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U.K. (603) Sweden (90) Finland (109) Denmark (86) Netherlands (352) Belgium (323) Germany (1126) France (469) Spain (93) Italy (143) Switzerland (282) Austria (59)
U.K. AkzoNobel Steps up Research into Anticorrosion Coatings
AkzoNobel has unveiled a five-year research partnership with the University of Manchester (Manchester, U.K.) to investigate the science of anti-corrosion coatings. When the research begins April 1 of this year it will be the world’s largest academic... BP Reports 60% Decrease in Petrochemical Earnings
BP says that earnings on a replacement cost basis, before interest and taxes, for its petrochemical business in the fourth quarter of 2011 were $96 million, 60% lower than the $243 million reported in the same quarter of 2010. Sales figures were not disclosed but... Aesica to Expand HPAPI Capacity at Two Sites in U.K.
Aesica Pharmaceuticals (Newcastle upon Tyne, U.K.), a provider of active pharma ingredients (API), formulations, and custom synthesis, says it plans to upgrade its API manufacturing facilities, enabling it to manufacture high potency APIs (HPAPIs) at... Shell Chemicals Reports Decrease in Earnings
Shell Chemicals says earnings on a current costs of supplies (CCS) basis in the fourth quarter of 2011 were $380 million, 23% lower than $493 million in the same quarter of... Ineos Reports Stable Fourth-Quarter Ebitda
Ineos says that, "based on unaudited preliminary management information," the company estimates that its fourth-quarter 2011 Ebitda was €220 million, down 1% on the corresponding period of 2010. The figures are for Ineos's chemicals business ... More Stories » SWEDEN Odfjell Reports Stable Losses Despite Increase in Sales
Odfjell says net losses in the fourth quarter of 2011 were $8 million, exactly the same net result as in the fourth quarter of 2010. Odjfell's sales and Ebitda increased 19% and 11% year over year, to $322 million and $31 million, respectively, in the fourth... BASF Plant Science Moves Headquarters to U.S., Plans to Halt Development of GM Crops for Europe
BASF announced today that it is concentrating its plant biotechnology activities on the main markets in North and South America, citing a a lack of acceptance for plant biotechnology in many parts of Europe,... Brenntag Announces Regional Expansion of Agreement with Colonial Chemical
Brenntag Specialties Europe, a Brenntag subsidiary, has announced that it has been named exclusive distributor for Colonial Chemical (South Pittsburg, TN) in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland. This agreement expands the... IPIC Sells its Majority Stake in Ferrostaal Following Dispute
International Petroleum Investment Co. (IPIC; Abu Dhabi) has sold its 70% stake in German engineering group Ferrostaal (Essen) to MAN SE (Munich), a subsidiary of Volkswagen (VW), for €350 million ($465 million). MAN will sell Ferrostaal to trading firm... PTT Global Chemical and Perstorp Form Isocyanates JV
PTT Global (Bangkok) has reached a deal to acquire a 51% stake in Perstorp’s isocynates business for €114.8 million ($153 million) as part of the formation of a joint venture between the two companies. The jv will make toluene diisocyanate (TDI)... More Stories » FINLAND Kemira Reports Higher Net Profits but Lower Sales
Kemira says net profit from continuing operations in the fourth quarter of 2011 was €37.8 million ($50 million), 51% higher than the €25.1 million reported in the same quarter of 2010. Earnings per share (EPS) also increased 60% year over year, to... Reach: 2,300 Substances Identified So Far for 2013 Registration
The European Chemical Agency (ECHA; Helsinki) says a recent survey of industry shows chemical firms plan to register 2,300 substances for the next phase of the European Union’s (EU) Reach legislation taking place in May 2013. The next Reach registration... Tikkurila Details Job Cuts
Paints and coatings company Tikkurila (Vantaa, Finland) has confirmed details of previously announced workforce reductions in Finland. The company says it will cut 62 jobs in Finland, having said last November that it would cut up to 100 jobs there... Neste Oil to Build a Pilot Plant for the Production of Waste-Based Microbial Oil
Neste Oil (Helsinki) announced the construction of a pilot plant to produce microbial oil based on waste, at Porvoo, Finland. The pilot plant will be the first designed to produce microbial oil for use in manufacturing renewable fuel from waste-based raw... Brenntag Announces Regional Expansion of Agreement with Colonial Chemical
