Alpek, S.A.B. de C.V. (San Pedro Garza García, Mexico; www.alpek.com) has signed a joint venture (JV) agreement with United Petrochemical Company for the construction of an integrated purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plant in Ufa, Bashkortostan, Russia.…
The U.S. economy continues to improve, with forecasts now suggesting economic expansion into 2015, according to the American Chemistry Council’s (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) monthly Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB), released today. The CAB is a leading economic indicator, shown to…
BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com)says that its U.S. affiliate, BASF Corp., has entered into an agreement to commence a cash tender offer for all of the outstanding shares of common stock of the biotechnology company Verenium Corp. (San Diego, Calif.)…
Kemira Oyj (Helsinki, Finland; www.kemira.com) has signed an agreement to acquire Soto Industries Inc, a privately owned company, headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. Soto is a specialty chemicals and services supplier to the pulp and paper industry. Soto supplies a broad…
Atlas Copco AB (Stockholm, Sweden; www.atlascopco.com), a provider of sustainable productivity solutions, has agreed to acquire Synatec GmbH, which provides quality-improvement solutions mainly to the automotive industry. Synatec, based near Stuttgart, Germany, provides products and solutions to improve flexibility and…
Safic-Alcan Groupe (Puteaux, France; www.safic-alcan.com), an international distribution group of chemical specialties, announces today it has acquired Laserson, a French chemical distributor. With this acquisition, Safic-Alcan has further enhanced its market position in the distribution of cosmetic specialty ingredients. Based…
The Global Chemical Production Regional Index (Global CPRI) slipped 0.1% in August, the first decline since a soft patch last November, according to the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com). The U.S. CPRI also edged down, by 0.3% in…
SNC-Lavalin Inc. (Montreal, Quebec, Canada; www.snclavalin.com) says that Phase II of the Emirates Aluminum Smelter Complex (EMAL II) project in Abu Dhabi has achieved first hot metal nearly three months ahead of schedule. SNC-Lavalin has been contracted to provide engineering,…
Romarco Minerals, Inc. (Toronto, Ontario; www.romarco.com) has awarded Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies (Moon Township, Pa.; www.veoliawaterstna.com) a contract to supply engineering design, equipment, construction oversight and startup of a new 1,200 gallon per minute (gal/min) DesneSludge water treatment plant…
Wendelsheim (Germany), September 18, 2013 – Ehrfeld Mikrotechnik BTS GmbH (EMB; Wendelsheim; www.ehrfeld.com), a subsidiary of Bayer Technology Services GmbH (Leverkusen, both Germany; www.bayertechnology.com), has acquired a worldwide license from Alfa Laval AB (Lund, Sweden; www.alfalaval.com) to market and manufacture…