Towards a renewable future - HOW CAN WE FIX THE PU RECYCLING PROBLEM? - Urethanes Technology
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February / March 2021 A PUBLICATION Vol. 38 No 1 Towards a renewable future HOW CAN WE FIX THE PU RECYCLING PROBLEM? Novel amine catalysts for reduced emissions www.utech-polyurethane.com REPORTING ON THE GLOBAL PU INDUSTRY SINCE 1984 P001_UT_20210201.indd 1 2/9/21 11:42 AM
CONTENTS newslines 6-18 6 ISOPA gets ready to address risks of OELs, Celotex distances itself from responsibility for Grenfell, 8 6 UTECH Europe 2020 moves to November, Stepan acquires Invista polyols, Sinomax returns to profit The REACH 7 Tight polyurethane materials markets help Dow restriction in Q4 2020, Greiner’s consolidation plan swings into action, Strong sales growth at Sheela despite introducing raw materials, Hauck takes the helm at cutting minimum training machinery company Albrecht Baumer requirements for 8 Mlily set to increase share of the US mattress market, Lintech to sell Huntsman hot cast elasto- workers handling mers in southern US, BASF completes phase 1 of BASF updates MDI at Geismar diisocyanates and Geismar MDI update, Technologic Systems adds PU conformal coating option mixtures containing 11 Huntsman upgrades Q4 EBITDA outlook, Growth in diisocyanates is a online sales drives Nike’s H1 success, Johns done deal Manville adds HFO-blown SPF Jorg Palmersheim, ISOPA 13 PU layer stops tunnels freezing, PU improves the properties of fibre-reinforced composites, Stellar Q4 22 Europe’s bed, performance saves Wanhua 2020 earnings, Dramatic increase in Chinese refrigerator exports, Disulfide links give malleable and recyclable PU foam furniture and 14 BPCL polyol project in doubt, PU leather maker Anli mattress makers set to open Vietnamese plant, Kool-ex PU reefers to generate about distribute coronavirus vaccine in India 15 A debut UTECH SEA in 2022, Perma-Pipe uses PU in Indian pipeline insulation project, MPOB develops 14 310kT/year trim foam Bert Haeltermann, Recticel a palm oil polyol PU helps get coronavirus vaccines out 23 17 Sales and plant additions boost Vitafoam Nigeria, We need to 24 circularstart PU for rechargeable electrostatic face masks 18 Bosnian producer to invest in new PU panel factory, creating ISCC Plus certificate for Krefeld MDI, Dow’s Herman Motmans elected ISOPA president, Plixxent signs loops and up as PU Europe member, Sika launches Purform PU technology step up together Marcel Moeller 19 Lanxess launches energy-efficient PU elastomer, Kingspan appoints head of compliance and director 25 There must retires, Perstorp acquires a new credit facility, BTC Europe to distribute BASF PU ingredients 21 Pricing: Isocyanates supply improves, while polyol be some kind prices increase of future design for recycling. It should features 19-33 be much easier 22 New life for old foam Mattresses and furniture New life for old foam than it is now represent a huge potential source of polyurethane Michal Soltsinski, Ikano Industry that could be recycled. As we move into 2021, changing rules and extended producer responsibility 27 are starting to focus the minds of EU-based recyclers 26 Recycling news Wheat waste transformed into PU It is a very foam, Belgium’s mattress recycling system gets suitable catalyst under way for bed-in-a-box 27 Reactive amines for reduced emissions When creating foam for challenging applications such as applications bed-in-a-box mattresses, reducing emissions and Yusuke Morioka, Tosho retaining properties is the name of the game, and the choice of catalysts has a huge bearing on 29 The market results. Sarah Houlton reports 29 EU foam growth heads eastward The year 2019 was tough in may now seem like the distant past, but it is the last time that PU foam production was normal. Chemical industry consultant Clint Raine ran through the numbers at the recent virtual EuroPUR meeting. 30 2019, and there were structural changes From waste wheat to polyols Clint Raine, Belvedere & Partner departments 34 Front cover picture: This issue we look at the environment and 30 Dates and Data the PU industry’s efforts in post-consumer Key events for the PU industry mattress recycling. Picture: iStock 3 www.utech-polyurethane.com P003_UT_20210201.indd 3 2/9/21 11:32 AM
COMMENT VOLUME 38, NO. 1 ISSN 1754-1352 (USPS 012611) Published in February, April, June, August, October and December by: Crain Communications Ltd, Urethanes Technology International, Postal address: Office 127, 61 Willow Walk, London SE1 5SF UK. Tel: +44 (0)203 287 5979 Website: www.UTECH-polyurethane.com LEADERSHIP Chairman: Keith E Crain Vice Chairman: Mary Kay Crain Simon Robinson President: K C Crain Editor Senior Executive Vice President: Chris Crain Vice President and Publisher: Brennan Lafferty Tel: +1 313 446 6768 Email: blafferty@crain.com EDITORIAL STAFF: Hip to be green Editor: Simon Robinson Tel: +44 (0)203 287 5979 Email: srobinson@crain.com Associate Editor: Sarah Houlton Email: sarah@owlmedia.co.uk Art Director: Amy Steinhauser Email: asteinhauser@crain.com P NORTH AMERICAN OFFICES (Editorial): Don Loepp, Tel: +1 313 446 6767 Email: dloepp@crain.com ost-consumer waste was not at the forefront of our thinking a couple of INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENTS: decades ago, with old furniture and mattresses largely sent to landfill – CHINA: Jane Ho, out of sight and out of mind. But it’s now becoming clear this bulky waste Tel: + 86 189 3057 2271 Email: janeadios@gmail.com might be transformed into a reliable new stream of raw materials for the KOREA: Choong-Ha Lee, Tel: + 82 (0)31 211 2073 Email: puworld@naver.com polyurethane industry. INDIA: Satnam Singh As you will see in this issue, a number of projects in the EU are starting to come Email: Satnamsingh41@hotmail.com to fruition. These are aimed at removing mattresses and furniture from municipal TRADE SHOWS/EXHIBITONS waste, and have the useful side-effect of stimulating a whole new field of endeav- Director: Debbie Hershfield Tel: + 1 303 608 0231 Email: dhershfield@crain.com our for polyurethanes. NORTH / SOUTH AMERICA, UK, OPEN AREAS: We have covered companies reworking in-process scrap before, but the challenge Advertising director: Ed Rich, of post-consumer waste is significantly greater. It is complicated, and the waste is Tel: +1 330 869 0375 Email: erich@crain.com often very dirty, and one thing is clear – there is a lot of it. But, with proper treatment, NORTHERN EUROPE: Arthur Schavemaker, Tel: +31 (0)547 275005, Fax: +31 (0)547 271831 it could become a good source of viable, consistent raw materials. Email: arthur@kenter.nl Away from the feature, the annus horribilis that was 2020 is now behind us. With SOUTHERN EUROPE: Fabio Potesta, luck, by the time you read this, the world will be steadily getting through the mass Tel/fax: +39 010 570 4948, Fax: +39 010 553 0088 Email: info@mediapointsrl.it vaccination programmes that will allow us all to return to a