Chemical Engineering September 2014 - 79

Economic Indicators
Business neWs
Plant Watch
Jacobs awarded contract for ExxonMobil
projects in Baytown and Mont Belvieu
August 12, 2014 - Jacobs Engineering
Group Inc. (Pasadena, Calif.; www.jacobs.
com) was awarded a contract from ExxonMobil
Chemical Co. to provide engineering,
procurement and construction services as
part of an ethane-cracker project in ExxonMobil's
Baytown, Tex. complex, and associated
premium product facilities in Mont Belvieu,
Tex. Company officials did not disclose
the contract value.
Clariant plans to build new
masterbatches plant in Australia
August 12, 2014 - Clariant AG (Muttenz,
Switzerland; www.clariant.com) plans to
build a new masterbatches plant in Sydney,
Australia. The new plant will mainly serve the
Australian market. Construction on the plant
is currently underway, with commissioning
scheduled for the fourth quarter 2014.
Ashland to expand capacity for
hydroxyethylcellulose capacity Nanjing
August 4, 2014 - Ashland Inc. (Covington,
Ky.; www.ashland.com) plans to expand
capacity at its hydroxyethylcellulose production
facility in the Nanjing Chemical
Industrial Park by 4,000 metric tons (m.t.), or
approximately 40%, over the next 18 months.
The additional capacity will come online in
two phases. The first 2,000 m.t. will be available
in early 2015 and the second 2,000 m.t.
will be available in late 2015.
Polyamide 6 plant commissioned for
Hangzhou Hangding Nylon Tech.
August 1, 2014 - Uhde Inventa-Fischer
GmbH (Berlin, Germany; www.uhde-inventafischer.com)
and Hangzhou Hangding
Nylon Tech. Co. have commissioned a plant
for the production of high-performance
polyamide 6 for textile-grade applications.
The plant is located in Hangzhou City in Zhejiang
Province, China and has a production
capacity of 47,000 m.t./yr.
Arkema starts up methyl acrylate
plant in Clear Lake, Tex.
July 28, 2014 - Arkema (Colombes, France;
www.arkema.com) has started up a new
plant for the production of methyl acrylate
at its Clear Lake, Tex. site, representing the
last phase of a $110-million investment plan.
The new methyl acrylate plant has a capacity
of 45,000 m.t./yr.
Tesoro announces plans for xylenes
production in the U.S.
July 22, 2014 - Tesoro Corp. (San Antonio,
Tex.; www.tsocorp.com) intends to gather
intermediate feedstock, primarily reformate,
from its West Coast refining system for xylene
extraction at Anacortes, Wash. The
initial investment is estimated to be around
$400 million. Startup of the new facilities is
expected in 2017, subject to permitting and
approval processes.
Evonik invests in new plant in Brazil for
the production of precipitated silicas
July 21, 2014 - Evonik Industries AG (Essen,
Germany; www.evonik.com) plans to build
a plant to produce precipitated silicas in
São Paulo, Brazil. The plant is scheduled to
go onstream in 2016. This is said to be the first
production plant for highly dispersible silica
in South America.
Topsøe opens new sulfuric-acid-catalyst
production plant in Bayport, Tex.
July 18, 2014 - Haldor Topsøe A/S (Lyngby,
Denmark; www.topsoe.com) opened a new
plant at its production site in Bayport, Tex.
The plant is devoted to producing Topsøe's
VK portfolio of extruded catalysts, which are
used for the production of sulfuric acid.
Mergers and acquisitions
Borealis takes full ownership of
specialty polymers JV
August 7, 2014 - Borealis AG (Vienna,
Austria: www.borealisgroup.com) will take
full ownership of the Specialty Polymers
Antwerp N.V. joint venture (JV) by purchasing
a 67% share from DuPont Holding Netherlands
B.V. The transaction is subject to
approval by the relevant authorities.
Yara acquires majority position in
Brazilian fertilizer company Galvani
August 5, 2014 - Yara International ASA (Oslo,
Norway; www.yara.com) has acquired a
60% stake in Galvani Indústria, Comércio e
Serviços S/A for an enterprise value of $318
million. Galvani is an independent, privately
held fertilizer company engaged in phosphate
mining, production and distribution
of fertilizers in Brazil.
Mexichem acquires German
PVC specialist Vestolit
August 5, 2014 - Mexichem S.A.B. de C.V.
(Tlalnepantla, Mexico; www.mexichem.
com) has signed a definitive agreement to
acquire polyvinyl chloride (PVC) producer
Vestolit GmbH (Marl, Germany; www.vestolit.
de) from Strategic Value Partners LLC. The
acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals
and is expected to close in the fourth
quarter of 2014.
Solvay to sell its Eco Services
sulfuric-acid business for $890 million
July 31, 2014 - Solvay S.A. (Brussels, Belgium;
www.solvay.com) has agreed to sell
its Eco Services business, which specliazes in
sulfuric-acid virgin production and regeneration,
to affiliates of CCMP Capital Advisors,
LLC for an enterprise value of $890 million.
Completion of the transaction is expected
in the fourth quarter of 2014.
Showa Denko to acquire high-purity
chlorine business from Air Products
July 31, 2014 - Showa Denko K.K. (Tokyo,
Japan; www.sdk.co.jp) subsidiary Taiwan
Showa Chemicals Manufacturing Co. has
come to an agreement with Air Products
San Fu Co. (APSF), a subsidiary of Air Products
and Chemicals Inc.(Lehigh Valley, Pa.;
www.airproducts.com), to acquire APSF's
high-purity chlorine business, including its
production facility in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Outotec acquires the business of
Kalogeo Anlagenbau
July 28, 2014 - Outotec Oyj (Espoo, Finland;
www.outotec.com) has purchased
the assets of Kalogeo Anlagenbau GmbH
(Leobersdorf, Austria). Kalogeo provides
solutions for biomass, sludge and wastewater-treatment
and has designed, built and
operated several mid-size thermal sludgetreatment
plants based on fluidized-bed
technology. Outotec plans to expand the
acquired business's annual sales to approximately
€15-20 million beginning in 2016.
Albemarle to acquire Rockwood
Holdings for $6.2 billion
July 15, 2014 - Albemarle Corp. (Baton
Rouge, La.; www.albemarle.com) and Rockwood
Holdings, Inc. have entered into a definitive
agreement under which Albemarle
will acquire all outstanding shares of Rockwood
in a transaction valued at approximately
$6.2 billion. This combination creates
a company with positions across the lithium,
catalysts, bromine and surface-treatment
sectors. The transaction is expected to close
in the first quarter of 2015. ■
Mary Page Bailey
For additional news as it develops, please visit www.chemengonline.com
September 2014; VOL. 121; NO. 9
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ChemiCal engineering www.Chemengonline.Com September 2014 79

http://www.vestolit http://www.tsocorp.com http://www.jacobs http://www.solvay.com http://www.evonik.com http://www.clariant.com http://www.sdk.co.jp http://www.topsoe.com http://www.airproducts.com http://www.ashland.com http://www.outotec.com http://www.borealisgroup.com http://www.uhde-inventa http://www.fischer.com http://www.yara.com http://www.albemarle.com http://www.arkema.com http://www.mexichem http://www.chemengonline.com http://www.Chemengonline.Com

Chemical Engineering September 2014

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