News from Notch Consulting, Inc.

April 20, 2018

Haldor’s SNOX picked for Orion’s carbon black plant in US

Filed under: Carbon Black — Notch @ 2:37 pm

Orion Engineered Carbons S.A. has signed a contract with Haldor Topsoe to install Topsoe’s sustainable emissions control technology, SNOX, in its carbon black production plant in Ivanhoe, Louisiana.

Prior to selecting the technology, Orion carried out in-depth analyses of the technology since 2014, including visiting the existing Haldor Topsoe plants and testing the concept at one of its manufacturing facilities.

“Orion is committed to environmentally friendly operation of its facilities,” said Jack Clem, CEO of Orion. “Our extensive research determined that the Haldor Topsoe SNOX system, suitably adapted by our technical teams over the last several years, was the most dependable and cost effective means of meeting or exceeding the requirements we now face.”

Under the agreement, Haldor Topsoe will be responsible for offering engineering, license, proprietary equipment, spare parts, catalyst, and future supervision tasks at the time of commissioning and start-up.

Orion’s SNOX plant is set to become fully operational by April 2021.

Read the full press release here.

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April 15, 2018

Notch updates Silica Market Update report covering global precipitated silica industry

Filed under: Silica, Uncategorized — Notch @ 5:32 pm

Notch Consulting has updated the Silica Market Update, which provides a comprehensive overview of current conditions and future prospects for the global precipitated silica industry. The report provides tables detailing silica demand by region, market, and application, current pricing by application and region (US, EU, China), nameplate production capacity by company, plant, and country, and recent and proposed capacity expansion projects. This update includes a breakdown of annual precipitated silica sales for leading suppliers by region and major application. The report provides annual demand for all years 2007 through 2017, while forecasts are provided for all years from 2018 to 2022 as well as 2027. Average pricing is provided for various grades for the US, the European Union and China.

Market segments covered in the report include tires, non-tire rubber, dentifrice, nutrition/health (food, ag feed, pharma, and cosmetics), and industrial (paper, battery separators, paints/coatings, other applications).

Applications are reinforcing fillers, abrasives, thickeners, anticaking agents, carriers, extending fillers, battery separators, matting/flatting agents, antiblocking agents, and defoamers.

Companies discussed in this report include Allied Silica Ltd. (India); Evonik Industries (Germany); Glassven Yangzhong Silicas (China); Grace Silica (Germany); Iqesil S.A. (Spain); Madhu Silica (India); Oriental Silica Corp. (Taiwan); PPG Industries (US); PQ Corp. (UK); Quechen Silicon Chemical (China); Solvay S.A. (Belgium); Tosoh Corp. (Japan); Wuxi Hengcheng Silicon (China); Zhejiang Hengdian Group (China); and Zhuzhou Xinglong Chemical (China), among others.

The Silica Market Update is published twice per year. For more information or to order, please write to info@notchconsulting.com.

April 12, 2018

Tenneco to buy Federal-Mogul for $5.4 billion, then split into 2 companies

Filed under: Auto — Notch @ 12:25 pm

Automotive supplier Tenneco Inc. has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Federal-Mogul in a transaction valued at $5.4 billion.

The deal, which will be financed through $800 million in cash, about 30 million Tenneco shares and assumption of debt, will result in two independent publicly traded companies following closing, Lake Forest, Ill.-based Tenneco said in a press release.

The acquisition is expected to close in the second half of this year, subject to regulatory approvals, with the separation occurring in the second half of 2019.

“This is a landmark day for Tenneco with an acquisition that will transform the company by creating two strong leading global companies, each in an excellent position to capture opportunities unique to their respective markets,” Tenneco CEO Brian Kesseler said in the release. “Federal-Mogul brings strong brands, products and capabilities that are complementary to Tenneco’s portfolio and in line with our successful growth strategies. Unleashing two new product focused companies with even stronger portfolios will allow them to move faster in executing on their specific growth priorities.”

