Chemical Week back issues from August 2002:
Distribution vision. (View Point).(Andrew Liveris, of Dow Chemical discusses the industry)(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002; ... Andrew Liveris, Dow Chemical business group president/performance chemicals, gave an interesting--if very producer-centric--view of chemical distribution's future, at the recent European Association of Chemical Distributors' (FECC) annual congress in Cannes. Dow Chemical speaks with clout ...
Effective innovation management can turn your company around.(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002 ... New Approaches Assure Returns on Your R&D The difficulties facing the specialty chemicals sector are provoking some interesting thinking about what it is going to be needed to turn things around. Assuring returns on R&D is a key issue. Many specialties companies-- including many ...
Daikin contender for Solvay's PVDF plant? (News Briefs).(Daikin Industries Ltd., Solvay Polymers Inc., polyvinylidene fluoride)(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002 ... CW hears that Daikin Industries (Osaka) is considering the acquisition of Solvay's polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) plant at Decatur, AL. Solvay must sell its newly constructed PVDF plant at Decatur as part of FTC requirements, following Solvay's acquisition of Ausimont (CW, May 8, p. 16) ....
Nova Chemicals and BASF to swap styrene. (News Briefs).(Nova Chemicals Corp. (Calgary, Canada), BASF AG; supply swap agreement.)(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002 ... Nova Chemicals and BASF have signed a long-term styrene supply swap agreement. Nova will supply styrene to BASF in North America under the deal, and BASF will supply styrene to Nova in Europe. Volumes and terms of the deal were not disclosed. The companies say the agreement insures ...
White House increases oversight of GM plantings. (News Briefs).(federal agency safety reviews, genetically modified crops)(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002 ... The Bush Administration proposed a strategy last week to increase the quality of federal agency safety reviews of genetically modified (GM) crops, before they are approved for field testing or commercial development. The strategy would strengthen EPA, FDA, and USDA oversight to ensure that ...
IBM to buy PricewaterhouseCoopers' consulting unit. (News Briefs).(International Business Machines Corp., PwC Consulting)(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002 ... IBM says it has agreed to acquire PricewaterhouseCoopers' consulting and technology services unit, PwC Consulting, for about $3.5 billion in cash and stock. PricewaterhouseCoopers had previously planned an initial public offering for the business. The deal, pending approval from regulators ...
Valhi seeks remaining 20% in Tremont. (News Briefs).(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002 ... Valhi (Dallas) has made a bid to acquire the 20% stake in Tremont (Denver) it does not already own, from public shareholders. Valhi says it will issue 2.0-2.5 Valhi shares for each Tremont share held. The deal would be valued at $45.8 million-$58.5 million, based on current share prices ....
Albemarle names Rohr CEO. (News Briefs).(Albemarle Corp., Mark C. Rohr, chief executive officer)(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002 ... Albemarle says that president and COO Mark C. Rohr will become CEO, effective October 1. He succeeds Floyd D. Gottwald Jr., who will serve as vice chairman and will continue as ...
Ashland CEO Chellgren to retire. (News Briefs).(Ashland Inc., Paul Chellgren)(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002 ... Ashland says its chairman and CEO, Paul Chellgren, will retire from the company in November. Ashland says Chellgren and the board mutually agreed on the retirement because of a violation of Ashland's human resources policy, which forbids a supervisor ...
ISP, Wacker form cyclodextrin pact. (News Briefs).(International Specialty Products Inc., Wacker-Chemie GmbH; Cavamax products alliance)(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002 ... International Specialty Products (ISP) and Wacker-Chemie have formed a sales and marketing alliance for Wacker's Cavamax cyclodextrin products for ...
Kao buys U.S. hair care line. (News Briefs).(Kao Corp. (Tokyo, Japan, )John Frieda Professional Hair Care Inc.)(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002 ... Kao (Tokyo) says it will purchase hair care products maker John Frieda Professional Hair Care (Wilton, CT) for $450 ...
Lower MTBE dampens TPC earnings. (News Briefs).(methyl tert-butyl ether; Texas Petrochemicals Corp. Texas Petrochemicals L.P.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Aug 07, 2002 ... Texas Petrochemical (Houston) has lowered its earnings expectations for the fiscal year, ended June 30, because of a nonseasonal decline in. methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) prices. The company cut expectations for ...
