Latest News: Business
BASF increases PIB capacity
BASF S.E. (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) has started up a new plant for the production of low-molecular-weight, highly reactive polyisobutene (HR PIB) at its site in Ludwigshafen, Germany, thus increasing its capacity by 25,000 metric tons (m.t.) per year to 40,000 m.t./yr.…
Wholesale chemical sales were up in April, ACC report says
Sales of chemicals at the wholesale level grew by 1.4% in April to $8.9 billion, according to data from the American Chemistry Council's most recent Weekly Chemistry and Economic Trends report, out today. The 1.4% gain, which does not include…
UAE to become home of world’s largest CSP plant
Masdar (Abu Dhabi; www.masdar.ae) has appointed the bidding consortium of Total (Paris, France; www.total.com) and Abengoa Solar (Seville, Spain; www.abengoasolar.com) as a partner to own, build and operate Shams 1, said to be the world’s largest concentrated solar power (CSP) plant, and…
AdvantaPure expands its manufacturing operations due to high demand for single-use systems
AdvantaPure (Southhampton, Pa.; www.advantapure.com), a company that specializes in ultra-clean products for the pharmaceutical, biomedical, food, beverage, and chemical industries, has increased its production capabilities for the manufacture of single-use silicone products. The rapid adoption of single-use systems, particularly in…
Chemical Safety Board is requested to investigate BP Deepwater Horizon
The House Committee on Energy and Commerce has asked the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB, Washington, D.C.; www.csb.gov) to investigate the BP Deepwater Horizon blowout. In a statement, CSB’s chairman, John Bresland, says that “It is my desire that the…
Sener: DOE contract for CSP thermal storage system
The multinational engineering company Sener (www.sener.es) has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) for contributing to the development of the next generation of highly efficient thermal storage systems for solar thermal plants. This contract is…
Merger: Maag Pump Systems and Automatik Plastics Machinery
Maag Pump Systems AG (Oberglatt, Switzerland; www.maag.com) is merging with Automatik Plastics Machinery GmbH (Grossostheim, Germany; www.automatikgroup.com), thereby forming a worldwide leading group for systems and components for manufacturing and processing plastics. Through the merger, Maag Pump Systems and Automatik…
Albemarle builds kilo laboratory in Europe
Albemarle Corp. (Baton Rouge, La.; www.albemarle.com) announced today it is building a stat-of-the-art kilo laboratory in Louvain la Neuve, Belgium. The facility will give Albemarle’s European customer base convenient access to local product development capabilities to better serve their needs.…
Technip wins contracts for refinery units in India
Technip (Paris, France; www.technip.com) has been awarded three lump-sum turnkey contracts for Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd. (MRPL), worth a total value of approximately €25 million, for the Phase III Expansion Project of its refinery located in Mangalore, west coast…
Wacker acquires Si production site in Norway
Wacker Chemie AG (Munich, Germany; www.wacker.com) is acquiring the Norwegian FESIL Group’s silicon-metal production site in Holla (near Trondheim). The two companies signed a purchase agreement to this effect on Friday night, June 4, 2010. The transaction still requires approval of…