KBR, Inc. (Houston; www.kbr.com) announced that it has signed a joint venture (JV) agreement with the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (Socar) to establish a new engineering and support services company in Azerbaijan. With support from KBR and Socar,…
The board of directors of Yara International (Oslo, Norway; www.yara.com) has appointed Svein Tore Holsether as the company's new president and chief executive officer (CEO). He will succeed acting CEO Torgeir Kvidal within October 2015. Holsether currently serves as President…
The Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB), a leading economic indicator developed by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), was flat in March, following stronger gains in January and February, according to the ACC’s latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report.…
The Dow Chemical Company (Dow; Midland, Mich.; www.dow.com) and Olin Corp. (Clayton, Mo.; www.olin.com) have announced that the boards of directors of both companies unanimously approved a definitive agreement under which Dow will separate a significant portion of its chlorine…
Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corp. (Tokyo, Japan; www.asahi-kasei.co.jp) has finalized a decision to establish a subsidiary for plastic compounds in Mexico, through its U.S. subsidiary Asahi Kasei Plastics North America, Inc. (APNA). Continued demand growth for plastic compounds is forecasted in…
BASF (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) will expand its capacity for the production of Paliocrom effect pigments by more than 20% by 2017 in Ludwigshafen. The investment will enable the company to accommodate for the growing demand of its aluminum-based effect pigments…
AkzoNobel (Amsterdam, the Netherlands; www.akzonobel.com) has announced plans to invest more than €20 million in its organic peroxide production facilities in Mons, Belgium, and Houston (Pasadena), Tex., in the U.S. In Mons, the company is introducing new technologies to increase…
Asahi Glass Co., Ltd. (AGC; Tokyo; www.agc.com) announced plans to increase the production capacity of the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) facility at Phu My Plastics & Chemicals Co. (PMPC), AGC’s subsidiary business in Vietnam. PMPC’s PVC production capacity will be increased…
Praxair, Inc. (Danbury, Conn.; www.praxair.com) has started up a 180-ton/d, non-cryogenic plant for Owens-Illinois (O-I), the world’s largest glass container manufacturer. O-I has converted a conventional air-fuel glass furnace to oxy-fuel using Praxair’s oxy-fuel combustion technology and, under a long-term…
Statoil (Trondheim, Norway; www.statoil.com) has appointed Anders Opedal as as chief operating officer (COO) in the corporate executive committee (CEC), effective 1 April. Opedal will be responsible the corporate improvement programs and for driving operational efficiency across Statoils business areas.…