E-Update Industry News 21245

PROCESSORS AND PROCESSING

PTA offers M&A data to processors, for free

Polymer Transaction Advisors Inc. (PTA) has introduced a monthly newsletter at its web site, www.polymertrans.com, to provide interested parties in the polymer industry with up-to-date commentary, statistical data, selected pricing information, and the status and outlook for mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and other strategic alliances around the world.

"We plan to provide insight into the key industry M&A trends, opportunities, and issues so that buyers, sellers, and prospective alliance partners will have better knowledge with which to make their M&A decisions," said William R. Ridenour, PTA president. "Key transactions will be discussed, as well as general market conditions for suppliers of parts, materials, equipment, or technology to the thermoplastic, thermoset, rubber, and composites industries."

Based in Cleveland, OH, PTA is a merger/acquisition advisory firm that provides M&A business valuation, strategic assessment, and strategic partnering services exclusively to the global polymer industry. PTA has affiliate offices in Toronto, Houston, Paris, Frankfurt, and Sao Paulo.

German economy''s cold giving processors the flu

Plastics processors in Germany are losing their competitive edge as the country''s economy continues to slide. In a recent study by the International Institute for Management Development (Lausanne, Switzerland), the euro zone''s biggest economy fell from 20th to 21st place among 60 industrialized countries. Two years ago the country was ranked 15th. Topping the list of international locations offering the best competitiveness was the U.S., followed by Singapore, Canada, and Australia. Countries are rated according to 323 criteria. German government efficiency was ranked 34, a drop of four points. The institute points to other indicators that it says have caused the country''s competitiveness to suffer. Among these are: the lack of entrepreneurialism, short working hours, lengthy holidays, and high wages.

Processor opens site for Dial

Graham Packaging (York, PA), one of the world''s leading bottle blowmolders, intends to open a new site in Hazleton, PA to process PET and HDPE bottles adjacent to current customer Dial''s existing plant. Dial makes soaps and other personal care products.

The 205,000-sq-ft bottle-making plant is scheduled to open September 1, and employ 100. It will be Graham''s 57th plant worldwide and its 36th in the United States, of which seven are in Pennsylvania.

Thirsty Turks prompt expansion

Per capita consumption of bottled drinking water in Turkey is 71.43 liters/yr and rising, according to Gunter Ausserwoger, general manager of Capsnap Europe (Kremsmunster, Austria), a blowmolder of 5-gal (19-liter) bottles and injection molded caps. Capsnap, which formed a joint venture with Teknik Plastik (Watertek, Turkey), has just brought a second bottle plant into production in Turkey, and now has capacity of 1 million PET bottles/yr.

Patent awarded for low-pressure process for LFTs

Envirokare Tech Inc. (Orlando, FL) has been awarded a U.S. patent covering the thermoplastic flow-forming process (trademarked ''TPM'') for low-pressure automated molding of large structural parts of long-fiber-reinforced thermoplastics. The process preserves fiber length, resulting in enhanced mechanical properties in final parts.

Envirokare has an exclusive license to market the process for general applications. TPM was developed by Thermoplastic Composite Designs Inc. (TCD: Sims, FL) in the 1990s, which uses it to form parts for the U.S. Defense Dept. TPM is an extrusion/compression process that can be used to create very large parts-up to about 3 sq m. Low pressure maintains fiber length, which reaches up to 7 cm.

Envirokare says it is in discussions with potential partners to commercialize the process.

Trainees welcome, but lacking

The German plastics processors association (GKV; Frankfurt) provided 13% more apprenticeships last year than in 2002-a total of 2213 contracts to train young people were signed. Despite this record level, not all of the 2400 available positions could be filled, due to a lack of qualified candidates, says Ralf Olsen, GKV spokesman. In order to brush up its image, the processor group has started a campaign (Cool for the Future) to attract more youth into processing. More information is available at: www.gkv.de/ausbildung.

Nordenia no newcomer to Eastern Europe

Film packaging processor Nordenia (Greven, Germany) is celebrating the first decade of its plant in Szada, Hungary, near Budapest. The plant, which also serves 14 export markets in addition to domestic markets, processes 23,000 tonnes of film on four lines-three coex- and one monolayer-and also makes BigBags.

