Chemical Week back issues from May 2003:
Beyond survival. (Viewpoint).(Myron Galuskin speaks at Pittsburgh Chemical Day meeting, US)
May 07, 2003; ... Myron Galuskin, president of Rhodia's North American operations, offered some ideas on moving the chemical industry's mindset "beyond survival, and toward sustainable admiration" during the keynote address at last week's Pittsburgh Chemical Day. The one-day meeting drew roughly 770 ...
Petchem prices plummet on cheaper feedstocks and softer demand. (News Briefs).(world)(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... Petrochemicals prices caved in to a global slowdown in demand and falling feedstock prices last week (p. 34). Benzene prices were the hardest hit, plummeting 20%-25% worldwide. Ethylene spot prices in Europe and Asia dropped more than about 10%; oil prices slipped 10% last week, to ...
Ethylene production flat in first quarter as inventories drop. (News Briefs).(US, 2003)(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... First-quarter U.S. ethylene production was level with fourth-quarter 2002, but down 2% compared to the year-ago quarter, according to National Petrochemical Refiners Association data. First-quarter ethylene inventories were 36% compared to fourth-quarter 2000, however. "Given the ...
Sunoco to purchase El Paso refinery and cumene plant. (News Briefs).(in Westville, New Jersey)(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... Sunoco says it has signed a letter of intent to acquire El Paso's Westville, NJ refinery and associated assets, including a cumene plant, for $130 million plus fair market value for crude oil and refined product inventories at time of closing. The facility has capacity for 150,000 ...
Diversa signs biocatalysis deal with DuPont. (News Briefs).(US)(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... Diversa says it has signed a six-year alliance with DuPont to develop biocatalysts for production of fuel ethanol, 1,3 propanediol, and other chemicals from renewable resources. DuPont is the leader of a consortium that includes Diversa, which was granted $19 million in matching funds from ...
Huntsman combines three specialty businesses. (News Briefs).(to form new performance products division, US)(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... Huntsman says it has combined its surface sciences, performance chemicals, and maleic anhydride businesses to form a new division, performance products, effective immediately. Huntsman says the move will result in cost savings; no job cuts are planned as ...
Restructuring costs push Shell Chemicals into the Red. (News Briefs).(1st-quarter 2003 financial data, US)(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... Shell Chemicals posted a first-quarter net loss of $15 million, compared with a $75-million profit a year earlier, due to the inclusion of a $92-million one-off charge to cover restructuring and asset writedowns at its U.S. operations (table, p. 9). Excluding the charge, profits were ...
McCracken named DTI president. (News Briefs).(appointment, DuPont Textiles & Interiors, US)(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... DuPont has named Steven McCracken president of its DuPont Textiles & Interiors (DTI) subsidiary. DuPont has announced plans to sell or spin-off DTI by the end of this year. McCracken was formerly group v.p./fibers at DTI, DuPont executive v.p. and COO Richard Goodmanson will serve as ...
Background checks for hazmat drivers. (News Briefs).(hazardous materials drivers, regulations; U.S.)(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... The Department of Transportation and the Department of Homeland Security have begun requiring background checks for drivers transporting hazardous materials. The rules, which took ...
Higher costs hurt Georgia Gulf's profit. (News Briefs).(1st quarter 2003, US)(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... Georgia Gulf posted a net loss of $1.7 million for the first-quarter compared to net earnings of $608,000 for the year-ago quarter, despite a 40% jump in sales, to $364 million. The company says a $30-million increase in natural gas costs and a $77-million surge in other feedstock ...
Atofina upgrades sulfonyls. (News Briefs).(Riverview, Michigan)(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... Atofina says it will invest $1 million to upgrade its sulfonyls plant at Riverview, MI. The investment will increase automation, as well as improve process and quality control; Atofina says. The company's ...
TotalFinaElf to become Total. (News Briefs).(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... TotalFinaElf will change its name to Total, subject to a vote at its shareholders' meeting on May 6. The company will ...
Aventis details Rhodia, Clariant charges. (News Briefs).(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... Aventis included exceptional charges of [euro]269 million ($300 million) in its first-quarter accounts to cover a decline in the value of its respective equity stakes in Rhodia and Clariant (CW, April 23, p. 6). The share ...
