BASF A.G. expands annual capacity for methylene diphenyl diisocyanate at its plant in Antwerp, Belgium, and considers building a second MDI facility in China.
Dow Chemical Co. launches an expansion project at its Freeport, Texas, facility aimed at boosting its MDI production by 50 percent over the next 36 months. It also starts building a solution SBR factory in Schkopau, Germany, and increases its capacity to make Nordel IP hydrocarbon rubber at its Plaquemine, La., plant.
ExxonMobil Chemical Co. plans to expand its Baytown, Texas, synthetic rubber plant, increasing its capacity to produce bromobutyl rubber by 60 percent, and build a facility in Pensacola, Fla., to make a dynamically vulcanized alloy of its Exxpro specialty elastomer.
Cri-Tech Inc. celebrates its 30th anniversary by expanding its headquarters plant in Hanover, Mass.
Colonial Diversified Polymer Products L.L.C. starts up a small custom mixing operation to give it something more to offer customers.
Injection press maker U.S. Molding Machinery Co. moves into a larger plant in Willoughby, Ohio.
Tire mold maker Universal Tire Molds Inc. relocates to a new building in Akron, doubling its space and adding capabilities and employees.
Wacker Chemie A.G.'s Wacker Silicones unit opens a monomer plant at its Nunchritz, Germany, site primarily to make siloxane, the starting material for silicones.
Industrias Negromex S.A. de C.V. adds machinery to its plant in Altamira, Mexico, and enters the black masterbatch production market.
Sid Richardson Carbon and Energy Co. plans to add 20 million pounds of production capacity for carbon black used in tread rubber at its Borger, Texas, facility in 2008 and 2009.
Lanxess A.G. announces it will invest more than $1.4 billion through 2009 to strengthen its businesses, with a specific focus on capital expenditures and facilities in Asia. It also boosts its butyl rubber capacity more than 40 percent at its Lanxess Inc. facility in Sarnia, Ontario.
Balance and uniformity test equipment maker Kokusai Inc. moves its North American headquarters to another site in Indianapolis to accommodate its growth in the automotive and tire markets.
In China, BASF opens a polyurethanes specialties site in Shanghai and considers building an MDI plant in Chongqing.
Rubber and plastics machinery maker Engel Canada Inc. starts a three-year, $4 million investment to modernize its Guelph, Ontario, production plant.
Thermoplastic elastomer compounder GLS Corp. plans to double capacity at its Suzhou, China, facility and expand its research and development operations at the site.
Carbon black producer Columbian Chemicals Co. launches projects that will add a power facility in Italy and expand the firm's capacity in China. It also opens a facility in the Camacari Pole chemical complex in the Bahia state of Brazil.
Cabot Corp. plans to expand its carbon black plant in Tianjin, China, at a cost of about $65 million.
Degussa GmbH doubles the annual capacity for carbon black production at its plant in Paulinia, Brazil.
PolymerLatex GmbH & Co. launches a two-phase project aimed at significantly expanding its nitrile production both for the short and long term.
Max Machinery Inc. moves to a new facility, virtually doubling the size of its operation, to handle a 25-percent growth spurt in business during the last year.
Arburg Inc. plans to open two technology centers that will give the injection molding machine company three strategic locations in the U.S.
Holland Colors Americas Inc. expands its facility in Richmond, Ind., to allow room for increased production of materials it makes to color silicone rubber.
Italy's Coim S.p.A. bucks the trend by initiating polyol production in a mature North American market.
Kraton Polymers L.L.C. expands production at its isoprene rubber latex facility in Brazil so it can enter the dipped goods market.