The Urethane Blog

Everchem Updates

VOLUME XXI

September 14, 2023

Everchem’s Closers Only Club

Everchem’s exclusive Closers Only Club is reserved for only the highest caliber brass-baller salesmen in the chemical industry. Watch the hype video and be introduced to the top of the league: — read more

May 21, 2019

Polyols in the Middle East Update

Middle East polyether polyols prices may mark further declines

Source: ICIS News

2019/05/21

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Spot import prices of polyether polyols in the Middle East declined and further weakness could be on the cards as some producers could offer discount to entice buying interest amid worries about the impact of the China-US trade war on downstream polyurethane foam demand.

Khor Fakkan port in Dubai, UAE (Photo by Deedee Degelia Brent Winebrenner Degelia/Mood Board/REX/Shutterstock)In the week ended 16 May, import prices of 10-13.5% polymer polyols (POP) drummed cargoes in the Middle East were lowered by $50/tonne to $1,650-1,700/tonne CFR (cost & freight) Middle East, after three straight weeks of stable pricing.

Meanwhile, import prices for conventional polyether polyols also fell by $50/tonne to $1,550-1,600/tonne CFR Middle East.

There were limited offers for conventional grade polyols to the Middle East and these matched the high end of the week’s range. One supplier indicated it had run out of conventional polyols for sale to the spot market in May.

For POP, the bulk of offers were within that $1,650-1,700/tonne CFR Middle East range but buying interest at these price levels was still generally muted.

ICIS Editorial Chart goes here

One reason behind this was the fear that the escalating US-China trade tensions could eventually snuff out any recovery in demand for co-component toluene diisocyanate (TDI), which is used together with polyols in the manufacture of flexible foam products like mattresses.

But China suppliers this week were able to reduce their prices quite substantially because recent declines in the prices of feedstock propylene oxide (PO) in China had given these suppliers some flexibility to lower their prices without affecting their margins. Even so, the reduced prices generated limited demand from buyers.

Other Asian suppliers said they were facing persistently weak demand conditions and stiff pricing competition for polyols imports into the Middle East region.

“For polyols, our business is not doing so good – the demand is very slow,” said one Asian supplier.

A producer has reduced operating rates at its polyols plant to lower operating costs in the face of sluggish demand.

The Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which started in early May, also further dampened market activity, according to market sources.

In Asia, polyols prices last week were assessed mostly lower as offers for certain grades softened on the back of poor cargo uptake from southeast Asian buyers.

ICIS Editorial Chart goes here

The chart above shows the spread between feedstock PO import prices in China and POP prices in the Middle East. It shows the correlation between feedstock PO and prices of POP in the Middle East and indicates POP prices are likely to continue tracking PO.

Focus article by Izham Ahmad

https://www.icis.com/explore/resources/news/2019/05/21/10366213/middle-east-polyether-polyols-prices-may-mark-further-declines

May 20, 2019

More Olin History

OLIN – 103 YEARS OF SERVING THE INDUSTRY  (1996 Company Presentation)

 

 

In 1892, Franklin W. Olin founded the Equitable Powder Company, a predecessor of Olin Industries at E. Alton, III., to supply blasting powder to Midwestern coal fields. In 1898, the company expanded into small arms ammunition forming the Western Cartridge Company.

During World War I, Western built a brass mill to supply the great demand for brass for military cartridges. After the war, Western turned to “tailor-made” brass and other copper alloys to absorb excess production capacity.

In 1931, Western purchased Winchester Repeating Arms Co. which was founded in New Haven, CT in 1866. During World War II Western manufactured 15 billion rounds of ammunition and also developed the U.S. carbine and M-I rifle. By the end of the war, Western employed 62,000 people.

In 1944, the various Olin businesses were brought together under the corporate name of Olin Industries and management transferred from Franklin Olin to his sons, John and Spencer.

In 1949, Olin entered the cellophane business and in a related move acquired the properties of Frost Lumber Industries of Louisiana and Arkansas, including 440,000 acres of timberland, in 1951. In addition, Olin acquired Ecusta Paper Corp at Pisgah Forest, NC – a leading producer of cigarette paper and other fine paper products. In 1954, Olin merged with Mathieson Chemical Corp. to form Olin-Mathieson, a 500 million dollar company. Mathieson Chemical Corp. was founded in 1892 as Mathieson Alkali Works of Saltville, VA.

In 1949, Mathieson expanded into industrial and agricultural chemicals when it became a producer of sulfuric acid, fertilizers and pesticides. In 1950, it built a plant at Brandenburg, KY to process natural gas into organic chemicals – the current site of Olin flexible polyols production.