more active state. CHINA: Winnie Song, I hesitate to say ‘normal’, because that implies a return to the way we were before Tel: +86 13810 173625 Email: songwei@wkexpo.com the coronavirus changed the world. One thing is certain, post-pandemic, things will AFRICA, INDIA, MIDDLE EAST: Taher Patrawala, be different. Fewer people will commute into offices, perhaps reducing the demand Tel: +971 4 297 0512 Email: taher@mediafusionme.com KOREA: Min Pyo for cars. Cities may become less attractive places to live, offering opportunities to Tel: +82 (0) 31 211 2073 Email: minpyo@hotmail.com furnish homes in more rural settings or smaller towns. Media services manager: Patrick Alfes It is not yet clear. But if things continue to improve, then at least the cycle of meet- Tel: +1 313 446 0387 Email: palfes@crain.com ings, conferences and exhibitions can start again. There may be fewer handshakes, SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS: £20.00/€25.50 single copy; we may be wearing masks, and we may be trying to keep a couple of metres apart, £90.00/€101.00. Subscription includes surface mail postage; air mail but a return to some form of face-to-face contact will be invaluable for making those rates available on request. Four weeks’ notice required for change of address. Note: Subscription payments may be made using all stand- all-important business connections. See our announcements on pages 7 and 15. ard credit and debit cards at: UTECH-polyurethane.com/subscribe, I’m looking forward to reporting on a number of events in the second half of the year, where you will find a range of different subscription options. and providing information and insights to help you run your business more effectively. Subscriptions (abonnement) enquiries correspondence: Circulation Dept, Urethanes Technology International, 1155 Gratiot Ave. Detroit, MI 48207, United States. Tel: +1 313 446 0450 Email: customerservice@utech-polyurethane.com Print: Latitude Group Ltd www.latitudenorth.co.uk , Dorset, UK © 2021 Crain Communications Ltd. A member of All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the permission of the publisher. Registered office: 100 New Bridge Street, London EC4V 6JA United Kingdom. Registered No. 1576350 England. V.A.T. No. GB 577 6905 84 ABC audited www.utech-polyurethane.com 4 P004_UT_20210201.indd 4 2/9/21 11:31 AM
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INTERNATIONAL NEWSLINES ISOPA gets ready to Stepan acquires Invista polyols address risks of OELs Northfield, Illinois – In- vista’s aromatic polyester polyol business has been acquired by Stepan. No Brussels, Belgium – Occupa- ‘The REACH restriction in- price has been given for tional exposure levels (OELs) troducing minimum training the all-cash deal; the ac- are the next big regulatory requirements for workers han- quired business has glob- challenge the polyurethane in- dling diisocyanates and mix- al sales of about $100m. dustry in the European Union tures containing diisocyanates The polyols are sold will face in 2021, according to is a done deal,’ he said. ‘We under the Terate brand. ISOPA secretary general Jorg are in the transition phase to They are used in the Palmersheim. 24 August 2023, and it is up to manufacture of flex-faced ‘We are right in the middle of the industry to ensure compli- boardstock, metal-faced the OEL process,’ Palmersheim ance by that date.’ sandwich panels, spray said. ‘An impact assessment He added that the associ- foam, block foam. They questionnaire will be sent to ation aims to get the training also have a variety of many, many companies by platform up and running by the CASE applications. Risk Policy Analysts of the UK. middle of 2021. ‘We can then The acquisition gives Its findings will form the cor- start the e-learning process Stepan two additional nerstone of the data used to Palmersheim: gearing up for OELs in the big PU-using countries manufacturing sites, one drive the impact assessment.’ such as Germany, France, the in Wilmington, North Car- ISOPA believes the best way pational health and safety,’ Netherlands and Spain,’ he olina, and the second in to protect workers from expo- he said. ‘This would be much said. ‘We will then progres- Vlissingen, Netherlands. sure to diisocyanates is to use more effective than a very sively roll the training out in Inventory, IP and working the EU’s REACH restriction, low OEL for an eight-hour additional countries.’ capital are also included. and its mandatory training. time weighted average work- A website has been set up The company believes ‘When it provided its opinion ing day. The danger to health www.safeusediisocyanates.eu the long-term prospects on the restriction, the Euro- comes from spikes in expo- for interested parties. for rigid polyols in insula- pean Chemicals Agency sure.’ An ISOPA/UTECH webi- tion remains strong in the (ECHA) concluded that it is the ISOPA expects the impact nar about the process is also light of energy conser- most effective and efficient assessment to be finished by available at www.utech-polyure- vation and increasingly measure to enhance occu- the middle of 2021. thane.com/events. stringent building codes. UTECH Europe moves to November 2021 London – UTECH Europe the event’s organiser and Celotex distances itself from has been rescheduled to 16- 18 November. publisher of Urethanes Tech- nology International. responsibility for Grenfell The venue, MECC in Maas- Hershfield added that, af- London, UK – Celotex, which and contractors included par- tricht, Netherlands, is un- ter consulting stakeholders, made the PIR insulation used ties which were contractually changed. it felt right to take the early on the Grenfell Tower, issued and professionally obliged to ‘We are committed to a decision to postpone UTECH a further statement in late De- consider the fire safety for the strong and vibrant UTECH Europe until later in the year. cember 2020. This distanced building and its compliance Europe in 2021 to provide ‘We believe the move will itself and its current manage- with building regulations.’ the polyurethanes indus- fill exhibitors, speakers and ment from the tragedy. Celotex said that an inter- try with a much-needed attendees with more confi- The company said in the nal inquiry into the events platform to recapture lost dence that they will see the statement that its PIR product leading up to the fire showed opportunities, identify new UTECH Europe they have RS5000 was marketed for use that there had been unaccept- business and re-engage with come to expect,’ Hershfield in rainscreen cladding sys- able conduct on the part of a industry associates, friends continued. tems for buildings above 18m number of former employees. and colleagues,’ said Debbie More details can be found high. However, the system ‘They should never have hap- Hershfield, trade show direc- at the event’s website, www. used on the tower was ‘sub- pened,’ it said. ‘Disciplinary tor at Crain Communications, utecheurope.eu. stantially different’ from the proceedings were instituted system it had tested. as a result and six employees ‘Celotex does not design left the company (others hav- and install cladding systems, ing resigned previously).’ News in Brief and did not do so at the Gren- Celotex said that it has re- fell Tower,’ it said. ‘The design placed its management, and Sinomax returns to profit The Hong Kong-listed flex- of the rainscreen cladding reviewed and refreshed its ible foam company, has a system on Grenfell Tower and factory process controls, quali- Hong Kong – Sinomax ex- number of plants in China the selection of the compo- ty management and approach pects to make an after-tax and the US. It released the nents were decisions made to marketing to ensure these profit of HK$50m ($6.4m) figures in a statement. by construction industry pro- meet best practice. fessionals. The professionals The inquiry continues. www.utech-polyurethane.com 6 P006_P007_UT_20210201.indd 6 2/9/21 11:27 AM
