Catalyst

Join Chemical Week as it returns to New Orleans for the 13^th Annual Chemical Transportation, Distribution and Security Conference – the only event dedicated to supply chain, distribution, security and logistics within the chemical industry.

This year’s conference tackles a slew of urgent new issues in transportation, distribution, and security that the chemical industry is contending with. What do new security policies mean for the transportation and distribution of chemicals, especially hazardous materials? How is the chemical industry dealing with continuing labor shortages among carriers? Are freight rates going to climb further in 2008? Are there still lessons to be learned for shippers and carriers from the devastating hurricanes that hit the U.S. Gulf Coast in 2005?

Central themes to be addressed at the 13^th Annual Chemical Transportation, Distribution and Security Conference include:

· The ins and outs of the Department of Homeland Security’s new security law, and its implications for production, storage and transportation of chemicals

· How the industry is addressing rising freight rates and labor shortages among carriers

· A look at the rebuilding of New Orleans two years after the devastation caused by hurricanes, and the lingering effect on the transportation network

· Lessons learned in emergency preparedness and disaster recovery

This year’s conference will take a closer look at these issues, and provide you with the opportunity to analyze and discuss them with your peers and experts in the field.

To register for the 13^th Annual Chemical Transportation, Distribution and Security Conference, visit www.chemweek.com/conferences/transportation08.

Chemical Engineering announced today the release of its new beta website. The completely retooled site and online information service will provide up-to-the-minute news and in-depth technical expertise from Chemical Engineering’s global team of chemical engineers, CPI professionals and journalists.

“The new che.com site simply capitalizes on Web-based technology to improve how Chemical Engineering delivers timely, practical information to the chemical process industries,” notes Rebekkah Marshall, Editor in Chief of Chemical Engineering. “Now visitors can quickly and easily drill down within subcategories such as Processing & Handling; Software, Automation & Control; Environmental Health & Safety; and Business & Economics.

”The new site offers readers the choice of over 130 RSS feeds, which notify them of developments or technical expertise in areas as broad as up-to-the-minute Business News to those as specific as Project Management, Distillation, Alarms or Heat Transfer Media. Also in keeping with Chemical Engineering’s global audience and coverage, the new site enables RSS notification of content that pertains to certain geographical hotspots and makes it browsable via an online map.”

Nella Veldran, Publisher of Chemical Engineering commented “Now, more than ever, readers will search and find information and analysis on the specific processes, systems and workflows they manage everyday. Visitors will benefit directly from Chemical Engineering’s more than 100 years of experience as the publication of record in the chemical processing industries.”

During this beta testing period, the team at Chemical Engineering is actively seeking feedback on all aspects of the website and its content so they’ll be able to continue fine-tuning the user experience to be even more useful to professionals seeking information online and via mobile devices. As beta testing continues, the Chemical Engineering team will further enhance the site with added functionality and content. Users will see advanced customization and search capabilities, an online “store” and new information and data products in the coming months.

For information about beta testing contact John Rockwell at +1 212 621-4668, email: jrockwell@accessintel.com.

Major enhancements have come to CW’s online home (www.chemweek.com). There will be a complete overhaul of the Web site, and a preview is available now.
The relaunch will make CW and chemweek.com even more vital and timely resources for chemical industry news and analysis. CW has set the standard for editorial excellence by providing insightful and accurate coverage that keeps readers informed. That standard will now be fully translated and integrated online with breaking news from around the globe, reported as it happens throughout the day. Regional coverage will be enhanced with a greater focus on emerging markets in Asia and the Mideast. Full articles from CW’s print edition will be available as soon as the magazine goes to press, allowing readers even more timely access to essential industry intelligence.
The user experience at the Web site will also be greatly improved. Search and navigation features will be enhanced to make the site easier to use and allow quicker access to the information readers want.
Additional Web site enhancements are planned for the coming months. A new feature on the site, MyChemweek, will allow readers to customize the page and content to their specific needs.
These changes are designed with our readers in mind to assure that their visit to chemweek.com will be more informative, useful, pleasant, and, most importantly, productive.
We encourage you to visit the new Web site, and, as always, we invite your comments and suggestions.

The global credit squeeze that has shaken debt and equity markets during the past few weeks may cool the feverish pace of industry M&A. Banks are left holding debt of about $400 billion in uncompleted management and leveraged buyouts worldwide, according to estimates compiled by Baring Asset Management (London). Several big chemical deals are in that pipeline, including Sabic-GE Plastics, Basell-Lyondell, Hexion-Huntsman, and Carlyle-PQ Corp. Industry deals with committed financing are likely to proceed, say M&A advisers that CW contacted earlier this month. However, the relationship between buyers and their lenders could become tense if banks are stuck with debt they cannot sell on the bond market. That will curtail further lending until banks are able to clear the backlog. Most bankers expect a recovery by early 2008, citing an overall strong economy. “This is a different situation than what has happened in the past,” says Richard Whitney, managing director/chemicals at Credit Suisse (New York). Lenders have clamped down despite low default rates and relatively strong earnings and valuations, Whitney says. “Credit supply and demand is out of balance right now. It is not just in chemicals. It is on a global scale. There are so many large transactions that need financing.” Borrowing costs will rise as lenders demand higher risk premiums, analysts say.
“We think this is more of a correction or pause,” says Ron Kahn, head of the debt private placements group at Lincoln International (Chicago). “If you go back to the last serious credit crunch, back in 2001, it was driven by defaults and bad credits.” But the drivers are different now as defaults are low and earnings strong. “This has nothing to do with the fundamentals. It’s purely a liquidity issue,” Kahn says. Deals already in process are progressing, says Chris Cerimele, senior v.p. at Lincoln International. However, sale processes that were planned or just starting are likely to be delayed until after Labor Day, as buyers and sellers wait for the situation to stabilize. Banks are likely to tighten lending terms going forward, analysts say.
“M&A could be a tale of two cities for each half of the year in 2007,” says Peter Young, president of Young & Partners (New York), an M&A advisory firm. “There are enough announced and completed first-half deals so that 2007 will still be a pretty active year. The second half is going to be tough, however.

Rohm and Haas (R&H) says it is considering “strategic options” for its salt business, which could include a divestment or spin-off. The company says it expects to make a decision by year-end. R&H’s salt business posted sales of $505 million in first-half 2007, an increase of 19% from the prior-year period. Earnings for the six-month period were $37 million, an increase of 85%, in line with improved sales performance, and offsetting higher operating costs, R&H says. Revenue increased on stronger pricing in the industrial and consumer markets, as well as increased demand for ice-control salt and other bulk products, R&H says. R&H’s salt business accounts for roughly 10% of its revenues and includes the Morton Salt name and trademark, including the image of the Morton Salt umbrella girl, a well-recognized consumer product symbol in North America. Also, R&H will no longer seek to maintain credit ratios consistent with an “A” rating, according to quarterly regulatory filings made late last month. “Rather, we intend to manage our debt levels in a manner consistent with maintaining investment-grade quality ratios,” R&H says in the filings. The company expects to maintain a debt ratio of 50% over the next several years, up from 35% at the end of the second quarter. R&H says it will use cash to: reinvest in core businesses; build new platforms to address growing needs in health, water, energy, and other areas; make selective acquisitions that add new technology or broaden geographic presence; continue to increase dividends; and to repurchase shares. R&H announced plans last month to repurchase up to $2 billion of its common stock, including $1 billion in shares through an accelerated buyback program this quarter that will be funded by the issuance of new debt.