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The chemical distribution sector can no longer call itself 'recession resistant' as it did in fourth-quarter 2008 when the economic turmoil began to affect most of the sector's suppliers and [...]

The flame in the overheated engineering and construction (E&C) industry is unlikely to die out any time soon, investors and contractors say. Many observers who had predicted an easing after [...]

Three years of buoyant project activity have brought both prosperity and problems for the engineering and construction (E&C) industry. Capital investment is high across the industry as is demand for [...]

The chemical distribution business in the U.S. and Europe is being significantly reshaped by private equity firms, which have been buying up distributors over the past few years and embarking [...]

New Jersey chemical makers say they are monitoring changes that the state government, headed by newly elected Governor Jon Corzine (D.), has proposed regarding plant security and environmental issues. As [...]

M&A activity remains buoyant in the adhesives and sealants sector, with several major producers setting their sights on acquiring small- and mid-size producers that have a particular technology or market [...]

Recent regulations affecting household and personal care products are posing major challenges to chemical suppliers. There are a host of regulations under consideration in Europe and in the U.S., as [...]

The catalyst industry is benefiting from buoyant market conditions, driven by the need to supply catalysts to a wave of petrochemical plants being built in China and the Mideast, and [...]

Business is booming after several years of lackluster growth for engineering and construction (E&C) firms that serve the chemical industry. The number and size of new petrochemical projects, especially in [...]

Engineering and construction (E&C) firms serving the chemical industry say they are building up steam as they emerge from several years of depressed growth. The economic recovery, combined with an [...]

Tough market conditions prevail in the custom manufacture of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and may get worse because of fewer new drug approvals and a drop-off in outsourcing by pharma [...]

Providing services alongside products has long been the way to do business in some specialty chemical sectors, including automotive coatings, fluid catalytic cracking catalysts, pharmaceutical ingredients, and water treatment. However, [...]

Shippers and carriers say they are concerned that the flurry of transportation security initiatives planned or under way as a result of the terror attacks will result in skyrocketing costs [...]

International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF; New York) veered off track in the late 1990's--its earnings fell 49% in 2000, from a high of $218 million in 1997, and its stock [...]

Industrial gases profits rebounded strongly in 2010 after a relatively weak 2009. 'The first half of 2010 was about stabilization, then toward the end of the year we started to [...]

Confidence has returned to the chemical distribution sector after strong sales growth so far this year. 'Driven by minimal stocks held by customers that had to be replenished, and a [...]

The chemical distribution sector has stabilized after a year of demand drops, but distributors remain cautious. 'Distributors seem to be doing better than producers, but there is a wide variation [...]

Industrial gases suppliers say that sales will be much more stable for them in 2009 than they will be for the rest of the chemical sector. That is due to [...]

Industrial gases demand thus far has been immune to the recent economic slowdown in North America, with all major players posting solid revenue growth in 2007. Global industrial gases sales [...]

Water treatment firms say demand for their services is strong, driven by new opportunities in developing nations, a growing need for affordable and drinkable water, and increased concerns about water [...]

Only Small Deals in Future? THE SLOWDOWN OF the U.S. economy as well as a decline in chemical production, each hastened in the aftermath of the September 11 terror attacks, [...]

RHODIA SAYS IT HAS ACQUIRED THE acetaminophen business of BASF and separately purchased a 90% stake in the acetaminophen operations of Wuxi Shahne Group (Wuxi, China). Terms of the deals [...]

Special Effects Products Shine Nancy Seewald PIGMENTS producers say their sales are down by as much as 6%-10% from last year as the economy slows and consumer spending declines. Many [...]

Cambrex says it has acquired privately held Marathon Biopharmaceuticals (Hopkinton, MA) for about $26 million in cash. Marathon manufactures biopharmaceutical ingredients and purified bulk biologics for preclinical evaluation, clinical trials, [...]

Bayer says it has licensed its bioluminescence, thin-layer chromatography toxicity testing technology to ChromaDex (Laguna Hills, CA) in exchange for a 10% equity stake in ChromaDex. Bayer and ChromaDex will [...]

A GROUP OF MANAGERS HAS ACQUIRED distributor Harcros Chemicals (Kansas City, KS) from Elementis for about £23 million ($32.8 million), including £1.7 million in preferred Harcros stock. The acquisition includes [...]

DOW CHEMICAL SAYS IT WILL BUILD A 500-million lbs/year polymeric methylene di-para-phenylene isocyanate (MDI) plant at Freeport, TX. Dow says it will invest about $200 million in the project, scheduled [...]

