NEWS LyondellBasell to buy A Schulman


LyondellBasell has agreed to buy compounding and composites giant A Schul- man for $2.25bn, in addition to assuming outstanding debt and certain other obligations. The company said the acquisition builds on its existing platform in this space “to create a premier Advanced Polymer Solu- tions business with broad geographic reach, leading technologies and a diverse product portfolio”. CEO Bob Patel added it will enable LyondellBasell to reach into markets beyond automotive, where Schul- man is strong, such as packaging, consumer products, electronics and appliances, construction and agriculture. Schulman’s president, chairman and CEO Joseph Gingo said the deal “pro- vides our shareholders with a compelling, immediate cash premium”. He added that it represented “the culmination of a robust assessment of strategic


more than 100 countries. n In a separate move, Schulman said it is partner- ing with 3M in Europe to develop insulating and light weight compounds based on the latter’s Glass Bubbles hollow glass microspheres. “First innovations which


LyondellBasell CEO Bob Patel


alternatives undertaken by our board of directors.” Schulman has been going through a “resetting” of the business following the discovery of alleged reporting irregularities in parts of the Citadel Plastics business it acquired back in 2015 for $800m. These are still the subject of legal action, reflected in the inclusion of a contingent value right (CVR) in the LyondellBasell deal. LyondellBasell expects to achieve $150m in cost synergies within two years


Schulman Chairman, President and CEO Joseph Gingo


through the deal, which it said should be accretive to earnings within the first full year following closing. This is scheduled for 2H 2018 (subject to approvals). Combined, Schulman


and LyondellBasell’s Polypropylene Compound- ing (PPC) business repre- sents revenues of $4.6bn and adjusted EBITDA of $446m, based on the 12-month periods ending on 31 December and 30 November 2017 respec- tively. They currently employ about 18,500 people in


SABIC ups Noryl/Ultem capacity


SABIC has announced projects in Asia and Europe to increase global capacity for two of its engineering thermoplas- tic materials, Ultem and Noryl. Both are said to be a response to growing demand and follow ongoing expan- sions for both materials at company sites at Mount Vernon in Indiana and Selkirk in New York State in the US. The company said it will add a new


production facility for its Ultem polyetherimide at its Singapore compounding site, pending final government clearance. It intends this


4 INJECTION WORLD | March 2018


to be online in 1H 2021. It will expand the company’s capacity by 50% from its 2018 baseline, while giving it its first Ultem production in Asia (currently the region is supplied from its plants at Mount Vernon and Cartagena in Spain). SABIC said it will also recommission its polyphenylene ether (PPE) resin plant at Bergen-op-Zoom in the Netherlands by the end of 2019. PPE is the base resin for its Noryl products. This move, it said, “provides customers


SABIC is investing in Noryl and Ultem P


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with a second source of PPE resins globally” and will add more than 40% to global capacity over a 2017 baseline. � www.sabic.com


www.injectionworld.com


are now in production, such as scuff plates in vehicles, show great potential for further light-weight applica- tions’, says Heinrich Lingnau, Vice President and General Manager EMEA at A Schulman. “Due to the combination of 3M’s hollow glass beads and our innovative filler systems, a weight reduction of 15% can be achieved without compromising on product properties.” The company said the


use of microspheres also enables thermal conductiv- ity reductions of up to 23%. Some of the Glass Bubbles compounds can be used in existing injection moulding tooling. � www.lyondellbasell.com � www.aschulman.com


PHOTO: LYONDELLBASELL


PHOTO: A SCHULMAN


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