3B Partners with Reprocover to Recycle Production Waste into Innovative Composite Solution

3B-the fibreglass company has partnered with Reprocover, a local Belgian company, to develop very attractive sustainable solutions for sewage, drainage and water supply applications. Typically, the composite solutions are made of 90% of recycled materials and have proven their ability to replace efficiently commonly used cast iron for the production of sewage trapdoors, manholes, utility access holes, etc.

Replacing metal has long been the challenge of glass fibre reinforced composites in order to reduce cost, complexity and weight. Alongside these attributes, two key performance criteria -- superior impact performance and improved weatherability -- have been achieved. This resulted in Reprocover, together with 3B, developing a product range molded from a thermoset compound reinforced by 50 to 60% Advantex glass.


The Reprocover breakthrough lies in their specialized process of grinding and mixing of the recycled materials. Reprocover also worked on the geometry of the different components of each product in order to maximize the load resistance to weight ratio. All of the applications can be easily fixed to PVC pipes, connections and inspection pits. The Reprocover`s products have been approved by Belgian Water Authorities, which definitely opens many new opportunities in building and road construction.

"The concept created by Reprocover is a huge step forward! It really demonstrates how thanks to the replacement of metal by glass reinforced composite, new markets and applications can benefit from the advantages of lightweight, design flexibility, corrosion resistance and easy processing. In addition, the products display dimensional stability over a large temperature range (from -40°C to 70°C) as well as a chemical resistance to salts and detergents. They open new opportunities in sewage and utility supply markets," stated Dr Eric Martin, Thermoplastic Product Manager of 3B. "Within 3B, we are dedicated to developing sustainable and durable glass fibre reinforcement solutions. Recycling our glass fibre wastes is a key driver in our sustainability strategy and partnering together with Reprocover has enabled us to pursue the minimization of our environmental footprint," he concluded.

Ludo Debergh, Founder & Director, Reprocover added, "Glass fibre plays a key role in Reprocover products, bringing high rigidity and outstanding load resistance. As an example, our 315mm diameter manhole can easily withstand a heavy pressure load without damage. Working with 90% of recycled materials can reduce the cost of existing cast iron solutions by a factor of 5 while providing much superior adhesion to asphalt and concrete." Manhole and trapdoors are the first product ranges of Reprocover portfolio. "New opportunities are already idenfitied for utility supply housings (water & gas), which can be seen in pavement. Considering all the metal parts which can be replaced, the opportunity is undoubtedly huge and the benefits are equally significant."

About 3B-the fibreglass company

3B-the fibreglass company is a leading developer and supplier of fibreglass products and technologies for the reinforcement of thermoplastic and thermoset polymers. This dynamic and entrepreneurial company has two state-of-the-art fibreglass manufacturing facilities in Battice, Belgium and Birkeland, Norway as well as a dedicated R&D Centre located in the heart of Europe. The company operates two unique eco-responsible and high performance glass technologies, Advantex and HiPer-tex. These two well established brands combine durability with eco-responsibility and versatility, making them the materials of choice for a wide range of industries. With a sound foundation of unique assets, 3B is committed to design reliable and durable fibreglass solutions available globally.

Source: 3B-the fibreglass companyFor More Details About Online Business and B2B Trade Portal Visit : Plastic Industry Updates | Plastic Business Offers | Plastic B2B Directory | Plastic Machinery Marketplace | Plastic Companies | Online Plastic Portal | Advanced E-Marketing | Plastic Exhibition
 

LDPE manufacturer is expanding production to 2013

The Russian petrochemical group Salavatnefteorgsintez will increase the production of LDPE. The company is therefore currently working on a new plant to be completed by the end of 2013. This is the current annual production capacity increased by 66 percent to 200,000 tons, reports the international plastics portal eplastics.

"We have the necessary financial resources and credit for this investment," said the Director-General Damir Szawalejew. The total cost for this investment, which extends over five years amount, reported to 100 billion rubles (2.4 billion euros).

To the Group's products include styrene, which is used in the manufacture of packaging plastics. Similarly, the Russians produce ethylene, which is a basis in the production of PVC. Corporate gifts, according Salavatnefteorgsintez is one of the largest petrochemical companies in Russia.

Source : plasticker.de

The London Metal Exchange (LME) Announces Delist Plastics Contracts

The London Metal Exchange (LME) announces that it will delist its plastics contracts and that the last prompt date for all existing contracts will be Friday 29th April 2011. The formal decision to delist was taken by the Board of the London Metal Exchange following a recommendation by the Executive Committee. This announcement follows the establishment of delisting procedures.

