Company News
January 26, 2021
POSM JV Slated for LyondellBasell and Sinopec
LyondellBasell and Sinopec finalize joint venture to manufacture propylene oxide and styrene monomer in China
ROTTERDAM, Netherlands and BEIJING, Jan. 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — LyondellBasell (NYSE: LYB), one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world and the China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec), one of the largest integrated energy companies in China, today announced the signing of an agreement to form a 50:50 joint venture (JV) which will produce propylene oxide (PO) and styrene monomer (SM) in China’s domestic market. First announced on December 23, 2019, the JV will operate under the name Ningbo ZRCC LyondellBasell New Material Company Limited.
“As China’s economy continues to grow, so will demand for propylene oxide and styrene monomer. We are excited to expand our relationship with Sinopec through this joint venture in order to better serve China’s domestic market. Sinopec’s outstanding operational capabilities combined with LyondellBasell’s leading technology is a win-win,” said Torkel Rhenman, Executive Vice President, Intermediates and Derivatives, and Refining.
“Built on the remarkable success of our first Joint Venture, we are very delighted to continue to enhance the important partnership with LyondellBasell for future achievements. The establishment of the new Joint Venture is not only in line with the national drive for further opening-up, but also a vital step for Sinopec to deepen and expand our international operations,” said Yu Baocai, Senior Vice President of Sinopec Corp. “We have great expectations on the new Joint Venture for propelling the economic development of the city of Ningbo to a new level. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), Sinopec will continue to promote green industrial upgrading and innovative transformation, contributing to the everlasting economic growth of Zhejiang Province and Eastern China, and even the development of the chemical industry in China.”
The JV will construct a new PO and SM unit in Zhenhai Ningbo, China. This new unit will have 275 kilotons per annum (KTA) capacity of PO and 600 KTA capacity of SM. The unit will use LyondellBasell’s leading PO / SM technology. Products produced by the JV will be marketed equally by both partners, significantly expanding their respective participation in the Chinese market for PO and SM. Startup is expected at the end of 2021.
The formation of the JV is subject to approvals by relevant government authorities, including antitrust review by the State Administration for Market Regulation. LyondellBasell expects to make its equity contribution to the JV during the first quarter of 2021.
According to IHS Markit, China accounts for more than 60 percent of chemical market demand in Asia and represents 40 percent of global chemical market growth over the next decade. PO and SM are core products of LyondellBasell and are used in a variety of applications including packaging, building and construction, furnishings and transportation.
LyondellBasell operates five wholly-owned facilities in China which are located in Guangzhou, Suzhou, Dalian, Dongguan and Changshu.
About LyondellBasell
LyondellBasell (NYSE: LYB) is one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world. Driven by its employees around the globe, LyondellBasell produces materials and products that are key to advancing solutions to modern challenges like enhancing food safety through lightweight and flexible packaging, protecting the purity of water supplies through stronger and more versatile pipes, improving the safety, comfort and fuel efficiency of many of the cars and trucks on the road, and ensuring the safe and effective functionality in electronics and appliances. LyondellBasell sells products into more than 100 countries and is the world’s largest producer of polymer compounds and the largest licensor of polyolefin technologies. In 2020, LyondellBasell was named to Fortune Magazine’s list of the “World’s Most Admired Companies” for the third consecutive year. More information about LyondellBasell can be found at www.lyondellbasell.com.
About Sinopec
Sinopec Group is the largest oil and petrochemical products supplier and the second largest oil and gas producer in China, the largest refining company, and the third largest chemical company in the world. Its total number of gas stations ranks the second place in the world.
https://lyondellbasell.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=1356
January 22, 2021
Introducing Syntha Group
Piedmont Chemical Industries, Inc. Announces Launch of New Brand and Business Name
Changes reflect the organization’s continued growth and commitment to its iconic family of brands
HIGH POINT, NC: Piedmont Chemical Industries, Inc., a leader in chemical manufacturing, announced today the launch of a new corporate name and brand identity. The organization, a parent company over several unique divisions, will now be known as Syntha Group. The new name and brand identity will help distinguish the parent company and clarify the group as a cohesive family of brands. Among the changes will be a new logo and website (synthagroup.com), effective immediately, which will reflect the organization’s continued growth and commitment to its iconic family of brands. The company’s ownership and staff have not changed.