Sumitomo JV to buy Takeda's SB latex. (News Briefs).(joint venture; Nippon A and L Inc., Takeda Chemical Industries Ltd.)(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002 ... Nippon A&L (Osaka), a 67-33 joint venture between Sumitomo Chemical and Mitsui Chemicals, has agreed to acquire Takeda Chemical Industries styrene butadiene (SB) latex business, effective October 1, for an undisclosed amount. The business makes SB latex at Shimizu, Japan and has sales of ...
Basell restructuring progresses. (News Briefs).(BASELL C.V.)(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002 ... Basell, the 50-50 polyolefins jv of Shell Chemicals and BASF, has almost completed previously announced plans to cut 20% of its workforce, Shell says. The cuts are part of a wider ...
Elementis plans acquisitions. (News Briefs).(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002 ... Elementis is seeking to spend up to [pounds sterling]150 million ($237 million) on specialty chemicals acquisitions, to help boost flagging sales, sources say. An in-house team is evaluating potential targets, Elementis says. Further details were ...
Air Liquide unit sells cogen plant. (News Briefs).(Duke Energy International buys cogeneration plant from Sechilienne-Sidec, affiliate of Air Liquide)(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002 ... Duke Energy International, a subsidiary of Duke Energy (Charlotte, NC), has acquired a 103-MW cogeneration plant near Rouen, France from Sechilienne-Sidec, an ...
Degussa opens sales centers. (News Briefs).(reorganized marketing departments, completed distribution warehouses)(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002 ... Degussa says it has reorganized the respective marketing departments of its aerosil and silanes, and advanced fillers and pigments business units. Degussa has opened two sales ...
Shell buys RWE's stake in JV ahead of schedule. (News Briefs).(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002 ... Shell says it has agreed to acquire RWE's 50% stake in the companies' refining and petrochemicals joint venture, Shell & DEA Oil (Hamburg), for $1.35 billion. The deal will be retroactive to July 1, but payment will nor be made until mid-2003, Shell says. Shell & DEA Oil began operating at ...
More European firms post weak second-quarter results. (News Briefs).(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002 ... More European companies have posted falls in second-quarter sales and earnings (table). Bayer reported a 48% decline in net profits, to [euro]293 million ($299 million), on sales down 7% to [euro]7.3 billion; the company blamed the declines on the withdrawal of its Baycol/Lipobay ...
First-half performances are mixed. (News Briefs).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Aug 07, 2002 ... Several European and Mideast companies reported first-half results but did not disclose second-quarter figures. Solvay reported a 22% rise in first-half operating profits, to [euro]379 million ($387 million), on sales down 9%, to 64 billion. Profits were helped by restructuring moves, ...
Noveon plans IPO to repay debt to Goodrich. (Top of the Week).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Aug 07, 2002; ... Noveon (Cleveland), the former Goodrich specialty chemicals business purchased by private-equity capital firms in February 2001, has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) to sell up to $345 million in common stock, with the shares to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The move ...
Bush wins fast-track trade authority. (Top of the Week).(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002; ... The House and Senate have voted to pass final legislation that provides President Bush with fast-track trade negotiating authority, ending an eight-year dispute over the labor and environmental impacts of granting such powers to the executive branch. Chemical and other U.S. industry ...
Stronger volumes help offset pricing pressure on earnings. (Business & Finance News).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Aug 07, 2002; ... Second-quarter earnings reports continued to exceed expectations last week as stronger volumes helped offset a generally difficult pricing environment. Net income at Rohm and Haas (R&H) rose 64% before one-time items, to $110 million, on sales up 3%, to $1.46 billion. The improvement was ...
E&C firms post disappointing results. (Business & Finance News).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Aug 07, 2002; ... Engineering and construction (E&C) firms Fluor, Foster Wheeler, and Halliburton reported mixed results for the second quarter. Earnings at Fluor's energy and chemicals business fell 28%, to $29.1 million, on revenues up 40%, to $891 million. Fluor says the lower margins reflect a shift ...
Copene advances formation of Braskem. (Business & Finance News).(Odebrecht and Mariani's assets merged rapidly)(International Pages)(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002; ... Brazil's largest ethylene cracker Copene (Camacari) will hold a shareholders meeting August 16 to vote on the formal incorporation into Copene of assets owned by Odebrecht's OPP Petroquimica (Sao Paulo) and the Mariani Group's Petroquimica da Bahia (Camacari) The new company will be called ...
