Wholesale trade in chemicals grew 1.4% in the U.S. in January, to $10.8 billion, while inventories fell 1.3% to $12.6 billion, according to the most recent Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com).…
Foster Wheeler AG (Zug, Switzerland; www.fwc.com) says that subsidiaries of its Global Engineering and Construction Group have been awarded contracts by S-OIL Corporation for the front-end engineering design (FEED) for a residue upgrading project at S-OIL’s Onsan refinery in Ulsan,…
KBR (Houston; www.kbr.com) says that Agrium awarded the company two engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts for a new grassroots urea plant and to increase the ammonia capacity for Agrium’s Lone Star Project in Borger, Texas. Upon completion, this world-scale…
Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) will build the world's first plant for the production of Aquavi Met-Met — a new source of methionine specially developed for shrimp and other crustaceans — in Antwerp, Belgium. Aquavi Met-Met is added to…
Foster Wheeler AG (Zug, Switzerland; www.fwc.com) has announced that an indirect wholly owned subsidiary has entered into a merger implementation agreement with MDM Engineering Group Ltd. to acquire all of the ordinary shares and options in issue of MDM Engineering…
Eastman Chemical Co. (Kingsport, Tenn.; www.eastman.com) has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Commonwealth Laminating & Coating, Inc. The company, which had 2013 sales revenue of approximately $100 million, is an independent manufacturer and global…
Praxair, Inc. (Danbury, Conn.; www.praxair.com) has announced that it has strengthened its position in Italy through the acquisition of Messer Italia S.p.A’s liquid carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen and argon and packaged gases businesses. The businesses will be fully integrated into…
Unilever PLC (London; www.unilever.com) has acquired a majority stake in the Qinyuan Group, a leading Chinese water purification business for an undisclosed amount. Qinyuan generated sales approaching €140 million (c. 1.2 billion RMB) for the 12-month period ending 31 December…
FMC Corp. (Philadelphia, Pa.; www.fmc.com) has announced plans to separate into two independent public companies, "New FMC," which will be comprised of FMC's Agricultural Solutions and Health and Nutrition segments and "FMC Minerals," which will be comprised of FMC's current…
The JPMorgan Global Manufacturing PMI (purchasing manager's index) rose 0.3 points to 53.3 in February, a 34-month high, according to the latest Weekly Economic and Chemistry report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com). The global PMI…