Rhodia launches private placement. (News Briefs).(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... Rhodia says it is launching a [euro]700-million private placement of notes due 2011. The notes will be placed with institutional investors. Bear Steams, BNP ...
Liability directive progresses. (News Briefs).(based on the 'polluter pays" principle)(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... The European Parliament's legal affairs committee has approved the European Commission's environmental liability directive based on the 'polluter pays" principle (CW, Jan. 30, 2002, p. 6). The committee adopted several amendments to the ...
Partners hire bank to sell DyStar. (News Briefs).(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... Aventis, BASE, and Bayer have appointed Deutsche Bank to advise on the previously announced sale of the companies' 35-30-35 DyStar dyes joint venture, ...
Fire disrupts Reichhold plant. (News Briefs).(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... Reichhold has temporarily transferred production of gelcoats and bonding pastes from Pons, France to other sites in Europe, following a fire at Pans on April 24. Two ...
ICI's new CEO announces more job cuts. (News Briefs).
May 07, 2003 ... 101 says it will cut 700 jobs, 2% of its total, during the next two years as part of a restructuring that will cut costs by an annualized o30 million ($48 million). The job losses are in addition to the 1,300 that 101 announced in 2001 under a program due for completion next year. About ...
New chemical policy will damage France's economy. (News Briefs).(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... The European Union's planned chemical policy will slice 1.7%-3.2%, or [euro]29 billion-[euro]54 billion ($32 billion-$59 billion), off France's GDP in 2012, according to a report by Mercer Management Consulting (Paris) commissioned by chemical industry association UIC (Paris). The policy ...
Investment firm acquires PT Peni. (News Briefs).(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... Investment firm Indika Group (Jakarta) has acquired polyethylene (FE) producer PT Petrokimia Nusantara Interindo (PT Peni; Merak, Indonesia) for $50 million. BP owned 75% of Peni and the rest was split equally between Sumitomo Corp. and Mitsui & Co. The owners put Peni up for sale earlier ...
ICCA aims to revitalize Responsible Care program. (News Briefs).(International Council of Chemical Associations)(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... The International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) says it plans "a major strategic review" of Responsible Care with the aim of revitalizing and strengthening the program. The review will focus on enhanced industry performance, sustainable development, and reputation; ...
European results fail to inspire confidence...U.S. firms beat expectations. (Top of the Week).
May 07, 2003; ... Leading European chemical firms reported some improvement in first-quarter sales and profits but are adopting a cautious outlook for the rest of the year, citing continued economic uncertainty. Sales were undermined by the weakness of the dollar, and earnings were hampered by high raw ...
European results fail to inspire confidence...U.S. firms beat expectations. (Top of the Week).
May 07, 2003; ... Basic and diversified U.S. chemical makers reported strong sales gains for the first quarter and several beat analysts' earnings estimates. Only DuPont and Rohm and Haas (R&H) posted year-over-year improvements, however. DuPont's net income rose 11%, to 61 cts/share ($615 million), before ...
Specialty earnings improve, desoite rising costs. (United States/Americas).
May 07, 2003; ... Most specialty chemical firms reported higher first-quarter earnings, citing increased sales, favorable foreign x-change rates, and cost-cutting efforts. Using raw material costs offset earnings improvements, however. Stepan was paricularly hard hit, citing increased feedstock costs for ...
BASF, Honeywell complete nylon Swap. (United States/Americas).(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003; ... BASF and Honeywell have completed a previously announced agreement for BASF to swap its nylon fibers business for Honeywell's nylon resins, after receiving regulatory approvals (CW, Jan. 22, p. 8). The companies have also signed a long term deal under which BASF will supply Honeywell with ...
Polyne completes offering. (Business & Finance News).(PolyOne Corp.)(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... Polyone has completed the sale of $300 million of seven-year senior notes in the private placement market, sources say (CW, April 23, p. 5). The size of the deal ...
InMat gets more funding. (Business & Finance News).(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... InMat (Hilisborough, NJ), a maker of nanocom-posite coatings, says it has received $1.5 million in a venture financing round led by Pangaea ventures (Vancouver); NGEN Partners ...
ExxonMobil introduces blendstocks. (Business & Finance News).(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... ExxonMobil Chemical, says it has introduced a line of alkylated naphthalene blendstocks. The line, branded Synesstic, enhances the performance of synthetic ...
