BATON ROUGE, LA. - Albemarle Corp. of Baton Rouge dropped prices for methylaluminoxane, an important metallocene co-catalyst used to make plastic resins. However, the 5 percent decrease in price is not expected to affect the prices of resins made with metallocene catalyst technology. Albemarle announced it dropped the price of MAO from $200 to $190 a pound, effective July 1.
The contribution such co-catalysts make directly to the price of resins that eventually are made with them is minor, so the effect of this price decrease will be negligible for processors, industry experts said.
Chevron to expant PS facility in Ohio
HOUSTON - Chevron Chemical Co. of Houston announced Aug. 16 it will expand its polystyrene resins plant in Marietta, Ohio, adding 250 million pounds of annual production capacity.
The expansion will use Chevron's proprietary technology to make high-heat crystal PS.
By April 1997, Chevron said its Marietta PS facility will have nameplate capacity of 870 million pounds a year, including the 250 million-pound expansion and several other capital expansion projects that are under way which are to be completed by the end of September.
Additionally, Chevron said its Styrenic Polymers group recently invested $6.3 million in projects that included building a pilot plant and a product applications laboratory in Marietta. The pilot plant began operations in March; the laboratory was completed in May.
Japanese moklder plans plant in W.Va.
RAVENSWOOD, W.VA. - Katoh Seisakusho Co. Ltd., an injection molder and metal stamper based in Nagoya, Japan, announced it will build a plant in Jackson County, W.Va., to produce parts for the automotive, computer, electronic and appliance industries.
Construction is expected to begin in early 1996, near Ravens-wood, and be completed by the summer, the state development office said. Katoh plans to purchase a 44-acre site for a building expected to be about 10,000 square feet. Employment should start at about 30 people and increase to 100 within the next three years.
Katoh has nine plants in Japan, Korea and Singapore. One of its customers is NGK Sparkplug Manufacturing Inc., a Japanese firm that opened a plant this year in Kanawha County, W.Va.
Ferro Corp. poised to acquire Synpro
Ferro Crop. poised to acquire Synpro
CLEVELAND - Cookson Group plc of London has found a buyer for its Synthetic Products Co. subsidiary, a maker of plastics additives based in Cleveland.
Ferro Corp., also of Cleveland, plans to buy Synpro, which Cookson has been trying to unload since March. The deal hinges on a final agreement between the firms, as well as regulatory approval by the Federal Trade Commission. It is expected to close by the end of September. Terms were not disclosed.
Synpro produces lubricants, such as metallic stearates used primarily in flexible vinyls; mixed-metal heat stabilizers, used for rigid PVC siding, pipe and other vinyl products, polyolefins and styrenics; and dispersions used in the rubber industry. Sales last year were more than $100 million, said Frank Calla-han, chief operating officer of Cookson's plastics division in Providence, R.I.
The buy will beef up Ferro's PVC additives business. Ferro's Bedford Chemical Division in Walton Hills, Ohio, supplies PVC additives, such as heat stabilizers and antioxidants, for the U.S. market, said Ferro's Jim Friederichsen, vice president of specialty chemicals. The company also has PVC additives operations in Portugal, Japan and Australia, he said. Synpro operates plants in Cleveland; Fort Worth, Texas; and Stratford, Conn.
Cookson also manufactures lead-based heat stabilizers through its Anzon Inc. subsidiary in Laredo, Texas. Both Anzon and Synpro are part of the firm's plastics division.
Cookson is divesting Synpro to focus on its other, stronger markets, Chief Executive Richard Oster said in a prepared statement. It manufactures plastics, ceramics, chemicals, printing and refractory products for the automotive, electronics, medical and construction industries, among others.
Ferro produces industrial specialty materials worldwide, including coatings, colors, ceramics, chemicals and plastics. It reported 1994 sales of $1.2 billion.