Latest News: Business
Hexcel to acquire French composites producer Structil
Hexcel Corp. (Stamford, Conn.; www.hexcel.com) announced that it has entered into exclusive negotiations to acquire all of the shares of Structil SA, a French producer and supplier of high-performance composites to the aerospace, defense and industrial markets. The proposed transaction…
Air Liquide appoints Susan Ellerbusch as head of U.S. subsidiary
Air Liquide (Paris, France; www.airliquide.com) announced that Susan Ellerbusch has been appointed chief executive officer of Air Liquide USA LLC, a U.S. subsidiary of Air Liquide, the global leader in gases, technologies and services for industry and health. Ellerbusch will…
Endress+Hauser expands production in Michigan and Indiana
Endress+Hauser (Reinach, Switzerland; www.endress.com) has expanded its production facilities in the United States. The Raman analyzer manufacturing plant in Ann Arbor, Michigan, was extended at a cost of $9 million. In Greenwood, Indiana, the company has built a new $8-million…
Sandvik to divest Process Systems business to FAM
Sandvik AB (Stockholm, Sweden; www.sandvik.com) has signed an agreement to divest Sandvik Process Systems to FAM AB, owned by the three largest Wallenberg foundations, at a price of 5.0 billion SEK. Sandvik Process Systems delivers advanced industrial process solutions based…
Sadara announces startup of PMDI plant
Sadara Chemical Co. (Jubail, Saudi Arabia; www.sadara.com) announced the production of commercial quantities of on-specification liquid polymeric methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (PMDI), the largest single train facility of its kind in the world. PMDI, which is used in the production of…
Owens Corning acquires cellular-glass manufacturer Pittsburgh Corning
Owens Corning (Toledo, Ohio; www.owenscorning.com) announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire Pittsburgh Corning, a leading producer of cellular glass insulation systems for commercial and industrial markets. Upon closing, the company will pay approximately $560 million in cash,…
Global chemical production expands in April, ACC says
The American Chemistry Council’s (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) Global Chemical Production Regional Index (Global CPRI) shows that global chemicals production rose 0.1 percent in April after a revised flat performance in March, as measured on a three-month moving average (3MMA)…
BASF and Sinopec to increase propionic acid capacity at Nanjing site
BASF SE (Lugwigshafen, German; www.basf.com) and Sinopec will expand the capacity of existing propionic acid production with an additional 30,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr) at their state-of-the-art Verbund site, BASF-YPC Company Limited, a 50-50 joint venture (JV) in Nanjing,…
Neste Jacobs wins contract for new hydrogenation unit in Germany
Neste Jacobs Oy (Porvoo, Finland; www.nestejacobs.com) and Haltermann Carless, a leading provider of high-value specialty hydrocarbons, have signed a contract under which Neste Jacobs will perform the engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) services for an upgrade and expansion of…
Amec Foster Wheeler awarded contract for ISAB refinery work in Sicily
Amec Foster Wheeler (London, U.K.; www.amecfw.com) has been awarded an engineering contract by ISAB Srl, a Lukoil Group Company, as part of a major turnaround at their refinery in Priolo, Sicily, Italy. ISAB has selected Amec Foster Wheeler to execute…