Brenntag Specialties Europe, a Brenntag subsidiary, has announced that it has been named exclusive distributor for Colonial Chemical (South Pittsburg, TN) in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland. This agreement expands the... More Stories » DENMARK Brenntag Announces Regional Expansion of Agreement with Colonial Chemical
Brenntag Specialties Europe, a Brenntag subsidiary, has announced that it has been named exclusive distributor for Colonial Chemical (South Pittsburg, TN) in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland. This agreement expands the... Haldor Topsøe Appoints Bjerne Clausen as New CEO Following Sørensen's Resignation
Haldor Topsøe (Lyngby, Denmark) said on Friday that it has appointed Bjerne S. Clausen as its new CEO. The move follows the sudden resignation of Niels Kegel Sørensen, the... Lonza Signs Development and Manufacturing Agreement with Genmab
Lonza says it has signed a development and manufacturing agreement with biotechnology company Genmab (Copenhagen, Denmark) for a novel antibody drug conjugate (ADC), HuMax-TF. This agreement secures a development and cGMP manufacturing plan for Genmab to... Praxair Ups Stake in Scandinavian Gases Joint Venture with Yara
Praxair and Yara International have signed an agreement under which Praxair increased its ownership in the Yara Praxair (Oslo) industrial gases joint venture in Scandinavia from 50% to 66%. The jv, formed in late 2007, comprises Yara... U.S. Firm Pilots Technology to Convert Excess Electricity, Waste CO2 into Natural Gas
Electrochaea (St. Louis, MO), a start-up company says it plans to begin industrial-scale testing of a proprietary anaerobic technology that converts waste CO2 and excess electric power and water into oxygen and usable, storable energy in the form of methane... More Stories » NETHERLANDS Mexichem Acquires Wavin to Create Global Leader in PVC Pipe Systems
Mexichem (Tlalnepantla, Mexico) says it has agreed to acquire 100% of Wavin (Zwolle, the Netherlands) for approximately €531 million ($704 million). Mexichem intends to make a cash offer of €10.50 per Wavin ordinary share. The offer represents... Solvay Commissions Largest PEM Fuel Cell
Solvay joint venture SolVin has commissioned a 1 MW proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell at its production complex at Antwerp. The PEM fuel cell, which Solvay describes as a “demonstration” unit, is the largest of its kind in the world, Solvay... AkzoNobel Hikes MCA Capacity in China, Completes Expansion in the Netherlands
AkzoNobel announced today that it will expand its monochloroacetic acid (MCA) plant at Taixing, China and said that it has recently completed expansion of its MCA unit at Delfzijl, the Netherlands. The Taixing plant, first completed In 2002 with a capacity of... Shell Chemicals Reports Decrease in Earnings
Shell Chemicals says earnings on a current costs of supplies (CCS) basis in the fourth quarter of 2011 were $380 million, 23% lower than $493 million in the same quarter of... DSM Forms API Marketing and Sales Alliance with Indian Firm
DSM says it has signed an agreement with Indoco Remedies (Mumbai) for a commercial cooperation for eight active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). APIs manufactured by Indoco will be marketed and sold by DSM and the alliance will leverage Indoco's product... More Stories » BELGIUM Rhodia and Roquette to Co-Develop New Plant-Based Polymers
Rhodia, a subsidiary of Solvay, says it has signed a joint development agreement (JDA) with Roquette (Lestrem, France) to develop new plant-based polymers. Each company will have the opportunity, through the JDA, to leverage synergies bringing together... Output Declines in Europe
Output of chemicals declined 3.2% in the European Union (EU) in November 2011 compared with the previous November, Cefic says. "The current EU chemicals industry production trend is in line with the deterioration of the EU... Solvay Creates Energy Services Business
Solvay has created Solvay Energy Services, a new business selling expertise within the group and to third parties to optimize energy costs and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Solvay has described the formation of the new business as “the first concrete... Rhodia and Avantium to Codevelop Bio-Based Polyamides
Rhodia, a subsidiary of Solvay; and Avantium (Amsterdam) say they have agreed on the joint development of a range of new bio-based polyamides, which can be used in a variety of applications. This new agreement expands and completes the existing partnership in... European Commission Launches Maritime Emissions Consultation
The European Commission says it has launched an online public consultation on possible measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ships. All interested stakeholders can contribute until April 12, 2012. The European Union (EU) committed to reduce total... More Stories » GERMANY Oxea Breaks Ground on Carboxylic Acid Plant in Germany
