Industry: Polyolefins

Chemical industry summary  Heading into Q2 earnings season, chemical margins generally look positive for most chemical sectors with olefins/polyolefins leading and the chlor-alkali chain less profitable.  Macroeconomics and geopolitics The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reports Q1 global GDP growth at 2.2%, 0.8% below the April forecast. The year 2015 now looks to be at 3.3% […]

AMERICAS  Hexpol to boost synthetic rubber compounding capacity in Mexico  Hexpol plans to expand synthetic rubber compounding capacity in Mexico. The expansion will add a new advanced 135 L rubber compounding line into its Querétaro facility, Mexico, which will increase overall capacity to 70 KTA. Comments: Sweden-headquartered Hexpol A.B. supplies advanced rubber and plastic compounding […]

AMERICAS Dunkin’ Donuts seeking replacement of EPS cup Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. has looked for alternatives to expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam cups for its coffee cups. Currently, polypropylene foam cups from Berry Plastics Group have been considered the best alternative to EPS foam cups. Dunkin’ Donuts also seeks a new and recyclable lid to be […]

 AMERICAS  Sekisui Plastics USA introduces a new grade of Piocelan®foam resin  Sekisui Plastics USA has launched a new grade of moldable Piocelan®foam resin, Piocelan T. The new material is a hybrid of polystyrene and polyolefins using Sekisui Plastics’ proprietary hybrid foam technology. Compared to previous grades that lack sufficient heat resistance for some automotive applications, […]

AMERICAS   Shintech to build new ethylene unit at Iberville Parish facility   Shintech, the largest PVC producer in North America, will invest USD 1.4 billion for a new ethane cracker installed at its facility in Iberville Parish, Louisiana, as well as infrastructures that connect ethylene output to VCM and PVC units. The new plant […]

AMERICAS   Nova Chemicals evaluating new PE plant   Canada-headquartered Nova Chemicals is considering building a new PE plant and might have a final decision within 12-18 months. If this PE project realizes, the PE plant would benefit from its expansion project of cracker in Corunna, Canada which is due on stream in 2017. In […]

AMERICAS Total launches new HDPE grade Total has introduced a new HDPE grade, XSene XRT70. This grade which combines excellent processability and raised temperature resistance is designed for water and gas pressure pipe application. High extrusion speed at low extrusion temperature without sacrificing the finished surface can be achieved, which has been confirmed by converters […]

AMERICAS   ExxonMobil launches new Vistamaxx grade   ExxonMobil has introduced a new propylene-based elastomers grade, Vistamaxx3588FL. The new material offers good heat seal properties with excellent processability in cPP and BOPP film applications. Comments: Snack, biscuit, and candy packaging in China and Southeast Asia are expected to be some of the highest growth areas […]

AMERICAS Borealis to invest in PP compounding in Brazil Borealis has completed the expansion of its PP compounding facility in Itatiba, Brazil. The expansion was completed with an investment of about USD 48 million. The expansion project included the addition of two new lines; the output from the new lines will be sold to automotive […]

AMERICAS Formosa Plastics to build new PE plant Formosa Plastics’ new PE plant at Point Comfort, Texas will have the capacity to produce 525 KTA. This will be the second PE unit at the Point Comfort complex. Construction for this unit is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2015 and the plant is […]

AMERICAS ExxonMobil Chemical introduces new Vistamaxx grade ExxonMobil Chemical is introducing a new grade to its Vistamaxx portfolio. The new grade, Vistamaxx 3588FL provides excellent seal performance in cast PP and heat-sealable BOPP films designed for fast and reliable packaging operations. Comments: Exxon has introduced the new grade to cater to the fast-growing general packaging […]

AMERICAS Formosa considering a new PE unit in Point Comfort Formosa Plastics is considering the construction of a PE unit at its Point Comfort complex in Texas. This will be the second new PE plant to be built at Point Comfort. Construction on the new PE unit is expected to begin in the last quarter […]