Analysis & Opinion 2010

• Plastics make perfect for Saudi Arabia’s global giant
  In a memorable scene from the film The Graduate, a family friend offers the lead character, played by Dustin Hoffman, some simple career advice: “I want to say just one word to you. Just one word. Plastics.” by Robin Wigglesworth
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• German chemical industry body raises 2010 outlook
  German chemicals trade group VCI raised its 2010 outlook after unexpectedly strong business in the second quarter driven by robust export markets, it said on Thursday.
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• The chemical financing market remains choppy, despite improvements
  Having ridden through the depths of the economic and financial crisis in late 2008 and all of 2009, the chemical industry entered 2010 looking forward to more stability and a clear path to normality.
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• Canada must strengthen chemicals industry - trade group
  Canada must take steps to improve the competitiveness of its chemicals industry, a trade group said on Wednesday.
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• Middle East set to become global petrochemicals hub
  We have a habit in the chemical world of seasoning all we write with buzz words - many of which overlap to a bewildering extent. So let's try to clarify what a hub is.
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• Chemical Companies Find New Opportunities by Helping the Automotive Industry Go Green, Says Frost & Sullivan
  Chemical companies can do more to support the automotive industry in going green whilst also opening new markets and sales channels for themselves.
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• EU Proposes Protection for Plastic Bottle Industry
  The European Union wants to impose new trade barriers on imported plastic from Iran, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates.
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• Eastern Europe and Russia chemicals markets still in recovery mode
  Demand for chemicals across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and Russia was hit hard by the global downturn, with domestic and export markets both collapsing by 25% or more in 2009 for many major commodities.
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• TSCA Overhaul Introduced in House
  Representatives Henry Waxman (D., CA) and Bobby Rush (D., IL) formally introduced the Toxic Chemicals Safety Act of 2010 into the House of Representatives yesterday.
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• EU Fines Animal Feed Phosphate Producers €175 Million for Price Fixing
  The European Commission has fined animal feed phosphate producers a combined €175.65 million for conspiring to fix prices in Western Europe "from as early as March 1969 until February 2004."
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• Borouge signs major contracts valued at US$ 2.6 billion to advance its strategic Borouge 3 expansion
  Borouge, a joint-venture between the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Borealis, formally signed three major Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contracts valued at approximately US$ 2.6 billion for its Borouge 3 strategic expansion in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi, in the UAE.
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• Brenntag significantly expands its market presence in Asia Pacific
  Brenntag further expands its market position in the growth area Asia Pacific by acquiring 100% of the shares of EAC Industrial Ingredients Ltd. A/S, a sizeable provider of chemical distribution solutions in South and South East Asia.
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• Eastern Europe and Niche Applications Stimulate the European Polymer Blends Market
  Hard hit by the global economic slowdown in 2009, the European polymer blends and alloys market is on the upswing again, thanks mainly to high growth potential in Eastern Europe, particularly for electronics applications.
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• Biorefineries Set to Infuse $230 Billion into Global Economy, Provide 9% of Chemicals by 2020
  A World Economic Forum (WEF) report published today has identified that biorefineries could help mitigate against climate change and that they have the potential to infuse up to $230 billion into the global economy by 2020-with the majority of the value going into the U.S. economy.
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• Plastics to Take Greater Market Share from Metals
  Wherever the most demanding technical requirements must be satisfied - in the automotive and machinery industries but also in the household appliance and leisure sectors - designers have often had to rely on metal in the past.
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• Britain's £60 Billion Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sector Tells Chancellor...
  ...To Sort Out the UK Business Climate
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• ACC: 'Industry Operations Have Largely Returned to Normal'
  The U.S. chemical industry is moving towards self-sustaining growth, driven by rising demand, business investment, and cost advantages, ACC said in its mid-year outlook.
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• Lanxess says rubber industry crisis is over
  The head of Lanxess’ technical rubber products business unit, Dr Guenther Weymans, believes that the crisis in the rubber industry is over "provided the economic climate continues to remain stable".
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• Abundance of Raw Materials and New Production Units Drive the Bioplastics Market in Brazil and Mexico
  Both Brazil and Mexico are nascent markets for bioplastics, compared to those in Europe or the U.S. Nevertheless, bioplastics are currently penetrating such segments as food packaging and agricultural films and large production scales in Brazil are expected to give a new direction to this market in the region.
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• GPCA Plastics Summit: Industry Expansion Creates a New Set of Challenges
  The burgeoning plastics industry in the Mideast's Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region faces its own set of challenges, speakers and delegates at the first annual Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA) Plastics Summit, currently taking place in Dubai, say.
