The new “Market Study: Insulation Material – Europe” from market research company Ceresana offers an overview of the European Market for insulation material, including forecasts until 2026. Data on revenues, volume of production and demand as well as on the five individual categories of insulation material – mineral wool (glass and stone wool), polystyrene-based insulation material (EPS and XPS) as well as polyurethane (PUR/PIR) – are given. The market development of 18 countries is analysed individually. Figures are given on demand and revenues as well as products and trade of the five insulation material categories.

Trinseo announced the opening of a new compounding factory at its Hoek Site in Terneuzen, the Netherlands, on 26 June 2019, which will replace the old compounding plant at Terneuzen Industrial Park.

The Oleshky-based Ukrainian company OSV Technology LLC announced that it has signed two agreements on the distribution of its equipment. In Southeast Asia – including Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam – the company will now be represented by Advance Molding Chemicals. Furthermore, in Eastern Europe – including Slovakia, Hungary and Croatia – OSV machinery will be distributed by Smith&Partner company. OSV said it has already made a number of successful sales in Malaysia, Slovakia and Hungary in cooperation with both companies.

Texon announced the launch of Texon Vulcan, a product that can provide extra shape and enhanced levels of support in vulcanised shoes, and contains up to 50 % recycled fibre content. According to the company, the product is a non-woven polyester felt with strong performance properties that can be used as an alternative to traditional rubber heel reinforcements.

BASF has commissioned a plant for coating foils at its site in Münster, Germany. The start up took place in the presence of the Minister of Economics, Innovation, Digitalisation and Energy of the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Prof. Dr. Andreas Pinkwart, and Münster’s Lord Mayor Markus Lewe.

MCNS (Mitsui Chemicals & SKC Polyurethanes Inc.), a polyurethane business established as a joint venture of SKC and Mitsui Chemicals Inc. of Japan, announced that it will build its 12th system house worldwide in Saint Petersburg, Russia. According to MCNS, the facility will serve as a manufacturing and sales base that provides premium services, such as the customisation of polyurethane foam material formulations to cater to individual customer needs.

Covestro announced that two research projects have succeeded in making elastic textile fibres based on CO2 and so partly replacing crude oil as a raw material. The company and its partners, foremost the Institute of Textile Technology at RWTH Aachen University and various textile manufacturers, are developing the production process on an industrial scale and aim to make the fibres ready for the market. They can be used for stockings and medical textiles, for example, and might replace conventional elastic fibres based on crude oil, said Covestro.

Lanxess announced that it is well prepared for the planned EU restriction on diisocyanates: With its Low Free (LF) technology, polyurethane prepolymers can be produced that contain less than 0.1 wt% of free isocyanate monomer. LF prepolymers are therefore not affected by the upcoming European restriction proposal for diisocyanates and can be used without new restrictions as before, said the company.

Lubrizol Corporation has announced the acquisition of Bavaria Medizin Technologie GmbH (BMT) by its German subsidiary Lubrizol Deutschland GmbH from its current majority shareholder Custos Vermögensverwaltungs GmbH as well as from the minority shareholders. Financial details were not disclosed.

Borealis and the Erema Group have signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to intensify their cooperation in the field of mechanical recycling. The shared goal is to advance mechanical recycling technologies in order to accelerate the transition to a circular economy of plastics. The companies also aim to enhance recycling processes in order to satisfy increasing market demand for higher-quality recyclate used in high-end applications.