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May 21, 2013 | By DEEPTI RAMESH Cambrex completes Charles City facility expansion Cambrex (East Rutherford, NJ) says it has completed the previously announced expansion of the large-scale manufacturing facility at Charles City, IA. The major facility expansion was completed in just over 10 months from initial groundbreaking and has created over 60 new positions at the Charles City facility. The facility will be used to increase cGMP... May 17, 2013 | By LINDSAY FROST This Week in CW: A Kansas federal court on Wednesday ordered Dow Chemical to pay $1.2 billion in a previously announced urethanes price-fixing case, tripling, as expected, the fine announced in February this year. Dow was one of five companies named in a 2005 class action lawsuit for alleged conspiracy to fix urethane prices. The plaintiffs, consumers of isocyanates and polyols, accused Bayer, BASF... May 14, 2013 | By DEEPTI RAMESH Ampac Fine Chemicals swings to profit Ampac Fine Chemicals (AFC; Rancho Cordova, CA), a subsidiary of American Pacific (Las Vegas), recorded an operating profit of $3.8 million in its fiscal second quarter, ended 31 March, compared with an operating loss of $1 million in the year-ago quarter. Second-quarter sales were $37.3 million compared with $20.6 million in the year-ago period. For the fiscal first... May 10, 2013 | By LINDSAY FROST This Week in CW: The final resolution has been completed in the K-Dow arbitration between Dow Chemical and the Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC; Kuwait City, Kuwait), with Dow confirming on Tuesday that it has received a direct cash payment of $2.2 billion from PIC. The money was awarded to Dow by the International Chamber of Commerce's international court, which last year ruled against PIC for... May 9, 2013 | By JOS KEURENTJES, RD&I DIRECTOR/OPEN INNOVATION, AKZONOBEL The need to innovate, to improve existing solutions and create new ones, is essential for the future success of any business. Customers want products and services to be faster, cheaper, more functional, more convenient, and more sustainable. But how do businesses meet these demands? And how can they keep up with the pace of technological change? To meet this challenge, many businesses... May 7, 2013 | By DEEPTI RAMESH Teva’s API business reports fall in sales The active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) business of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (Petaḥ Tiqwa, Israel), recorded a 6.5% fall in sales in the first quarter compared with the year-ago quarter, to $186 million. Teva has the largest API business in the world in terms of sales. Vertellus upgrades Belgium facility for API niacin manufacture Vertellus... May 6, 2013 | By JAY TOWNSEND, SENIOR V.P. OF BUSINESS STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT AT CELANESE I once led a restructuring project in one of Hoechst Celanese’s largest manufacturing facilities. The project team included multiple people in the facility with an ultimate objective to reduce costs. We initially focused on employee over time cost. We started our assessment by process mapping the actual work flow of all administrative processes in the plant. As we mapped each process, it was apparent... April 30, 2013 | By DEEPTI RAMESH Lonza results in line with expectations Lonza, in its business update announcement for the first quarter of 2013, says that its business performance was solid and in line with expectations. “Earlier this year, we announced significant changes to our organization, aligning ourselves directly with markets we serve. The newly focused organization is taking hold while delivering on our first-quarter... April 26, 2013 | By LINDSAY FROST This week in CW: This week’s earnings roundup includes several top players that have confirmed their 2013 outlooks. Today, BASF reported a 15% drop in first-quarter net income, to €1.45 billion ($1.89 billion), mostly because of special income from the divestment of its fertilizer business. The company also announced earlier in the week that it would be restructuring its... April 23, 2013 | By RANDY SKATTUM, GLOBAL BUSINESS MANAGER AT CELANESE People apply what they know across all aspects of their lives. Some may use negotiation skills honed at the office in parenting at home. Others may apply a team approach from a weekend recreation league to a business project. About two years ago, Celanese, my employer, started its transition into a company focused on innovation, collaboration and customer-oriented opportunities while I enjoyed my own...
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ABOUT CHEM IDEAS
Welcome to Chem Ideas, the place for opinions and perspective on the key issues affecting the global chemicals industry. This zone features articles by Chemweek’s regular editors as well as a team of established experts with insights across the chemicals industry. If you would like to contribute a blog or opinion piece contact Lindsay.Frost@ihs.com.
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ABOUT OUR GUEST AUTHORS
Fine Chemicals / Pharma
Girish Malhotra is the president and founder of Epcot International, an international consulting firm covering chemical manufacture. Girish is an established industry figure having held senior positions at companies including ExxonMobil and Sherwin Williams. He can be reached at girish@epcotint.com
.jpg) SOCMA
Lawrence D. Sloan became Socma's
President in early 2010. He says he will continue to drive up the interests of his members on issues including regulation and best business practice.
REACH
Lisa Allen is the Technical Manager of ReachReady, the Reach services body affiliated to the Chemical Industries Assocation (CIA; U.K.).
She spends much of her time addressing concerns raised by ReachReady’s customers about Reach.
.jpg) Environment
Kathryn Sheridan is the founder of Sustainability Consult, providing public relations support with a sustainability focus to a number of chemical industry clients, as well as to other sectors. Sustainability Consult helps organisations develop, promote and communicate their sustainability strategies, plans and activities. ks@sustainabilityconsult.com
Rubber and Plastics
Lou Reade is a freelance journalist and expert in the rubber and plastics fields. Based in the U.K. Lou has more than a decade writing in about rubber and plastics manufacture with a wealth of experience gained while writing for the leading publications in the field in the U.K. and wider afield. Loureade@talk21.com.
EU Regulation
Giles Chappell is an attorney based in Geneva. His practice focuses on chemicals—specifically REACH and the CLP Regulation, product safety legislation, environmental and trade compliance, and market access issues. He was recommended in 2012 by the Chambers & Partners legal directory. gchappell@eulegal.org
 Security
Steve Roberts is an attorney who practices in the rapidly developing area of homeland security law and regulation. Steve writes and speaks frequently on the legal aspects of homeland security and counterterrorism affecting the nation’s critical infrastructure. www.chemicalsecurity.com
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