In 1952, Mathieson acquired E. R. Squibb & Sons. Ultimately it was spun off by Olin Corporation in 1968.

The first acquisition of Olin-Mathieson was in 1955 when Blockson Chemical Co. of Joliet, I11., a manufacturer of industrial phosphates, was acquired. It was recently transferred to Albright & Wilson Company.

In 1960, Olin entered the urethanes business manufacturing propylene oxide and polyols at Brandenburg and later TDI at Ashtabula, OH. In 1962, anew plant was built at Charleston, TN for the production of chlorine and caustic soda and HTH. Today Olin is the fourth largest Chlor-Alkali producer in the U.S. and a world leader in pool chemicals production.

In 1971, groundbreaking occured on a new TDI plant in Lake Charles, LA. Today the Lake Charles chemical complex is Olin’s largest and our TDI plant there is among the largest in the world. Olin since has exited production of TDI at Ashtabula and Moundsville, WV.

In 1981, Olin sold its sporting arms business but retained the Winchester ammunition business which today is a major Olin business. In 1985, Olin sold its Ecusta Paper and cellophane businesses. In 1984, Olin entered the electronic chemicals business with the acquisition of Philip A. Hunt Chemical. Portions of that business were coupled with Ciba-Geigy’s photoresist business in a joint venture forming another of Olin’s successful businesses today.

In recent years, Olin has eliminated various chemicals businesses that were not strategic growth businesses for us and has concentrated on growing the core businesses that have become the basis for the growth of the Corporation. This includes globally growing Olin businesses such as urethanes, biocides and pool chemicals.

Through our Total Quality Management program and ISO 9000 approval of all chemical plants, Olin is dedicated to meeting our customer’s expectations of product quality, service and safety as we grow into our third century.

 

Thanks to John Meehan for forwarding this from his files . . .

May 20, 2019

More Olin History

OLIN – 103 YEARS OF SERVING THE INDUSTRY  (1996 Company Presentation)

 

 

In 1892, Franklin W. Olin founded the Equitable Powder Company, a predecessor of Olin Industries at E. Alton, III., to supply blasting powder to Midwestern coal fields. In 1898, the company expanded into small arms ammunition forming the Western Cartridge Company.

During World War I, Western built a brass mill to supply the great demand for brass for military cartridges. After the war, Western turned to “tailor-made” brass and other copper alloys to absorb excess production capacity.

In 1931, Western purchased Winchester Repeating Arms Co. which was founded in New Haven, CT in 1866. During World War II Western manufactured 15 billion rounds of ammunition and also developed the U.S. carbine and M-I rifle. By the end of the war, Western employed 62,000 people.

In 1944, the various Olin businesses were brought together under the corporate name of Olin Industries and management transferred from Franklin Olin to his sons, John and Spencer.

In 1949, Olin entered the cellophane business and in a related move acquired the properties of Frost Lumber Industries of Louisiana and Arkansas, including 440,000 acres of timberland, in 1951. In addition, Olin acquired Ecusta Paper Corp at Pisgah Forest, NC – a leading producer of cigarette paper and other fine paper products. In 1954, Olin merged with Mathieson Chemical Corp. to form Olin-Mathieson, a 500 million dollar company. Mathieson Chemical Corp. was founded in 1892 as Mathieson Alkali Works of Saltville, VA.

In 1949, Mathieson expanded into industrial and agricultural chemicals when it became a producer of sulfuric acid, fertilizers and pesticides. In 1950, it built a plant at Brandenburg, KY to process natural gas into organic chemicals – the current site of Olin flexible polyols production.

In 1952, Mathieson acquired E. R. Squibb & Sons. Ultimately it was spun off by Olin Corporation in 1968.

The first acquisition of Olin-Mathieson was in 1955 when Blockson Chemical Co. of Joliet, I11., a manufacturer of industrial phosphates, was acquired. It was recently transferred to Albright & Wilson Company.

In 1960, Olin entered the urethanes business manufacturing propylene oxide and polyols at Brandenburg and later TDI at Ashtabula, OH. In 1962, anew plant was built at Charleston, TN for the production of chlorine and caustic soda and HTH. Today Olin is the fourth largest Chlor-Alkali producer in the U.S. and a world leader in pool chemicals production.

In 1971, groundbreaking occured on a new TDI plant in Lake Charles, LA. Today the Lake Charles chemical complex is Olin’s largest and our TDI plant there is among the largest in the world. Olin since has exited production of TDI at Ashtabula and Moundsville, WV.

In 1981, Olin sold its sporting arms business but retained the Winchester ammunition business which today is a major Olin business. In 1985, Olin sold its Ecusta Paper and cellophane businesses. In 1984, Olin entered the electronic chemicals business with the acquisition of Philip A. Hunt Chemical. Portions of that business were coupled with Ciba-Geigy’s photoresist business in a joint venture forming another of Olin’s successful businesses today.