Senate vote heats up debate on chemical plant security bill. (Business & Finance News).(EPA examines terrorist attacks om chemical sites)(Government Activity)(Abstract)(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002; ... Environmental groups and their Democratic allies in Congress are stepping up demands for federal chemical site-security mandates, following a recent unanimous vote in favor of such regulations from the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. The panel voted 19-0 last month to ...
Bemis completes Clysar purchase. (Business & Finance News).(DuPont's Clysar shrink-film unit sold)(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002 ... Bemis (Minneapolis) has completed its purchase of DuPont's Clysar shrink-film business for $142 million in cash (CW, June 26, p. 10). The business, renamed Bemis Clysar, is a ...
Pall plans private placement. (Business & Finance News).(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002 ... Pall (East Hills, NY) will issue approximately $250 million in unsecured senior bonds via a private placement. The offer date and terms were not disclosed. Pall says proceeds will be ...
Jacobs named ExxonMobil contractor. (Business & Finance News).(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002 ... Jacobs Engineering says it has been selected as the engineering and procurement alliance ...
Albemarle hikes dividend. (Business & Finance News).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Aug 07, 2002 ... Albemarle says it will raise its quarterly dividend by a penny, to 14 cts/share ....
Claimants win round in Sealed Air suit. (Business & Finance News).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Aug 07, 2002; ... U.S. District Court judge Alfred Wolin ruled last week that post-1998 asbestos claims can be included in a solvency analysis of W.R. Grace for an upcoming trial involving charges that Sealed Air's (Saddle Brook, IL) purchase of a Grace subsidiary was illegal. Asbestos claimants allege that ...
Emergency response officials recommend changes to RMP. (Business & Finance News).(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002; ... The General Accounting Office (GAO) released a Congressionally mandated report last week on the adequacy of EPA's Risk Management Plan (RMP) program, which includes feedback from local emergency responders about whether the RMP information would help them respond effectively in the event ...
Higher demand and lower natural gas help results at fertilizer firms. (Business & Finance News).(Agrium; IMC Global; Potash Corp of Saskatchewan; Terra Nitrogen)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Aug 07, 2002; ... Significant declines in natural gas prices and stronger demand boosted second-quarter earnings for U.S. fertilizer producers. Canadian producers, however, were hurt by the effects of a prolonged drought in Western Canada, and by bigger declines in nitrogen prices, relative to natural gas ...
Science panel challenges EPA pesticide review. (Business & Finance News).(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002; ... A scientific panel that advises EPA says a recent preliminary EPA health risk assessment on the combined exposures to 30 organophosphate pesticides was based on insufficient information, and that EPA had complete risk data on only six of the 30 pesticides. The agency says it will consider ...
Cytec lowers earnings to reflect stock compensation. (Business & Finance News).(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002; ... Cytec Industries filed an amended annual report for 2001 with the SEC last week to correct an error in pro forma earnings. The company says actual reported results remain unchanged. The pro forma change reflects the impact of stock options on the company's earnings. Cytec says ...
Vinnolit and Vestolit near merger; may seek more partners. (Business & Finance News).(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002; ... Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) producers Vinnolit (Ismaning, Germany) and Vestolit (Marl, Germany) expect to make a final decision within weeks on previously reported merger plans, CW has learned (CW April 3, p. 12). "We are heading toward conclusion of merger talks in September or October, and ...
BOC completes U.K. acquisition. (Business & Finance News).(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002 ... BOC has completed the [pounds sterling]10-million ($16 million) acquisition of Enron Teesside Operations Ltd.'s (Middlesbrough, U.K.) industrial gases business (CW, June 12, p. 10) ....
Swiss firms' results are mixed. (Business & Finance News).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Aug 07, 2002 ... Ems-Chemie reported a 12% decrease in first-half net profits, its, to SF108 million ($75 million), on sales down 4%, to SF620 million. Second-quarter figures were not disclosed. The company cites the economic slowdown and the strength of the ...
Oil firms meet Saudi gas deadline. (Business & Finance News).(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002 ... Eight international oil companies, including ExxonMobil and Shell have submitted final proposals to he Saudi government for projects representing $25 billion worth of investments in the country's gas industry (CW, July 31, p. 15). The government ...
U.K. retailers move to cut 'risky chemicals'. (Business & Finance News).(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002; ... A group of leading U.K. retailers, including drug store chain Boots (Nottingham) and supermarket chain The Co-operative Group (Manchester), have backed a campaign by Friends of the Earth (FoE; London) to phase out the use of products containing "risky chemicals" that are hazardous to human ...