INTERNATIONAL NEWSLINES Tight polyurethane materials markets help Dow in Q4 2020 Midland, Michigan – Fourth ‘As the global economy and at Sadara drove this result,’ quarter sales at Dow Chemical market fundamentals contin- Fitterling said. Net sales in were up almost 5% compared ue to improve, demand drove polyurethane grew by double with the same period in 2019, volumes above or in line with digits from 2019 to 2020 and at $10bn. The company’s in- pre-coronavirus levels across between Q3 and Q4 in 2020, dustrial intermediates & in- all operating segments,’ he he added. frastructure business, which said. ‘We captured strong du- Looking ahead to the first includes PU, contributed rable goods in construction quarter of 2021, CFO Howard $3.5bn. demand, we grew volumes Ungerleider said sales should In 2020, the company’s in do-it-yourself architectural be between $10.7-11.2bn be- overall sales were $38.5bn, coatings and home care sec- cause of the strength in poly- down 10.3% on the 2019 figure. tors.’ urethanes. ‘That segment will CEO Jim Fitterling said that In Q4, sales in the industrial benefit from deurbanisation in the final quarter, improved intermediates & infrastructure and strong demand for do- pricing and margins, particu- business grew by 7.6% from mestic appliances, and will be larly in polyethylene and poly- the previous year. This trans- Fitterling: gaining momentum supported by the automotive urethane applications, deliv- lated into a 33% increase in and housing sectors,’ he said. ered 5% revenue growth and operating EBIT, which reached mentals in polyurethanes, as ‘Industry supply limitations, higher operating EBIT year- $296m. well as higher equity earnings and low inventories, should over-year. ‘Supply and demand funda- from improved performance support pricing uplift.’ Greiner’s consolidation plan Strong sales growth at Sheela despite despite raw materials for foam swings into action Noida, India – Sheela Foam, India’s only listed flexible foam maker, gen- Kremsmunster, Austria – Plas- implementation, and hence erated sales of INR8.26bn tics and PU foam company virtually any item that can be ($113.4m) in the third quar- Greiner has brought its Mul- manufactured using this mate- ter of 2020, up 26% on tifoam, Perform, Purtec, Uni- rial,’ he said. ‘This represents a the same period last year. foam and EuroFoam business- significant USP.’ EBITDA across the busi- es together into a new entity. It marks part of parent group ness rose by 21%, reach- The combined business will Greiner’s plan to become a ing INR1.1bn in the 2020 trade under the name Neveon global force in polyurethane. quarter. in the next stage of the strate- ‘The move towards a leading Sheela said the results gy outlined by the company in global integrated foam group had been achieved in the May 2019. is wise,’ said Greiner’s CEO, face of significant raw ma- Neveon has 62 locations Axel Kuhner. terial price rises. It said in 17 countries, and 3700 em- Bruns: a significant USP As well as helping the com- the price of TDI had risen ployees. The business is fo- pany to compete in a consoli- by 63% between Q3 2019 cusing on three areas: living & of the new organisation. ‘[The dating flexible foam market, he and Q3 2020. Polyols care, mobility, and specialities. new business can] offer every- said its economy of scale will were up 116%. Oliver Bruns, who was CEO thing relating foam production, make raw materials consider- In the company’s Indi- at Greiner Foam, is to be CEO from solution development to ably less expensive. an business, sales rose by 17% between the third quarter of 2019 and the Hauck takes the helm at cutting machinery company Albrecht Baumer third quarter of 2020, to Freudenberg, Germany – Nina Patisson, the current His background is in elec- INR6050m. This com- Family-owned machinery managing director, will retire trical engineering, and he has pares with INR5180m in manufacturer Albrecht Bau- from operations on 1 Febru- managed companies both the equivalent period in mer has appointed Christoph ary. ‘We are confident that at home in Germany and 2019. EBITDA in the di- Hauck as its new managing Christoph Hauck brings both abroad. vision rose by 39% to director. He will be the first the right education, experi- He has spent the past cou- INR990m. In the third person outside the family to ence and personality to this ple of decades working in the quarter of 2019, it was INR hold the role. position,’ Patisson said. engineering sector. 710m. 7 February/March 2021 P006_P007_UT_20210201.indd 7 2/9/21 11:27 AM
AMERICAS NEWSLINES Mlily set to increase share of the US mattress market Nantong, Jiangsu – Chinese on imports from south-east The company’s overseas expansion, the report said. mattress maker Mlily is expect- Asia. Countries in this region plants purchase 55% of feed- Sales in 2021 will likely reach ed to increase its US market now account for 28% of US stock locally, which helps it CNY9.4bn, a 49% jump from share from 9% in 2020 to more consumption, according to a counter price fluctuations from 2020. than 20% in 2021, according to report from the Chinese secu- Chinese suppliers, and main- Last year, the value of the Great Wall Securities. rities company. tain stability in cost manage- domestic Chinese mattress There will be a gap in the Mlily will be able to help fill in ment, the report added. market was CNY77bn, of US market of 2.4 million units the gap, as it already has man- Mlily is estimated to record which memory foam mattress- of memory foam mattresses ufacturing facilities in place in CNY802m net profit in 2021, es comprised less than 5%. in 2021 following the impo- the US. These have CNY2.7bn up 53% from 2020, with the This compares to a 50% share sition of anti-dumping duties ($417m) of nameplate capacity. additional help of domestic for foam mattresses in the US. Lintech to sell Huntsman hot BASF completes phase 1 cast elastomers in southern US of Geismar MDI update Geismar before the The Woodlands, Texas – Lin- extra MDI is added tech International is to dis- tribute Huntsman’s polyure- thane-based Daltocast hot cast elastomer systems in the southern and western US. The company has already been distributing Huntsman coat- ings and adhesive systems for nearly a decade. The MDI-based Daltocast systems, and the Castech pro- cessing machines they are Geismar, Louisiana – BASF phase, announced in April 2019. addition is limited, the new used with, were developed by has replaced an older MDI BASF declined to specify MDI production unit sets the Huntsman’s elastomers team reactor in Geismar as part of the size of the unit replaced, foundation for future growth.’ in Modena, Italy and Auburn its plan to increase capacity or whether the work had The second expansion Hills, Michigan. Applications from 300kT/year to 600kT/ changed the current size of phaseis under way, and is include bumper pads, coated year by the middle of the de- the plant. A spokesman said: expected to start up in the conveyor belts, gears, rollers cade. ‘An older MDI synthesis unit second half of 2021. In April and wheels. The company said it had is no longer in service. Al- 2019, the estimated cost was ‘We will be able to tap into completed the $150m first though the instant capacity put at $87m. hot cast elastomers mar- kets, which we may not have reached otherwise,’ said Alex Ziev, Americas sales manager Technologic Systems adds PU conformal coating option at Huntsman Elastomers. Fountain Hills, Arizona – temperatures. It also creates already install our embedded ‘By combining Huntsman’s Technologic Systems is now a barrier to airborne contami- systems in harsh manufac- hot cast technology with Lin- offering a PU conformal coat- nants such as salt spray. turing environments, outdoor tech’s strong distribution net- ing on some of its electronic The coating is made from deployments, and demanding work in the US, we can stra- components. HumiSeal 1A33. This is a sin- marine settings,’ said Robert tegically align our resources It is a 20–75µm thick pro- gle component PU conformal Miller, Technologic Systems’ to expand and strengthen our tective coating that conforms coating with no free isocya- president. customer reach and service to to the circuit board’s topology. nates. ‘Adding conformal coating grow our target markets,’ said The aim is to provide addi- It fluoresces under UV light just enhances our already Jay Downs, director for mar- tional protection for electronic which helps when inspecting rugged portfolio and provides keting and business develop- circuits in environments with components. more protection for our cus- TEG ment at Lintech. high humidity and varying ‘We know our customers tomers.’ www.utech-polyurethane.com 8 P008_P011_UT_20210201.indd 8 2/9/21 11:27 AM
AMERICAS NEWSLINES Massachusetts finally enacts FR ban PPG buys polyurea company Versaflex Boston, Massachusetts – The state’s department of environ- much-delayed flame retardant mental protection (DEP) may Kansas City, Kansas – ban in Massachusetts has fi- now implement a labelling PPG has agreed to buy Ver- nally been signed into law by programme for products that saflex from DalFort Capital governor Charlie Baker. He meet fire safety standards, Partners. No price was dis- had vetoed an earlier attempt but do not contain any of the closed, but the transaction to institute a ban, in January banned FRs. is likely to complete in the 2019, citing a conflict with fed- The legislation was backed first quarter. eral legislation. by the Massachusetts firefight- Versaflex comprises Companies in Massachu- ers union, which cited serious four separate businesses, setts will be prevented from concerns about the FRs caus- which employ 130 peo- selling or importing various ing cancer among its mem- ple. Its 2020 revenue is products into the state that bers. ‘This is a massive step projected to be $70m. contain more than 1000ppm forward in protecting our res- DalFort put it together be- of listed flame retardants in idents and first responders in tween 2017 and 2019, and any of their component parts. Baker: finally signed the ban Massachusetts from the dan- includes Versaflex, Raven Products covered include up- gers of these toxic chemicals Lining Systems, Milamar holstered furniture, bedding, DEP to work with the Toxics associated with flame-retar- Coatings and Specialty children’s products and car- Use Reduction Institute at the dant products,’ union presi- Products. peting. The ban does not ap- University of Massachusetts dent Richard MacKinnon said. PPG’s SVP for protec- ply to inventory manufactured Lowell to revisit the banned ‘This has been a very long tive and marine coatings, before 31 December 2021. list at least every three years time in coming,’ said Elizabeth Ram Vadlamannati, said The banned list includes an- to determine whether any oth- Saunders, Massachusetts di- Versaflex was attractive. timony trioxide, pentaBDE, oc- er FRs should be added. rector of pressure group Clean ‘[It has] broad expertise taBDE and chlorinated paraf- The bill’s passage con- Water Action. ‘The first version and manufacturing ca- fins. Also covered are TSCPP, cludes eight years of efforts of this bill was filed eight years pabilities in polyurea,’ he TCEP, HBCD, TBPH, TBB, TBB- by Massachusetts legislators ago.It passed the senate three said. PA and TCPP. The law instructs to get a ban in place. The times and the house twice,’ A winning performance relies on teamwork Looking to optimize performance, enhance process efficiency and improve the physical properties and quality of your final polyurethane products? We can help! With our deep knowledge of polyurethane chem- istry and breakthrough technologies, we can help you to meet the latest emission standards, support you to improve physical properties or increase production efficiency and quality; whatever your challenge, Evonik can help you find the winning solution! www.evonik.com/pu-additives www.explorepu.com TEGOSTAB® DABCO® KOSMOS® POLYCAT® TEGOCOLOR® ORTEGOL® VERSALINK® GORAPUR® 9 February/March 2021 P008_P011_UT_20210201.indd 9 2/9/21 11:27 AM