AUTOMOTIVE Carmaker considers parts processing in Middle East

Europe''s largest carmaker, Volkswagon, is asking suppliers to consider moving some of their parts production to Abu Dhabi, according to German news reports. As a result of VW''s purchase in May-in partnership with the government of Abu Dhabi-of Europe''s largest automobile leasing program, the nation will soon be a partner, owning up to 10% of VW shares.

VW CEO Bernd Pischetsrieder, quoted in the German edition of the Financial Times, says the firm is considering the move for some of its own production, and consequently some suppliers may also be asked to move. VW is considering shifting plastics and rubber processing, and metal working.

Pischetsrieder has said the possible shift has nothing to do with the Emirate''s new status as a large VW investor, but is instead the result of new legislation in Germany limiting emissions-a result of Germany''s signing of the Kyoto Treaty.

Higher metal prices could lead to more automotive plastic use

Metal prices in Germany are reported to be at their highest level since 1989, and scrap is up 75% from the same period last year. Germany''s automobile industry association (VDA; Frankfurt) says the prices of metal, scrap, and coke to fuel blast furnaces, have increased due to high demand in China. The VDA reports that raw materials have increased by an average of 15% since last year, which translates to a €150 to €200 jump in production costs per car.

The sharp increase in metal prices could accelerate the use of plastics as a replacement, yet processors ultimately may not increase their profits much as a result. Car analyst Ferdinand Dudenhofer (Gelsenkirchen, Germany) says the increased costs will probably wind up simply having to be absorbed by automotive parts vendors. "Extremely aggressive competition can be seen in today''s automotive parts market. Small- to medium-sized suppliers are not in a position to swallow additional costs," he says.

Nor are processors of sheet molding compound (SMC), extensively used in exterior automotive panels. Soon after the VDA''s announcement, the European Alliance for SMC says the quandary of low prices paid by automotive customers, and higher prices demanded by raw materials suppliers, have backed the group''s members into a tight spot. The group says SMC prices have remained stable over recent years but says it estimates SMC pricing needs to rise by 6% to 8%.

Pair works to limit fogging

Condensia Quimica (Barcelona, Spain) and Adeka Palmarole (Saint-Louis, France) are collaborating to produce trimellitate plasticizer, used in automotive interior and wiring applications. The material, ADK Cizer C79E, has very low fogging, and good low-temperature brittleness and impact resistance. The material will be produced in Spain, and Adeka will provide sales and technical support.

MOLDMAKER NEWS Axxicon management conducts MBO; more to come?

Management of injection moldmaker Axxicon Mould technology (Helmond, the Netherlands) bought the company for e27.5 million from Swiss parent Mikron Technology Group. Axxicon''s 2003 turnover was o55 million. The firm says it is the world''s leading manufacturer of molds for optical media, and also is a leader in smartcard molds. It makes customer-specific molds for three markets: medical, high-end disposables, and infocom/IT. Customer-specific molds now account for about 46% of turnover, a number the firm wants to increase to 60% in three years. Axxicon has three production facilities and about 400 employees in Europe. It also has sales offices for optical media molds in Hong Kong and Los Angeles.

Micron acquired Axxicon, then publicly traded, in 2001 but ran into financial problems soon thereafter as the cell-phone market hit bottom. A majority stake was then acquired by a group of Swiss investors, who looked to pare back the business. In March, Mikron sold its 50% share in a cell-phone parts molding operation to partner Balda Group. Following the Axxicon divestment, Mikron now has three divisions: one for metal parts machining; an injection molding division; and one for assembly of metal and plastics parts. It serves the IT and automotive industries, among others.

Axxicon management was backed financially by Dutch private equity firm Gilde Participaties. Axxicon CEO Arno Wendrich says the moldmaker is pleased to regain its independence, adding that Gilde Participaties has the financial strength to back Axxicon''s future moves. One move long under consideration is the acquisition of, or partnership with, a maker of commodity molds to provide Axxicon with a ''cash cow.'' Speaking during a press conference only days before the MBO, Axxicon marketing manager Jaap de Jong said the acquisition of such a moldmaker has long been considered at Axxicon. "However, we have not yet found a suitable partner. Also, we do not know how these molds would be marketed, and if they should be sold under the Axxicon name." Plus, although customers often mention mold pricing as their first concern, he says in fact lead time (i.e., time-to-market for the end user) and quality are really the two main issues, with pricing a distant third. "Time-to-market is everything in the areas we work," he said, "now even more than ever before."

