The U.S. Chemical Production Regional Index (U.S. CPRI) edged higher by 0.3% in March, following a 0.1% gain in February, and a 0.4% gain in January, according to the latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report from the American Chemistry Council…
Solvay Engineering Plastics (Brussels, Belgium; www.solvay.com), a world leader in polyamide-based performance materials, announces the creation of a dedicated part testing laboratory in Shanghai, China, to support the growth of its customers in the Asia region. Starting end of this…
BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) has signed an agreement to sell its global Polyolefin Catalysts business to W.R. Grace & Co. (Columbia, Md.; www.grace.com). Currently, the Polyolefin Catalysts business is part of BASF’s Catalysts division. BASF and Grace intend to…
The world’s largest IndMax fluid-catalytic-cracking (FCC) unit, jointly licensed by CB&I (The Woodlands, Tex.; www.cbi.com) and Indian Oil Corp. Ltd. (IOCL), was successfully commissioned at IndianOil’s Paradip Refinery, Odisha, India, in early December 2015. The start-up is a major landmark…
Technip (Paris, France; www.technip.com) was awarded a contract by Daelim Industrial Company* to provide proprietary equipment for the world’s first commercial High Severity Fluid Catalytic Cracking (HS-FCC) unit. The HS-FCC cracks heavy hydrocarbons into lighter olefins such as propylene and…
Effective April 22, 2016, Solenis Australia Pty Limited signed an agreement to acquire substantially all of the business assets of Nuplex Pulp & Paper from Nuplex Industries Limited. Solenis (Wilmington, Del.; www.solenis.com) will acquire the technical, commercial, production assets and…
Kuraray America, Inc. (Houston; www.kuraray-poval.com), a global leader in specialty chemical, fiber and resin production, celebrated the grand opening of its new, $300 million, 81-acre, green-field Kuraray Poval plant in Pasadena, Texas. The opening of this plant further distinguishes Kuraray Co.,…
H.I.G. Capital (H.I.G.; Miami, Fla.; www.higcapital.com), a global private equity investment firm, says that its portfolio company Valtris Specialty Chemicals (Valtris; Independence, Ohio; www.valtris.com) has acquired Akcros Holdings Ltd. Valtris is a leading manufacturer of specialty chemicals primarily used as…
SNC-Lavalin (Montreal, Canada; www.snclavalin.com) through its affiliate Saudi Arabian Kentz, has been awarded an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract by Saudi Aramco for the expansion of asphalt production facilities at its Ras Tanura Refinery in Saudi Arabia. Upon completion…
Johnson Matthey (www.jmfinechemicals.com), a leading provider of pharmaceutical services, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and catalyst technologies and Domainex Ltd. (Cambridge, U.K.; www.domainex.co.uk), a small-molecule drug discovery company, have announced a collaboration to provide integrated small molecule pharmaceutical discovery and development…