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AMERICAS NEWSLINES Huntsman upgrades Q4 EBITDA outlook The Woodlands, Texas – 25% better than the final quar- Huntsman has said that ad- ter of 2019. justed EBITDA in its polyure- It added that the sale of its thanes business will be at remaining stake in Venator least 20% better than its third Materials, a cyclical business quarter performance. focused on titanium dioxide, The company said in a trad- was on track, and that it plans ing statement that this was to pay the outstanding €445m because of stronger than ex- 5.125% bond that falls due next pected overall demand as year at face value. It will do this well as higher MDI component from its available liquidity. margins, most notably in Asia. When the bonds were paid Overall, Huntsman said it off or redeemed on 15 January expects adjusted EBITDA in the company’s interest bill fell the fourth quarter to be 20- by about $25m/year. Growth in online sales drives Nike’s H1 success O. N . Beaverton, Oregon – Nike, hoe claimed the growth was the global footwear giant, gen- erated sales of $21.8bn in the fuelled by compelling innova- tive product and global brand K . UC S first half of 2020. This is an momentum. increase of 4% on the same Digital sales for Nike were ST period last year. up 84% in the second quarter, I NG EBIT across the business and offset temporary corona- T ET E rose by 23.8% to $4.27bn in virus shutdowns. The move to the first half of 2020. Part of direct-to-consumer sales will G the growth in EBIT came be- speed up, according to CFO Y cause Nike is spending much Matt Friend. less on promotion at sporting ‘We are focused on moving D . SE events because of lockdowns. even faster against our stra- The growth in earnings tegic vision of Consumer Di- E A EL continued momentum from rect Acceleration and fuelling YR the first quarter of the year, sustainable, long-term growth Nike said. CEO John Dona- and profitability,’ he said. T L EC Johns Manville adds HFO-blown SPF ER F P Denver, Colorado – Johns ‘JM Corbond IV not only Manville has added a new has a lower GWP than JM How can different materials be perfectly released after spray polyurethane foam to Corbond III, but also performs thermal moulding? With the CHT silicones we have its range of building insula- competitively in terms of developed a versatile range of highly efficient release tion products. JM Corbond R-value, spray yield and cool- agents for your manufacturing processes. Our IV is a closed-cell SPF. ing requirements when you conventional, semi-permanent and food-compatible The fourth-generation in- compare it to the previous sulation uses an HFO blow- generation,’ said Yusheng release agents have been optimally adjusted for ing agent, allowing it to meet Zhao, senior research chem- complex industrial demands. For each corresponding increasingly stringent regu- ist at Johns Manville. ‘The application field, they offer outstanding release effects lations prohibiting the use of main difference between the and characteristics such as excellent gloss, temperature materials with a high global two products is in the new resistance and provide a durable barrier to prevent warming potential. The new HFO blowing agent.’ sticking, together with food grade compliance according SPF was designed to offer The product is already to the U.S. FDA standards. similar performance to the available for shipping within company’s older JM Cor- the US and it will soon be More about us at www.cht.com bond III product. available in Canada, too. 11 February/March 2021 UT/ERJ 1/2 V.indd 1 1/29/21 4:37 PM P008_P011_UT_20210201.indd 11 2/9/21 11:27 AM
JULY 28-30, 2021 | SHANGHAI 2021 THE LEADING POLYURETHANES EVENT FOR THE CHINESE MARKET RETURNS TO SHANGHAI TARGET ONE OF THE LARGEST POLYURETHANE MARKETS IN THE WORLD To reserve a booth or inquire about sponsorships, contact Ed Rich at erich@crain.com / +1 (330) 869-0375. PUCHINA.EU CONNECT WITH US: @UTECH_PU UTECH Polyurethane #PUChina #UTECHAsia Organized by: In association with: UT/ERJ full page.indd 3 2/8/21 9:34 AM
CHINA NEWSLINES PU layer stops tunnels freezing Beijing – Civil engineers at anti-freezing measures, the nel in northern China where tional anti-freezing technol- the North China University of tunnels will gradually suffer there was already visible ogy that destroys the tunnel Technology in Beijing have damage, potentially affecting freezing damage. The panels concrete or drainage system, suggested that a PU–corru- the railway’s safe operation. were applied overnight, during the installation of polyure- gated steel plate insulation The Beijing team has de- the time when the train service thane-corrugated steel plate lining could prevent railway veloped an alternative lining was not in operation. The PU insulation lining is a perma- tunnels being damaged by solution. This comprises cor- layer was 5cm thick. nent reinforcement of the freezing conditions. rugated steel plates combined Field temperature tests tunnel without destroying the Guangyao Cui and Xuelai with a rigid polyurethane insu- were made, with the outdoor existing lining structure and Wang explained that tunnel lation layer, plus an additional temperature between –18°C drainage system conditions,’ construction in cold regions waterproof layer to protect and –22°C. The interface be- they said. They also believe it is problematic, particularly in the PU layer. Using corrugated tween the rock and the tunnel could be used to treat damage China where seasonal frozen metal rather than flat sheets lining was above 0°C at all the such as cracking, back-voiding soil accounts for more than prevents buckling. points where temperature was and frost-related water leaks. half the land area, but railway In a real-world test, the pan- measured, so there was no The work has been pub- tunnels are being built in large els were applied to the inside freezing damage. lished in the journal Science numbers. Without adequate of a 3.7km long, 10m high tun- ‘Compared to the conven- Progress. PU improves the properties of Disulfide links give malleable, fibre-reinforced composites recyclable PU foam Chongqing, China – A Shanghai, China – The use of greatly improve properties. toughness of the composite is team at Southwest Uni- fibre-reinforced epoxy plastic The group, led by Yiou improved by 48%. versity in Chongqing has is limited by its brittleness and Shen, used atomic force mi- Their conclusion was that in- developed a polyurethane weak interlaminar properties. croscopy to show that even terpenetrating PU/epoxy net- foam that is both malleable A group at Tonji University’s distribution of the appropriate works have a positive effect and thermally recyclable. school of aerospace engineer- amount of PU can improve on improving the interfacial Jian-Bing Zeng and col- ing and applied mechanics the mechanical properties of and interlaminar properties of leagues incorporated a dy- has been investigating the the resin. This increases the plant fibre-reinforced compos- namic disulfide bond into physical and mechanical prop- strength and stiffness of the ite materials. the PU. When heated, the erties of PU/epoxy interpen- system. They also found that if The work was published in disulfide exchange reaction etration networks, and found 15% by weight of PU is added the journal Polymer Compos- enables the network topol- that careful choice of PU can to the epoxy, the initial fracture ites. ogy of the PU foam to rear- range. The result is a foam that is malleable and can be Stellar Q4 performance saves Wanhua 2020 earnings thermally processed. They claim that the disul- Yantai, Shandong – Wan- The company’s net profit company raised both sales fide-containing PU foams hua has estimated that its over the first three quarters of volume and price for its main have similar appearance 2020 annual net profit will 2020 was CNY5.3bn, down products, and net profit in Q4 and physical properties to be CNY9.6bn to CNY10.1bn 32% from a year ago. grew at a rate between 91% regular PU foams. They ($1.48–1.56bn). This com- ‘The global chemical indus- and 113% from a year ago.’ were fabricated using con- pares with CNY10.13bn net try’s downstream demands Its MDI peaked in Novem- ventional foaming technol- profit in 2019, and represents picked up rapidly at the end ber and December 2020, by ogy, with no need for modi- a year-on-year drop of up to of Q3 with strong growth for which time it was up 50% fications to the process. 