10 YEARS OF COMPOUNDING WORLD | SPECIAL FEATURE
2009 The focus for the first year of Compounding World was without doubt the global economic downturn. Our first edition detailed cost cutting moves and shutdowns at BASF, Ineos, LyondellBasell, Nova Chemicals and SABIC. Later editions that year included similar news from A Schulman, Cabot, Clariant, Dow Chemical, Ferro Corp, Formosa, Huntsman, PolyOne and Sinopec. BASF acquired Ciba and SK Capital bought Solutia’s PA business, now Ascend Performance Materials, in 2009 and both Chemtura and Tronox filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. But 2009 had its upside, too. RTP Company and
Teknor Apex installed more capacity at plants in the US; Radici expanded its Italian compounding operations; and Gabriel-Chemie upped its global masterbatch capacity. DSM and PolyOne set up compounding operations in India; SABIC increased compounding capacity in the US, China and Saudi Arabia; So.f.ter opened a TPE production plant in Mexico; and Ter Hell added three lines at its Chinese joint venture operation. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the gloomy economic circumstances, Clariant Masterbatch predicted that the hot colours for 2010 would be beiges and browns, saying that consumers would be seeking harmony, tranquility and authenticity. From a technology perspective, nanotechnology was a big thing. Nanocyl and Bayer said they would invest in carbon nanotube (CNT) production capacity; Arkema and CNano prepared to join the list of CNT producers; and PolyOne, A Schulman and Showa Denko struck development and patent deals with Zyvex Performance Materials, NanoSci- ence Engineering and Hyperion respectively. Sustainability was also on the up. At 2009’s NPE
show in Chicago, Teknor Apex and PolyOne both debuted full or partly bio-based compounds; the US recycling association Napcor and the European Plastics Recyclers association both independently warned of the potential risk to their industries from the use of oxo-degradable additives; and Toyota committed to using more bio-based plastics after revealing they accounted for 60% of the interior surface of its Sai hybrid saloon.
2010 Chemtura, still in Chapter 11 as 2010 began, sold its PVC additives business — now Galata Chemicals — and revived the Great Lakes name for its flame retardants operations, since sold to Lanxess. Other significant deals included BASF’s sale of parts of the pigments division of recently-acquired Ciba to Dominion Colour Corporation; Celanese buying the German LFT producer FACT; Teknor Apex acquiring the DSM Sarlink TPV business; and Sweden’s Hexpol buying VTC TPE from the UK’s Vita Group to create Elasto.
While the plastics industry was still suffering the fall-out of the 2008/2009 downturn — an AMI study published that year estimated it had wiped five years of growth from the European plastics market — investment was accelerating. SABIC opened what it claimed at the time was Europe’s biggest ever greenfield compounding operation — a 130,000 tonnes/yr PP compounding operation at Genk in Belgium – and committed to an LFT production unit in Mississippi in the US. Other polymer producer investments included both Solvay and Borouge building compounding plants in China. Specialist compounding businesses were investing, too. In Europe, RTP Company opened a new plant at Ladenburg in Germany; Gabriel-Che- mie announced investments in Germany, Poland and Italy; Grafe expanded its capacity in Germany; and Polykemi expanded in Sweden. US investments included capacity expansions by Teknor Apex, Plastics Color Corporation and thermally conductive
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Above: Borealis opened its €50 Innovation Centre at Linz in Austria in 2009
Left: Clariant’s pigments
added colour to three stadiums used to host the FIFA World Cup in South Africa in 2010
December 2018 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 53
2009
2010
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