Perstorp Holding AB (Malmö, Sweden; www.perstorp.com) officially opened a major extension to its capacity to produce PVC plasticizers and key chemical intermediates. The new state-of-the-art oxo plant in Stenungsund, Sweden, began producing material soon after its start-up in January, and…
Celanese Corp. (Irving, Tex.; www.celanese.com) announced the appointment of Pat Quarles as executive vice president and president, Acetyl Chain and Integrated Supply Chain, and Scott Sutton as executive vice president and president, Materials Solutions, effective June 1, 2015. Both executives…
W.R. Grace & Co. (Columbia, Md.; www.grace.com) announced that Advanced Refining Technologies (ART), the company’s joint venture (JV) with Chevron Products Co., will invest approximately $135 million to build a residue hydroprocessing catalyst plant and additional alumina capacity at the…
Royal DSM (Heerlen, the Netherlands; www.dsm.com) and Ascend Performance Materials Inc. have announced that they have formed a global strategic alliance for the supply of compounds based on polyamide 66 (PA66). Under the agreement, Ascend becomes the strategic supplier to…
Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) has doubled its production capacities for Visiomer MAAH (methacrylic anhydride) at its site in Worms, Germany. Visiomer MAAH is an important building block in the production of specialty methacrylates, which are used in concrete additives,…
Aveva (Cambridge, U.K.; www.aveva.com) has entered a multiyear agreement with Aker Solutions ASA (Fornebu, Norway; www.akersolutions.com) for Aveva Everything3D (AVEVA E3D). The Norwegian oil-service company has selected Aveva E3D to be its strategic 3D tool on plant design, modification and…
LyondellBasell (Rotterdam, the Netherlands; www.lyondellbasell.com) has announced that Daniel M. Coombs has been selected to become executive vice president of Intermediates and Derivatives (I&D), with additional responsibility for Supply Chain, Procurement and Technology. Coombs replaces Pat Quarles, who is taking…
Royal DSM (Heerlen, the Netherlands; www.dsm.com)’s DSM Dyneema brand has finalized the acquisition of Cubic Tech Corp. This privately owned company, based in Mesa, Ariz., has specialized for more than 23 years in the custom design, development and production of…
PAS, Inc. (Houston; www.pas.com) announced a newly formed Cyber Security Business Unit within PAS as well as its latest release of Cyber Integrity software. The strategic announcement reflects the company’s ongoing investment in ICS cybersecurity with dedicated resources and new…
Citing data from the U.S. Federal Reserve (Washington, D.C.; www.federalreserve.gov), the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) says chemical production (excluding pharmaceuticals) rose in April in the U.S by 0.3%. The gain for April follows a 0.4% rise in…