Company News
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
January 20, 2021
BASF Expecting Better Q4
BASF Group releases preliminary figures for fourth quarter of 2020 and full year 2020
Q4 2020:
- Sales expected to be €15,905 million (Q4 2019: €14,686 million), above the prior-year quarter and above analyst consensus
- EBIT before special items expected to be €1,113 million (Q4 2019: €842 million), above the prior-year quarter and above analyst consensus
- EBIT expected to be €932 million (Q4 2019: €579 million), above the prior-year quarter and above analyst consensus
Full year 2020:
- Sales expected to be €59,149 million (2019: €59,316 million), below the prior year, above analyst consensus and above BASF forecast
- EBIT before special items expected to be €3,560 million (2019: €4,643 million), below the prior year, above analyst consensus and above BASF forecast
- EBIT expected to be –€191 million (2019: €4,201 million), below the prior year and above analyst consensus
Ludwigshafen – January 20, 2021 – BASF has released preliminary figures for the fourth quarter of 2020 and the full year 2020. Sales increased by 8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020 to €15,905 million (Q4 2019: €14,686 million). This was mainly driven by higher volumes and prices; negative currency effects had an offsetting effect. Full year 2020 sales declined by €167 million to €59,149 million (2019: €59,316 million) and were thus above the €57 billion to €58 billion range forecast in October 2020.
The BASF Group’s operating business performed better than expected in the fourth quarter of 2020. EBIT before special items amounted to an expected €1,113 million, an increase of 32 percent compared with the prior-year quarter (Q4 2019: €842 million) and slightly above the highest analyst estimate. Compared with the third quarter of 2020, EBIT before special items rose by an expected €532 million in the fourth quarter of 2020 (Q3 2020: €581 million).
The Materials, Chemicals and Industrial Solutions segments considerably exceeded average analyst estimates for EBIT before special items in the fourth quarter of 2020. EBIT before special items fell slightly short of average analyst estimates in the Surface Technologies and Nutrition & Care segments and was considerably below analyst consensus in the Agricultural Solutions segment, mainly due to negative currency effects. In Other, EBIT before special items was less negative than expected by analysts on average.
In the full year 2020, EBIT before special items of the BASF Group amounted to an expected €3,560 million and was thus above the €3.0 billion to €3.3 billion range forecast in October 2020 and slightly above the highest analyst estimate. This corresponds to a decline of 23 percent compared with EBIT before special items for the prior year (2019: €4,643 million). The year-on-year decrease in the BASF Group’s EBIT before special items was primarily due to the considerably lower earnings contributions from the Chemicals, Surface Technologies, Materials and Agricultural Solutions segments. The Nutrition & Care segment recorded slightly lower EBIT before special items compared with the prior-year figure; in the Industrial Solutions segment, it was on a level with the previous year. The EBIT before special items of Other was significantly more negative than in 2019.
The BASF Group’s EBIT amounted to an expected €932 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, above the figure for the prior-year quarter (Q4 2019: €579 million) and above analyst consensus. In the full year 2020, EBIT declined to –€191 million (2019: €4,201 million), mainly due to the non-cash-effective impairments and provisions for restructuring in the third quarter of 2020, but was better than expected by analysts on average.
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