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• EU Chemical Industry to Grow by 9.5% in 2010
  Cefic forecasts a year-on-year production growth of 9.5% for 2010 and 2% for 2011. The basic chemicals sectors are now registering the fastest rebounds, but in all cases chemicals output, excluding pharmaceuticals, remains well below previous levels
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• Global chemical mergers and acquisitions are making a comeback
  A renewal in global chemical M&A activity is at hand. Which companies and assets are juicy targets?
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• FECC Congress: Industry Recovery is Slow in Spain
  Chemical production in Spain is expected to be broadly flat in 2010 compared with 2009 as the industry struggles to cope with the effects of the global economic and financial crisis and continued uncertainty and volatility in the euro zone, says Fernando Iturrieta, president of Spanish chemical industry association Feique (Madrid) and CEO of petrochemicals producer Cepsa Quimica (Madrid).
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• Netherlands: Chemical industry back on track
  Dutch chemical industry production shows a substantial recovery. In particular, basic chemicals showed a sharp increase in demand.
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• World to rely more on unconventional fuels: EIA
  The Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration on Tuesday predicted that countries outside the U.S. will increasingly rely on fuel from unconventional sources, including biofuels and oil sands, in the next couple of decades.
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• Chemical distribution sees improving conditions
  AFTER A tough year for the chemical industry and its distributors, 2010 is showing some glimpses of optimism. Demand for chemicals improved significantly in most countries, with above average growth rates in the emerging economies of Latin America and Asia.
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• EU Chemicals Regulation: ECHA Flags January 2011 Classification, Labelling and Packaging Deadline
  The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA; Helsinki) has warned the chemical industry that it must start preparing now to submit data relating to the Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) of chemicals on January 3, 2011.
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• Frost & Sullivan: New UK Government’s Green Policies Yield New Opportunities for the Chemical Industry
  The new coalition government in the UK has outlined its collective plans for a low carbon economy.
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• Chemical sector becoming more appealing to women
  WAIVING THE strictures of nationality, class, culture and gender is the solution to overcoming one of the biggest hurdles women encounter in the chemical industry, where historically men have done the buying, selling and producing.
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• Chemical M&A set for major rebound in 2010 – US analyst
  Chemical industry merger and acquisition (M&A) activity is set for a major rebound in 2010, driven by pent-up demand from cash-rich companies, a US analyst said on Monday.
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• Reach: EU Lists 4,415 Chemicals to be Registered by December 1, 2010
  The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA; Helsinki) has published a list of 4,415 chemicals that it says should be registered under the Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation (Reach) program by December 1, 2010.
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• Chemical Reform Bill Would Shift Burden of Proof to Industry
  New legislation introduced in Congress aims to overhaul the United States' 34-year-old chemicals law by making industry, instead of the government, responsible for proving the safety of chemicals.
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• Global specialty chemical sector evolving in two extremes
  THE GLOBAL specialty chemical industry has revenues in excess of $500bn (€369bn) and is quite fragmented, with 350 industry sub-segments and considerable geographic diversity.
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• NEWSMAKER-BASF's CFO seeks dominance in green chemistry
  September 15, 2008, was probably not the best day to spend billions of dollars.
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• European Commission Steps in to Strengthen Reach
  The European Commission this morning announced a series of initiatives aimed at ensuring continued progress of the implementation of the European Union (EU’s) Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals (Reach) program.
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• Gulf Petrochemical Sector Recovers
  Economic indicators point to continued recovery for chemical companies in 2010, including a positive development for producers in the Middle East, with global chemical industry output forecast to increase 4.6%, offsetting a 4.6% contraction in 2009
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• Emerging markets key for French chemical sector
  It will take at least until end 2011 for chemical production to return to levels of before the recession and any pick up will chiefly be carried by emerging markets, the French chemical body's head said.
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• Top 40 Power Players
  In a turbulent 2009, many leaders guided their companies through rough waters, while others emerged as forces to be reckoned with. We present the global chemical industry's most influential people. By Joseph Chang/New York, Will Beacham/London and ICIS Reporters.
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• Reach deadline at risk
  The European Union is partnering with industry to try and prevent a large number of chemical companies missing an important deadline under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemical Substances (Reach) regulations that could cause chemicals to be removed from the market.
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• Chemical industry mergers and acquisitions activity to emerge from a slow thaw
  IT'S BEEN a painful bottom - for the global economy and the chemical industry.
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• Russian gas supply impacts the European chemical and fertilizer industries
  RUSSIA'S SUSPENSION of natural gas supplies to Ukraine and Belarus early this year and in 2009 crippled companies in Eastern Europe, and highlighted vulnerabilities to the West reminiscent of the OPEC oil embargo of the 1970s.
