NEWS
IN BRIEF
Powder expansion done Evonik has completed the relocation and expansion of its precious metal powder catalyst plant in Shanghai Chemical Industrial Park . Production is scheduled to commence in Q4 . No financial details were disclosed . Evonik sells the catalysts under the Noblyst P brand name , mainly for applications in APIs and agrochemical AIs .
Solvay R & I expansion Solvay has announced the completion of expansion of its China Research & Innovation ( R & I ) Centre in the Solvay Shanghai Technology Park with the inauguration of the ‘ Magnolia ’ research building . The company also recently opened its Material Application & Development Lab in Shanghai . In all , Solvay has spent about € 500,000 at the R & I Centre since 1995 .
Ami in Fermion deal Ami Organics , an Indian maker of pharmaceutical intermediates , API and speciality chemicals , has signed a multi-year , multi-tonne agreement with Orion subsidiary Fermion . Under this , it will supply another intermediate in addition to the one agreed in November 2022 . The product is expected to start contributing meaningfully to revenue from the 2025 financial year .
Nulogy , OMP expand partnership Nulogy , a provider of supply chain collaboration systems , and OMP , a software and services company specialising in optimising supply chain planning , are expanding their existing partnership to pharmaceuticals and chemicals , among other industries . Their combined offer integrates OMP ’ s XAI-based Unison Planning platform , which optimises supply chain operations within an organisation , with Nulogy ’ s system .
Wacker expands speciality silicones in China
Wacker Chemie has held a kick-off event at its site at Zhangjiagang in China ’ s Jiangsu province ( pictured ) to mark the start of construction of several new production lines for functional silicone fluids , silicone emulsions and silicone elastomer gels . It will invest about € 150 million on the expansion project . The lines are due onstream in 2H 2025
This is the company ’ s largest single investment in Zhangjiagang since the site was commissioned in 2010 . It comes in response to growing demand for these products in China and the wider Asia-Pacific region , according to Christian Kirsten , the executive board member responsible for the global silicone business .
Silicone emulsions and elastomer gels are typically used in textile , cosmetic and personal care applications , such as skin creams , shampoos and fabric softeners . Functional silicone fluids are mainly used as starting materials for industrial applications and as additives for construction , paper , paints and coatings .
UK-based Airedale Group has acquired a fully automated dilution plant and will invest £ 253,000 in sulphuric acid dilution to plug an 80,000 tonnes / year gap in the market caused by the closure of an Ineos site in 2021 . This will enable the company to provide a variety of grades , all of which will be diluted onsite and passed on to industries including car manufacturing , metal processing and industrial cleaning . Up to 4,000 litres can be produced in two hours , according to operations director Dan Fox .
14 SPECIALITY CHEMICALS MAGAZINE ESTABLISHED 1981