Rohm and Haas wins trademark suit in Beijing
BEIJING (November 18, 2008) -- In a case that touches on some concerns that many companies have in doing business in China, an intermediate Beijing court has ruled that Beijing Jia Mei Shui Co. Ltd.,
a former partner of Rohm and Haas Co., illegally used the company’s trademark three years after their partnership ended. Beijing Jia Mei Shui was fined and its manager was sentenced to three years in
prison.
Lucite deal makes Mitsubishi No. 1 in acrylic
TOKYO (November 18, 2008) -- Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Rayon Co. Ltd. has agreed to buy acrylics major Lucite International Ltd. of Southampton, England, for US$1.6 billion (10.9 billion yuan). The
companies announced the deal on November 11, and it is scheduled to close by the end of January. Lucite said the deal “will make Mitsubishi Rayon the global leader in this market and confirms
its position as the leading acrylics manufacturer in the fast growing Asian markets.”
Bayer inaugurates systems house in Guangzhou
 Vanacker
GUANGZHOU (November 18, 2008) -- Bayer MaterialScience inaugurated its new polyurethane systems house in Guangzhou earlier this month, pointing out that this is the firm’s 30th such operation
globally. "By 2015, China will have become the largest polyurethanes market in the world," said Peter Vanacker, head of the Bayer polyurethanes business unit. As well as the new Guangzhou unit, Bayer
has a polymer research and development center in Shanghai.
CPPIA seeks to relax waste-plastics import restrictions
 Lam
BEIJING (November 11, 2008) – The Plastics Recycling Committee of the China Plastics Processing Industry Association (CPPIA) has formally asked the government to reverse some restrictions it has on
imports of waste plastics and to allow into the country a freer flow of some post-consumer film. The CPPIA committee’s request to China’s State Environmental Protection Administration was disclosed
by the committee’s president, Toland Lam, in an interview with Plastics News at CPPIA’s China RePlas 2008 conference, held November 6 to 8 in Beijing.
Polymer chemicals firm sues exec over leaks to China
AKRON, OHIO (November 11, 2008) -- Polymer chemicals manufacturer Struktol Co. of America is suing a company executive, accusing him of providing trade secrets to a Chinese competitor for the purpose
of stealing some of the company’s business for himself. Struktol was the exclusive U.S. sales agent for Hung Pai Chemistry Co. Ltd., a manufacturer of silanes and other products for the rubber and
polymer industries, Struktol said in the lawsuit.
Excel Polymers names Asia-Pacific general manager
SHUNDE, GUANGDONG (November 11, 2008) -- Excel Polymers LLC, provider of elastomer materials and additives in Solon, Ohio, named Marcus Pignataro president and general manager, Asia-Pacific.
Pignataro will oversee the completion and start-up of the firm’s new manufacturing facility in Shunde. Excel serves the transportation, consumer goods and other markets with plants in the United
States, Mexico, Europe and China.
Sabic helps reduce Japan’s chopstick waste
 Sanshin Kako’s new line of
HIROSHIMA, JAPAN (November 11, 2008) -- A partnership between Japan’s tableware manufacturer Sanshin Kako Co. Ltd. and Sabic Innovative Plastics LP is taking the first steps toward eliminating one
type of consumer waste -- disposable chopsticks. While there are alternatives to the flimsy wooden utensils handed out at restaurants across Asia, Sabic and Hiroshima-based Sanshin Kako are
distributing a product that is both reusable and made of recycled plastic. The utensils are made of Valox iQ, a polybutylene terephthalate resin made, in-part, from post-consumer PET.
Panel blasts U.S. FDA stance on BPA safety
WASHINGTON (November 4, 2008) -- A scientific advisory panel looking at bisphenol A (BPA) safety issued a blistering criticism October 28 of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), saying that FDA’s
position that BPA is not harmful ignores critical studies and that the margins of safety the agency defines as adequate “are, in fact, inadequate.”
Trade decline may affect China’s recycled plastic imports
GUANGZHOU (November 4, 2008) -- Plastic manufacturers at China´s largest import and export trade fair have said falling orders mean that China is unlikely to increase imports of recyclable plastics
waste anytime soon.
Reedy to act as Asian sales agent for Singapore Polymers
KEYPORT, NEW JERSEY (October 28, 2008) -- Reedy International Corp. was named the agent for the sales in Asia of Singapore Polymers Corp’s PVC compounds.
Borouge, Enpro enter China service contract agreement
GUANGZHOU (October 28, 2008) -- Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates-based Borouge has signed a service contract with Enpro Supply Chain Management Ltd. to build the Borouge Guangzhou Logistics Hub in the
Nansha area of Guangzhou.
No PU China exhibition in 2009

LONDON (October 28, 2008) -- Imitation may be the best form of flattery, but when it comes to China it seems anything goes. So if you are approached to exhibit in 2009 by a company using the PU China
logo, please note that this is not associated with IPI Industrial Promotions BV of the Netherlands, Crain Communications Ltd. of England or China Minmetals Corp. based in Beijing, organizers of the
world-recognized PU China exhibitions. The real “PU China Exhibition and Conference” will take place in 2010.
Bayer starts up MDI plant in China
SHANGHAI (October 21, 2008) -- Production has begun at Bayer MaterialScience AG’s new methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) complex in Shanghai. At the same time, the company also announced it has
broken ground for a toluene diisocyanate (TDI) plant at the same complex. For Bayer, China is already the most important market in the Asia-Pacific region and currently its third largest national
market worldwide.
‘Materials revolution’ may have to wait
 Automakers seeking lighter-weight materials
STERLING HEIGHTS, MICHIGAN (October 21, 2008) – Now may be the auto industry’s best time in years to incorporate more plastic content in cars, as automakers push to reduce weight and improve mileage.
But at the same time, today’s global economic conditions may hold back the very suppliers that have been waiting for this chance.
BASF to build Cellasto plant in China by 2010
LUDWIGSHAFEN, GERMANY (October 21, 2008) -- BASF is strengthening its position in the Chinese automotive market by building a new plant to make Cellasto elastomer parts by 2010.
China’s WPC makers optimistic, despite global market
 Lam
SHENYANG, LIAONING (October 21, 2008) -- Chinese companies that make wood-plastic composites (WPC) think of themselves as a new, environmentally friendly industry, and one that has been immune from
economic slowdown. That’s about to be put to the test. The good news is that investment in WPC continues, and some estimates still project demand to grow more than 60 percent in the next two years.
But there are signs that the fast-paced growth is coming under stress. For instance, the head of a Chinese WPC committee Toland Lam said world economic problems are going to have a significant impact
on overall gross domestic product growth in China, and that will not be good WPC makers.
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