Axxicon is also expected to renew growth plans in North America. Soon after acquiring Axxicon, Mikron announced plans to acquire an unnamed U.S. moldmaker, which sources at the time said was MGS Mfg. Group (Germantown, WI). Mikron canceled this acquisition due to the telecom slowdown.

Wentworth adds services, plans Asian expansion

Wentworth Mold Inc. and Electra Form Industries Inc., both divisions of the Wentworth Technologies Co. Ltd. (Hamilton, ON), now offer technical service support for the installation and mold startup of PET preform injection tools and PET blow molds. Support is available around-the-clock, and the firm now offers the service-which includes technicians on-call to travel to customers in the Americas and Europe now, and in Asia by the end of the year. Wentworth already has a sales and service office in Singapore, but as yet will offer no further details as to what steps it must take to offer 24/7 service in Asia, says Donna Watson, sales and marketing assistant.

The firm has also expanded its supply range to include spare parts for end-user personalized PET stretch blow molds. This includes blow nozzles, guide pins, stretch rods, and other parts. Parts may be ordered alone or with production mold sets.

Watson explains that many customers prefer to order the molds and change parts together at the same time, and appreciate that Wentworth guarantees delivery of both within the normal delivery period of the mold set.

In related news, Electra Form Industries Inc. has installed a Husky SX600 340P/120E 120 test machine to run-off new 96-cavity and 144-cavity Micropitch PET preform molds made by Electra Form.

Top moldmakers are honored

SPE''s Moldmaking and Mold Design division announced the 2004 winners for moldmaker and mold designer of the year. Fred Steil, currently of DME Co. (Madison Heights, MI) won the moldmaker of the year honors for his work as the engineering manager for the mold-component manufacturer. Wayne Hertlein, senior tooling engineer with Collins & Aikman''s Tooling Center (Troy, MI), was awarded the design prize for his work serving the automotive industry.

The SPE also is seeking papers for its rapid design, engineering, and moldmaking conference, "Reduce Time to Market," scheduled for December 22 in conjunction with the Euromold exhibition in Frankfurt, Germany (December 1 to 4). Persons who would like to present at the conference should send an abstract to the SPE''s European headquarters in Antwerp. Email address is [email protected]. Presentations are to last 30 minutes, including time for questions. Titles and subheadings cannot include company names or trademarks.

MATERIALS & MACHINES Husky updates plans on growth, China, the automotive market, and more

Officials from Husky Injection molding systems (Bolton, ON) used a press conference in Brussels to publicize a number of its ongoing projects and strategies, and discuss further its intent to build on its dominant position. Dave Cook, president of Husky''s European operations based in Dudelange, Luxembourg, says the firm''s five-year plan-in which it intends to at least double sales and grow to at least two to three times the size of its nearest competitor-will not be realized through general machine sales, but much more so through exploitation of niche markets. He says the firm will use the lean manufacturing practices already in place in its PET preform molding machine and moldmaking units to streamline production and boost profitability in other parts of the firm as well.

Cook says the hot runner market is growing "very rapidly" for Husky, a consequence of an ongoing shift to hot runners from cold ones in many applications.

In China, construction of a pilot manufacturing facility for small machine manufacture has been postponed for about one year until 2005, says Cook. But should that pilot exercise pan out, Husky''s long-term strategy currently is to eventually make all of its small machines there. This makes good sense, he explains, since most of the small machine demand is in Asia, and these machines are the most price-competitive, making use of a low-wage manufacturing base such as China virtually mandatory to ensure profitability.

New in Europe for the firm is Volker Neuber, VP service and sales for Western Europe. He comes to Husky after a 12-year stint at GE Plastics, including the last years of GE''s operations in Germany. His background is in materials used for automotive parts, and perhaps not coincidentally, Husky intends to expand its machine sales into Europe''s automotive parts processing market.

Piovan to manufacture in China

Italian auxiliaries manufacturer Piovan (Venice) intends by year''s end to start manufacture in China of tri-phase feeders, single- and two-tower dryers with air flow up to 200 cu m, and compact temperature controller models TW 6 and TO 6, all equipment the firm says is in hot demand there. According to Piovan, more dryers were sold last year in China than in the rest of the world combined. Eventually, other products also will be made there.

