NEWS


Arkema sticks to adhesives


Arkema is to buy Ashland’s performance adhesives business in a deal valued at about $1.65bn. Expected to close by the end of 2021, the move will increase Arkema’s focus on adhesives while allowing Ashland to pursue its strategy of expanding its additive and ingredients portfolio. The acquired business


makes high performance adhesives and posted sales of around $360m in 2021. � www.arkema.com � www.ashland.com


Invista invests in PA66


Invista is to double its PA66 capacity at its Invista Nylon Chemicals (China) operation on the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park. The investment will cost $230m and will lift the plant’s capacity to 400,000 tonnes/yr. The new investment follows a 40,000 tonnes/yr


expansion in 2020. The company says it is a response to growing demand for PA66 from the automotive, textiles and E&E markets in particular. The expanded production line will feature six


batch autoclaves and three continuous polymerisa- tion lines. Construction is expected to begin in Q2 2022 and the capacity should be in operation by Q1 2024. In parallel, Invista is adding research and service capabilities at its new Asia Innovation Centre. According to the company, projected annual


growth rates of 4% will make China the world’s largest PA market by 2029, when it is forecast to account for mor than half of total production and consumption in the Asia-Pacific region. � www.invista.com


Above: Invista is lifting PA66 capacity at its plant at Shanghai


Supply chain problems slow machinery shipments in US


US shipments of primary plastics processing machin- ery in Q2 2021 were down by 4.2% on the previous period to $321m, according to the latest quarterly data from the Committee on Equipment Statistics (CES) at the Plastics Industry Association. The biggest declines


were recorded in twin screw compounding extruders (-25%) and injection moulding machines (-5%). The fall in shipments, however, is attributed more to problems in the supply chain than slowing order activity. “Shortage of parts and components are causing longer order-to-


delivery timeframes,” according to the associa- tion’s Chief Economist Perc Pineda. The Q2 2021 result was


considerably ahead of the same period in 2020. Shipments of injection moulding, single and twin-screw extruders were up by 19.5%, 37.8%. and 32.3% respectively. “Until the supply chain


Primary plastics machinery shipments Source: Plastics, CES


8 COMPOUNDING WORLD | September 2021


issues are resolved, and production lead times return to normal, expect to see fluctuations in quarterly shipments of plastics machinery,” Pineda said. “Nevertheless, the outlook for plastics machinery in the second half of the year is positive.” � www.plasticindustry.org


SK Capital acquires Deltech


Private investment firm SK Capital Partners — which already has a wide portfolio in the speciality materials, chemicals and pharmaceuticals sectors — has acquired a majority stake in US-based Deltech Holdings.


Deltech is a leading player in high-perfor- mance aromatic mono- mers and speciality crystal polystyrene. It operates sites at Baton Rouge in Louisiana, Troy in Ohio, and Haverhill in the UK. Deltech’s CEO and co-founder Bob Elefante retains a stake in the company and a place on the board. � www.deltechcorp.com


www.compoundingworld.com


IMAGE: INVISTA


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