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Economic expansion expected through year’s end, ACC’s  CAB suggests

The Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB), a leading economic indicator created by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), has reached its highest peak since February 2008, while also posting its highest year-over-year gain since September 2010. Measured on a…

Sabic and SK Global form polyethylene joint venture

Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; www.sabic.com) and the Korean petrochemical company, SK Global Chemical, have signed a 50-50 joint venture agreement in Seoul, South Korea for a total investment of $595 million to manufacture a range of…

Ineos to supply electrolyzer technology to HF Chlor-Alkali

Ineos Technologies (Rolle, Switzerland; www.ineos.com) has announced that it is supplying four BICHLOR bipolar electrolyzers to HF Chlor-Alkali’s new plant located in Eddyville, Iowa. The new plant will supply caustic soda, muriatic acid and bleach to an adjacent food-processing facility,…

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BASF to build new PAG plant in Ludwigshafen  

BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) today announced the construction of a new plant for polyalkylene glycol (PAG)-based lubricants at its Ludwigshafen site. The manufacturing facility will start operations by the beginning of 2016 and produce PAG lubricant base stocks and…

Ineos and Doeflex plan merger for S-PVC businesses

The Compounding division of Ineos Technologies (Rolle, Switzerland; www.ineos.com)  and Doeflex Compounding (Wiltshite, U.K.; www.doeflex.co.uk) have announced the intention to combine their S-PVC (suspension polyvinyl chloride) compounding businesses.  The combined business would be run by an integrated management team from…

PAS and Tripwire form partnership for automation technology security

PAS, Inc. (Houston; www.pas.com), a provider of software for process safety, cybersecurity and asset reliability for the energy, power and process industries worldwide, and Tripwire, Inc. (Portand, Oreg.; www.tripwire.com), a global provider of risk-based security and compliance management solutions, have…

Sibur, Gazprom and Titan form polypropylene JV

Gazprom Neft (Moscow; www.gazprom.com), SIBUR (Moscow; www.sibur.com) and Titan Group signed an agreement to establish a joint venture (JV) based on Omsk Polypropylene Plant (Poliom). As part of the deal, Sibgazpolimer, a joint venture of SIBUR and Gazprom Neft (each…

Global and U.S. CPRIs rose in April, ACC says

Both the Global and the U.S. Chemical Production Index (CPRI) rose during April, according to the latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; ).  Both the Global and the U.S. Chemical Production Index…

Sika to acquire Swiss adhesives manufacturer Klebag

Sika AG (Baar, Switzerland; www.sika.com) is acquiring the business of Klebag Chemie AG, a manufacturer of adhesives for the sealing, bonding and flooring markets. The takeover strengthens Sika’s position in the Swiss interior finishing sector. Last financial year, Klebag generated…

Asahi Kasei to construct plastic compounding plant in Alabama

Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corp. (Tokyo, Japan; www.asahi-kasei.co.jp) has finalized a decision to construct a plant for plastic compounds in Athens, Alabama, as the second plant of its U.S. subsidiary Asahi Kasei Plastics North America, Inc. (APNA). The production capacity of…