Vice-Chairman and CSO, Creswell Wilson Calabrese, stated:
“We have been family-owned and operated for 82 years, and we want to maintain that culture within our entities. While we don’t want to lose that emphasis, we have come to realize that within our industry, there is a lack of knowledge that our divisions exist within the same corporation. By rebranding, we are creating a stronger cohesion between our divisions that will give our customers greater awareness of the resources available to them within our entire family of brands.”
Syntha Group consists of five unique subsidiaries within the chemical manufacturing industry:
“Our new name is designed to support the evolution of our company. My grandfather established Piedmont Color and Chemical in 1938 to service the local textile industry. Textiles is still a critical component of our business model but we’ve diversified to serve a wide range of industries from pharmaceuticals to agriculture to cosmetics to food & beverage packaging to recycled materials utility and more” said CEO, Rick Wilson. “The name change is an effort to bring clarity to the fact that all of these proficiencies are available within our organization. We felt that it made sense to differentiate the name of the corporate umbrella from that of a single operating division. We are excited to move forward highlighting the unique capabilities of each of our divisions within Syntha Group.”
Operations, staff, and industry leadership have not changed. The rebranding emphasizes the organization’s continued commitment to the communities, businesses, and families it serves. This exciting change creates clarity and opens the doors to future growth opportunities within the family of businesses.
About Syntha Group
Founded in 1938 by Fred Wilson, Sr. in High Point, NC, Syntha Group is a leading specialty chemical manufacturer. The organization expanded to include five subsidiaries over the course of 82 years and has included four generations of Wilson family involvement. Syntha Group focuses on providing quality products while continuing to lead the way with innovative technologies, custom manufacturing, and close customer partnerships. Offering everything from formulation and R&D to sales and distribution, Syntha Group and its subsidiaries are continually investing in the future of the chemical manufacturing industry. To learn more, visit synthagroup.com.
January 22, 2021
Introducing Syntha Group
Piedmont Chemical Industries, Inc. Announces Launch of New Brand and Business Name
Changes reflect the organization’s continued growth and commitment to its iconic family of brands
HIGH POINT, NC: Piedmont Chemical Industries, Inc., a leader in chemical manufacturing, announced today the launch of a new corporate name and brand identity. The organization, a parent company over several unique divisions, will now be known as Syntha Group. The new name and brand identity will help distinguish the parent company and clarify the group as a cohesive family of brands. Among the changes will be a new logo and website (synthagroup.com), effective immediately, which will reflect the organization’s continued growth and commitment to its iconic family of brands. The company’s ownership and staff have not changed.
Vice-Chairman and CSO, Creswell Wilson Calabrese, stated:
“We have been family-owned and operated for 82 years, and we want to maintain that culture within our entities. While we don’t want to lose that emphasis, we have come to realize that within our industry, there is a lack of knowledge that our divisions exist within the same corporation. By rebranding, we are creating a stronger cohesion between our divisions that will give our customers greater awareness of the resources available to them within our entire family of brands.”
Syntha Group consists of five unique subsidiaries within the chemical manufacturing industry:
“Our new name is designed to support the evolution of our company. My grandfather established Piedmont Color and Chemical in 1938 to service the local textile industry. Textiles is still a critical component of our business model but we’ve diversified to serve a wide range of industries from pharmaceuticals to agriculture to cosmetics to food & beverage packaging to recycled materials utility and more” said CEO, Rick Wilson. “The name change is an effort to bring clarity to the fact that all of these proficiencies are available within our organization. We felt that it made sense to differentiate the name of the corporate umbrella from that of a single operating division. We are excited to move forward highlighting the unique capabilities of each of our divisions within Syntha Group.”
Operations, staff, and industry leadership have not changed. The rebranding emphasizes the organization’s continued commitment to the communities, businesses, and families it serves. This exciting change creates clarity and opens the doors to future growth opportunities within the family of businesses.