The transaction stands to shake up the world of aftermarket parts retailing. Federal-Mogul’s parts portfolio features numerous household names such as Champion spark plugs, Wagner brakes, ANCO wiper blades, Moog steering and suspension parts, Goetze engine parts, and Ferodo brake pads. Popular brands under the Tenneco portfolio include Monroe shock absorbers, Walker exhaust systems, Rancho suspensions and DynoMax mufflers.

The two new companies will be born after the union of Tenneco and Federal-Mogul — one a $6.4 billion aftermarket supplier and the other a $10.7 billion powertrain technology supplier, the company said.

Toyo ‘nano’ process could cut truck/bus tire rolling resistance

Filed under: Carbon Black, Tires — Notch @ 12:10 pm

Toyo Tire & Rubber Co. Ltd. is heralding an advancement in rubber compounding technology that it claims will yield measurable reductions in rolling resistance in truck tires.

The tire maker anticipates having a commercially viable truck/bus tire using the technology on the market within a year.

Although Toyo declined to quantify how much of a rolling resistance reduction it expects, it said the development related to its “nano balance” compounding technology, which yields a 20 percent reduction in energy loss at the point of deformation.

Toyo defines nano balance technology as one for developing ideal rubber materials with high precision through observation, prediction, function, creation and control of rubber materials at the molecular (nano) level. The firm first disclosed its work on nano balance in 2011 when it launched the NanoEnergy line of tires in Japan.

Technically speaking, the nano technology focuses on optimizing the dispersion of fillers in rubber.

Toyo’s process disintegrates carbon black in a special solution and disperses it at the molecular level in the initial compound creation process while stirring and coagulating natural rubber latex, the company said.

Improvements in the process over the past six years have yielded a processing method that achieves the “ideal state” of filler where it is uniformly and highly dispersed even in solid rubber like natural rubber.

Toyo already has released in Japan a truck tire using the technology, NanoEnergy M676, which it claims offers a 31-percent reduction in rolling resistance vs. an existing Toyo design.

Continental expects growth in replacement tire demand

Filed under: Tires — Notch @ 11:32 am

Continental A.G. expects demand for consumer and commercial vehicle replacement tires to grow 3 and 2 percent in 2018, respectively, with Asia contributing more than half of the growth.

Replacement demand for passenger/light truck tires should rise to 1.25 billion units, Conti said, citing IHS Inc. an LMC International Ltd. figures. Demand for medium/heavy-duty commercial vehicle tires is seen rising to 166.3 million units.

China will be the driver of the global market expansion due to further growth in that nation’s vehicle parc, Conti said. Demand is also forecast to grow in India, Indonesia and South Korea. Total Asian growth is pegged at 5 percent.

Continental expects demand in North America to recover soon, partly as a result of the continuing rise in mileage. Replacement consumer tire sales should rise roughly 1.8 percent to 290 million units, while sales of commercial vehicle tires are seen rising 3.3 percent to 25.3 million.

In Europe, Conti anticipates growth in eastern Europe to boost overall replacement consumer tire demand by roughly 2 percent, to 358 million units.

In South America, Conti expects 4 percent growth in demand.

The company expects increased demand for commercial vehicle tires to grow in all regions, with Asia again playing a key role, accounting for nearly half of the expected increase in demand.

Citing figures from LMC International, Conti put global sales of passenger/light truck tires in 2017 at 1.21 billion units, led by Asia with 453 billion and followed by Europe with 351 million, North America with 235 million, Latin America with 73 million and the rest of the world at 47 million.

Global sales of tires for commercial vehicles was 162.5 million units—up 4.7 percent over 2016—with Asia accounting for 89.2 million units, followed by Europe (25.3 million), North America (24.5 million), Latin America (15.7 million) and the rest of the world (7.8 million).

April 10, 2018

Toyo Tire Launches Website for New Airless Concept Tire

Filed under: Run-flats, Tires — Notch @ 12:40 pm

Toyo Tire & Rubber Co. Ltd. has launched a website that uses CGI animation to showcase the technology of its near-future airless concept tire, the Noair.

