Mobile Navigation

Business & Economics

Tepid growth for global chemical production, ACC report says

The Global Chemical Production Regional Index (Global CPRI) from the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) rose 0.1% in July on a three-month-moving-average (3MMA) basis.   The small gain indicates that “growth remained tepid at the start of the…

Member Exclusive

CB&I awarded contract for an on-purpose propylene plant in Poland  

CB&I (The Woodlands, Tex.; www.cbi.com) has been awarded a contract by Polski Koncern Naftowy Orlen S.A. (PKN) for the license and engineering design of a new on-purpose propylene production unit to be located in Plock, Poland. The unit will use…

AkzoNobel breaks ground on decorative paints plant in China

AkzoNobel N.V. (Amsterdam, the Netherlands; www.akzonobel.com) today broke ground on its new decorative paints site in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China. The facility is part of an investment in excess of €50 million to build manufacturing facilities for both powder coatings…

Saudi Aramco invests in Siluria Technologies

Siluria Technologies (San Francisco, Calif.; www.siluria.com) has announced the initial close of its Series D financing round. The round was led by Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures (SAEV), the venture investment subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, the world’s leading fully integrated energy…

ABB to divest its Full Services business to Nordic Capital

ABB (Zurich, Switzerland; www.abb.com) has signed an agreement to divest the ABB Full Service business to Nordic Capital for an undisclosed amount. The sale is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2014, subject to regulatory approval.   The…

Member Exclusive

MHI, Mitsubishi and GAP Insaat to build large-scale fertilizer plant in Turkmenistan  

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI; Tokyo, Japan; www.mhi-global.com), working jointly with GAP Insaat Yatirim ve Dis Tiscaret A.S., a Turkish construction company and Mitsubishi Corp., will build large-scale ammonia and urea fertilizer production plants for Turkmenhimiya (TH), a state-owned chemical…

Jacobs designs and builds iron sulfate plant for Huntsman Pigments in Italy

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (Pasadena, Calif.; www.jacobs.com) recently completed Huntsman Pigments’ new €38-million iron sulfate plant at its titanium dioxide (TiO2) pigment manufacturing facility in Scarlino, Italy. Huntsman celebrated the completion on July 1, 2014.   Jacobs worked closely with…

Sika establishes subsidiary in Sri Lanka

Sika AG (Baar, Switzerland; www.sika.com) is expanding its presence in the Asia/Pacific Region with the establishment of Sika Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is experiencing a construction boom, driven by infrastructure developments and fast-growing tourism.   Heinz Gisel, president of Sika…

Samsung establishes energy-storage JV with Sungrow Power Supply

Samsung SDI Co. (Gyeonggi-do, South Korea; www.samsungsdi.com) and Sungrow Power Supply Co. (Hefei, China; www.sungrowpower.com) will establish a joint venture (JV) to jointly develop the energy storage system (ESS) market of China, and to make joint investment in building a…

Mexichem to acquire HDPE pipe and conduit manufacturer Dura-Line

Dura-Line (Knoxville, Tenn.; www.duraline.com), a portfolio company of Chicago-based equity firm CHS Capital, will be acquired by Mexichem S.A.B. de C.V. (Tlalnepantla, Mexico; www.mexichem.com), advancing  Mexichem’s strategy of global growth in high-end specialty products.  The transaction is subject to regulatory…