Versalis

Plastics industry in strong recovery mode in 2015 / Thermoplastics consumption rises by 3% to 5.5m t / Strong acceleration in Q4 / Demand from automotive segment particularly high / Biotechnology continues to play an important role

Bio-butadiene joint venture with Genomatica commences pilot-scale production / Feedstock for bio-polybutadiene

LDPE plant in Ferrara down following renewed glitch

Investor SK Capital confirms interest in Italian petchems producer / Ascend owner reportedly plans no facility closures

Problems at Ferrara LDPE plant flare up again / Eni underscores sale plan / Union to strike

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

PlasticsEurope appoints Javier Constante and Daniele Ferrari as vice presidents

LDPE/EVA: Versalis declares force majeure for Ragusa site

Fire takes down Sicily-based LDPE/EVA plant

Fire destroys warehouse of Italian plastics distributor

Eye on the world: A journey from Brazil to China, from Russia to Italy / Challenges experienced by most countries

Eni head confirms plans for sale / Losses too high / Unions in uproar

Potential sale has employees worried / Emergency flaring activities in Brindisi and Ferrara

Labour agreement renewed but no bets are on about the future of Sardinian PET production / Talks over feedstock supply at a stalemate / Rumours of an Indorama exit persist

Renewable feedstock technology provider appoints new CEO

High-pressure production: LDPE becoming increasingly tight in Europe / Global importance wanes / New plants mostly flexible and easily switched to EVA / Specifically targeted types more expensive

Low-pressure production: HDPE and LLDPE output linked / Number of global swing plants rising / European lines no longer competitive / Local converters increasingly dependent on imports / Exclusive PIE report

Unions pick up on plans for sale of Eni's plastics arm / US investor said to be in the picture

New client for Porto Marghera ethylene / Shell contract ends / Green chemistry takes a backseat

Half of rubber carve-out to be sold to Aramco / Joint Venture set to start in Q1 2016 / First back integration for German producer / Farther-reaching Middle East projects envisaged

New production era for mass plastics begins / European refineries on the brink of extinction / Feedstock base lost / Global competition increasingly relegates Europe to second class / High time for discussions on how to react

Solid growth on a global basis / Worldwide capacities of 10m t/y / Asia dominates production and consumption / Restructuring in Europe makes an impact / Market players still face challenges

World's largest levulinic acid plant on stream in Italy / Feedstock for bioplastics

Italian EPS association AIPE with new executive council

Distributing Reliance's ESBR in China