CHEMATCH LAUNCHES INDUSTRIAL SUPPLIES SERVICE CheMatch has launched an industrial supplies service that enables users to purchase nonchemical products and process equipment from EssentiaLink (Broomfield, CO), an online industrial supplies [...]

MONSANTO SUBSIDIARY DEKALB GENETICS SAYS THAT IT HAS settled a patent dispute it filed against Dow AgroSciences related to the use of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) insect-resistance technology in corn. DeKalb [...]

Seeking Better Communication EARLY PROMISES OF THE INTERNET'S ability to cut a company's costs, improve supply chain efficiency, and boost its customer base as well as brand image have turned [...]

Rail Competition Tops List CHEMICAL SHIPPERS ARE facing the likelihood that another legislative session will end later this year without Congress voting address their major transportation concerns. Shippers support proposals [...]

CHEMICAL SHIPPERS FACED RAIL shipment delays of 24-48 hours following the September 11 terrorist attacks, as carriers tightened security, and suspended, delayed, or diverted cargo in and out of the [...]

HERCULES SAYS IT WILL REDUCE ITS global workforce by 300 employees, about 3%, and eliminate 'noncritical' outside contractors by September 30 as part of a restructuring effort. The company previously [...]

EASTMAN CHEMICAL FILED A registration statement with SEC on August 31, further detailing the proposed split of its specialties and plastics business, which includes acetate fibers, polyethylene, and polyethylene terephthalate. [...]

Reichhold says 150,000 lbs of molten phthalic anhydride spilled out of a storage tank at its Newark, NJ facility last week. There were no reports of injuries or contamination to [...]

Demand for Expanded Services MARKET CONSULTANTS SAY THE U.S. economic downturn has not decreased demand for their services but has forced them to expand their product offerings to help chemical [...]

BP says it restarted production at its Amodel polyphthalamide resins unit at Augusta, GA on July 27; the plant has been out of commission since an explosion earlier this year [...]

Elemica says it has bought ElastomerSolutions, an online exchange serving the elastomers industry, for an undisclosed sum. ElastomerSolutions participants will have access to Elemica's ERP system, branded storefronts, and supply [...]

DUPONT SAYS IT PLANS TO BUILD A production line for its Kevlar high strength para-aramid fiber at Richmond, VA scheduled for completion by the end of 2002. The company will [...]

CSX Transportation says it resumed operations last week through Baltimore's Howard Street tunnel after firefighters spent five days clearing wreckage from a freight train carrying hydrochloric acid and other chemicals [...]

THE RECENT RISE IN GAS AND ELECTRICITY PRICES HAS SPARKED renewed interest among process control vendors to offer energy management and consulting services. A similar push rook place 20 years [...]

THREE WORKERS WERE KILLED AT Atofina's Riverview, MI plant after a fire broke out early in the morning on July 14 as a railcar containing methyl mercaptan was being unloaded, [...]

THE NORTH AMERICAN OXYGEN SCAVENGERS market is expected to grow 18%/year over he next five years, to about $71 million, driven primarily by increased demand for plastic beer bottles, says [...]

DSM says it plans to build a U.S. plant for its Dyneema brand highstrength polyethylene (PE) fiber by 2003. DSM also disclosed that a previously announced U.S. plant for its [...]

MILLENNIUM CHEMICALS SAYS IT WILL indefinitely idle its 44,000 m.t./year sulfate-process titanium dioxide (Ti[O.sub.2]) plant at Hawkins Point, MD on September 1. The company says it is also cutting its [...]

ROHM AND HAAS (R&H) SAYS IT EXPECTS second-quarter sales in its electronic materials business to fall 20% from first-quarter levels of $297 million. The company says, however, that there has [...]

CSX Transportation says a train carrying 26,000 gals of sodium hydroxide solution derailed last week at Wilmington, OH, spilling the entire chemical load into a creek. Several people who had [...]

ELEMICA BEGAN HOSTING TRANSACTIONS last week between companies by connecting their respective ERP systems to Elemica's hub. BASF says it sold several thousand tons of neopentyl glycol and glycerol to [...]

MOST CHEMICAL PRODUCERS SAY THEY emerged relatively unscathed from tropical storm Allison, which battered parts of Texas and Louisiana earlier this month. The storm flooded parts of Southeast Texas, bringing [...]

EASTMAN CHEMICAL HAS NAMED THE senior management teams at the companies to be formed after it spins off its polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and acetate fibers business from its specialty chemicals [...]