In recent years, Olin has eliminated various chemicals businesses that were not strategic growth businesses for us and has concentrated on growing the core businesses that have become the basis for the growth of the Corporation. This includes globally growing Olin businesses such as urethanes, biocides and pool chemicals.

Through our Total Quality Management program and ISO 9000 approval of all chemical plants, Olin is dedicated to meeting our customer’s expectations of product quality, service and safety as we grow into our third century.

 

Thanks to John Meehan for forwarding this from his files . . .

May 20, 2019

Ford Cuts Jobs

Ford CEO Cuts 7,000 Workers As Global Salaried Workforce Decimated

In a  letter to employees, Ford CEO  Jim Hackett has confirmed that the company will eliminate 7,000 jobs, representing 10% of its global salaried workforce – literally, a decimation – as part of the carmaker’s multiyear restructuring plan.

The company said Monday that the plan will save about $600 million per year by eliminating bureaucracy and increasing the number of workers reporting to each manager.

*  *  *

To: All CDS IDs

From: Jim Hackett

Subject: Smart Redesign Update

Team,

As we enter the final weeks of Smart Redesign in North America, I want to update you on our overall progress.

But first, I want to thank you for your focus and dedication. We set out on a journey several months ago to redesign our organization and the way we work, and over this time, more than 1,000 Ford team members worldwide have dedicated themselves to this effort while also running the business.

The business imperatives behind Smart Redesign were compelling. To succeed in our competitive industry, and position Ford to win in a fast-changing future, we must reduce bureaucracy, empower managers, speed decision making, focus on the most valuable work, and cut costs.

This required intensive work across multiple layers of our company. Despite the challenges, many participants told us the organizational design workshops were very impactful in helping them shape their organizations and their own roles as leaders.

We are now entering the final phase of Smart Redesign. Notifications to employees in North America affected by wave four of Smart Redesign will begin tomorrow. The majority will be completed by May 24. Our Smart Redesign and restructuring work continues in Europe, China, South America and International Markets Group. We expect to complete the process in those markets by the end of August.

The time and effort from so many of our team members is helping to make us a stronger company, well positioned for the future. To share some results, when Smart Redesign is complete:

  • More than 80 percent of our managers will have healthy spans of control of six or more direct reports, up from 35 percent before Smart Redesign;
  • Our average span of control for managers will have increased from five direct reports to more than seven, reducing management bureaucracy by one third;
  • By year-end, most of the organization will be structured with nine layers or less, resulting in a flatter and more agile team. At the beginning of the redesign we had up to 14 organizational layers;
  • We identified more than 5,000 concrete ideas to change the way we work – identifying new initiatives as well as work that was not value added;
  • We created the new Enterprise Product Line Management organization, which will ensure we manage our product lines end-to-end for maximum customer centricity and profitability, as well as our Customer Experience group.
  • We also created the International Markets Group, to focus on the customer and ensure these markets receive the attention they need to thrive and grow;
  • Each skill team fundamentally redesigned their work. For example, Product Development created a new vehicle architecture and testing team, a new systems engineering and design assurance group, and expanded future investments for in-vehicle infotainment, software, electrification, and other areas.

Clearly, cost reduction is a key aspect of Smart Redesign. Overall, by the end of the process later in August, we will have eliminated about 7,000 salaried positions or about 10% of our global salaried workforce. This includes both voluntary and involuntary separations over the past year. Within that total, and consistent with our goal to reduce bureaucracy, we will have reduced management structure by close to 20%. This will result in annual savings of about $600 million. We also made significant progress in eliminating bureaucracy, speeding up decision making and driving empowerment as part of this redesign. These are key opportunity areas cited by all of you as part of our annual PULSE survey.

Ford is a family company and saying goodbye to colleagues is difficult and emotional. We have moved away from past practices in some regions where team members who were separated had to leave immediately with their belongings, instead giving people the choice to stay for a few days to wrap up and say goodbye. We also have a range of resources and services in place to support employees in managing this transition.

I hope that you take a moment to thank them personally for their service and commitment to Ford.

Even as we conclude Smart Redesign, we still have a lot of work to do in the coming months. We will continue to work collaboratively and respectfully with our teams and other partners to ensure our designs are effective and fit and that our employees are treated fairly and with respect.

I remain in awe of the skill and dedication of the Ford team around the world, and more excited than ever about what we can accomplish together. I hope you can feel the momentum building as we work together transforming Ford into the world’s most trusted company, designing smart vehicles for a smart world.

Thanks for all you do for Ford.

