News from Notch Consulting, Inc.

June 20, 2016

Cabot announces CB price increase for North America

Filed under: Carbon Black — Notch @ 3:41 pm

Late in posting this news, but last week Cabot announced a price increase for carbon black in North America.

Effective for  all shipments made on or after July 15, 2016, or as customer contracts allow, Cabot Corporation will increase invoice prices  by $50/metric  tons ($0.0227/lb.) or 5 percent, whichever is greater, on all carbon  black products sold by its Reinforcement Materials segment in North America.

The price increase is required to address persistently  rising costs associated with manufacturing quality products, as well as costs  related to regulatory compliance, packaging and logistics. The price increase will enable Cabot to remain a reliable supplier of carbon black products  while providing customers with high-quality  products, technology innovations and the highest level of service and technical  support available.

June 9, 2016

Sinorgchem to acquire Emerald’s rubber chemicals business

Filed under: General, Rubber Chemicals — Notch @ 6:00 am

On May 6, Emerald Performance Materials (Cuyahoga Falls, OH) announced an agreement to sell its Specialties and Polymer Additives and Nitriles businesses to DyStar L.P., the US subsidiary of DyStar Global Holdings Pte. Ltd. (Singapore). The sale involves five of the company’s nine plants, specifically the dedicated plants in Charlotte, NC, Cincinnati, OH, Cheyenne, WY, Henry, IL, and a portion of a shared site in Akron, OH.  Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The sale is expected to close in the third quarter of 2016, subject to standard regulatory approvals.

Rubber & Plastics News has details on this deal. In addition to the transaction mentioned above, DyStar said Jiangsu Sinorgchem Technology Co. Ltd. will acquire the Polymer Additives & Nitriles business. Jiangsu Sinorgchem is a subsidiary of Sinochem Group, a state-owned Chinese chemical company. Emerald Polymer Additives produces Good-Rite antioxidants (phenolics and TMQ) and Cure-Rite accelerators, with applications in rubber, plastics, and lubricants. Plant locations are Henry, Illinois and Akron, Ohio. Emerald’s Specialty Nitrile Latex Polymers is the largest US producer of specialty nitrile latex and butadiene-based emulsion polymers. Applications include paper, coatings, coal tar emulsions, and other industrial applications. These products are produced in Akron, Ohio.

Jiangsu Sinorgchem said acquiring the business group will expand its globalization efforts for the firm’s rubber chemicals business while adding to its capacity, strengthening its global supply system, and enhancing its international marketing and supply capabilities. The acquisition of the nitrile division will give Sinorgchem a solid North American foundation for the manufacture of specialty butadiene and butadiene-acrylonitrile-based latexes.

DyStar, which already has a US headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, will retain the Specialties business, which includes three manufacturing plants in Charlotte, North Carolina (foam control products, specialty silicones); Cheyenne, Wyoming (foam control products); and Cincinnati, Ohio (pigment dispersions and dyes).

Financial details on the sales were not disclosed. Officials at Emerald and DyStar said further details would not be released until after the sale closes. After the divestitures are complete, Emerald will consist of two units: CVC Specialty Chemicals (specialty epoxy resins and reactive liquid polymers) and Kalama Chemical (toluene oxidation chemistry).

 

 

 

 

June 7, 2016

Continental Carbon announces carbon black price increase for US

Filed under: Carbon Black — Notch @ 7:00 am

Continental Carbon Company has announced a price increase on all grades of carbon black effective July 1st, 2016. The increase will be $0.03/pound for all products produced at Phenix City, Alabama and $0.02/pound for all products produced at the company’s two other plants (Ponca City, Oklahoma and Sunray, Texas). Continental reports that it is experiencing continued increases in the costs to operate our plants and improve the overall quality of our products, and this increase is necessary to continue that commitment. For Phenix City, carbon black oil continues to be delivered at levels above the Platt’s indicator for which we must account. Prices for contract customers will be adjusted as soon as contract terms allow.

Here is the price increase announcement.

 

June 5, 2016

Orion seeking to close carbon black plant in France

Filed under: Carbon Black, Uncategorized — Notch @ 3:35 pm

On Friday, Orion Engineered Carbons announced that it has begun consultations with the Works Council at its Ambѐs, France facility in order to implement a restructuring and down staffing with a potential cessation of production at the site by the end of 2016.

Jack Clem, Orion’s group CEO, said that in order for the group to remain competitive in today’s global marketplace, it must fully utilize the capabilities of its carbon black operations, concentrating resources at more efficient facilities and those capable of producing technically special and unique grades that can compete in today’s challenging environment.

The French Orion plant employs approximately 40 people.

According to Clem, in the event manufacturing is stopped the plant would be deactivated simultaneously with the depletion of the existing stocks, thus fulfilling ongoing existing customer commitments until depletion.

Ambѐs is a commune located in the Aquitaine region in the south-west of France, 20 km from Bordeaux and 480 km from Paris. The facility in Ambѐs was founded by the American Philips Petroleum Company and Continental Carbon Company in 1959 and began operations in 1960 as Cofrablack. It was purchased by Degussa, the predecessor to Orion Engineered Carbons, in 1986.

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