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.

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.

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.

Sika has agreed to acquire Hamatite, the adhesives business of The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. Hamatite is a market leader in Japan, offering adhesives and sealants to the automotive and construction industries. According to Sika, the acquisition will strengthen its market position in Japan, increase market access to all major Japanese OEMs, and notably extend the product offering for sealing and bonding applications in the Japanese construction industry. Headquartered in Tokyo, the business generates annual sales of CHF 160 million (~EUR 145 million). The transaction is subject to clearance by anti-trust authorities.

BASF is strengthening its innovation capabilities in Asia by breaking ground for the third phase of its Innovation Campus Shanghai and by establishing an academic sounding board as part of the Network for Asian Open Research (NAO). The expansion includes an additional research and development (R&D) building and one R&D workshop building. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2022. By then, the total investment of BASF into its Innovation Campus Shanghai will sum up to around EUR 280 million.

Reliable International Exhibition Services Ltd., the organiser of the 18th China International Tire and Wheel Expo (Citexpo) 2021, announced that due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic it has decided to postpone the exhibition to 2022 in order to ensure the continuing success of the event and protect the safety of the exhibitors, domestic and foreign visitors, and related personnel. The event was previously scheduled for 16 – 18 August 2021. The specific date of the 2022 event will be announced later, said the organiser.