Arkema

Mexican group appoints Helm as exclusive distributor of its castor oil / Feedstock for long-chained bio-polyamides

PMMA acrylic resins prices to rise in EMEA

European processing aids prices to rise

Renewed hike for EVA copolymers

New liquid thermoplastic material for composites

Price increase for PMMA sheet and blocks

Price hike for "Evatane" copolymer range

South African and Kenyan demand to rise by 3.9% per year to 2017 / Infrastructure developments boost growth / Frost & Sullivan report

Industry dominated by need for shorter cycle times / Thermoplastics increasingly used as matrix materials / "JEC" in Paris with record exhibition area / Carbon fibre market still seeing double-digit growth

Danish brewery teams up with global packaging producers to encourage cradle-to-cradle product design / European partners include Arkema, Rexam, RKW and Petainer

Poor market conditions in Europe hit profits and sales in 2013 / Growth strategy aim at boosting sales

Engineering thermoplastics consumption recovers slightly in 2013 / Gains driven by ABS and PMMA / Import volumes of PC, PA and SAN down / Asian producers increasingly step into the fold / Low local capacity utilisation rates / Plastinfo report

Price increase for EVA copolymers

Joint takeover by industrialist and private equity / No indication of planned closures

OpenGate leading in the stretch / Unions present project "Phoenix" / Further potential delays to final decision

Prices to go up for polymer catalysts

Part 1 – General overview: US shale gas boom has European plastics players worried / Commodity sectors dogged by overcapacity, insolvencies / Italy goes all out for biopolymers / Mixed picture for European converters

OpenGate and Alain de Krassny seen as top bidders for insolvent PVC maker

Politics of biodegradable plastics misleading? / Compostability only deemed necessary for fruit nets and root balls / Drop-in solutions for better ecological efficiency / Production remains expensive

New toll compounding pact for high-end PA / Bio-sourced and conventional products

First R&D centre in China / Ambitious growth plans for Asia

Closing of plasticiser facility in Chauny planned for 2014

Another price hike for EVA copolymers in place

Bio-polyols joint venture with Mitsui Chemicals

French management prepared to close naphtha cracker / Fate of Carling site and polymer plant uncertain