Senate energy bill would preserve cogen incentives. (Business & Finance News).(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003; ... ACC says the Senate version of a comprehensive energy bill would preserve the incentives provided for cogeneration units, a key concern for chemical producers (CW May 2,2002, p. 9). Energy bills in the House and Senate contain little else that would help industry by boosting natural gas ...
Labor pushes for increase in asbestos settlement fund. (United States/Americas).(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003; ... Labor groups are lobbying lawmakers to structure a proposed asbestos settlement fund so that the government would be required to provide additional cash if the trust runs out of money before all claims axe settled, sources close to the negotiations say. Companies, insurers, plaintiffs ...
Bayer restructures in North America. (United States & Americas).(Bayer AG)(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003; ... Bayer AG says it has reorganized its North American operation in line with its shift to four subsidiaries-Bayer Chemicals; Bayer CropScience; Bayer HealthCare; and Bayer Polymers. The North American operations also include Bayer Pharmaceuticals and a newly formed subsidiary, Bayer ...
CB&I acquires Petrofac's E&C. (Business & Finance News).(Chicago Bridge & Iron)(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... Chicago Bridge & Iron (CB&I: The Woodlands, TX) says it has acquired certain assets of Petrofac (Tyler, TX), an engineering and construction (E&C) firm serving the ...
Great Lakes changes reporting. (Business & Finance News).(Great Lakes Chemical)(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... Great Lakes Chemical says it will change its financial reporting segments, moving sales of its $120 million/year brominated performance products business from its performance ...
Basell moves North American HQ. (Business & Finance News).(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... Basell North America says it has moved its headquarters from Wilmington, DE to ...
Industry 'unhappy' with leaked draft of European chemical policy. (Business & Finance News: Europe/Mideast).
May 07, 2003; ... A leaked summary of the draft European Union (EU) chemical policy, intended for internal commission use, shows that it is "worse than anticipated," says a source at Cefic. "We are unhappy with it," the source says. One major disappointment for industry is that most polymers and ...
Rhodia CEO survives rebel shareholder vote. (Business & Finance News: Europe/Mideast).(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003; ... Rhodia CEO Jean-Pierre Tirouflet has survived an attempt by a group of minority shareholders to eject him (CW, April 30, p. 14). Tirouflet won the backing of 67% of shareholders at Rhodia's annual meeting last week in a vote on a resolution calling for him to step down. Shareholders also ...
DuPont plans Shanghai R&D center. (Business & Finance News).(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... DuPont says it will build an R&D center at Shanghai for completion in 2005. The project is part of a plan to invest $100 million/year in China for the next 2-3 years to maintain double-digit revenue growth, says Charles G. Browne, president of DuPont China ...
Denka doubles specialty elastomer. (Business & Finance News).(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... Denki Kagaku Kogyo (Denka) says it will double capacity for its proprietary ethylene-vinyl acetate-acrylic ester elastomer at Chiba from 1,000 m.t/year, to 2,000 m.t/year for completion this fall. The material has high ...
Toray plans China PPS compounding. (Business & Finance News).(Toray Industries)(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... Toray Industries says it plans to build a 3,000 m.t./year polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) compounding facility at Shenzhen, China. The unit will require investment of about [yen]500 million ($4.2 ...
Sumitomo Corp. wins appeal to overturn Indonesia VCM bankruptcy. (Asia/Pacific).(vinyl chloride monomer)
May 07, 2003; ... Indonesia's Supreme Court (Jakarta) has granted an appeal by Sumitomo Corp. to overturn a lower court decision declaring vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) producer PT Satomo Indovyl Monomer (SIM; Bojonegara, Indonesia) bankrupt (CW, Jan. 29, p. 50). The ruling is the latest development in a ...
Sasol forms petchems JV in Iran. (New Construction Projects).(National Petrochemical Co. (NPC; Tehran) says it has signed an agreement with Sasol Polymers (Johannesburg) to create a joint venture that will own and operate NPC's previously announced Olefins 9 complex)(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003; ... National Petrochemical Co. (NPC; Tehran) says it has signed an agreement with Sasol Polymers (Johannesburg) to create a joint venture that will own and operate NPC's previously announced Olefins 9 complex at Bandar Assaluyeh, Iran. The jv, Arya Sasol Polymers (ASP), will be equally owned ...
