NEWS


Weaker markets hit Orbia


Orbia — parent of Al- phaGary, Vestolit and Wavin — reported a 15% decline in sales for the 2023 financial year and 24% fall in EBITDA, largely due to weak activity in global construction and infrastructure markets. Polymer Solutions, which includes the specialty compounds and PVC materials activities of AlphaGary and Vestlit, saw sales down by 27% to $2.6bn and EBITDA down 53% to $382m. The company said lower volumes and prices due to weaker demand and raw material supply shortage in the Americas were key factors. The company said it


expected market weakness to continue at least for the first half of 2024 so would be tightly managing capital investments. This weakness, together with the current high volume of imported Chinese PVC available on the North American market, means it will suspend work on its planned PVC capacity expansion on the US Gulf Coast. �www.orbia.com


Modern Dispersions expands US capacity


US specialty compounder and masterbatch producer Modern Dispersions has completed and fully commis- sioned the first phase of its manufacturing expansion at Fitzgerald in Georgia. The new facility, which is


located close to its existing 180,000 tonnes/yr produc- tion unit, expands its annual masterbatch capacity by 45,000 tonnes. It is the first in a four-phase expansion programme. Work on the second phase — which will add a further 45,000 tonnes of annual capacity — is already underway with a start-up set for 2026. “The first phase of new capacity gives us more flexibility, reduced lead times, and allows us to remain cost competitive as


Modern Dispersions staff at the company’s new production site


we strive to meet the supply needs of our customers,” said Marton Kozma, Presi- dent of the company. The new capacity is


targeted for the North American market and is a response to the strong growth the company reports seeing in injection moulding and extrusion applications across markets such as automotive, electronics


packaging, and construction industry uses including pipe and wire and cable. In addition to the


additional manufacturing capacity, Modern Disper- sions said the project has also included transport improvements such as a new rail storage and switch yard to accommodate 200 rail cars. � www.moderndispersions.com


Piovan Group targets India


Italian plastics ancillaries manufacturer Piovan Group has secured a majority stake in India’s Nu-Vu Conair. The company now holds a 51% stake in the Indian joint venture, which gener- ates sales of around €20m and was originally set up in


2007 by India’s Nu-Vu Engineers and US-based Conair. Piovan acquired Conair’s parent company IPEG in 2022. “We strongly believe in the potential of India,” said Piovan CEO Filippo Zup- pichin. “We believe that with


the joint efforts of Piovan and Nu-Vu in adding technologies and market penetration we would further grow and consoli- date the leadership in the whole region.” �www.piovan.com � https://conairgroup.in/


Owens Corning looks to exit glass reinforcement


Owens Corning has launched a strategic review of its global glass reinforcements (GR) business — part of its composites division — which could lead to a sale or spin-off. The GR business generates annual sales of around $1.3bn. It has 18 manu-


6 COMPOUNDING WORLD | March 2024


facturing operations in 11 countries. The company said its vertically inte- grated glass nonwovens business, which supports its roofing segment and other building products custom- ers, is not included in the review. Owens Corning undertook a review


of its global DUCS (Dry Use Chopped Strand) business two years ago leading to the sale of its European chopped strand manufacturing assets at Cham- béry in France in 2022. These are now operated by Fysol. �www.owenscorning.com


www.compoundingworld.com


IMAGE: MODERN DISPERSIONS


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