The State Company for Oil Projects (SCOP), part of the Iraqi Ministry of Oil, has awarded Axens (Rueil-Malmaison, France; www.axens.net) the Basic Design and License contracts for the construction of the new petroleum refinery in Nassiriya, Iraq. Axens will supply…
Allylix Inc. (San Diego, Calif.; www.allylix.com) announced today that it has begun production of valencene for the flavor and fragrance industry in large-scale commercial quantities, utilizing 200,000 liter fermentation tanks. Valencene is an orange flavor and fragrance material, currently being…
Lanxess AG (Levewrkusen, Germany; www.lanxess.com) is strengthening its commitment to Brazil with three major new investments totaling roughly €30 million, which will create more than 100 jobs. The investments will support the growing trend toward green mobility in the Latin…
The Dow Chemical Company (Midland, Mich.; www.dow.com) has closed the sale of its global polypropylene business to Braskem S.A. (São Paulo, Brazil; www.braskem.com.br). In addition to the transaction, the two companies will continue to evaluate potential future collaborations on growth…
Resinall Rütgers Resins GmbH (RRR; Duisburg, Germany) — a joint venture (JV) between Rütgers Novares GmbH (Duisburg, Germany) and Resinall Europe bvba (Brugge, Belgium) — has acquired the chemicals company Neville Chemical Europe BV (NCE; Uithoorn, Netherlands).The acquisition of NCE…
Nippon Steel Corp. (Tokyo; www.nsc.co.jp) and Kobe Steel, Ltd. (Kobe, Japan; www.kobelco.com) announce that their steel-mill-dust recycling plant (photo below) began commercial operation on October 1. As part of the objectives to deepen and expand their alliance, the two companies decided…
In a move to further optimize its value-adding chains and boost product availability, Oxea GmbH (Oberhausen, Germany; www.oxea-chemicals.com) has successfully increased its manufacturing capabilities for synthesis gas (syngas) at its Bay City, Texas plant by 10%. Syngas is the main…
Aveva (Cambridge, U.K.; www.aveva.com) today announced the acquisition of Z+F UK Ltd. (Manchester, U.K.; www.zf-uk.com). The strategic acquisition includes only the division of Z+F that produces the LFM software suite. This follows a long and successful partnership with Z+F UK…
ABB (Zurich, Switzerland; www.abb.com) has completed its acquisition of Lorentzen & Wettre from Assa Abloy AB. Lorentzen & Wettre manufactures equipment for quality control, process optimization and test instrumentation for the pulp-and-paper industry. The acquisition enhances ABB’s position as a…
Capital equipment prices, as reflected in the CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI), increased approximately 0.73% on average from June to July, after increasing approximately 1.2% from May to June. Meanwhile, according to the Current Business Indicators from Global Insight, Inc.,…