5%. a few regions,’ it said. ‘The from the September figure. It was also possible to recycle the foams into PU Dramatic increase in Chinese refrigerator exports films via thermal compres- sion moulding. The film Beijing – China exported 6.5m value for November 2020. from December 2019 to 8m could be further repro- refrigerators and freezers in Full-year 2020 numbers units, according to the Nation- cessed several times. December 2020, up 59% com- also rose. The 70m units ex- al Bureau of Statistics. Full- ‘The recycled PU films pared with December 2019. ported in 2020 represents an year production of refrigera- show excellent and tun- The value of these exports increase of 36% compared tors increased 8% from a year able mechanical properties, rose by 63% from a year ago, with 2019. The value of 2020 ago, to 90m units. depending on the compo- to $828m, according to Chi- exports was up by 30% from The country’s freezer pro- sitions of the original PU na’s General Administration of 2019, to $8.2bn. duction has maintained strong foams,’ they said. The work Customs. This compares with In December, China’s pro- momentum throughout 2020. was published in the jour- a 99% year-on-year leap in ex- duction of refrigerators, ex- Full-year freezer production nal Green Chemistry. port volume and a 91% leap in cluding freezers, rose by 8% was 30m units, up 50%. 13 February/March 2021 P013_UT_20210201.indd 13 2/9/21 11:27 AM
ASIA NEWSLINES BPCL polyol project in doubt Kochi, Kerala – Planned ex- disinvestment plan. It will be Asset Management (DIPAM), contracted to provide with the pansions by Indian state- up to the buyer to decide the which manages the govern- project management consul- owned Bharat Petroleum Cor- future of the project. ment 53% stake in the com- tancy services. poration Limited (BPCL) for The company announced pany, has kicked off plans for The plan was to build six PEG, MEG and polyols have an initial investment of INR 111 privatisation. new process units, which been thrown into doubt as bn ($1.4bn) for the 170 acre Initially, DIPAM invited ex- would be integrated into the privatisation looms over the (69ha) project. pressions of interest by 31 July existing refinery. The units future of the specialty petro- It was scheduled to start 2020, but the pandemic has were set to produce propyl- chemicals plant. production by 2024, in the delayed the process. ene oxide, propylene glycol, The project has been put second phase of BPCL’s petro- While the disposal was get- polyols, ethylene oxide/mo- on hold until the Indian gov- chemical project at Kochi. ting underway in the middle no-ethylene glycol, and cu- ernment finds a new buyer for However, India’s Depart- of last year, chemical engi- mene. There would also be an the refinery as part of strategic ment of Investment and Public neering specialist Fluor was ethylene recovery unit. Kool-ex: getting the vaccine out PU leather maker Anli set to open Vietnamese plant Binh Duong, Vietnam – Chinese PU faux leather company Anli expects to start partial operation in June 2021 at its new Viet- nam plant. It was originally scheduled to go on stream in April. The plant’s infrastructure is largely complete, and the company has signed con- tracts for the fundamental machinery, as well as two of the facility’s four production lines. The machinery’s delivery and installation has been on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic, Anli Kool-ex PU reefers to distribute said. The 12,000 km/year PU leather plant was first an- coronavirus vaccine in India By Satnam Singh nounced in 2017, with $22m investment earmarked. Ground was broken at cold chain logistics business in the distribution of other the site in March 2019. Pune, Maharashtra – Poly- Kool-ex has been engaged to vaccines under development, The facility is located urethane insulation is playing transport the vaccine. including Covaxin from Bharat in Binh Duong province’s a key role in India’s ambitious The company has a special- Biotech, ZyCov-D from Zydus Vietnam Singapore Indus- drive to immunise the whole ly designed fleet of 400 reefer Cadilla, and the Russian Sput- trial Park in the south of the population against coronavi- trucks which are dedicated for nik V vaccine. country, and covers nearly rus. The country aims to vac- the cold chain distribution of ‘[The trucks] can operate at 26,000m². The plant will cinate 300 m people via the pharmaceuticals. temperatures from −25°C to contain two dry and two programme, which started in ‘We will handle the vaccine +25°C,’ he said. ‘All the vehi- wet production lines. the middle of January. transportation from all four cles are enabled in terms of Anli also announced that The material will help keep pharma firms, starting with GPS and temperature tracking it has become a supplier to doses at the required tem- Covidshield, developed by to opening of the doors.’ Ikea. It will provide ultra-low perature on their journey from AstraZeneca and produced by Kool-ex claims to have VOC PU materials for the where they are manufactured Pune-based Serum Institute of the largest pharma-dedi- Swedish furniture giant’s to vaccination sites to all over India (SII),’ said Kunal Aggarw- cated reefer fleet in India. Its sofas, beds and chairs, the the country. al, a director at Kool-Ex Cold national delivery network cov- company said. Mumbai-headquartered Chain. It will also be involve ers more than 800 cities. www.utech-polyurethane.com 14 P014_P017_UT_20210201.indd 14 2/9/21 10:55 AM
