Engro Polymer and Chemicals has awarded a contract to Tianchen Corp. China for a new 100,000 t/y integrated polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plant in Pakistan.

Yeochun NCC Co., a joint venture between Daelim Industrial and Hanwha Chemical, said it plans to spend KRW 740 billion to increase ethylene and butadiene capacity in South Korea.

TactoTek and its technology partners for injection moulded structural electronics (IMSE) are hosting the “IMSE Solution Day”, a conference dedicated to IMSE technology, product design and manufacturing, on 18 September 2018 in Oulu, Finland.

Yokohama has announced the development of a technology capable of efficiently producing isoprene from a biomass. The breakthrough is the result of joint research with the Japanese research institution for the natural sciences Riken Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS) and Zeon Corporation. Yokohama says that this technology is a world’s first.

Over 250 professionals from across the global elastomers industry will come together in Milan, Italy, from 27 – 28 November 2018 to attend the Silicone Elastomers and Thermoplastic Elastomers World Summits.

Mixer Compounds and Teknor Apex have joined the European Masterbatchers and Compounders Association (EuMBC), which now counts 17 members.

On 10 September 2018, Clariant announced that Sabic has received the final outstanding regulatory approvals from the competition authorities for the purchase of a 24.99 % stake in Clariant.

At Fakuma 2018, the German company Sigma Engineering GmbH, Aachen, will present in a joint project the real and virtual production of a complex silicone part with EMDE MouldTec GmbH and Momentive Performance Materials GmbH. The focus is on the early design and optimisation of mould and processes. Sigma accompanied the whole development process of the pot cloth and assisted to determine the ideal configuration for production.

The German rubber compounder Polymer-Technik Elbe GmbH (PTE) from Lutherstadt Wittenberg at the Elbe river celebrates its 25th anniversary and the inauguration of a new production line in October 2018. Rubber production in the Elbe region has a 120-year tradition and PTE successfully continues this tradition. Just in time for the anniversary, a significant capacity expansion is realised with the installation of an additional large mixer according to the company's own design. According to the company, the line, equipped with a 320 l kneader is one of the most modern currently available on the market. The new line enables more efficient technology with high quality for large volume products. The same concept is to be introduced in other production areas over the next few years and will provide a constant boost of innovation.

When liquid colours are used for plastics colouring, disposing of containers and residual colours causes extra work and additional costs, with negative effects on the life cycle assessment. In order to remedy this situation Rowasol is now offering its proprietary Color Cube multi-use system. This is a roto-muolded, sturdy container of HDPE with a capacity of around 22 l. It is perfectly matched to the Rotametric dosing concept, but can also be used with a variety of other pump systems.