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.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved a public health emergency exemption under Section 18 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act ("FIFRA") submitted by the Georgia, Utah, and Minnesota Departments of Agriculture for the deployment of Kraton’s BiaXam in specific applications.  The EPA exemption will allow Delta Air Lines to use BiaXam in specific applications in these states to protect against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Hamburg-based Biesterfeld Plastic is adapting its business unit structure. Biesterfeld Plastic has now five instead of the previous three business units:

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.

Biesterfeld Performance Rubber is strengthening its long-standing collaboration with industry-leading polymer supplier ExxonMobil Chemical by taking on the distribution of Oppera in the European market.

BASF now offers part of its plasticizer portfolio based on circular feedstocks. For this purpose, either renewable or chemically recycled feedstock is used at the beginning of the value chain instead of fossil resources. The alternative feedstock is allocated to the sales products according to a mass balance approach.

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.

The Zeppelin Group has appointed Ralf Boschert as Managing Director and CFO of Zeppelin Systems GmbH as of 1 May  2021, thus bolstering the Group company's management board headed by CEO Alexander Wassermann. Ralf Borschert will assume direct responsibility for the management divisions Controlling, Tax and Accounting, Legal and Commercial Services as well as IT and Organization.

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.