 was downwardly revised. The uptick in the April CEPCI was…
Jinggong Holding Group Co., Ltd. (Shaoxing, China; www.jsjggj.com), a Chinese industrial conglomerate, and Yokogawa Electric Corporation (Tokyo, Japan, www.yokogawa.com), a leader in industrial control and automation, announce that they have signed a strategic partnership agreement to explore the possibility of…
In a mid-year report on economic conditions, the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) said that "uncertainty has emerged as an economic headwind to businesses and consumers," and "near-term weakness in manufacturing activity is expected amid supply chain disruptions,…