The U.S. Chemical Production Regional Index (U.S. CPRI) rose by 0.8% in December, following a 0.3% gain in November, according to the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com). “For the second consecutive month, production increased in all seven…
Evonik Industries (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) has announced that it will expand its specialty methacrylate monomer facility in Mobile, Ala. The methyl methacrylate transesterification (MMAT) plant, within Evonik’s Performance Polymers Business Unit and Acrylic Monomers Business Line, will begin a multi-million…
Asahi Glass Co., Ltd. (Tokyo; www.agc.com) plans to build a new high-efficiency manufacturing plant using proprietary fluorochemical technology at its Chiba Plant in Japan, and start supplying the new refrigerant HFO-1234yf beginning in mid-2015. The refrigerant will be supplied to…
Praxair, Inc. (Danbury, Conn.; www.praxair.com) has signed a long-term contract with Taewoong Steel Co. Ltd. to supply high-purity oxygen to the company’s steel mill facility in Busan, Korea. Praxair will construct a new 180-ton/d air separation plant and pipeline in…
The Performance Products division of Huntsman Corp. (The Woodlands, Tex.; www.huntsman.com) has announced that it will expand its global polyetheramines (PEA) capacity by a minimum of 15% as a result of debottlenecking three of its PEA manufacturing plants globally. The…
Arkema Arkema (Colombes, France; www.arkema.com) and Jurong Chemical, a Chinese acrylic acid business, have announced the creation of Sunke, a joint venture in which Arkema will have a majority interest, comprising the assets of Jurong’s acrylic acid production site in…
The National Industrialization Co. (Tasnee; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; www.tansee.com) and The National Titanium Dioxide Company Ltd. (Cristal; Kuwait; www.cristal.com) have signed an agreement to establish a joint venture (JV) company with Toho Titanium Company Ltd. (Toho). Through SIDF/local funding the…
To respond to the growing global demand for reliable valve technology, Metso Corp. (Helsinki, Finland; www.metso.com) has decided to build a new green-field global valve technology center in Chungju, South Korea. The investment will strengthen Metso's control valve and service…
Outotec Oyj (Espoo, Finland; www.outotec.com) has agreed with Tata Steel, a major global steel company, on the delivery of technology for beneficiation of chromite tailings in Sukinda, Orissa, India. The order will be booked in Outotec's 2014 first quarter order…
Oxea S.à r.l. (Luxembourg; www.oxea-chemicals.com) has announced that it has successfully increased its capacity for specialty esters by 20 percent at its Amsterdam Esters Plant (AEP). The company’s investment for this expansion was in the single-digit-million Euro range. The expansion…