Toyo Tire has made fundamental changes to the structure of its past prototypes, drastically improving the Noair’s performance in several metrics, including durability, exterior noise levels, and fuel efficiency. The company has successfully driven a kei-class light vehicle equipped with the tires at a range of speeds from 40 to 75 miles per hour.

USTMA projecting tire shipment growth in 2018

Filed under: Tires — Notch @ 12:13 pm

U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA) is projecting that 2018 U.S. tire shipments will increase to 319.1 million units compared to 316.7 million in 2017. USTMA expects original equipment (OE) passenger tire shipments to increase by 0.4 million units compared to 2017, while passenger replacement tire shipments are projected to increase by 0.9 million units. OE and replacement shipments for light truck and truck tires are all expected to increase in 2018.

USTMA notes that this forecast was made “prior to recent U.S. tariff announcements affecting sources of imported steel” used in tire manufacturing.

Read the full press release here.

Toyo Tire & Rubber changes name to Toyo Tire Corporation

Filed under: General, Tires — Notch @ 11:57 am

Toyo Tire & Rubber Co., LTD. has announced that the company name will be changed to Toyo Tire Corporation as of January 1, 2019. The change reflects the company’s aim to expand the scope of business globally and raise the brand status of the company that was born through the merger of Toyo Rubber Industrial and Hirano Rubber Manufacturing in August 1945.

“The automotive industry is currently in what can be considered a once-a-century state of flux. In order to achieve further sustainable growth, we are focusing on the mobility business, such as automotive tires and components,” said Toyo Tire, adding, “We endeavor to bolster its corporate value as well as seeking our own social responsibility and significance by presenting a resolution for Toyo Tire to be a genuinely global brand with renewed pride and reaffirming our responsibility towards the mobility business by taking the opportunity afforded by the company name change coming into effect next January.”

Aditya Birla Group to supply carbon black to Linglong International Tire

Filed under: Carbon Black — Notch @ 11:41 am

Linglong International Tire Thailand and Indian Aditya Birla Group have signed a strategic cooperation agreement, in which Aditya Birla will supply Linglong with carbon black.

The agreement, Linglong said, was part of the company’s “internationalization” plans and is expected to improve the quality of its offerings.

“The cooperation with the Aditya Birla Group represents another important step of Linglong in material quality control and quality management. In the future, Linglong Tire will improve its global standards of product quality and service through continuous input in research.”

Read the full press release here.

April 8, 2018

Tata Chemicals to acquire Allied Silica

Filed under: Silica — Notch @ 3:19 pm

On Sunday, April 8, Tata Chemicals (Mumbai, India) announced it had signed a pact with Allied Silica Limited (Chennai, India) to acquire its precipitated silica business for Rs123 crore (US$19M) on a slump sale basis.

The deal is expected to close within three months, the company said in a release. The acquisition is a part of the Rs295 crore investment approved by the board in February last year, towards this specialty business, the company said.

The business transfer agreement with Allied Silica includes the acquisition of an existing manufacturing site in Tamil Nadu, which will produce highly dispersible silica (HDS), the release said. The specialty chemical product represents a downstream value addition to Tata Chemicals soda ash business, where it ranks among the top manufacturers globally, it added.

“This acquisition is another step in our journey to build technologically enabled, differentiated businesses, with greater customer centricity, by leveraging our core strengths. “The manufacture of speciality and performance silicas is one such area. This is in line with our focus to grow our specialty business, along with our consumer business,” said Tata Chemicals managing director R. Mukundan.

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In related silica news, this week Notch Consulting will publish the latest issue of the Silica Market Update, which covers the global market for precipitated silica. The report provides data on demand, applications, market share, and pricing, as well as a discussion of the above-mentioned acquisition and other capacity developments. For more information, contact info @ notchconsulting.com

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