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Global production increasingly consolidated / PS market declining / Capacity expansions in Asia / Worldwide EPS demand continues to rise / Germany is the exception / Insulation segment largely switching to grey EPS

Agreement to sell EPS activities to Poland's Synthos / Proposed deal would create Europe's largest EPS producer

Fierce competition and high volatility drive consolidation in Germany / French state fund for renovations / New UK market leader is born / Cladding segment increasingly trends towards grey EPS / Prolonged use of HBCD has no notable market relevance

Plastics industry sees dynamic growth / Processing rises by 7% in 2014 / 3.1m t polymer consumption / Dependent on feedstock imports / Few petrochemical projects / Large-scale investment in packaging

Breakthrough claimed in biological production of butadiene /Direct fermentation

German chemical giant opposes prolonged use of HBCD flame retardants in EPS/XPS foams

Syndicate plans to lobby EU to prolong use of HBCD as flame retardant / Decision expected by year's end / Ban already enforced in Switzerland / German association members plan to follow in mid-2014

Standard Thermoplastics Trend July 2013: Moderate increases for most products / Sharp output cuts / Demand still sluggish / Rising crude oil notations support producer hike plans

Some facilities back up and running following flooding / Spolana extends force majeure until 31 July / Synthos warns of delivery difficulties

Rising flood levels force shut down of Czech PS and EPS facilities

Plans to modernise HDPE line in Litvinov / New bimodal facility to replace older one

Standard Thermoplastics in June 2012: Polyolefin prices follow petrochemicals down / Bleeding margins / PVC producers manage to pass on costs / Styrenics also down / Buyers' market / July will see clearance sales as prices bottom out

Cooperating with Novamont on bio-based butanediol / Commercial production scheduled to kick off in late 2012 / Inroads into renewable butadiene

Cooperation with Synthos on biobased butadiene / French group secures the right for applications not based on natural rubber

Agreement to supply Slovnaft with C4

Standard thermoplastics in June 2010: Polyolefins continue climbing / PVC catches up / Styrenic polymer producers improve margins / Supply still limited / Strong demand / First imports trickle in / Have notations peaked?