WORLD NEWSLINES Brand new UTECH MPOB develops Southeast Asia set Perma-Pipe uses PU in Indian a palm oil polyol to debut 2022 pipeline insulation project Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam – Spring, Texas – Perma-Pipe system to the 30cm diameter, Crain Communications, the has been awarded a $6.7m 74km long Mangla crude oil publisher of Urethanes Tech- contract by Indian company pipeline. The insulation itself nology International, has JSIW Infrastructure to insu- is spray polyurethane foam, announced the first UTECH late a crude oil pipeline. It is which is installed in conjunc- Southeast Asia exhibition and part of the construction of a tion with welded tracer tubes conference. refinery and petrochemical for heat tracing. It is jacketed It will be held 26-28 April complex in Pachpadra Teh- with an HDPE casing. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – The 2022. The decision to hold the sil, Rajasthan. The pipeline Work was set to begin at Malaysian Palm Oil Board has meeting was prompted by the is being developed by HPCL Perma-Pipe’s facility in Gand- developed a palm oil-based rapidly expanding market for Rajasthan Refinery, a joint hidham, Gujarat in the first polyol for floor coverings. It is polyurethane products and venture between HPCL and quarter of 2021, with the first designed to be used in both systems in Southeast Asia, the Rajasthani government. step being the application of indoor and outdoor sports and Vietnam in particular. Perma-Pipe will be apply- an anti-corrosion coating on flooring applications. ‘Vietnam is the obvious ing its Trace-Therm insulation the tracer tubes and bends. Polyurethane manufactured place to expand the UTECH from the polyol is used as a brand beyond our established protective coating on the un- markets in Europe, America, derside of stitched artificial China and the Middle East/Af- grass. It also has good com- rica,’ said UTECH trade show pressive strength, and gives a director Debbie Hershfield. cushioning effect. The event will be held at the The technology has been Saigon Exhibition & Conven- approved by the govern- tion Center. A three-day con- ment’s Minister of Plantation ference will run alongside the Industries and Commodities exhibition. for commercialisation. >> 160 YEARS OF COMBINED EXPERTISE IN POLYURETHANE AND A GLOBAL NETWORK 100% COMMITTED TO OUR CUSTOMERS Machines, plants and technologies for highly efficient polyurethane processing The specialists in high-quality roll forming plants Extensive system solutions for the production of sandwich panels >> COMPOSITES & ADVANCED >> RAW MATERIAL STORAGE & >> MOULDED FOAM LINES >> METERING MACHINES APPLICATIONS BLEND SYSTEMS >> ROLL FORMING LINES >> SANDWICH PANEL LINES >> SLABSTOCK LINES >> TECHNICAL INSULATION LINES >> 360˚ SERVICE www.hennecke-group.com UT/ERJ 1/2 H.indd 1 1/29/21 4:36 PM 15 February/March 2021 P014_P017_UT_20210201.indd 15 2/9/21 10:55 AM
Saigon Exhibition & Convention Center | Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam NEW EVENT! Crain Communications and Urethanes Technology International are pleased to announce the launch of UTECH Southeast Asia, a new exhibition and conference for the polyurethane industry. ORGANISED BY: IN ASSOCIATION WITH: Booth space available to reserve now! Contact Ed Rich, UTECH Sales Director, at erich@crain.com or call +1 (330) 869-0375 for more information. UTECHSEASIA.COM CONNECT WITH US: @UTECH_PU UTECH Polyurethane #UTECHSEA UT/ERJ full page.indd 5 2/8/21 9:34 AM
WORLD NEWSLINES Sales and plant additions Electrostatic face masks made with boost Vitafoam Nigeria polyurethane Singapore – Cori Inno- lab has crowdfunded a Lagos – Vitafoam Nigeria, the company’s annual report iary, set up a systems house rechargeable facemask which makes flexible PU foam said. ‘This subsidiary has com- in Nigeria, with help from the on Kickstarter. The mask in west Africa, generated menced export of products to United Nations Development uses PU foam in its filter- group sales of NGN23.4bn Guinea whilst strengthening Programme. The new systems ing system. ($5.9m) in 2020. This is up collaboration with the gov- house specialises in formula- The outer layer uses 5.41% on the previous financial ernment of Sierra Leone and tions based on methyl formate. reticulated PU to slow year. Gross profit across the other humanitarian agencies It also supplies other group particles by forcing them business increased by 25% to towards mass production and companies with non-flamma- through 3D maze of NGN11 bn in 2020. distribution of quality mat- ble adhesives and pre-poly- channels. This removes The company’s sales are tresses in Sierra Leone.’ mers on a just-in-time basis, 2.5µm-10µm particles. almost exclusively within Ni- Vitafoam Nigeria splits out and has developed hand sani- Any particles that get geria. It has a large number of the operating profit for its foam tisers and handwash. through the foam are subsidiaries in the country, as products business. In 2020, The Vitapur business, which slowed and trapped in a well as one in Sierra Leone. It this increased to NGN6.5m has Saip machinery, also pur- mechanical/electrostatic discontinued its operations in from NGN4.5bn in 2019, a rise chased a new mobile plant. It filter. This is recharged by Ghana in 2019. of 44%. It also disclosed that has stated that it wants to gain rubbing . The company tried to sell profit from non-Nigerian oper- market share in a number of The two layers are the Sierra Leone business ations rose by 9%, rising from other industries. rubbed together to re- in 2019, but decided in Sep- NGN563m to NGN615m be- Separately, Vitafoam Nige- charge the electrostatic tember 2020 to keep making tween 2019 and 2020. ria has set up Vitaparts Nigeria filter. The inventors claim foam there. ‘[The plant is mak- Also during the 2020 finan- to make and sell oil filters. This the masks remove 96% of ing] products of a high-quality cial year, Vitapur, the compa- is likely to begin operation in 0.3µm particles. standard with good margin,’ ny’s rigid polyurethane subsid- the second quarter of 2021. 17 February/March 2021 P014_P017_UT_20210201.indd 17 2/9/21 10:56 AM
EUROPE NEWSLINES Bosnian producer to invest Sika launches in new PU panel factory Purform PU technology Zivinice, Bosnia – Bosnian north of the country. The site 1996, and makes roof and fa- Dudingen, Switzerland – construction materials maker is within the town’s Ciljuge 2 cade panels. Sika has developed a new Disk Zivinice has announced industrial zone. The investment will allow polyurethane technology plans to build a new plant for It will create about 60 new the company to diversify its which it will market under the manufacture of PU panels. manufacturing jobs. Construc- product portfolio with the the Purform brand. The It will invest about BAM15m tion is expected to be com- addition of PU panels. While company, which specialises ($9.3m) in the project. plete by the end of 2021, with most of its output is destined in adhesives and sealants The factory will be located manufacturing likely to start for the domestic market, the for the building and auto- at the company’s headquar- the following year, the compa- company also exports prod- motive sectors, is initially ters in Zivinice, a town with a ny said. ucts, largely to western Eu- integrating Purform into its population of 60,000 in the Disk Zivinice was founded rope. Sikaflex product range. The technology is also being used in liquid applied mem- ISCC Plus certificate for Krefeld MDI branes. Purform prepolymers have ultra-low free mono- Krefeld, Germany – Covestro ‘With the gradual conver- meric diisocyanate con- has won ISCC Plus certifica- sion of our production to re- tent. The company claims tion for the MDI it produces at