Recticel announced that its Insulation division plans to invest about EUR 23 million in a new greenfield production site in Finland. The facility will produce rigid polyurethane foam panels for thermal insulation for the construction sector in the Nordic region (Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and the Baltic countries). Start of production is planned in the second half of 2018.

A Chinese proposal to set up a refinery along with a downstream petrochemical complex near Karachi is advancing steadily as requests for 500-1,000 acres has been submitted to the provincial governments of Sindh and Balochistan.  

Evonik announced that it is increasing the global prices for its aliphatic diisocyanates and derivatives, offered under the brand names Vestanat and Vestagon.

Trelleborg announced that its business area Trelleborg Sealing Solutions will invest a total of approximately SEK 120 million (~ EUR 12.6 million) during 2017 – 2020 in a new production facility for sealing solutions in Denmark. The production at the current manufacturing facility in Helsingør will be relocated to the nearby new facility, said the company. It is estimated that production will be able to commence in the new facility at the beginning of 2020.

On 14 August 2017, Sadara Chemical Company, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and The Dow Chemical Company, celebrated the commissioning of the last of its 26 plants – an isocyanates section currently producing crude quantities of toluene diisocyanate (TDI) and other speciality chemicals. According to the joint venture partners, Sadara is the world’s largest integrated chemicals complex ever built in a single phase.

LyondellBasell announced that it will build one of the world's largest propylene oxide (PO) and tertiary butyl alcohol (TBA) plants at its Channelview Complex in the Houston, TX, USA, area. The project is estimated to cost approximately USD 2.4 billion, representing the single-largest capital investment in the company's history. Upon completion, the plant will produce an anticipated 1 billion pounds (~ 450 kt) of PO and 2.2 billion pounds (~ 1,000 kt) of TBA annually. At the peak of construction, the project is expected to create up to 2,500 jobs and approximately 160 permanent positions when operational.

The Swiss Conzzeta Group announced the sale of its 51 % stake in the US joint venture Woodbridge FoamPartner Company, Chattanooga, TN, USA, to The Woodbridge Group and the signing of a supply contract. According to Conzzeta, this move will simplify access to the North American market for the FoamPartner business unit.

BorsodChem announced that due to an unforeseen technical problem at one critical raw material supplier it is forced to stop production at its MDI plant in Kazincbarcika, Hungary. According to the company, the chlorine/caustic soda production at the site is also impacted. As a consequence, BorsodChem has declared Force Majeure on the deliveries of all MDI products and chlorine/caustic soda effective from 14 August 2017 until further notice.

Ashland has declared a force majeure in Europe on 1.4-butanediol (BDO), tetrahydrofuran (THF) and formaldehyde as a result of a fire at its manufacturing facility in Marl, Germany, that led to the shutdown of production operations on 10 August 2017.

Stepan Company, through a subsidiary in Mexico, announced that it has reached an agreement with BASF Mexicana, S.A. DE C.V. to acquire its surfactant production facility in Ecatepec, Mexico, and a portion of its associated surfactants business. The facility is located close to Mexico City and has over 50,000 t/y of capacity, 11,519 m2 (124,000 square feet) of warehouse space, a large laboratory and office space. The definitive agreement is subject to closing conditions and the satisfaction of certain other requirements. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2017. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.