The Chemistry Activity Barometer (CAB), a leading economic indicator created by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), expanded 0.4 percent in August, following an upward revision for July. This marks the barometer’s sixth consecutive monthly gain. Accounting for…
The Specialty Chemicals Market Volume Index, a tool created by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) entered the third quarter of 2016 on a positive note, rising 0.2 percent in July. This follows a 0.3 percent decline in…
Finding a vacuum gauge for monitoring chemical processes can be a challenge. There are few gauges that simultaneously cover the appropriate vacuum range with sufficient accuracy and have the ability to cope with regular exposure to aggressive chemicals. VACUUBRAND's VACUU·VIEW™…
Prayon Group’s (Engis, Belgium; www.prayon.com) Prayon Technologies division, which specializes in the licensing of phosphoric acid processes, will provide a license and technical guidance for two new phosphoric acid plants to be built in Egypt, as part of the NCIC…
BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) has opened its first production plant in Sri Lanka, which will produce standard and custom-made performance-based construction chemicals under the Master Builders Solutions brand, including concrete admixtures product. The new plant will allow BASF to…
Teijin Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan; www.teijin.com) announced that it has agreed to acquire the interests owned by E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont; Wilmington, Del.; www.dupont.com) in the companies’ film-business joint ventures (JVs) in Japan and Indonesia. The…
Specialty chemicals group Altana AG (Wesel, Germany; www.altana.com) has announced that its wholly owned subsidiary ACTEGA Rhenania GmbH, a globally leading coatings and adhesives specialist, is erecting a new laboratory building in Grevenbroich, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The company is investing…
Wood Group (Aberdeen, Scotland; www.woodgroups.com) has been awarded a new contract by petrochemical manufacturer Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (Sabic; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; www.sabic.com) in the U.K. Engineering design services will be provided to the Sabic Teesside complex in Wilton, U.K.…
Emerson (St. Luois, Mo.; www.emerson.com) has signed an agreement to purchase the Valves & Controls business of Pentair plc (Manchester, U.K.; www.pentair.com) for $3.15 billion. The complementary acquisition establishes Emerson's global presence in control, isolation, pressure relief valves and actuation…
The June 2016 preliminary value for the CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; the most recent available) ticked lower than the previous month, reversing the direction from the May value, but continuing a general lowering trend over the past several months.…