The 5000-sq-m Piovan China Manufacturing Center facility will have 20 employees to start and be based in Zhuhai, about 140 km south of Guangdong. It will also house sales, administration, and after-sales service personnel. Piovan already has a 30-employee sales-and-service site in Singapore, which it will maintain.

Alcan acquires CBT rights for architecture, construction markets

Alcan Composites, part of Alcan Inc., has acquired exclusive rights for the marketing and sales of Cyclics'' CBT resin (the cyclic form of polybutylene terephthalate resin) for markets including display and graphic arts, architecture, and general industry-infrastructure applications. Terms were not disclosed.

CBT polymerizes during molding into regular PBT. Cyclics, based in Schenectady, NY, forms strategic relationships with processors or suppliers in the markets it wants to penetrate. Last summer, Cyclics and Dow Automotive entered into a long-term agreement for marketing the cyclic form of polybutylene terephthalate resins into the global automotive, bus, truck, and rail markets. Cyclics currently has product made for it on a toll production basis by Pressure Chemical in Wilmington, NC. Its own plant in Schwarzheide, Germany is targeted to be operational late this year, with a capacity near 2500 tonnes/yr. The company has plans to begin doubling that capacity in 2005.

RP report notes 3-D printer demand, other trends

Rapid prototyping industry expert Terry Wohlers, president of Wohlers Associates Inc., announced the availability of the "Wohlers Report 2004," a worldwide progress report on the rapid prototyping, tooling, and manufacturing state of the industry. The report covers all industry facets, including business, product, market, technology, research, and application. This year''s report reveals that in 2003, the RP industry reversed its downward trend, with revenues returning to levels of the past, and product revenues gaining impressively.

"Low-end machine sales soared to unprecedented heights, with 3-D printers becoming the crown jewel of the RP industry," states Wohlers, principal author of the report. "With the increase in the number of machines sold and installed, the total number of models being produced annually also grew. Consequently, material sales were strong."

According to Wohlers, equipment maker Stratasys is inching its way toward dominance as it unseats 3-D Systems as the king of rapid prototyping. And Z Corporation has moved up to the number-two position in annual unit sales. The U.S. continues to maintain its grip on both the production and consumption of RP systems.

The new report sells for $425 in the U.S. and $445 in all other countries. Order online at www.wohlersassociates.com.

PVC no worse than competing materials, says study

The European PVC industry, often under attack from environmental groups, is pleased with the publication of the PE Europe study on the life-cycle assessment of PVC and principal competing materials. This study is the final step in a six-year effort by the European Commission to clarify the environmental performance of PVC. It confirms that there is no reason to legally treat PVC differently from any other material.

The main conclusions of the report are that life-cycle analysis (LCA) should be done on applications and not focus on materials, and that a material''s overall environmental impact must also take into account the length of time parts made of the material are in use.

Not all is rosy for the industry, though, as the issues in the report are often mentioned only in relation to PVC without comparing the performance of other materials, even though many of the issues aren''t PVC-specific. For example, not only PVC but its alternatives and their applications depend on non-renewable resources and result in emissions. The European Council for Vinyl Manufacturing (EVCM; Brussels) also says the study is in part based on outdated reports on the health risks of PVC production.

Battenfeld Chen moves into new digs

Battenfeld Chen Extrusion Systems, part of the SMS Plastics Technology Group, is hosting an open house on July 27 and 28 to welcome customers to its new facility in Shunde, Guangdong, China. The firm was founded eight years ago and now ships between 25 and 35 extrusion lines annually for the domestic market.

The new 8300-sq-m facility, on a 17,000-sq-m site near its old one, is large enough to allow the firm to expand machine production and add new products; open a technical center where different applications and materials can be developed and tested on pipe and profile machinery and multilayer blown film and sheet lines; and house a 1,200-sq-m office.

For information on attending the open house, contact Battenfeld Chen at: Tel: +86-757-22380-110; Fax: +86-757-22380195; or e-mail [email protected] .

Mitsui gains new Dutch distributor

Mitsui Europe (MMTE) is boosting its European presence with the addition of Kurval BV as its distributor and service agent for Fanuc Roboshot and Mitsubishi injection molding machinery in the Netherlands. Photo shows Kurval Managing Director Rudi Divendal and MMTE President Teruyasu Ishioka.

