Japanese firm Mitsui Chemicals is investing 2.5 billion yen to add 8,000-tonne/year capacity of its speciality Tafmer high performance olefin elastomer at its Singapore plant in Jurong Island, by 2013. In other news, Mitsui plans to restructure its joint venture petrochemical operations in Chiba, Japan, it runs with partner Idemitsu Kosan.

Tafmer, positioned as one of the Group’s five world-leading businesses, is a flexible, lightweight elastomer with wide applications in automotive, industrial, and packaging material industries as an enhancer to improve characteristics of thermoplastic resins or as a base material in flexible products.

Demand for Tafmer is forecasted to grow around the world and especially in Asia in line with economic growth and industrial advances and it for this reason Mitsui is expanding the capacity.

Meanwhile, Mitsui Chemicals announced structural reform of its petrochemical operations to “flexibly and effectively” manage the Chiba Chemicals Manufacturing or Prime Polymer, a partnership formed with Idemitsu Kosan.

Construction of new large-scale petrochemical facilities in the Middle East and China and increased reliance on shale gas in North America have forced Japan's petrochemical industry to undertake sweeping fundamental reforms to strengthen its competitiveness in the global market.

Against this backdrop, Mitsui Chemicals integrated its ethylene operations with those of Idemitsu Kosan in the Chiba area to form the joint venture in April 2010 and established an ethylene centre.

Production cutbacks in ethylene, however, are forecasted in line with sluggish domestic demand resulting from an influx of derivatives and decline in exports. To overcome this situation, the joint venture will implement modifications and develop high efficiency at low production runs to flexibly respond to drops in demand for introduction in August 2013.

Thus, Prime Polymer will see a shift to high value-added products from generic product areas and thorough rationalisation is underway. As a result of these measures, suspension of two manufacturing units for PP was decided and Prime Polymer increased production of its high value-added polymer, Evolue, from November 2011 (240,000 tonnes to 300,000 tonnes).

To reinforce structural reform efforts, Prime Polymer recently decided the March 2013 suspension of one HDPE manufacturing unit (production capacity: 130,000 tonnes) in Chiba which directly competes with general purpose products and imports.

US private equity firm Carlyle Group has paid US$4.9 billion to acquire DuPont Performance Coatings.

German chemicals firm BASF has set up a new research laboratory for thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) in the US.

German automotive products supplier Mann + Hummel GmbH is expanding in China by acquiring Bengbu Haoye, a manufacturer of filters for the automotive industry.

US-based Emerald Kalama Chemical is building a facility to manufacture environmentally friendly materials in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, at the plant it acquired from DSM in 2010.

Mitsui Chemicals of Tokyo has established a company for functional polymeric materials in Shanghai’s Jinshan district.

Five years after Huntsman Polyurethanes teamed up with renewable resource-based polyol producer Alberdingk Boley to co-develop PU solutions for the coatings market.

Solvay Advanced Polymers is upping capacity for its Spire polyetheretherketone (PAEK) by 70% at its Panoli, India, plant.

In lieu of a growing lighter vehicles trend, Lanxess opens its first US$20 million worth production plant for high-tech plastics plant in Gasronia in the U.S. state of North Carolina, to help meet the increasing demand for premium, lightweight plastics.