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Kobe Steel’s compressor company opens in Brazil  

Kobe Steel, Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan; www.kobelco.com) announces that its subsidiary company, Kobelco Machinery do Brazil Ltda., has begun full-scale marketing of nonstandard compressors in the South America. Based in Sao Paulo, Kobelco Machinery do Brazil (KMB) is Kobe Steel’s first…

Sika opens new manufacturing and R&D facilities in India

Sika AG (Baar, Switzerland; www.sika.com) has inaugurated its sixth manufacturing facility and R&D Center in Jhagadia, Gujarat. The new facility, located in the western part of India, will focus on concrete admixtures, mortars, resin floors and adhesives for the booming…

Mitsubishi Rayon and Mitsui to form JV for MMA production in the U.S.

Mitsubishi Rayon Co. (MRC; Tokyo, Japan; www.mrc.co.jp) and Mitsui & Co. have signed a memorandum of understanding to agree to commence detailed feasibility studies for the establishment of a joint venture (JV) in the U.S. to produce methyl methacrylate (MMA)…

Jacqueline K. Barton, honored with 2015 Priestley Medal from the ACS  

Dow director, Jacqueline K. Barton, has been named as the recipient of the 2015 Priestley Medal, the highest honor bestowed by the American Chemical Society (ACS) for her work on electron transport in DNA, her dedication to training young investigators,…

Chevron Phillips starts up new hexene plant

Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. LP (The Woodlands, Tex.; www.cpchem.com) has announced the successful commissioning and startup of the world’s largest on-purpose 1-hexene plant. With worldwide supply capabilities, the 1-hexene unit is capable of producing 250,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr)…

Wholesale trade in chemicals rose in April, ACC report says

Citing data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) said the wholesale trade in chemicals was up 1.1% in April to $11.1 billion, while inventories also rose by 0.8%. The data were included in…

TPC Group and UOP enter licensing agreement for on-purpose butadiene technology

TPC Group Inc. (Houston; www.tpcgrp.com) and UOP LLC, a Honeywell company have announced that the two companies have entered into an agreement for UOP to be the exclusive licensor of TPC Group's proprietary OXO-D technology, which is used to produce…

Clariant unveils significant investment in Indonesian operations

Clariant AG (Muttenz, Switzerland; www.clariant.com) recently inaugurated significant investments to its operations in Indonesia, including large capacity expansions in the personal care, masterbatches and pigments sectors. All new and updated facilities are located in Tangerang, Indonesia. A new plant for…

Samsung subsidiary Cheil Industries opens large plastics plant in China

Samsung Group’s (Suwol, South Korea; www.samsung.com) Cheil Industries Chemical Business Division has recently completed a high value-added engineering plastic (EP) production plant in Dongguan, Guangdong Province in Southern China and begun mass-production of plastics to be used in mobile phones…

Sabic to produce new urea grade for clean-diesel technology

Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; www.sabic.com) will introduce this year a specific grade of urea called Technical Grade Urea (TGU) that will allow diesel engines run more efficiently and reduce hazardous emissions. The new grade will be…