On January 31, Nidec Corporation completed the acquisition of Leroy-Somer and Control Techniques, Emerson Electric’s motors, drives and electric power generation businesses. The acquisitions broaden Nidec’s motor offering and product lineup, including variable speed drives and a complete range of…
The preliminary value for the December CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; the most recent available) was higher than the previous month’s value by a signficant margin for the second consecutive month. The jump was due to a rise in the…
Clariant (Munich, Germany; www.clariant.com), a world leader in specialty chemicals, announced today that it has been awarded a contract by Dongguan Grand Resource Science & Technology Co. Ltd. to develop a new propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit in cooperation with CB&I…
Archroma (Reinach, Switzerland; www.archroma.com), a global leader in color and specialty chemicals, today announced that it will invest in a new production facility for tetrasulfonated optical brightening agents (OBAs) at its existing production site in Prat del Llobregat, Spain. The…
Plant Watch Arkema plans $90-million upgrade at Clear Lake acrylic acid plant January 11, 2017 — Arkema (Colombes, France; www.arkema.com) is investing $90 million at its Clear Lake, Tex. site to replace two acrylic-acid reactors, each with a capacity of…
The American Chemistry Council’s (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) Global Chemical Production Regional Index (Global CPRI) shows that headline global production ended the year on a stronger note, rising 0.4 percent in December after a 0.2 percent gain in November, on…
The Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB), a leading economic indicator created by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), started the year on a strong note, posting a monthly gain of 0.4 percent in January. This follows a 0.3 percent…
The American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) reported that U.S. specialty chemicals market volumes rose 0.3 percent in December. This follows an upwardly revised 0.5 percent gain in November. Volumes have generally been moving up since May. All changes…
The preliminary value for the November CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; the most recent available) experienced a jump from the previous month’s value, due largely to fresh data on carbon-steel plates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that pushed the…
LyondellBasell (Rotterdam, the Netherlands; www.lyondellbasell.com) announced that PRPC Polymers Sdn Bhd (PRPC Polymers), a wholly owned subsidiary of Petronas Chemicals Group Berhad (PCG), has selected the LyondellBasell Hostalen “Advanced Cascade Process” (Hostalen ACP) technology. The polyethylene process technology will be…