Brussels investigates refrigerant gases standards procedure.(European Commission)(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002; ... The European Commission has started investigating allegations that manufacturers of hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) exert undue influence in commission standardization committees for refrigerant gases. Standardization committees determine which refrigerant gases may be used for each refrigerant ...
Nuplex closes bid for APS. (Business & Finance News).(Asia Pacific Specialty Chemicals)(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002 ... Nuplex Industries (Auckland) has closed its takeover bid for Asia Pacific Specialty Chemicals (APS; Melbourne) (CW, July 24, p. 16). Nuplex says it received acceptances from shareholders accounting for 93.6% of APS's shares. Because ...
BOC signs Asean distribution deal. (Business & Finance News).(Calor Gas's hydrocarbon refrigernats)(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002 ... BOC says it has agreed to distribute Calor Gas's (Warwick, U.K.) range of hydrocarbon refrigerants in Malaysia, the Philippines, and ...
Okahata sets up intermediates JV. (Business & Finance News).(`)(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002 ... Okahata & Co. (Osaka) says it has set up a joint venture, Dongbang (Jiangxing) Life and Chemical Co. (Jiangxing, China), to produce pharmaceutical intermediates, mainly for Japanese drug makers. The ...
Toyo commissions color resists unit. (Business & Finance News).(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002 ... Toyo Ink Manufacturing (TIM; Tokyo) has started production of color resists used in the manufacture of color filters for liquid crystal displays at its Toyo Ink Chemicals ...
Mitsui plans Nanotech R&D base. (Business & Finance News).(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002 ... Mitsui & Co. says it plans to build a "Nanotech Park" at Tsukuba City, Japan to carry out nanotech-related joint research by industry, academia, and government. Mitsui will set up a wholly owned subsidiary, ...
Kaneka starts up pharma pilot plant. (Business & Finance News).(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002 ... Kaneka (Osaka) has started up a pilot plant at Takasago, Japan for the production of ...
Sumitomo acquires Takeda's pesticides business. (Business & Finance News).(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002; ... Sumitomo Chemical has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Takeda Chemical Industries' pesticides operation, and says it will later assume full ownership of the business. Analysts estimate the total purchase price at [yen]30 billion-[yen]50 billion ($259 million-$431 million). The deal is ...
Cabot plans fumed silica JV in China. (Business & Finance News).(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002; ... Cabot Corp. and Blue Star Chemical New Material (Wuxi, China) have signed a letter of intent to build a fumed silica plant in China, according to a local report. Cabot did not comment by CW press time. Blue Star Chemical is a leading producer of organosilicones, produced from fumed silica, ...
BASF selects Linde for Antwerp ethylene expansion. (New Construction Projects).(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002; ... BASF has selected Linde to revamp and expand its ethylene plant at Antwerp, CW has learned (CW, Oct. 32., p. 17). The project is awaiting final approval from BASF's board, due in September. BASF would like to start work on the plant next February, for completion two years later, sources ...
IPCL to double PVC capacity at Dahej complex? (New Construction Projects).(Polyvinyl chloride capacity at Dahej, India may rise to 300,000 m.t./year)(International Pages)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Aug 07, 2002 ... Indian Petrochemical Corp. Ltd. (IPCL) and its new owner, Reliance Industries, declined to comment on local reports that IPCL is planning to double polyvinyl chloride (PVC) capacity at Dahej, India to 300,000 m.t./year at a cost of Rs 10 billion ($204 million). Reliance is trying to secure ...
BASF and Sinopec secure financing for China JV. (New Construction Projects).(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002 ... BASF says it has finalized arrangements for $1.4 billion of financing for BASF-YPC Co. (Nanjing, China), the company's 50-50 ethylene joint venture with Sinopec. Half of the financing will be in dollars and the rest in Chinese currency, BASF says. Part of the dollar-denominated tranche ...
Samsung wins polyethylene order in Thailand. (New Construction Projects).(New high-density polyethylene plant)
Aug 07, 2002 ... Samsung Engineering says it has been awarded a contract, valued at about $70 million, to build a previously announced high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plant for National Petrochemical Co (NPC; Bangkok) at Map Ta Phut, Thailand (CW, Feb. 27, p. 21). The plant will have ...