Oxea broke ground on Friday on a previously announced carboxylic acid plant at Oberhausen, Germany. The facility, the company’s third such unit, will raise capacity by 40%. The plant is due to be completed during this year. The main driver for the... BASF's Crop Protection Pipeline Value Jumps to €2.8 Billion
BASF says the value of its crop protection pipeline increased by €400 million ($525.8 million) to €2.8 billion, driven mainly by the company’s star fungicide F 500, which is expected to exceed peak sales of €1 billion. In... Leading Chemical Firms Join German Alliance to Secure Raw Materials
BASF, Bayer, Evonik Industries, and Wacker Chemie are among the 12 founding members of an alliance of German industrial companies that aims to secure raw material supplies in the face of growing competition from emerging countries. The Federation of German... BASF Invests in U.S.-Based Advanced Materials Company
BASF Venture Capital, a BASF subsidiary, says it has participated in a $27 million financing round by investing $5 million in Solidia Technologies (Piscataway, NJ), a start-up company developing a technology for converting waste into building materials... Wacker Posts Fourth-Quarter Loss, Sales Dip on Weak Solar, Electronics Demand
Wacker Chemie, in its preliminary report on fourth-quarter 2011 results, reported a net loss of €85 million ($110 million) compared with a €99.9 million net profit in the year earlier period. Sales were 16% lower at €1.01 billion. The company... More Stories » FRANCE Rhodia and Roquette to Co-Develop New Plant-Based Polymers
Rhodia, a subsidiary of Solvay, says it has signed a joint development agreement (JDA) with Roquette (Lestrem, France) to develop new plant-based polymers. Each company will have the opportunity, through the JDA, to leverage synergies bringing together... Monsanto Ends GM Seed Efforts in France
Monsanto says it will not sell its MON810 maize seed in France in 2012 or the foreseeable future, citing a lack of support among farmers and government officials for genetically modified (GM) traits. The company has not sold the seed since spring of 2007, and... Borealis Buys Fertilizer Company from Total
Borealis has, as expected, acquired fertilizer producer PEC-Rhin (Ottmarsheim, France) from GPN, a Total subsidiary. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. GPN became 100% owner of PEC-Rhin last month by purchasing BASF's 50% stake in the... Acquisition Strengthens A. Schulman's Position in European Masterbatch Market
A. Schulman says it has reached an agreement to acquire Elian (Oyonnax, France) from British Vita for €48 million ($63 million) in cash. Elian is a leader in the production of specialized color masterbatch products. A. Schulman's overall costs of... Solvay Creates Energy Services Business
Solvay has created Solvay Energy Services, a new business selling expertise within the group and to third parties to optimize energy costs and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Solvay has described the formation of the new business as “the first concrete... More Stories » SPAIN Linde to Buy Air Products' Homecare Business in Five European Countries
Air Products has agreed to sell its homecare business in continental Europe to Linde for €590 million. The business specializes in patient-based oxygen-therapy, sleep-therapy, and infusion-therapy services. It has a total patient base of about 260,000 and generated revenues of approximately €210 million in 2011. It has operations in Belgium, Germany, France, Portugal, and Spain.... Sika Acquires Concrete Admixture Business of Italcementi Group
Sika (Baar, Switzerland) signed an agreement with Italcementi Group (Bergamo, Italy) to acquire Axim (Middlebranch, OH), the global concrete admixture and cement grinding aid business of Italcementi. Axim has been present in the market for concrete... Vivimed Acquires Spanish API Manufacturer
Vivimed Labs (Hyderabad, India) says it has acquired Uquifa (Barcelona), a manufacturer of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and pharma intermediates, with manufacturing sites in Spain and Mexico. The acquisition strengthens Vivimed’s footprint... BlueStar Adds Personal Care Formulation Lab
Bluestar Silicones (Lyon, France) has inaugurated a new technical service laboratory for cosmetics in Barcelona. The facility will focus on formulating and developing silicone products for the personal care... Lubrizol to Acquire TPU Maker Merquinsa
