Visit our separate China Web site, either in Chinese or English

Market drives PP, PE makers to specialize
GALVESTON, TEXAS (July 3, 4:55 p.m. EDT) -- Makers of polyethylene and polypropylene are set to become even more specialized to meet the needs of a more demanding marketplace, officials from ExxonMobil Chemical Co. and Dow Chemical Co. told Flexpo 2008 attendees in Galveston.

Plastic bag-ban plans popping up across US
MANHATTAN BEACH, CALIF. (July 3, 4:50 p.m. EDT) -- Manhattan Beach has banned the use of petroleum- and bio-based plastic carryout bags, and Rhode Island and New York have bills awaiting governors’ signatures, which would make them the second and third states to mandate plastic bag recycling at larger retailers.

Raw material costs push up PP prices again
AKRON, OHIO (July 2, 7:35 p.m. EDT) -- Don’t look now, but average North American polypropylene prices have jumped another 7 cents per pound since June 1 — and may be up another 17 cents on top of that by the end of July.

Australian state proposes bag ban
ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA (July 2, 12:05 p.m. EDT) -- Retailers say a proposed ban in the state of South Australia on free high density polyethylene shopping bags would be simply “poor politics.”

Recycling bills pending in New York, Rhode Island
NEW YORK (July 1, 1:40 p.m. EDT) -- Plastic bag recycling bills awaiting governors´ signatures would make New York and Rhode Island the second and third states in the U.S. to mandate statewide in-store plastic bag recycling.

Recently resurrected Solutia may sell nylon unit
ST. LOUIS (July 1, 11:15 a.m. EDT) -- Solutia Inc. is considering the sale of its nylon business - a unit that generated just over half, or $1.9 billion, of the firm’s sales in 2007. The company operated in Chapter 11 bankruptcy for more than four years before exiting Feb. 28.

Teamwork paying off big for BASF in furniture
CHICAGO (June 30, 1:10 p.m. EDT) -- A team consisting of a designer, a material supplier and a molder collaborated successfully to produce a breakthrough product: an all-plastic cantilevered chair. The Myto chair made its North American debut recently at NeoCon World’s Trade Fair in Chicago.

Chemtura opts to stay stand-alone firm
MIDDLEBURY, CONN. (June 30, 11:30 a.m. EDT) -- After thoroughly exploring a potential sale, merger or other business combination involving the entire company, Chemtura Corp. has decided to stay as one firm.

Recycling Professionals closes up shop
PORTLAND, ORE. (June 27, 5:10 p.m. EDT) -- A month after saying that the polystyrene food-service recycling business on the West Coast was at “a crisis point,” Larry McIntyre has shuttered his business, ending a 15-year effort to recycle PS from schools.

Russian plastics markets rise with growing economy
LAS VEGAS (June 27, 4:14 EDT) — The growth of the Russian plastics market is a good thing for additives giant Chemtura Corp. “Most polymer applications are growing 25-35 percent a year,” said Paul Stott, Russian business development director for Middlebury, Conn.-based Chemtura. “Petrochemical units are flush with cash.”

Analysts supply resin-hike survival tips
MIDLAND, MICH. (June 27, 4:15 p.m. EDT) -- Tough negotiations and even tougher decisions are ahead for plastics processors fighting to stay afloat in a stormy and volatile economy where, in lieu of life preservers, these companies are being tossed anvils in the form of resin price hikes.

Braskem, Pequiven plan PE, PP projects
LAS VEGAS (June 27, 4:13 p.m. EDT) -- Partnerships between Brazilian petrochemical giant Braskem SA and state-owned Petroquímica de Venezuela SA (Pequiven) will create almost 3.5 billion pounds of new polyolefin capacity in Venezuela by the end of 2012.

Indian investments should aid plastics
LAS VEGAS (June 27, 4:12 p.m. EDT) -- The Indian government is spending more than $500 billion to improve roadways and power and water supplies, a move that should boost an already fast-growing plastics sector, said Sanjay Moolji, general manager of Reliance Industries Ltd. of Mumbai.

Dow does it again: Resin costs set to rise
MIDLAND, MICH. (June 27, 4:10 p.m. EDT) -- Dow Chemical Co. estimates that its just-announced pending price increases, combined with a 5 cent hike in June, will bring the cost of polyethylene up 30 percent in that period.

Chair, architectural panel and Corian news
CHICAGO (June 27, 3:20 p.m. EDT) -- This file contains news briefs from the NeoCon World’s Trade Fair in Chicago. It includes news about Davis Furniture Industries Inc., 3Form Inc. and DuPont Co.

Entire contents copyright 2008 by Crain Communications Inc.
All rights reserved.               Terms & Conditions