Mobile Navigation

Business & Economics

Member Exclusive

CPI Employment Landscape: Snapshot 2016

Insights about complex CPI workforce issues come from a variety of sources, including survey data on corporate attitudes, salary and diversity The chemical process industries (CPI) continue to face an interconnected web of workforce challenges, including the retirement wave of…

Member Exclusive

Considerations for Estimating the Costs of Pilot-Scale Facilities

The differences between industrial-scale facilities and pilot plants go beyond size, and these intricacies must be understood when estimating the costs associated with pilot-scale facilities Estimating the construction costs of pilot plant facilities can be tricky, and many of the…

Member Exclusive

Evaluating Preliminary Investment Feasibility

Before any engineering or design work can take place, a project’s feasibility must be considered. Reasonably accurate costs can be obtained using the preliminary estimate methodologies presented here Evaluating the feasibility early in an investment project’s timeline is critical for…

Global chemical production soft at start of 4th quarter, ACC says

The American Chemistry Council’s (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) Global Chemical Production Regional Index (Global CPRI) shows that the fourth quarter started on a soft note, with the index for October showing no gain or loss on a three-month moving average…

U.S. specialty chemical markets remain flat in October, ACC says

The Specialty Chemicals Market Volume Index, a tool created by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), showed that U.S. specialty chemicals market volumes were essentially flat in October. This follows a revised 0.2 percent gain in September and…

Chemical activity barometer sees 8th consectutive monthly gain, ACC says

The Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB), a leading economic indicator created by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), featured another solid gain of 0.3 percent in November, following a gain of 0.3 percent in October and a 0.4 percent…

Economic Indicators for Nov. 2016 CEPCI

The September 2016 preliminary value for the CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; the most recent available) was slightly lower than the previous month’s value, continuing a modest decline that began in July. Decreases in the Equipment and Buildings subindices offset…

AkzoNobel announces major investment in Tianjin

AkzoNobel (Amsterdam, the Netherlands; www.akzonobel.com) is building a new €90 million state-of-the-art facility in the Nangang Chemical Park of the Binhai District in Tianjin, China. The announcement, made during an official signing ceremony with Chinese government officials in Tianjin, involves…

Global chemical production ends 3rd quarter on a soft note, ACC says

The American Chemistry Council’s (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) Global Chemical Production Regional Index (Global CPRI) shows that growth in the industry has been nearly flat most of the year thus far. The headline index for September showed no gain or…

Member Exclusive

Re-Establishing Course

Changing employment situations can leave affected employees trying to redefine their career paths. The positive experiences shared by these authors can provide some options and strategies  The corporate world can be challenging because business fluctuates with time, and employment reductions…