Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) has partnered with Sarawak Economic Planning Unit on the development of the Sarawak Petrochemicals Masterplan Study, says Petronas president and group chief executive officer Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin. He said the scope of study includes gas monetization options as part of efforts to promote gas as a cleaner source of energy.

This year’s Tire Technology International Awards for Innovation and Excellence, held at Deutsche Messe during the 20th edition of Tire Technology Expo, on 26 February 2020, were a celebration of recent advancements in tire technology, progress towards a greener industry and the personal achievements of some remarkable individuals. The awards, which were coordinated by Tire Technology International magazine, were split into seven dedicated categories and officiated by a panel of international journalists and industry experts.

Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (MCC) has announced the consolidation of its group companies in Singapore into one consolidated company, Mitsubishi Chemical Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd.

As part of a strategic realignment, the Austrian Semperit Group will in future focus on the industrial sector and transform into an industrial rubber specialist. As a consequence, the company will separate from the medical business in whole or in parts. In light of the very dynamic competitive environment, maintaining the medical business would require high investments, said Semperit. The company sees higher earnings and profitability potential on the basis of a stronger focus on the industrial sector compared with the continuation of both sectors with increased investment requirements.

SK Chemicals announced that they will start construction of a new facility for production of bio polyol material called "PO3G" (polyoxytrimethylene ether glycol) in the Ulsan plant within this year. SK Chemicals is according to their own words, the first South Korean company to commercialise new PO3G materials.

TactoTek and Marquardt announced that the companies are developing an injection moulded structural electronics (IMSE) solution for a leading automotive OEM in their first collaboration project. The pre-development project is for a specific vehicle family and includes full automotive validation of the IMSE parts.

Being the leading trade show of the composites industry, as well as the festival of composites, JEC World brings every year together the whole industry value chain, as well as professionals from application sectors, experts from the scientific and academic world, associations and media from more than 112 countries. But the context does not allow the composite industry to get the event it deserves, which is why the JEC Group has announced their decision to postpone the 2020 edition of JEC World to 12-14 May 2020.

A joint venture between Lotte Chemical, a major chemical company in South Korea, and GS Energy, an energy service provider, was officially launched in the second week of February 2020, underling efforts to ride out a tough business environment which has been hit by global oversupply, declining margins and intensifying competition.

Huntsman has completed the acquisition of Icynene-Lapolla, the North American manufacturer and distributor of spray polyurethane foam (SPF) insulation systems for residential and commercial applications. Huntsman acquired the business from an affiliate of FFL Partners, LLC, for USD 353 million.

The collaborative project for circularity in plastics, Circularise Plastics, founded by Domo, Covestro and the supply chain transparency start-up Circularise, has reached the first milestone. With the support from the founding members Circularise successfully developed the first version of the platform tailored to the plastics industry. The group is piloting the system this year and has demonstrated it on the market in a production environment in early 2020.