India

Polymer costs are up, but monomer costs have risen higher. That was the perspective on the polyolefin market given by LyondellBasell in a March 5 teleconference detailing the company's January performance. Jim Gallogly, LyondellBasell CEO, and Kent Potter, the company's CFO, laid out the financial performance for the firm in the first month of the new year, for the first time utilizing new business units.

Continued strength in production data points to a "sharp V‐shaped recovery" for the global chemical industry. In its weekly economic update, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) reports that U.S. chemical production was up in all seven regions for the fourth consecutive month and global chemical industry production also rose in December for its 10th consecutive gain. The ACC says its running tab of positive indicators remains at 17 out of 20.

Rexam will close its healthcare packaging plant in Nashua, NH in the fourth quarter of this year, with the facility’s injection blowmolded container production to be absorbed by other Rexam facilities. Originally opened in 1974, the site employs approximately 100 people, all of whom will be given outplacement assistance by Rexam.

Polypet has taken a 5-layer line from extruder systems manufacturer Rajoo Engineers. For Polypet this is the ninth 5-layer line in its program, and the system will be used to process barrier films.

Victrex has appointed a distributor partner in India to better serve the country’s vast territory, according to a company statement. Earlier this year, it established a Mumbai branch to exploit growth in the local automotive, industrial, textile, and nuclear industries, which all use Victrex’s flagship polymer, polyaryletherketone (PEEK).

Ethylene prices firmed in Asia last week, according to Polymerupdate, gaining on the back of tight regional availability and defying the decline in global crude values and Asian naphtha. FOB Korea ethylene was assessed at $1125/tonne, while CFR Northeast Asia prices were at $1155/tonne. CFR Southeast Asia ethylene came in at $1220/tonne.

Sabic Innovative Plastics has added two extrusion lines to its specialty film and sheet facility in Vadodara, India, aiming to boost production and upgrade capabilities in response to growing demand from an expanding building and construction industry.

Sabic Innovative Plastics has added two extrusion lines to its specialty film and sheet facility in Vadodara, India, aiming to boost production and upgrade capabilities in response to growing demand from an expanding building and construction industry.

Husky Injection Molding Systems (Bolton, ON), manufacturer of hot runners, PET perform molds, and injection molding machinery, has broken ground on a new facility in Chennai, India. Planned there are sales, customer support, and sourcing, plus hot runner and mold refurbishing.

PolyMirae has started operations using LyondellBasell’s Metocene polypropylene (PP) technology, the first commercial production of Metocene-based PP in Asia. A Daelim and LyondellBasell Industries joint venture, PolyMirae has installed the metallocene catalyst-based PP technology on one of its Spheripol lines in Yeochun, Korea.