NEWS Ube Industries invests in Repol


Ube Corporation Europe, the regional subsidiary of Japan’s Ube Industries, is to acquire a majority stake in Spanish compounder Repol. Based at Almazora in Castellón


province, Repol compounds mostly PA6, PA66 and POM polymers for auto- motive applications, as well as for the industrial and electrical and electronic sectors. It employs 61.


Ube said that it is targeting its PA6 business for growth, particularly in extrusion though also in injection moulding applications. The acquisition, the company said, gives it an existing compounding plant, an additional base for its operations in Europe, a complementary relationship in PA 6, and access to Repol’s compounding technologies and development


capabilities for other polymers. In particular, Ube said Repol’s plastic


recycling technologies are expected to be an asset in future business develop- ment as regulation in Europe gets tighter. The company said it will also be looking for synergies with its existing operations in Japan and Thailand. � www.ube-ind.co.jp


Borealis starts US compounding plant


Borealis said its new, 30,000 tonnes/yr PP compounding plant at Taylorsville, in North Carolina in the US, is now onstream. The 4,650 m2 facility has dedicated production lines for TPO- and short glass fibre-rein- forced compounds, which will mainly be supplied to OEMs and Tier One companies in the regional automotive sector. “Following the plant’s mechanical completion in December, first samples were shipped in February and several projects with leading North American and


Borealis is producing automotive compounds at Taylorsville in the US


European OEMs have already been secured,” said Lucrèce Foufopolous, EVP of Polyolefins and Innova- tion & Technology. The first products made there


include interior and exterior materials approved by Daimler and Volkswagen. Borealis has also recently added Daplen EE058AI to its low-density PP portfolio


for automotive interior applications and showcased it at the VDI Plastics in Automotive Engineering congress at Mannheim, Germany, on 3-4 April. The material is already in use in the lower dashboard, glove box and centre console of the new Škoda Scala. Daplen EE058AI is a 10% talc-filled and elastomer- modified grade formulated to meet the latest OEM requirements for low odour, emission and fogging levels while offering up to 6.5% weight savings. � www.borealisgroup.com


MOL Group buys into recycling sector


Hungary’s MOL Group has agreed to acquire Aurora, a family-owned German compounder of post-indus- trial plastic waste for the automotive, furniture, electrical, construction and machinery markets. Aurora is headquartered


at Neuenstein in Baden- Württemberg, Germany, and comprises three companies: Aurora Kunststoffe at the Neuenstein site itself, Aurora


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Kunststoffe VS at Villingen- Schwenningen and Aurora Kunststoffe Walldürn in Walldürn. Its business is focused on recycling single-variety industrial plastic waste – primarily PA, PP and other engineering polymers – into plastic grinding materials, granu- lates and compounds. “Aurora will continue to


expand its expertise in the processing of engineering


COMPOUNDING WORLD | May 2019


plastics,” said Gerhard Schweinle, Aurora founder and member of its manage- ment board. “Our extensive range of sustainably manufactured products and MOL’s many years of experience will enable us to work more intensively to protect our raw material resources and relieve the burden on the environment.” MOL said it will now be able to offer a range of


recyclate-based compounds to complement its portfolio of virgin PP and PE, while using Aurora’s know-how and its closed-loop logistical system for recycling. It added that the investment is in line with its MOL 2030 strategy to become “the leading chemical player in the Central and Eastern Europe region.” It plans to invest some €4.5bn to that end. � www.molgroup.info


www.compoundingworld.com


PHOTO: BOREALIS


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