DuPont forming JV in fluoroelastomers
WILMINGTON, DEL. — DuPont Co. and a subsidiary of China National Chemical Corp. have agreed to form a 50-50 joint venture to make and market fluoroelastomer gums and pre-compounds in China.
The venture between the U.S. firm and Chenguang Chemical Research Institute will include a pre-compounding plant to be built in Shanghai. The facility is expected to begin operating in the second half of 2011, pending completion of definitive agreements and securing appropriate government approvals, DuPont said. The company didn't release financial details of the deal.
The investment will help Wilmington-based DuPont meet rapidly growing fluoroelastomer demand from customers in China and globally, said Diane Gulyas, president of DuPont Performance Polymers.
The venture will combine DuPont's fluoroelastomer technology, global reach and Viton brand with Chenguang's integrated manufacturing position and strong China presence, she said.
Xiao Sen Fan, vice president of China National Chemical, said his firm has a leading position in China's fluoroelastomer market, and the partnership will bring higher value and better service to the global chemical industry.
He said the venture will establish a model for future collaboration between the two companies.
Lanxess' India plant to make nylon, PBT
DÜSSELDORF — Lanxess AG will build a new compounding plant in Jhagadia, India, to produce its Durethan polyamide and Pocan polybutylene terephthalate materials. It will have an initial capacity of 44 million pounds per year.
Werner Breuers, manager of Lanxess Performance Polymers, said the firm will invest 10 million euros ($13.5 million) in the project.
“Lanxess intends to use this investment to share in the booming automotive and electrical and electronics industries in India,” Breuers said at a pre-K show press conference in Dusseldorf.
The plant is expected to be operating by January 2012 with a workforce of 60.
The Indian plant, together with Lanxess' compounding plant in Wuxi, China, will supply the entire Asia-Pacific region with Durethan and Pocan. Lanxess recently said it will expand capacity in Wuxi to 132 million pounds per year by mid-2011.
“We look to where the growth is, and there is huge growth in China,” Breuers said.
Emerging markets are the primary focus for Lanxess' investment strategy, said Hubert Fink, who heads the firm's semi-crystalline products business. Lanxess believes India is on course to become the third-largest consumer market for engineering plastics after the U.S. and China. In particular, the automotive sector is forecast to increase by as much as 10 percent this year and in 2011.
Macchi 9-layer line to produce film at K
VENEGONO INFERIORE, ITALY — Macchi SpA will run a nine-layer blown film line at K 2010.
Macchi unveiled its nine-layer CoexFlex during an open house last year at its plant in Venegono Inferiore, to coincide with the Plast'09 trade show in Milan. But K 2010 will mark the first time one of the nine-layer lines will make film during a trade show, company officials said.
For barrier-layer film fans, it will be “nine-layer K.”
Visitors to K 2010 will see at least two nine-layer blown film lines.
Reifenhäuser GmbH & Co. KG will demonstrate a nine-layer Evolution line during the show, set for Oct. 27-Nov. 3 in Dusseldorf. The machine will highlight technology from Reifenhäuser and Kiefel Extrusion GmbH, which Reifenhäuser acquired last year.
Macchi's CoexFlex equipment will produce film with layers of barrier resin sandwiched between layers of metallocene linear low density polyethylene and low density polyethylene, using tie layers.
More than 30 Macchi lines are making five- and seven-layer film around the world, company officials said.
CAR: US tooling firms now cost competitive
TRAVERSE CITY, MICH. — While the automotive industry has taken its business blows the past few years, the tool and die suppliers to automakers have been hit even harder, said Jay Baron, president and CEO of the Center for Automotive Research, a non-profit group headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Nearly half of the tooling industry — 45 percent — has been forced out of business, he said Aug. 2 during the auto industry's Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City.
But the news is not all bad, Baron added. Those companies still standing have invested in new technology and automation to the point that they have “almost closed the gap” between their costs and those of competitors in low-cost countries, he said.
“We think that those we have left will be able to sustain themselves not just for the auto industry, but for all North American industries,” he said.