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• U.S. Magazine names BASF the World’s Most Admired Chemical Company
  BASF is the world’s most admired chemical company according to a survey carried out by the U.S. business magazine Fortune. The full results of the survey are published in the current edition.
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• EC approves first GM crop in a decade
  The European Commission has authorised cultivation of a new GM crop for the first time in 12 years, approving BASF's genetically modified potato Amflora for industrial use. The move has given GM advocates hope that a backlog of applications for other GM crops will also be authorised.
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• Chemical companies in bid to maintain the drive to hire new talent
  Although the downturn has hit graduate recruitment, many chemical companies are still striving to win access to talent that will be vital for growth.
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• Adaptability Is Key For European Chemical Companies
  As the chemical industry begins to recover from the financial crisis, it now faces some crucial decisions. Notably, it is likely (and advisable) that many European chemical companies will have to radically change their product ranges and the size of their operations if they want to avoid losing out to rivals in emerging markets.
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• Study highlights sustainable footprint of chemical companies
  Global chemical companies could release at least one billion Euro in cash flow if they increase their sustainability performance.
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• Agrochem R&D strangled by red tape
  Launches of new crop protection chemicals are becoming scarcer due to the increasing burden of field trial data required by the regulators and their associated costs.
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• FACTBOX-European oil refineries sold and up for sale
  Many European oil and chemical firms have been looking to sell domestic refineries since last year as demand for fuels and petrochemical products has fallen more sharply in Europe than in most other parts of the world, hitting profit margins.
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• Refinery strikes shutter over a quarter of France C3 capacity
  Total’s refinery strikes have shuttered around 36% of France’s total propylene capacity, according to ICIS pricing data, exacerbating an already tight supply and demand balance, market sources said on Tuesday
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• Eastern Europe Offers Growth Pockets for Automation Vendors, Says Frost & Sullivan
  The economic recession restrained growth in the western European industry market, which was already reaching maturity.
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• New scheme to boost bio-based chemistry
  The European Commission has launched an initiative to help chemical companies switch to renewable feedstocks and energy sources as part of a European Union drive to persuade chemical producers, to make more innovative use of existing technologies.
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• WRAPUP 1-Long way to recovery for specialty chemicals makers
  Swiss specialty chemicals companies Clariant (CLN.VX) and Givaudan (GIVN.VX) hinted at a prolonged recovery process for an industry hit hard by the downturn in key markets like the car and building sectors.
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• Opportunities abound for fine chemical manufacturers
  Fine chemical manufacturers can profit from the ongoing trend for outsourcing, but they must adapt quickly to emerging opportunities
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• Reach Registration: 'Panic is Starting to Set In'
  A significant number of chemical companies are starting to panic as they could miss the December 1 deadline for registering their chemical substances under the Registration, Evaluation, and Authorisation of Chemicals (Reach) program, says Jo Lloyd, director/ReachReady.
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• Western chemical groups in strategic move towards specialties
  FOR THE chemical industries of Western Europe, North America and Japan, the future seems to lie in specialties. But their transformation into sectors that are predominantly manufacturers of value-added products will probably be a slow process.
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• Paper chemicals face positive outlook
  Despite its forests, North America is not the paper maker it once was. But globally, increased sustainability should lead to further growth.
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• EPA targets chemical confidentiality loopholes
  The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking a tougher stance on confidentiality claims that allow firms to prevent the names of chemicals identified as potential health risks being made available to the public.
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• WRAPUP 1-DuPont, Ashland profit hint chemical demand firming
  Earnings from two major U.S. chemical companies show small signs that the economy may be improving and demand firming for the thousands of items that the industry helps produce.
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• Focus - Chevron's leaner refinery plans to impact chems
  The decision by US energy major Chevron to transform its downstream refining business into a leaner entity will ultimately impact the company's chemical segment, analysts said on Thursday.
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• EPA: Bankrupt chemical firms must pay for site clean up
  The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has tabled new proposals to prevent taxpayers footing the environmental clean up bills for cash-strapped chemical companies.
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• INEOS and Sinopec negotiate JV
  INEOS and Sinopec negotiate JV to build and operate a 400,000 tonne phenol plant in Jiangsu.
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• Andor Technology plc acquires Bitplane AG
  Andor Technology plc announced that on 23 December 2009 it has acquired Bitplane AG based in Zurich, Switzerland. Bitplane is an interactive microscopy image analysis software company specializing in medical and life sciences. Through constant innovation and a clear focus on 3D & 4D imaging, Bitplane actively shapes the way scientists process microscope imagery.
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