Uhde wins fertilizer contract in Saudi Arabia. (New Construction Projects).(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... Saudi Arabian Fertilizer Co. (Al Jubail), a subsidiary of Sabic, says it has awarded a lump-sum turnkey contract to Uhde to build a previously announced fertilizer complex at Al Jubail (CW, Oct. 16, 2002, p. 16). The contract is worth approximately $500 million, Uhde says. The company will ...
Solvay expands VCM, PVC capacity in Brazil. (New Construction Projects).(vinyl chloride monomer and polyvinyl chloride)(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... Solvay Indupa do Brasil (Sao Paulo), a subsidiary of Solvay, says it plans to raise vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) capacity at its Santo Andre, Brazil complex at a cost of $45 ...
IPCL outlines PVC expansion project. (New Construction Projects).(Indian Petrochemical Corporation Ltd.)(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... Indian Petrochemical Corp. Ltd. (IPCL; Baroda), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, has announced details of previously reported plans to expand polyvinyl chloride (PVC) capacity at Gandhar, India, by 150,000 m.t./year (CW, Aug. 7, 2002, p. 17). A completion date has ...
PCS picks metathesis for propylene hike. (New Construction Projects).(Sumitomo Chemical and Shell say they plan to use metathesis technology)(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... Sumitomo Chemical and Shell say they plan to use metathesis technology in a previously announced project to increase the propylene output of their Petrochemical Corp. of Singapore (PCS) joint venture at Jurong Island (CW, March 6, 2002, p ....
Shin-Etsu to triple capacity for large-diameter wafers. (New Construction Projects).(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... Shin-Etsu Handotai says it will triple capacity for 300-millimeter (mm) silicon wafers at Shirakawa, Japan at a cost of [yen]90 billion ($760 million). The first stage, from 100,000 wafers/month, to 200,000 wafers/month is scheduled to come onstream during ...
Aker Kvaerner wins DuPontSa PTA contract...confirms butanediol award in Saudi Arabia. (New Construction Projects).(terephthalic acid)(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... Aker Kvaerner says it has been awarded a contract by DuPont Sabanci Polyester Europe (DuPontSa; Hoofdoorp, the Netherlands) for a previously announced expansion of purified terephthalic acid (PTA) capacity at Wilton, U.K. (CW, ...
Aker Kvaerner wins DuPontSa PTA contract...confirms butanediol award in Saudi Arabia. (New Construction Projects).(Polyethylene terphthalic acid)(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... Aker Kvaerner has confirmed that it has been awarded a contract by Gulf Advanced Chemical Industries (Riyadh) to build a 75,000-m.t./year butanediol (BDO) plant at Al Jubail, ...
Nippon Oil adds capacity for refinery propylene. (New Construction Projects).(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... Nippon Oil says it plans to increase output of propylene at its Kawasaki site from 600,000 m.t./year, to 1 million m.t./year. The company plans to increase refinery propylene output by 200,000 m.t./year during scheduled maintenance this year. The company is ...
CW75 stock performance.(chemical companies' stock prices, week of April 28, 2003, US)(Illustration)
May 07, 2003; ... The CW75 rose 1.2% last week, as several major chemical firms reported better-than-expected earnings. The CW75 outperformed the Standard and Poor's (S&P) 500, which slipped by almost 1%, but lagged the S&P chemical index, which rose 1.8%. The Morgan Stanley global composite index was flat ....
Honeywell: Dicciani puts the priority on profitability, not scale. (Cover Story).(Cover Story)
May 07, 2003; ... Nance K. Dicciani says she decided to leave a comfortable Paris-based position at Rohm and Haas in November 2001 to become president and CEO of Honeywell's Specialty Materials (Morristown, NJ) unit because she "needed a new challenge." Dicciani's charge was to turn around the business, ...
An alternative to mammalian cell culture? (Biopharmaceuticals).(GlycoFi, pharmaceutical sugars; production technology)
May 07, 2003; ... Biotech firm GlycoFi (Lebanon, NH) says it plans to introduce a fungal-based technology by the end of the year for the low-cost manufacture of complex pharmaceutical sugars, known as glycoproteins, for use as new drug therapies. The technology is based on genetically engineered yeast, and ...
