Stefan Klebert is expected to take charge from November 15, 2018. He will succeed Jürg Oleas who has been serving the company since a long time.

With his appointment, the company plans to further support the fast-growing polymer industry in the Middle East. The firm also intends to promote the local production of customer-specific antioxidant blends in the country.

Fires and a heavy explosion at a Thai toluene facility killed 12 workers, injuring 129. The cause incident that took place on Saturday afternoon at the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate during a heavy storm is still under investigation.

Market and raw material trends set the direction in the chemical industry. That is one of the reasons why the 2008/2009 crisis signaled the start of a paradigm shift in chemical plant engineering and construction. Traditional EPC suppliers (general contractors based in the Western industrialized nations) are facing increased competition from Asia. At the same time, the plant engineering teams at global chemical companies are intensifying their partnerships with EPCs and spreading the workload across the international engineering resource base.

A case study on packaging – Designing a line that exactly fits into an existing space and boosts productivity at the same time is a challenging task. Despite the demanding set-up and a tight timeframe, Bosch Packaging Technology accepted the challenge. With joint forces, the processing and packaging specialist installed a tailor-made vial powder filling line for Tabuk Pharmaceuticals in Saudi Arabia within only a few months, while increasing the output to three times its previous amount.

Optimized combination of modular valve block solutions and durably reliable sealing with sealing method free from O-rings.

Bayer opened a state-of-the-art seed processing facility in Pochuiky, Ukraine. The new facility is the largest of its kind in Ukraine, and one of the largest in Europe.

Air Liquide inaugurating Hy Balance, a pilot site for the production of carbon-free hydrogen, in Hobro, Denmark. The facility uses electrolysis technology and allows to balance the electricity grid and store surplus electricity in the form of hydrogen that will be used in industry and transportation. .

BASF announced that it started a stepwise capacity increase of its production plant for alkoxylation — a downstream technology of ethylene oxide production — in Antwerp, Belgium. The first additional capacities will be available from as early as the 3rd quarter of 2018.

The global demand for biodegradable plastics is predicted to be over a million tonne in 2022 and hence, the company has undertaken this move. Once complete, the facility is expected to produce a capacity of about 5,000 tonne per year.