Plant Watch Covestro doubles polycarbonate resin production capacity in Shanghai October 12, 2016 — Covestro AG (Leverkusen, Germany; www.covestro.com) is doubling production capacities for polycarbonate resin from 200,000 to 400,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr) by inaugurating two new production…
The Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB), a leading economic indicator created by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), notched a gain of 0.3% in October, following an upwardly revised gain of 0.4% in September, according to the organization. The…
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 rose 0.3 percent in September. This follows a revised 0.1 percent gain in August and…
The August 2016 preliminary value for the CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; the most recent available) was slightly lower than the downwardly revised July number. Some equipment subcategories, such as Process Machinery and Electical Equipment, saw small increases, while others,…
Praxair, Inc. (Danbury, Conn.; www.praxair.com), through its Brazilian subsidiary White Martins, has signed a long-term agreement expanding its supply of oxygen to Fibria Celulose S/A (www.fibria.com.br) in Três Lagoas, Brazil. Fibria is the world’s largest producer of eucalyptus pulp, exporting…
Wacker Chemie AG (Munich, Germany; www.wacker.com) is expanding its research and development (R&D) facilities for silicones by establishing a new R&D center located in Ann Arbor, Mich. The facility is dedicated to support Wacker’s overall business and product development in…
With the prevalence of sophisticated mobile devices today, and the almost ubiquitous availability of WiFi — even on airplanes now— we can almost always be connected to each other and to our jobs. I, for one, enjoy the freedom that…
Novamont (Novara, Italy; www.novamont.com), the Italy-based world leader in bioplastics, with 1,000 patents in biopolymers and biochemicals, announced they have opened the world’s first commercial-scale facility for the bio-based production of a major intermediate chemical, in Bottrighe (Adria), North East…
The July 2016 preliminary value for the CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; the most recent available) was substantially higher than the previous month’s value, reversing the small decrease from the June CPI value. All four of the subindices rose, with…
The American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.chemengonline.com) reported that U.S. specialty chemicals market volumes rose 0.3 percent in August. This follows a 0.4 percent gain in July and a 0.3 percent decline in June. All changes in the data…