February 2013 Additives for Polymers9

3M upgrades US production site for fluoroelastomers

Minnesota-based 3M has announced that it is expanding production of its polymer

supply for the fluoroelastomer and polymer pro-cessing additives industries globally. The expan-sion of its Decatur, AL, USA plant is a capital investment in equipment. According to the com-pany, this upgraded equipment will significantly increase throughput and output capacity. 3M expects to complete the expansion in the second quarter of 2013.

3M fluoropolymers are widely used in automotive, aerospace, chemical processing and a broad base of other applications in the fluoroelastomer and polymer processing industries. In response to ‘high global demand for poly-mers’, 3M’s recent investment in this Decatur expansion ‘demonstrates the company’s commitment’ to the fluoroe-lastomer industry and ensures supply as industries such as automotive, aerospace and polyethylene production con-tinue to grow, comments Paula Hubbard, global platform leader, 3M Advanced Materials Division.

The Decatur location is the largest fluoroelastomer manufacturing facility within 3M. The site also manufac-tures films, adhesives, coatings and additives for a num-ber of the company’s divisions. With US$30 billion in sales, 3M employs about 84 000 people worldwide and has operations in more than 65 countries.

Contact: 3M, St Paul, MN, USA. Tel: +1 888 364 3577, Web: www.3m.com

FINANCIALS

Chemtura reports 4% drop in sales for the third quarter of 2012

For the third quarter ended 30 September 2012, Chemtura Corp reported net sales

of US$743 million, a decrease of 4% from the figure of $773 million recorded in 3Q 2011. Quarterly net earnings attributable to Chemtura on a GAAP basis were $9 million, level with the previous year.

The company’s gross profit in 3Q 2012 was $192 mil-lion, 10% higher than the parallel period in 2011, and SG&A (selling, general & administrative) costs were $7 million lower. Depreciation and amortization, R&D, and facilities closure and related costs were broadly similar in the comparable quarters. However, Chemtura took impair-ment charges of $35 million in 3Q 2012 related to ‘certain long-lived assets included in the Industrial Performance Products segment’, compared to none a year earlier, which knocked operating income down to $33 million from $45 million in 3Q 2011. That the 3Q net earnings figures on a GAAP basis are the same is largely down to significantly lower income tax expense in 3Q 2012.

Describing the economic environment as ‘lacklustre’, CEO Craig A. Rogerson nonetheless reported that each of the com-pany’s segments met or exceeded the previous year’s adjusted EBITDA. As in the second quarter [ADPO, November 2012], Chemtura AgroSolutions again led the ‘performance improvement’, Rogerson notes. In the Industrial Engineered Products segment, Chemtura was able to offset much of the weak conditions in the electronics market through growth from insulation foams, mercury control and healthcare applications for bromine-based products, he reports. With control on pricing and costs, the segment was able to increase adjusted EBITDA by ‘almost 20% year-on-year and sustain percentage margins’, according to Rogerson. ‘For all of our businesses, innovation of both products and applications combined with strong management of selling prices and raw material costs and fixed cost reductions permitted them to expand margins and profitability despite the uncertain mac-roeconomic conditions to deliver another quarter of year-on-year improvement for Chemtura’, he concludes.

Industrial Performance Products’ net sales decreased $28 million or 8% to $314 million as a result of a $28 million decline in sales volume and a $3 million impact from unfa-vourable foreign currency translation, offset by a $3 million year-on-year increase in selling prices. On a GAAP basis, operating income at $31 million was unchanged as compared to the same period in 2011 as 2012 was impacted by acceler-ated depreciation of $1 million associated with the closure of the Pedrengo, Italy facility. Sales volumes across the segment reflected a continued weakness in demand for many products in Asia and Europe, with the largest year-over-year impact experienced by the petroleum additive products.

