Cereplast Inc Chief Executive Frederic Scheer is betting that plant material such as corn starch and tapioca will one day eclipse petroleum to become the main material for shopping bags, toys and thousands of other items made of plastic.
Stora Enso is strengthening its leading position in corrugated packaging in the growth markets of Central and Eastern Europe by renewing containerboard capacity at its Ostrołęka Mill in Poland.
Growth opportunities for blow moulders, especially those in PET, are in no short supply. Researchers suggest that the latent potential for PET barrier bottles in beer, wine, and milk is equivalent to the current size of the carbonated soft drinks (CSD) market for PET bottles in Europe, which was just under 1 million tonnes in 2010.
Pharmaceutical and medical products manufacturer Gerresheimer group is preparing to expand production of moulded plastics components at its Horsovsky Tyn plant in the Czech Republic.
Zakłady Azotowe Puławy S.A. (“ZA Puławy”) has signed new contracts for the sale of caprolactam to customers in Asia. The value of the contracts in 2011 is estimated at PLN 365m, which accounts for some 50% of the Company's annual output.
Univar, a leading global chemical distributor, announced it has successfully completed the acquisition of the Quaron business in Belgium and the Netherlands. This step reflects Univar’s commitment to growth and to strengthening its position, reach, service, technical expertise and product portfolio in the Benelux. Trading as a combined entity will commence on 10th January 2011.
PolyOne Corporation (NYSE: POL), a premier global provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions, has acquired Uniplen Indústria de Polímeros Ltda. (Uniplen), a leading Brazilian producer of specialty engineered materials and distributor of thermoplastics.
Thin-walled plastics packaging is used in a wide range of industries including dairy containers like yogurt cups, yellow fats, frozen foods, fruit and vegetables, bakery, ready meals, juices, soup and meats.
The construction industry in Europe has been in decline since 2008, with figures from Euroconstruct showing total spend of 1444 billion euros in 2008, 1316 in 2009 and an anticipated 1264 in 2010.
South East Asian region consists of China, Korea, Taiwan and the ASEAN countries. The outlook of masterbatches in this region is quite buoyant. Demand pattern in this region is quite diverse with countries like Korea, Singapore and Taiwan having scope for growth of sophisticated masterbatches, while countries like Vietnam constitute a small but rapidly growing market.
Bayer intends to significantly expand its capacities for the production of high-grade materials in China by 2016. Investments of around EUR 1 billion are planned at the Shanghai site.
Demand from European converters fell back 7.2% from 2008 to 45 million tones in 2009. The market share of end use applications remained stable with packaging. The largest segment representing 40.1% of overall demand.