newable raw materials, we are the products have an im- Krefeld using aniline made in getting closer to our vision of proved performance pro- its Antwerp plant. ISCC, or in- circularity,’ said Klaus Schafer, file. Products using the new ternational sustainability and Covestro’s CTO. technology can be extreme- carbon certification, is an inter- Sucheta Govil, the compa- ly weather resistant, it said, nationally recognised sustain- ny’s chief commercial officer, and can withstand expo- ability certificate for biomass said the development will help sure to UV light outdoors and bioenergy. customers reduce their own for longer. Covestro received its first carbon footprint. Sika has made invest- shipment of ISCC Plus-certi- Govil added that the prod- ments in the associated fied phenol from Borealis in uct is a drop-in replacement production facilities at its Govil: smaller carbon footprint October. This is manufactured for hydrocarbon-derived MDI Dudingen site. It added that using renewable hydrocar- stream chemical products, in- that can be used in manu- the new products are in line bons from Neste. Phenol is cluding the aniline that is used facturing processes without with the upcoming stricter a precursor to many down- to manufacture MDI. modifications. Reach regulations. Plixxent signs up as Dow’s Herman Motmans News in Brief PU Europe member Brussels – Plixxent, a Euro- elected ISOPA president Western Europe’s car registrations pean systems house, has Brussels – Herman Motmans joined PU Europe, the EU has been elected as the new plunge in January trade association for the president of ISOPA, the Euro- Oxford, UK – Western Eu- PU/PIR insulation industry. pean Diisocyanate & Polyol ropean car registrations Juan Cirujeda, Plixxent’s Producers’ Association. were down to 760,000 managing director, said his Motmans, senior product di- units in January 2021. company was joining the rector at Dow Polyurethanes, This represents a 26% association, ‘because the succeeds Mike Fowles, who is decline, compared with PU industry will be facing vice president for global sup- 1.02m sold in January challenges and also oppor- ply chain at Huntsman. Chris- 2020, according to data tunities in the future’. topher Mets, VP of business from LMC Automotive. He said some of the op- management for isocyanates In Germany, sales were Motmans takes the helm at ISOPA portunities for PU/PIR insu- in Europe at BASF, is the new down 31.1% at 169,754 lation will be reducing emis- vice president and deep expertise to ISOPA’s units. Sales were hit as sions through building and Jorg Palmersheim, ISOPA/ leadership team.’ a VAT reduction on new cold chain insulation. ALIPA secretary general, said: Palmersheim and the mem- vehicle purchases in De- Plixxent was formed from ‘I am very pleased to welcome bership thanked the outgoing cember 2020 ended. a number of systems hous- Herman as our new president, Fowles for championing the In the UK, sales were es that were spun out by and Christopher as our new organisation’s work with its down 39.5% year on year Covestro in 2019. vice-president. They bring in- stakeholders to promote the to 90,200 in January. valuable industry experience highest standards . www.utech-polyurethane.com 18 P018_P019_UT_20210201.indd 18 2/9/21 11:55 AM
EUROPE NEWSLINES Lanxess launches energy- BTC Europe to distribute BASF efficient PU elastomer PU ingredients Monheim am Rhein, Germany – BASF has an- Cologne, Germany – Lanx- company’s Vibracure A250 ager at the Lanxess urethane nounced BTC Europe as ess has developed a new hardener. It claims that mate- systems business unit. the new distributor for its Adiprene elastomer. The 95 rials made with this combina- Because the polyurethane aromatic isocyanates and Shore A hardness elastomer tion of materials can maintain elastomers generate less heat polyurethanes for PU ap- is said to show low heat build- their properties over an out- when they are being used, plications in Europe. up in rollers that move quickly standing temperature range. it takes less energy to move It covers the polyure- and are highly stressed. ‘Our elastomers generate them. These energy savings thane ingredients sold un- The material is made using less heat when subjected to can feed directly into the der the Lupranat, Lupra- Adiprene PP1095H, a poly- frequent, rapid deformation, machinery in which they are nol and Lupraphen brand ester-based pre-polymer ter- therefore they do not overheat found, the company said, such names. All BASF’s PU minated with p-phenylene in continuous use,’ said Ian as forklift trucks, lifts, escala- basic products will now diisocyanate (pPDI), plus the Laskowitz, applications man- tors and other applications. be available from a single source in Europe. ‘The new agreement Perstorp acquires a new credit facility Kingspan appoints head of enables us to react to the wish of our customers of Stockholm – Perstorp, which makes polyols for polyure- compliance, director retires providing the entire prod- uct portfolio from a single source,’ said Oliver Pe- thanes, has gained a SEK600m Kingscourt, Ireland – Jim Another change to senior ter, account manager for ($73.6m) revolving credit facil- Carolan has been appointed management was announced BASF’s European isocy- ity. It is backed by Sweden’s as Kingspan’s group head of at the end of 2020 when Peter anate business. ‘We see Export Credit Agency (EKN), compliance & certification. Wilson retired from his posi- BTC as a strong partner which is guaranteeing 75% of He will report directly to CEO tion as divisional managing di- to supply our customers the loan. Gene Murtagh. rector of the company’s insu- in an optimal manner. BTC The arrangement will pro- ‘Carolan will be responsi- lation boards business, and as will join our direct custom- tect Perstorp from the current ble for ensuring a rigorous a director of the company. He er support as a distributor market environment, and pro- approach to certification, test- has been replaced at the helm for packaged goods.’ vide liquidity to capture growth ing and product compliance of the business by Alan Law- Part of the BASF group, opportunities once conditions across all Group divisions,’ lor, who was previously the BTC Europe is the com- improve, the company said. the company said in a recent division’s CFO and managing pany’s European sales CEO Jan Secher said his announcement. director of Kingspan Insulation organisation. It supplies company has, relative to its Before taking the role, Caro- in southern Europe. about 6000 products to size, one of the best liquidity lan was operations director in He will now have global re- SMEs from a network of positions among European the company’s insulated pan- sponsibility for the insulation 11 regional offices. chemical companies. els division. boards division. UT/ERJ 1/3 H.indd 1 2/9/21 12:30 PM 19 February/March 2021 P018_P019_UT_20210201.indd 19 2/9/21 12:32 PM
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