Berstorff plans production in China

Extruder manufacturer Berstorff plans by early 2005 to move its Shanghai sales office south to a new location about an hour from the city, where it will start assembly of machines sold into China. The Shanghai office was opened in spring 2003 and is Berstorff''s second in China; the firm has had a sales office in Beijing since 2001.

Berstorff makes compound extruders and those for foam and sheet, plus rubber processing extruders. For the Chinese market, screws, barrels, and some other components will be made in the firm''s Hannover, Germany headquarters while machine frames and other parts will be sourced locally from as-yet unidentified suppliers. The firm also intends to begin sourcing locally made auxiliary equipment for its extrusion lines in China as part of a "partnership," according to Manfred Reichel, Berstorff CEO.

DuPont increasing China exposure

DuPont Engineering Polymers (Wilmington, DE) is expanding production capacity for polyamide, PCT, PET, PBT, thermoplastic polyester elastomer, and LCP compounds in China through an exclusive agreement with a licensed contract compounder in Shanghai. Increased supply to the market is expected to start from Q4 of 2004. The additional product supply will complement the existing local offering of acetal and polyamide compounds from a new plant in Shenzhen, China. Meanwhile, a 20,000-tonnes/year polyacetal plant was due to start up in Zhangjiagang, China as a joint venture of DuPont and Asahi Kasei (Tokyo) in June.

Reprieve for Ticona plant as airport backs off plans

A plan to expand the Frankfurt Rhine-Main airport with a runway located less than 700 m from, and directly in the flight path of, Ticona''s 77,000-tonnes/yr-capacity acetal plant in Kelsterbach, Germany, has hit a snag and has been postponed until 2009 or 2010. The state-owned airport tried to box through the expansion despite protests from residents, national safety officials, and the EU Commission in Brussels. It had proposed relocating the Ticona facility, but company president Lyndon Cole told Modern Plastics he felt Ticona could win any court case if the state tried to appropriate the property.

In related news, Ticona says de-bottlenecking of its plant in Shelby, NC should raise liquid crystal polymer capacity there by 40%. Ticona markets the material under the Vectra name.

Ticona does not provide total capacity tonnage. The supplier says it is the world''s leading LCP supplier, and had planned to increase capacity at Shelby in 2005; demand forced the firm to push the increase forward, according to Mariellen Turano, Vectra global business director. LCPs see use in molded electronic/electrical components, sockets, and switches, among other applications.

New Stamax line is now online

Sabic Euro petrochemicals officially opened its second line in Genk, Belgium for producing Stamax long-glass-fiber-reinforced polypropylene pellets, raising total output to 35,0000 tonnes/yr. The firm announced the expansion last summer. The material is seeing increased demand from a number of industries, but primarily from the automotive sector, where parts molded of Stamax often replace more traditional materials such as metals, glass-mat thermoplastics, or sheet molding compound.

Sabic Euro Petrochemicals is the former DSM Petrochemicals, acquired last year by Saudi supplier Sabic. In March 2003 Sabic bought glass fiber supplier Owens Corning''s 50% share in Stamax BV, the joint venture formed by Owens Corning and DSM in 1999 to pultrude Stamax P. The Stamax purchase gave Sabic exclusive marketing and sales rights for Stamax in Europe, whereas Owens Corning retains rights to make and market the material elsewhere and intends to do just that (see related article in the June 2004 issue).

Basell expands polybutene-1 capacity with new plant

Polyolefins producer Basell (Hoofddorp) has officially opened a 45,000-tonnes/yr capacity polybutene-1 (PB-1) plant in Moerdijk (both the Netherlands), which replaces a 25-tonnes/yr plant in Taft, LA that is being scrapped. Sergio Danesi, president of Basell''s advanced polyolefins business, says the €80 million, dual reactor plant will remain the company''s sole supplier of the resin for the time being since "demand is substantially below our new capacity-but that says a lot about our confidence in the market growth potential (for PB-1)."

The material is used for film packaging, pipes and fittings, conduits for aggressive or corrosive substances, and as a resin modifier. It sells for €3.50/kg and more, depending on the grade. Nearly 25% is expected to be exported to North America.

