July 1, 2020

LyondellBasell Announces August Increase for PP Following Propylene Hikes

LyondellBasell to increase US polypropylene prices for August by 3 cents/lb: letter

• Author Emmanuel Gallegos
• Editor Keiron Greenhalgh
• Commodity Petrochemicals

New York — LyondellBasell subsidiaries Equistar Chemicals and Mexico City-based Basell Poliolefinas plan to increase their polypropylene prices in North America by 3 cents/lb ($66/mt) for August, the company said in a letter to customers June 29.

The increase would be in addition to all previous price-increase announcements, Equistar said in the letter.

The letter said they would increase their August polypropylene prices by the change in polymer-grade propylene pricing for the month from July 2020.

PGP contracts settled June 29 at 26.5 cents/lb, moving up 5 cents/lb ($110/mt) from the May PGP price of 21.50 cents/lb.

The increase to the US June polymer-grade propylene contract price was in line with market expectations of a price increase.

The settlement marks the first price increase since September 2019, S&P Global Platts data showed.

PGP contract prices remain at an 11-year low and were last lower January 2009 at 22 cents/lb, according to Platts data.

July 1, 2020

LyondellBasell Announces August Increase for PP Following Propylene Hikes

LyondellBasell to increase US polypropylene prices for August by 3 cents/lb: letter

• Author Emmanuel Gallegos
• Editor Keiron Greenhalgh
• Commodity Petrochemicals

New York — LyondellBasell subsidiaries Equistar Chemicals and Mexico City-based Basell Poliolefinas plan to increase their polypropylene prices in North America by 3 cents/lb ($66/mt) for August, the company said in a letter to customers June 29.

The increase would be in addition to all previous price-increase announcements, Equistar said in the letter.

The letter said they would increase their August polypropylene prices by the change in polymer-grade propylene pricing for the month from July 2020.

PGP contracts settled June 29 at 26.5 cents/lb, moving up 5 cents/lb ($110/mt) from the May PGP price of 21.50 cents/lb.

The increase to the US June polymer-grade propylene contract price was in line with market expectations of a price increase.

The settlement marks the first price increase since September 2019, S&P Global Platts data showed.

PGP contract prices remain at an 11-year low and were last lower January 2009 at 22 cents/lb, according to Platts data.

June 26, 2020

As bedding business rebounds, Southerland looks to boost its workforce by 10%

by David Perry

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Business is rebounding at independent sleep products manufacturer Southerland, and the producer is looking to add 10% to its workforce at all its facilities to keep up with demand.

The manufacturer is looking to expand its customer service, shipping and quality control departments, as well as increase production staffing, supervisory positions and truck drivers for Southerland Transport, its wholly owned trucking division.

Read more here: https://www.furnituretoday.com/bedding-manufacturers/as-bedding-business-rebounds-southerland-looks-to-boost-its-workforce-by-10/

June 26, 2020

As bedding business rebounds, Southerland looks to boost its workforce by 10%

by David Perry

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Business is rebounding at independent sleep products manufacturer Southerland, and the producer is looking to add 10% to its workforce at all its facilities to keep up with demand.

The manufacturer is looking to expand its customer service, shipping and quality control departments, as well as increase production staffing, supervisory positions and truck drivers for Southerland Transport, its wholly owned trucking division.

Read more here: https://www.furnituretoday.com/bedding-manufacturers/as-bedding-business-rebounds-southerland-looks-to-boost-its-workforce-by-10/

June 25, 2020

Azelis and Megafarma Expand CASE Line in Mexico

Megafarma,an Azelis company,strengthens its presence for CASE in Mexico through distribution of BASF Monomers

19 June 2020

WESTPORT, CT and MEXICO CITY – Megafarma, an Azelis company, is delighted to announce that it has been authorized by BASF Monomers, a global leader in the development, production and sales of polyurethanes- to distribute their polyurethane raw materials in Mexico. The exclusive distribution agreement includes BASF’s lines of Lupranate® isocyanates and Pluracol® polyols. The agreement is effective immediately.

Highlights & rationale

• This new mandate further strengthens Azelis’ strategic acquisition of Megafarma earlier this year to expand into the Latin American CASE market.
• It leverages existing Azelis Americas CASE assets, including application labs, digital platforms, technical and market intelligence, in the Mexican market.
• The mandate is in line with Azelis’ corporate strategy of organic growth through the expansion of existing relationships with key principals into new territories.

Martin Hernandez Gutiérrez, Director General at Megafarma, an Azelis company, comments:
“Megafarma has been very successful in life sciences in Mexico and the merger with Azelis earlier this year brought us new opportunities and enabled us to enter new market segments. This new agreement with BASF is the latest example of our commitment to expand into Mexican CASE sector and become a leading distributor with unsurpassed quality, logistics and technical support for our customers and principals.”

Dan Gruber, Managing Director, New Business Development, Azelis Americas CASE, says:
“We have a longstanding relationship with BASF. In the U.S and Canada we have demonstrated organic growth via our dedicated and technically trained sales force, and our application labs have been instrumental in our joint success. We are very excited about this expansion into the Mexican market as it allows us to deliver the same value and growth that we have provided BASF Polyurethanes in the U.S and Canada.”

Rachel Miller, CASE Distribution, Monomers, North America, BASF Corporation, says:
“This collaboration with Megafarma will provide our CASE specialties customers in Mexico with the service and expertise our U.S. customers are accustomed to. Our portfolio of Lupranate® isocyanates and Pluracol® polyols can be formulated to create a variety of specialty products now in Mexico.”

Lucia Zamudio, CASE Sales Director, Megafarma, an Azelis company, adds:
“We have built a team of excellent, experienced technical sales representatives for the CASE market who are ready to pursue new business opportunities for BASF. This latest portfolio addition is complementary to our other new CASE mandates for Mexico. We have confidence that we will bring the same high quality of technical sales and service to the Mexican Urethane Market.”