Polymers

Solvay and INEOS have signed a letter of intent to combine their European chlorvinyls activities in a proposed 50-50 joint venture, they report in a press release. The partnership would position the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) producer among the top three worldwide and employ around 5,650 employees in 9 countries. RusVinyl, Solvay's Russian joint venture in chlorvinyls with Sibur, is not part of the transaction.

The Healthcare Plastics Recycling Council (HPRC) has released guidelines intended to help product and packaging designers improve the recyclability of disposable plastic products. “Design Guidelines for Optimal Hospital Plastics Recycling” was produced by HPRC’s technical working group, which comprises technical experts from HPRC members BD, Cardinal Health, DuPont, Engineered Plastics, Hospira, Johnson & Johnson, Kimberly Clark, and Waste Management. (Three new members that joined this past fall--Baxter, Eastman, and Philips--participated in reviews.)

Eastman Chemical Company reports that it is increasing its manufacturing capacity of Eastman 168 non-phthalate plasticizer at its facility in Kingsport, TN, by approximately 6000 tons annually, the company states in a press release.

In the last month, Eastman had bought a manufacturing facility for Eastman 168 in Texas City, TX, and it had finished "a debottlenecking process in Kingsport in February," the company reported. Additional capacity is expected to come on line before the end of 2011.

DuPont has conducted a global survey of consumer packaged goods companies and packaging converters. According to more than 500 packaging professionals surveyed, more than 40% reported that sustainability is the toughest challenge, while 33% cited cost as a major factor.

DuPont is announcing that production for Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA) resins has begun at its joint venture, Beijing Hua Mei Polymer Company Limited, in Beijing. The facility is DuPont’s first operation to make EVA in China. 

Eastman Chemical Co. celebrated yesterday the opening of a new plant exclusively dedicated to the production of Eastman Tritan copolyester at its headquarters in Kingsport, TN. The plant expands production capacity of Tritan in alignment with increasing market demand for the material. Tritan is a new-generation copolyester that balances the properties of clarity, toughness, and heat and chemical resistance, and is manufactured without bisphenol A (BPA).
 

HOUSTON, Apr 26, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) --Kraton Performance Polymers, Inc. (NYSE: "KRA"), a leading global producer of styrenic block copolymers or "SBC's" (together with Kraton Polymers LLC and its other subsidiaries "Kraton"), announced plans to invest approximately $27 million in its Belpre, Ohio plant to enable production of Poly-Isoprene Rubber. This strategic decision will allow Kraton to manufacture this product in the U.S. to support increased customer demand and the projected long-term needs of the market.

At the National Plastics Exhibition in June, Eastman Chemical Co. (Kingsport, TN) received three awards for its copolyesters, including two for a prefilled syringe application. The iSecure syringe created for Hospira Inc. was honored with the 11th annual International Designers Society of America/Plastics News Award and Medical Commercial Product Award at the first International Plastics Design Competition.