Taiwan firms plan EPS joint venture unit in China. (New Construction Projects).(Polystyrene plant to produce 80,000 m.t./year)(International Pages)(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002 ... Taiwan Styrene Monomer Corp. (TSMC; Taipei) and Hua Jeng Chemical (Taipei) say they plan to form a joint venture to produce 80,000 m.t./year of expandable polystyrene (EPS) at Qingdao, China. TSMC will have the majority stake in the plant, which is due ...
CPC may build another cracker at Kaohsiung. (New Construction Projects).(New naphtha cracker planned for Kaohsuing, Taiwan)(International Pages)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Aug 07, 2002 ... Chinese Petroleum Corp. (CPC; Taipei) says it is considering building a naphtha cracker at Kaohsuing, Taiwan. The company says it has submitted a preliminary report on the project to Taiwan's ...
Pakistani firms plan fertilizers, polyesters in Bangladesh. (New Construction Projects).(Pakistan's president General Pervez Musharaf makes visit)(International Pages)(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002 ... Karachi-based private-sector companies Younus Group and Dewan Group have proposed to build a fertilizer plant and a polyester unit in Bangladesh. They unveiled their plan during a recent visit to ...
Air Products builds high-purity ammonia unit. (New Construction Projects).(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002 ... Air Products and Chemicals says it will build an ultrahigh-purity ammonia distillation plant at its Hometown, PA electronic gases complex for startup this fall. Capacity details were not ...
Oman fertilizer contract becomes effective. (New Construction Projects).(Fertilizer plant at Sur, Oman gets major financing)(International Pages)
Aug 07, 2002 ... Technip-Coflexip and its partner Snamprogetti say they have arranged financing for their previously announced $780-million contract to build a fertilizer plant at Sur, Oman (CW, May 30-June 6, 2001, p. ...
Canada taking risks to grow. (Cover Story).(Industry Overview)(Statistical Data Included)
Aug 07, 2002; ... Chemical producers in Canada's western provinces are running out of the cheap feedstocks--natural gas and associated natural gas liquids (NGLs) such as ethane--that have fueled explosive growth in recent years. As a result, prospects for chemical production growth are shifting to eastern ...
Canada faces a wrenching decision on Kyoto protocol. (Cover Story).(Environmental groups concerned over Jean Chretien's government's policy toward the Kyoto treaty)(Government Activity)(International Pages)
Aug 07, 2002; ... Ottawa is poised to ratify the Kyoto treaty on climate change, setting Canada on a course to make large investments to reduce emissions of global warming gases. The move offers tangible benefits to chemical producers that are investing in products such as fuel cells and ethanol that could ...
CIDX revs up outreach efforts for XML standards. (E-Business).(Chemical Industry Data Exchange )(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002; ... The Chemical Industry Data Exchange (CIDX) says it is attempting to boost international membership and use of its extensible markup language (XML) standards by the chemical industry as well as other industries. CIDX has hosted meetings at Amsterdam, Brussels, and Sao Paulo in the last year ...
ChemConnect signs up three more. (Information Technology).(ChemConnect's negotiation services gets new deals)(International Pages)(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002 ... Clariant, Crompton, and Lonza have signed subscription agreements with ChemConnect, which will expand their access to ChemConnect's negotiation services used in trading and auctions, ChemConnect says. Specifics of the agreement were not disclosed. ChemConnect says it recently added a new ...
Airgas selects Manugistics software. (Information Technology).(New supply chain software will centralize Airgas' supply chain infrastructure)(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002 ... Airgas says it selected Manugistics' NetWorks Demand and NetWorks Fulfillment supply chain software to handle inventory planning, distribution, and allocation. The software will only be installed at its four purchasing centers, but it will be able to manage inventory at all sites, Airgas ...
Survey finds IT spending will grow. (Information Technology).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Aug 07, 2002 ... Budgets for information technology (IT) investments are expected to grew about 5.5% over the next 12 months, according to a July poll by CIO magazine. The magazine polled approximately 282 executives, mostly CIO's, across industries including manufacturing, and compared the results to a ...
Atomic architecture builds a better catalyst. (Research).(Brief Article)
Aug 07, 2002; ... Scientists from the Polytechnic University of Valencia (Valencia, Spain) say they have developed an atomic-scale architectural design technique to improve the performance of zeolite Y refinery catalysts, also knows as faujasites. Zeolite Y faujasite catalysts account for 40% of all ...