Jim

*  *  *

As Automotive News reports, Ford began the layoff process in November but has declined to provide details until this point. Experts questioned the strategy of leaving employees without much information, but Ford insisted throughout the process that it was doing it in a “thoughtful” way.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-05-20/ford-ceo-confirms-cutting-10-global-salaried-workforce

May 20, 2019

Ford Cuts Jobs

Ford CEO Cuts 7,000 Workers As Global Salaried Workforce Decimated

In a  letter to employees, Ford CEO  Jim Hackett has confirmed that the company will eliminate 7,000 jobs, representing 10% of its global salaried workforce – literally, a decimation – as part of the carmaker’s multiyear restructuring plan.

The company said Monday that the plan will save about $600 million per year by eliminating bureaucracy and increasing the number of workers reporting to each manager.

*  *  *

To: All CDS IDs

From: Jim Hackett

Subject: Smart Redesign Update

Team,

As we enter the final weeks of Smart Redesign in North America, I want to update you on our overall progress.

But first, I want to thank you for your focus and dedication. We set out on a journey several months ago to redesign our organization and the way we work, and over this time, more than 1,000 Ford team members worldwide have dedicated themselves to this effort while also running the business.

The business imperatives behind Smart Redesign were compelling. To succeed in our competitive industry, and position Ford to win in a fast-changing future, we must reduce bureaucracy, empower managers, speed decision making, focus on the most valuable work, and cut costs.

This required intensive work across multiple layers of our company. Despite the challenges, many participants told us the organizational design workshops were very impactful in helping them shape their organizations and their own roles as leaders.

We are now entering the final phase of Smart Redesign. Notifications to employees in North America affected by wave four of Smart Redesign will begin tomorrow. The majority will be completed by May 24. Our Smart Redesign and restructuring work continues in Europe, China, South America and International Markets Group. We expect to complete the process in those markets by the end of August.

The time and effort from so many of our team members is helping to make us a stronger company, well positioned for the future. To share some results, when Smart Redesign is complete:

  • More than 80 percent of our managers will have healthy spans of control of six or more direct reports, up from 35 percent before Smart Redesign;
  • Our average span of control for managers will have increased from five direct reports to more than seven, reducing management bureaucracy by one third;
  • By year-end, most of the organization will be structured with nine layers or less, resulting in a flatter and more agile team. At the beginning of the redesign we had up to 14 organizational layers;
  • We identified more than 5,000 concrete ideas to change the way we work – identifying new initiatives as well as work that was not value added;
  • We created the new Enterprise Product Line Management organization, which will ensure we manage our product lines end-to-end for maximum customer centricity and profitability, as well as our Customer Experience group.
  • We also created the International Markets Group, to focus on the customer and ensure these markets receive the attention they need to thrive and grow;
  • Each skill team fundamentally redesigned their work. For example, Product Development created a new vehicle architecture and testing team, a new systems engineering and design assurance group, and expanded future investments for in-vehicle infotainment, software, electrification, and other areas.

Clearly, cost reduction is a key aspect of Smart Redesign. Overall, by the end of the process later in August, we will have eliminated about 7,000 salaried positions or about 10% of our global salaried workforce. This includes both voluntary and involuntary separations over the past year. Within that total, and consistent with our goal to reduce bureaucracy, we will have reduced management structure by close to 20%. This will result in annual savings of about $600 million. We also made significant progress in eliminating bureaucracy, speeding up decision making and driving empowerment as part of this redesign. These are key opportunity areas cited by all of you as part of our annual PULSE survey.

Ford is a family company and saying goodbye to colleagues is difficult and emotional. We have moved away from past practices in some regions where team members who were separated had to leave immediately with their belongings, instead giving people the choice to stay for a few days to wrap up and say goodbye. We also have a range of resources and services in place to support employees in managing this transition.

I hope that you take a moment to thank them personally for their service and commitment to Ford.

Even as we conclude Smart Redesign, we still have a lot of work to do in the coming months. We will continue to work collaboratively and respectfully with our teams and other partners to ensure our designs are effective and fit and that our employees are treated fairly and with respect.

I remain in awe of the skill and dedication of the Ford team around the world, and more excited than ever about what we can accomplish together. I hope you can feel the momentum building as we work together transforming Ford into the world’s most trusted company, designing smart vehicles for a smart world.

Thanks for all you do for Ford.

Jim

*  *  *

As Automotive News reports, Ford began the layoff process in November but has declined to provide details until this point. Experts questioned the strategy of leaving employees without much information, but Ford insisted throughout the process that it was doing it in a “thoughtful” way.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-05-20/ford-ceo-confirms-cutting-10-global-salaried-workforce