Lubrizol has signed an agreement to purchase Merquinsa (Barcelona), a leading European producer of specialty thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs).... More Stories » ITALY Genomatica Advances Second-Generation Biobased BDO with M&G
Renewable chemicals firm Genomatica (San Diego) says it has obtained exclusive worldwide rights to Beta Renewables’ (Scrivia, Italy) technology to convert biomass to 1,4-butanediol (BDO), and the two firms plan to begin demonstration-scale production... Indorama Relocates Trevira's Texturizing Capacity from Poland to Germany
Indorama Ventures (Bangkok) announced through a letter to Thailand's stock exchange that it would relocate the texturizing capacity of its Trevira (Bobingen, Germany) joint venture. The relocation is expected to be completed by the end of 2012 and it... Novamont, Genomatica form Joint Venture for European BioBDO Production
Novamont (Novara, Italy) and Genomatica (San Diego, CA) say they have signed a definitive agreement establishing a joint venture between the two companies. Novamont will have a majority of equity in the new jv. The companies' previously... Domenico Dispenza Appointed Chairman of Polimeri Europa
Eni (Rome) has appointed Domenico Dispenza as chairman of Polimeri Europa (Milan), the petrochemicals arm of the energy group, effective... Novamont Advances Biobased BDO Project with Genomatica
Novamont (Novara, Italy), the producer of Mater-Bi biodegradable plastics made mostly from corn, expects to start producing 1,4-butanediol (BDO) from renewable resources from about mid-2013. The company announced this week that, under a previously announced... More Stories » SWITZERLAND Syngenta's Net Income and Sales Rise, Benefiting from Integration
Syngenta today reported a 14% increase in 2011 net income to $1.6 billion on sales also up 14% at $13.3 billion. Sales of crop protection products were 14% higher at $10.2 billion and seeds also registered a 14% growth to $3.2 billion. Earnings per share... China Loses Appeal Against WTO Ruling on Raw Material Export Restrictions
China has lost an appeal against a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling that China's practice of restricting exports of certain key raw materials violates international trade regulations. However, the WTO decision does not cover China's dominant position in... Ineos Reports Stable Fourth-Quarter Ebitda
Ineos says that, "based on unaudited preliminary management information," the company estimates that its fourth-quarter 2011 Ebitda was €220 million, down 1% on the corresponding period of 2010. The figures are for Ineos's chemicals business ... Lonza Changes Leadership After Fall in Profits
Lonza has fired CEO Stefan Borgas in a dramatic move following weak financial results. An interim CEO has been installed.... Takeda to Cut 2,800 Jobs in Europe, U.S. by 2016
Takeda Pharmaceutical (Osaka, Japan) says it plans to reduce its global workforce by 2,800 positions, which includes 2,100 job cuts in Europe and 700 job cuts in the U.S., by the end of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2016. Takeda says the measures will... More Stories » AUSTRIA Lenzing Reaches New Agreement to Supply Fibers for the U.S. Army
Lenzing says it has reached a new agreement with the U.S. Army that has been authorized by President Obama, to continue supplying flame-resistant specialty fibers for a new generation of combat uniforms. President Obama's signature on December 31, 2011... Lenzing Expands R&D Cooperation with German Company
Lenzing announced the expansion of its cooperation with smartfiber (Rudolstadt, Germany). Lenzing will be the exclusive producer of the lyocell specialty fibers smartcel and SeaCell, developed by smartfiber, at Lenzing's complex in upper Austria, under the... Brenntag Announces Regional Expansion of Agreement with Colonial Chemical
Brenntag Specialties Europe, a Brenntag subsidiary, has announced that it has been named exclusive distributor for Colonial Chemical (South Pittsburg, TN) in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland. This agreement expands the... Borealis Offers to Buy Fertilizer and Intermediates Producer PEC-Rhin
Borealis announced today that it has made an offer to GPN, a subsidiary of Total Petrochemicals, to buy PEC-Rhin (Ottmarsheim, France). PEC-Rhin, equally owned by GPN and BASF, produces nitrogen fertilizers, ammonia and... Borealis Doubles Net Profits with Borouge Making a Major Contribution
Borealis reported an almost doubling in net profits for the third quarter of this year but says it expects the fourth quarter to be challenging because of the political and economic uncertainties in Europe. Net profits rose 49%, to €107 million ($145.7... More Stories »
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