About Syntha Group
Founded in 1938 by Fred Wilson, Sr. in High Point, NC, Syntha Group is a leading specialty chemical manufacturer. The organization expanded to include five subsidiaries over the course of 82 years and has included four generations of Wilson family involvement. Syntha Group focuses on providing quality products while continuing to lead the way with innovative technologies, custom manufacturing, and close customer partnerships. Offering everything from formulation and R&D to sales and distribution, Syntha Group and its subsidiaries are continually investing in the future of the chemical manufacturing industry. To learn more, visit synthagroup.com.
January 22, 2021
BASF Schedules TDI Turnaround in Ludwigshafen
BASF plans early-March maintenance at Ludwigshafen TDI plant January 22/2021 MOSCOW (MRC) — BASF is planning to carry out maintenance work early in March at its 300,000-metric tons/year toluene diisocyanate (TDI) plant at Ludwigshafen, Germany, market sources have told OPIS, said Chemweek.
“The facility is expected to be in planned turnaround from early March until the end of May, but we don’t know the exact dates of the turnaround,” a source said. BASF declined to comment. “We do not comment on plant maintenance or run rates,” a company spokesperson said.
Another source speculated that TDI production might start to slow from the site from the end of February in preparation for the turnaround. This will result in lower toluene consumption than in recent months, according to Eleanor Dann, principal toluene analyst at IHS Markit.
“Whilst the turnaround for TDI production will reduce consumption of TDI-grade toluene, this will not necessarily result in an additional 10,000-15,000 metric tons of length for the toluene market as supply is likely to be adjusted in knowledge of the outage,” said Dann.
BASF had declared force majeure on 31 August 2020 after experiencing technical problems. After several attempted restarts, it lifted the force majeure at its TDI plant on 30 November, a company spokesperson confirmed.
As MRC informed earlier, BASF says its 420,000-metric ton/year steam cracker in Ludwigshafen, Germany is continuously running and has not caused any interruption of supply to its customers. Earlier, several media outlets reported that unscheduled flaring started on 13 January at the northern part of the Ludwigshafen site and was expected to last until 17 January and that an unspecified unit was shut, which “was not the case”, as per the company’s letter received by MRC.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).
BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries. 
mrcplast.comAuthor:Anna Larionova
January 22, 2021
BASF Schedules TDI Turnaround in Ludwigshafen
BASF plans early-March maintenance at Ludwigshafen TDI plant January 22/2021 MOSCOW (MRC) — BASF is planning to carry out maintenance work early in March at its 300,000-metric tons/year toluene diisocyanate (TDI) plant at Ludwigshafen, Germany, market sources have told OPIS, said Chemweek.
“The facility is expected to be in planned turnaround from early March until the end of May, but we don’t know the exact dates of the turnaround,” a source said. BASF declined to comment. “We do not comment on plant maintenance or run rates,” a company spokesperson said.
Another source speculated that TDI production might start to slow from the site from the end of February in preparation for the turnaround. This will result in lower toluene consumption than in recent months, according to Eleanor Dann, principal toluene analyst at IHS Markit.
“Whilst the turnaround for TDI production will reduce consumption of TDI-grade toluene, this will not necessarily result in an additional 10,000-15,000 metric tons of length for the toluene market as supply is likely to be adjusted in knowledge of the outage,” said Dann.
BASF had declared force majeure on 31 August 2020 after experiencing technical problems. After several attempted restarts, it lifted the force majeure at its TDI plant on 30 November, a company spokesperson confirmed.
As MRC informed earlier, BASF says its 420,000-metric ton/year steam cracker in Ludwigshafen, Germany is continuously running and has not caused any interruption of supply to its customers. Earlier, several media outlets reported that unscheduled flaring started on 13 January at the northern part of the Ludwigshafen site and was expected to last until 17 January and that an unspecified unit was shut, which “was not the case”, as per the company’s letter received by MRC.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).
BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.
mrcplast.comAuthor:Anna Larionova
Everchem Updates Archive 
Sign Up for Email Updates