In the Industrial Engineered Products segment, net sales decreased $9 million or 4% to $213 million, reflecting a $9 million impact from lower sales volumes and $4 mil-lion from unfavourable foreign currency translation, offset

FINANCIALS

10Additives for Polymers February 2013

by a benefit of $4 million from year-on-year increases in sell-ing prices. Operating income increased $5 million from the third quarter of 2011 to $30 million. This increase reflected $6 million in lower raw material costs, $4 million from the benefit of selling price increases and a $1 million decrease in other costs, offset by $5 million in unfavourable manufac-turing costs and variances and $1 million from lower sales volume and product mix changes. Demand for electronic goods, tin-based organometallics and traditional polyolefin catalysts has weakened compared to the previous year due to the economic environment, Chemtura says. Continuing growth in targeted end markets such as insulation foam, mercury control and healthcare, coupled with price increases and control of raw material and other costs, mitigated these sales volume declines and the resulting manufacturing vari-ances, it says. Lower production volumes for certain product lines compared to 3Q 2011 levels, coupled with the effects of new production capacity, also had an impact.

Contact: Chemtura Corp, Philadelphia, PA, USA. Tel: +1 203 573 2000,

Web: www.chemtura.com

LITERATURE

Townsend updates plastics additives global market study

US-based plastics market research and con-sulting firm Townsend Polymer Services and

Information has published a new multiclient study on the global plastics additives market, its eighth such report since 1990. The last edition was produced in 2008 [ADPO, November 2008]. Based on both primary and secondary research conducted by the firm’s experts, the new study provides a detailed view of additives used in plastics all over the world.

According to Townsend, Plastics Additives 8 provides a detailed analysis of 15 different plastic additive groupings including antiblocking agents, antioxidants, antistatic agents, biocides, chemical blowing agents, coupling agents, flame retardants, heat stabilizers, impact modifiers & processing aids, light stabilizers, lubricants/internal mould release agents, nucleating/clarifying agents, organic peroxides, plasticiz-ers and slip agents. Taking 2011 as the base year, the report

details consumption by supplier, by resin, by product type and by region, as well as projections for 2016, trends and drivers, applications, recent developments and producer activ-ity. Coverage includes topics such as resin demand, China’s influence on the plastic additives market, environmental and regulatory issues, supply chain shifts, polymers in outdoor applications, and new suppliers.

As a ‘taster’, Townsend has released some of its analysis of the market for antioxidants, probably the most universal additives for plastics since they are essentially used in about 90% of the total plastic volume. Production of goods, particularly those made using plastic resins, is the overriding factor affecting demand for antioxidants, since virtually all resins use some antioxidant, the report points out. Key industry sectors include automotive, appli-ances, construction and packaging. During 2008–2009, all of these sectors were affected by the worldwide recession, in some regions more than others. Declines of 20–25% or more were experienced in the developed regions of North America, Europe and Japan, while growth was limited to single digits in the key developing regions of China and India. In 2010–2011, plastics growth rebounded globally, but volumes of plastics in North America are just beginning to return to pre-recession levels with Europe lagging a little further behind. According to the report, North America consumed about 80 000 tonnes of antioxidants for plastics in 2011, worth about US$460 million.

Prices for the ‘big three’ commodity antioxidants are continuing to decline due to the aggressive marketing of Asian suppliers. For example, pricing for commodity antioxidants in the Asia-Pacific region declined 10–20% from 2007 to 2009, although prices were more resilient in Japan because of the high proportion of specialities and supply issues with yellow phosphates, Townsend says. Prices are also pressured by new antioxidant capacity, which has increased ahead of demand, the report finds.

The 657-page report is available as hard copy or as a CD-ROM. Contact Townsend for pricing information.

Contact: Frances Davidson, Townsend Polymer Services and Information,

Houston, TX, USA. Tel: +1 281 873 8733, ext. 120,

Email: fdavidson@townsendsolutions.com,

Web: www.townsendsolutions.com

New business report published on heat stabilizers

Global Industry Analysts, Inc, (GIA) has pub-lished a new report, Heat Stabilizers – A Global

LITERATURE