Overcapacity wipes out European profits. (Pharmaceutical Intermediates).(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003; ... Several European specialty firms have reported poor results in their pharma intermediates operations. DSM's pharmaceutical products business posted an undisclosed loss for the first quarter. The business "felt the effects of a delay in the introduction of new products in the pharmaceutical ...
Arysta eyes European manufacturing. (Pharmaceuticals & Fine Chemicals).(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... Fine chemicals maker Arysta Life Science (Tokyo) says it has begun a feasibility study for antibody manufacture using cell cultures in Europe. The company says it will make a decision on whether to set ...
Teijin calls off drug merger. (Pharmaceuticals & Fine Chemicals).(Japan)(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... Teijin says it has called off the planned merger of its pharmaceutical business unit with drug manufacturer Kyorin Pharmaceutical (Tokyo) citing differences ...
U.K. biomanufacturing boost. (Pharmaceuticals & Fine Chemicals).(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... A national U.K. biomanufacturing center at Liverpool, U.K has been awarded [pounds sterling]30 million ($48 million) in funding. Main contributors to the center are the European Union with [pounds sterling]9.7 million and the North West England ...
Fleming named head of Cytec Specialty Chemicals. (Specialties).(appointment, US)(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003; ... Cytec Industries has named Shane Fleming president of Cytec Specialty Chemicals, effective immediately. Fleming will be responsible for driving revenue growth and profit improvement within the business, the company says. He will report to David Lilley, Cytec's chairman, president and CEO. ...
Hercules expands capacity for hydroxyethylcellulose. (Specialties).(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003; ... Hercules' Aqualon division says it plans to increase hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC) capacity at its Parlin, NJ; Hopewell, VA; and Zwijndrecht, the Netherlands sites by a total of 10,000 tons/year. The company did not disclose its total HEC capacity. Construction will begin in the fourth ...
Health & beauty mart follows hot trends; hair care sector shines. (Personal Care).(Industry Overview)
May 07, 2003; ... Major formulators in the $180-billion/year global personal care industry say they are focusing their efforts on integrating acquisitions, organic growth, and trying to capture a bigger share of the trendiest markets. These include anti-aging skin care products that are still hip with baby ...
2003 Suppliers' Day.(Directory)
May 07, 2003 ... CAMPHOR TABLETS WILLIAM BERNSTEIN CO., INC. 155 West 72nd Street New York, NY 10023 USA Tel: 212-799-3200 Fax: 212-799-3209 E-mail: eveman@aol.com CONTRACT PACKAGING PRIVATE LABEL SERVICES ...
Players agree on three-month ethylene deal. (Olefins).
May 07, 2003; ... A majority of ethylene buyers have agreed on a three-month settlement for ethylene that raises March contracts by 3 cts/lb to 31.75 cts/lb del, and leaves prices flat for April and May. A few buyers are reportedly holding out for a reduction in May in expectation of lower feedstock costs, ...
U.S. slaps antidumping duties on PVOH. (Intermediates).(polyvinyl alcohol)(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003; ... The U.S. Department of Commerce has slapped antidumping duties on polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) imports from Japan and Germany. Celanese and DuPont petitioned for the duties last year, saying that imports of PVOH from China, Germany, Japan, Korea at "less than fair value" have materially hurt ...
Air Liquide supplies Arizona Chemical. (Basic Chemicals & Plastics).
May 07, 2003 ... Air Liquide says it has started up plants to supply onsite high-purity nitrogen under contract to Arizona Chemical's (Jacksonville, FL) Dover, OH and Picayune, MS sites. Terms and capacities were not disclosed ....
Plaza markets Mount Vernon's acetone. (Basic Chemicals & Plastics).(Plaza Group)(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... The Plaza Group (Houston) has signed a nonexclusive, multi-year deal to distribute acetone from Mount Vernon Phenols (Mount Vernon, IN) phenol-acetone plant. Mount Vernon ...
Hydrogen peroxide price push. (Basic Chemicals & Plastics).(Brief Article)
May 07, 2003 ... Eka Chemicals, FMC, and Kemira have separately announced hydrogen peroxide price increases of 5 cts/lb in the U.S. and C$165/m.t. in Canada, ...