Polyglass S.p.A., an Italian company of the Mapei Group, specialised in the production of waterproofing membranes and insulation systems, has chosen Amut as a strategic partner to increase its production capacity for TPO membranes. In December 2020, Polyglass commissioned Amut a new extrusion plant with a capacity of 10,000,000 m2/year that will be dedicated to the production of Mapeplan T, a flexible polyolefin synthetic waterproofing membrane.

The High Performance Polymers business unit of RadiciGroup has invested over EUR 35 million in new construction and installations in North America, Europe and China. Production capacity has been increased by 20,000 t per year in North America, namely, at Radici Plastics USA and Radici Plastics Mexico. In particular, a new site was inaugurated in Mexico, extending over an area of 20,000 m2. In China, work has begun on the construction of a 25,000 m2 plant that will boost production capacity by 30,000 t per year.

Hexpol TPE released their 2020 Impact Report. It is the first report of its kind from the company. Energy usage is one of the areas the company is tackling. Work involving surveys and measures to increase efficiency continued in 2020 as well as investment in energy efficient equipment and infrastructure. The report includes performance over a three-year period. There was a reduction in energy consumption of 4,345 MWh from 2019 to 2020, despite an increase in total volume produced. The Hexpol TPE companies work within the ISO 14001 and/or ISO 50001 frameworks and from 2021 all European sites are using 100 % renewable electricity. Water consumption and waste generation also showed a downward trend for 2020. Recycling rates have increased by more than 70 % from 2018 to 2020.

Trinseo and ETB have signed a letter of intent to collaborate on the development of purified bio-based 1,3-butadiene. This will see the two companies combine their respective technology and process expertise to accelerate the development of viable, renewably sourced material solutions.

KraussMaffei is launching socialProduction, its mobile app and web application for injection molding machines. This innovation combines the advantages of social media with cutting-edge production monitoring technologies. The machines report to the users live in secure chat rooms. Working autonomously, socialProduction detects deviations in the production process at an earlier stage than ever before and elevates machine monitoring into a new era.

Elastomer producer Versalis, Eni's chemical company, and Bridgestone EMIA, have signed a joint development agreement for the research, production and supply of synthetic rubber with advanced properties.

Kuraray has signed the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), registering as a participating company on December 17, 2020. At the same time, the company joined the Global Compact Network Japan, which mainly consists of Japanese companies who have signed the UNGC.

Nouryon and Atul announced that they have started production at Anaven, a new joint venture in Gujarat, India, that will help meet the rapidly growing demand in India’s agricultural, personal care and pharmaceutical markets. Anaven operates India’s largest monochloroacetic acid (MCA) production site, with a current capacity of 32,000 t/y, with the possibility of a rapid expansion of up to 60,000 t/y. MCA is used as a raw material for a variety of products, such as adhesives, pharmaceuticals and crop protection chemicals. Atul consumes a portion of the MCA directly in its own production of crop protection chemicals.

DuPont Mobility & Materials announced that it has won a silver Edison Award in the Sustainability category for Betaforce 2800 TC thermally conductive structural adhesives. Named after Thomas Alva Edison, the Edison Awards have recognised and honoured some of the most innovative new products, services, and business leaders in the world since 1987.

Perstorp Group announced that it has committed to setting science-based targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in line with the Paris Climate Agreement. According to the company, with ambitions to become the number one sustainable solutions provider within prioritised markets, it has already committed to becoming Finite Material Neutral. Now, the global chemical company has announced its commitment to emission reduction targets in line with Paris Climate Agreement and the Science Based Targets initiative. Targets will be set for both direct and indirect emissions (scope 1, 2 and 3 according to the GHG protocol) and calculated with projected future expansion and growth considered. The ambition is to apply for science-based targets in 2021.