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.

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.

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.

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.

The K 2019 trade fair for plastics and rubber will take place from 16 – 23 October 2019 in Düsseldorf, Germany, where the VDMA Plastics and Rubber Machinery Association will shine the spotlight on the recycling sector and show how closed loops can work effectively. A series of interviews will shed light on why it is doing this and the significance of the "Circular Economy" for member companies of the association. In the second contribution, Thorsten Kühmann, Managing Director of the trade association, expresses his views on the subject. Kühmann is convinced that the plastics industry can offer solutions that help to eliminate the environmental problems caused by plastic waste. The guiding principle is circular economy. The global challenges for circular economy in the plastics industry are economic efficiency, political and regulatory constraints, quality standards and availability of recyclates and especially the establishment of functioning waste collection systems worldwide.

BASF and Greentech, a Chinese synthetic leather manufacturer, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to launch a joint laboratory for synthetic leather development. Housed in Greentech’s research hub in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, China, the new facility will focus on making the manufacture of synthetic leather more efficient and sustainable with BASF’s polyurethane solutions.

Woodbridge announced that it is investing up to CAD 100 million (~ EUR 68 million) for creating and promoting innovation in Ontario, Canada. According to the company, the announcement is part of the Government of Canada’s contribution of up to CAD 20 million (~ EUR 13.6 million) through the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF), a programme designed to attract and support high-quality business investments in the country’s economy.

The new “Market Study: Fillers – Europe” from market research company Ceresana provides a description and analysis of the European market for fillers, including forecasts until 2026. Ceresana has already analysed the global market for these important materials several times. Now, the company has published a study on the European fillers market for the first time. Fillers not only make many products cheaper, they often also improve their properties, such as stability, weather-resistance, and electrical conductivity. According to the study, the European demand for ground calcium carbonate (GCC), precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC), kaolin, talc, carbon black, and other fillers will presumably increase to about 18 million t in 2026.