In other news from Basell, company CEO Volker Trautz says the firm will soon announce three license deals for the company''s Spherizone multizone loop polypropylene technology (August 2001 MP; MPI ), which is claimed to produce polymer faster and with 60% less energy than competitive systems. The first non-Basell-owned plant will be built in Mexico, Trautz says, and the other two should be announced soon in the Middle East and Eastern Europe.

PIC takes stake in two Dow businesses

The Dow Chemical Company and Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC) of Kuwait, a wholly owned subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, announced the formation of two new joint ventures. These are MEGlobal, a 50/50 joint venture for the manufacture and marketing of monoethylene glycol (MEG) and diethylene glycol (EG), and Equipolymers, a 50/50 global joint venture for the manufacture and marketing of polyethylene terephthalate resins (PET) and the manufacture of purified teraphthalic acid (PTA).

To form MEGlobal, Dow will sell to PIC a 50% interest in its Canadian ethylene glycol assets; MEGlobal will purchase ethylene from Dow. MEGlobal will also market the excess EG produced in Dow''s plants in the United States and Europe, and may also market the EG produced by Dow and PIC affiliates. To form Equipolymers, Dow will sell to PIC a 50% stake in its PET/PTA business, which includes assets in Germany and Italy.

In a statement, William Stavropoulos, chairman and CEO of Dow, says the new ventures help his firm access less costly feedstocks. For PIC, the ventures are a move upstream and represent the firm''s largest investment to date outside of Kuwait.

Haste makes waste, but plastics waste can be used to make ammonia

Showa Denko K.K. (Tokyo) has started commercial production of ammonia using hydrogen derived from waste plastic as a raw material. The firm recovers 195 tonnes per day of co-mingled post-consumer and industrial waste from homes and plants in and around Kawasaki City, gasifies it at 1,300C, and-after removal of chlorine, sulfur, and metallic impurities-employs the resulting purified hydrogen gas in ammonia synthesis. Production of liquid ammonia is 175 tonnes/day. Chlorine, sulfur, and metallic impurities are all recovered and re-used in processes on site.

Degussa inks high-temperature polymer pact with China''s Jida

Degussa AG (Düsseldorf, Germany) has signed a letter of intent with Chinese firm Changchun Jida High Performance Materials Co. (Changchun) for joint development, production, and marketing of high-temperature polymers. Jida High Performance Materials is engaged in research, development, and production of polyether sulfone resin (PES), polyether ether ketone (PEEK), and related products.

Cooperating with Jida will enable Degussa to strengthen its High Performance Polymers Business Unit, which produces specialty polymers as well as high-performance polymers based on polyamide 12 and polybutylene terephthalate. The high-temperature polymers developed by Jida will broaden High Performance Polymers'' range of high-temperature polymers, which mainly find use in automotive engineering, aviation, and electronics.

New Omnexus caters to designers, materials specifiers

SpecialChem, an e-based plastics, additives, and specialty chemicals information service, has re-launched the Omnexus website it acquired last December with new features. These include a section with reports on innovations and trends, a polymer selection tool, and an area offering design hints and online design support. These free services are at www.omnexus.com. The website also often organizes online seminars on topics pertaining to processing or materials.

Christophe Cabarry, founder and COO of SpecialChem, says the firm already has 75,000 registered users. SpecialChem was created in 2000 and is based in Paris, France. Omnexus was founded and financed in 2000 by a group of large plastics suppliers, but last year the finances were stopped. The site was to be a leading web-based purchasing forum for processors to buy materials. Materials are no longer sold via the site.

Fakuma has drawing power

Next year''s international plastics show, Fakuma (Friedrichshafen, Germany), Oct. 18 to 22, 2005, is already 89% sold out, says fair organizers P.E. Schall (Frickenhausen-Linsenhofen). The next Fakuma will be the 17th edition. The show takes place annually, except in years when there is a K fair in Düsseldorf.

Plant engineering acquisition completed

Swiss plastics supplier EMS Group has sold its Inventa-Fischer plant engineering business to Germany''s UHDE GmbH (Dortmund), part of ThyssenKrupp, for an undisclosed price. UHDE plans and builds chemicals plants. Inventa-Fischer is one of the leading builders of polymer and synthetic fibers plants, and is now working with injection molding machine maker Netstal on a project to mold preforms directly from PET melt (see article in the July issue).

ExxonMobil Chemical names global sales manager for PE

The Houston-based suppli