Huntsman reports lower sales, higher profits for 2016
SABIC says that deliveries are improving but some customers disagree
Borealis sees a 10% increase in profits for 2016
Trex decking sees record increases in sales
New cyclo-olefin polymer grades target auto industry
Weekly resin report: Spot resin market cools, as buyers push back on price inflation
BASF sees lower earnings for 2016
PP & PE march into March with higher pricing
Last week, I talked about PEX tubing and how home builders are slow to adopt new technologies with good reason.
This week I want to talk a little about new technologies and products which have been developed for homebuilding with a focus on plastic materials.
Solvay appoints new president to head up composite materials
Plastic electronics set to revolutionize products
Weekly resin report: Lackluster demand opens gap between buyer and seller price expectations
USI Group claims new cyclic block copolymers offer many advantages
Toyoba turning to foaming to reduce weight of plastic parts for automotive
I have a friend that is in the pipe and pipe fitting business. He distributes copper and steel pipe and fittings for commercial and residential applications. He is convinced that PEX tubing is going to give everyone cancer and advises everyone not to use it. He also thinks that microwave ovens will give you cancer and won’t go near one, much less eat anything that was cooked in one.
If he knew how PEX was made, he’d be even more freaked out.
Continue reading “What PEX Tubing and the Microwave Oven have in Common”
How exactly did the word cousin become synonymous with similarity? How many times have you heard someone refer to one thing being the close cousin to another thing like granite is a close cousin of marble or a planet in a distant solar system being Earth’s cousin? I don’t know about you but I am not that much like any of my cousins. Maybe it’s just me.
Anyway, you could say that ASA is a close cousin to ABS. ASA is ABS with one ingredient changed out.
Agylix receives funding to build plant in Oregon converting scrap polystyrene into styrene monomer
Solvay increasing nylon prices
Colorite introducing new TPE’s for medical applications
Lamborghini developing new carbon fiber composite piston connecting rods
Weekly resin report: Processors stunned by surging spot PP prices
Originally posted on 4/25/2016.
In 1997, GE Plastics and Bayer AG announced that they were forming a joint venture with an initial investment of 40 million dollars to develop and market polycarbonate materials that could be used to replace glass for automotive side windows. 15 years later in 2012 the Fiat 500L became the first car to use polycarbonate side window glazing. Sounds like the beginning of a great new market for polycarbonate. Unfortunately the only windows on the Fiat 500L that are made from polycarbonate are the tiny rear corner windows at the back of the vehicle. To make matters worse, the Fiat 500L remains the only car that has used polycarbonate side window glazing. What happened?
Continue reading “The Dream of Polycarbonate Car Windows is Still Just a Dream (updated)”
Braskem starts up new UHWMPE plant in La Porte Texas
Scientists have developed a new plastic derived from pine needles
NOVA begins shipping LLDPE from new reactor in Canada Also here
United Solutions buys Rubbermaid totes business Also here
Largest ever polycarbonate automotive window debuts on new Chinese Buick minivan Also here
Weekly Resin Report: New year begins with PP, PE price increases
ExxonMobil signs logistics contract for PE export from Texas
PET recycler US Fibers expanding in South Carolina
weeklypellet.com 