The Exchange has decided that the costs of withdrawing outstanding warrants from the LMEsword depository will be waived. Current open interest for all plastics contracts is 228 lots, out to March 2011.

Plastics futures trading was introduced on the LME on 27th May 2005. Despite a number of changes to the contracts and the subsequent launch of regional contracts no significant volume or open interest has been established and the exchange believes that this position is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future. It has therefore decided to focus its efforts and resources on other opportunities.

LME Chief Executive Martin Abbott commented, “The Exchange and its committee members have put considerable effort into this endeavour to bring transparency and hedging facilities to the plastic business. But we must now recognise that these efforts have not attracted sufficient volume business and the time has come to bring this activity to a close.”

London Metal Exchange

Plastic Recycling: The Facts You Need to Know

If you have heard about the Plastic Continent -- the floating island of plastic twice the size of Texas in the Pacific Ocean -- then you understand how crucial it is to recycle plastic. Right now, only 5% of plastics worldwide are recycled. Some of this is ignorance: most of the world still simply doesn't understand the danger plastics pose to our environment and our food chain. But plastics themselves are complicated. Even if you want to recycle your plastics, and even if you dutifully separate plastics from the rest of your household waste and put it out on the curb in its blue or green recycle bin, your plastics might still end up in the Plastic Continent. Why is this?

Different Types of Plastic

Look at the underneath side of a plastic bottle or plastic container. Inside the familiar reduce, reuse, recycle triangle (“chasing arrows”) logo is a number between one and seven. This number indicates what kind of plastic that container is made from. Some plastics are easy to recycle, but other plastics are much harder to recycle. As a result, most municipal recycling facilities only recycle the easiest plastics: plastics 1 and 2. What happens to plastics 3 through 7? At some recycling facilities, these are gathered until they have enough to send to a larger recycling facility that does recycle these types of plastics. But at other recycling facilities, the same thing happens to plastics 3 through 7 as what would have happened at your house if you didn't have that handy recycling bin: it goes to the landfill, or the Pacific's Plastic Continent.

Plastics #1 and #2

Plastic #1 is polyethelyne terephthalate (PET). This is the most commonly used plastic, and it\'s the easiest to recycle. Your plastic soda bottle, salad dressing bottle, and cooking oil bottle are probably all made from PET. More than 2.3 billion pounds of PET are recycled annually.

Plastic #2 is high density polyethelene (HDPE). Most milk jugs, detergent bottles, and many food containers are made from HDPE. Unfortunately, some plastics marked with a #2, such as yogurt cups, are not actually recyclable. This is because other chemicals have been added to the plastic in order to mold it into the desired shape. These additives make recycling some of these #2 items basically impossible.

Plastics #1 and #2 make up 96% of all the plastic bottles produced in the United States. Nevertheless, 80% of plastic bottles still wind up in a landfill, even though 80% of Americans have access to a method for recycling these bottles.

Plastics #3 through #7

The rest of the plastics make up pretty much everything that\'s not a plastic bottle. Just think of all the plastics in your home -- your toothbrush, cling wrap, plastic bowls, plastic cups, drinking straws, last night\'s leftovers, that almost-impossible-to-open package your new iPhone came in, your computer, your DVD cases... plastic is everywhere.

These plastics can all be categorized as the plastics #3 through #7. None of them are particularly easy to recycle, so even though your recycling guy will take it from your curb, that doesn't necessarily mean it will become tomorrow's soda bottle. However, by researching recycling facilities in your area, you can find places to recycle these less common plastics.

The Bottom Line When it Comes to Plastic Recycling

Plastic is much harder to recycle than other materials. Because it breaks down during the recycling process, it can only be recycled so many times -- this is why many recyclers prefer so-called “virgin plastics”, or plastics that haven't been recycled before because they make a better product. That means that even if you do the best you can to recycle all your plastics, some of them might still wind up in the dump.

The clear conclusion we must draw is that even the most conscientious recycling is not enough when it comes to plastics: ultimately, we have to reduce our consumption. The process of producing plastics, many plastics themselves, and the aftermath of plastic use can all be described as toxic. Nearly all manufacturing processes for the different types of plastic listed above involve some degree of toxicity, and as these plastics disintegrate in landfills or in the ocean, these toxic chemicals find their ways back into our soils, our water, our food, and our bodies.

So please recycle plastic. But better yet, stop buying plastic wherever possible.

Source: amazines.com

Plastic Pollution and the Plight of the Planet

By negligently discarding plastic, especially plastic water bottles, fishing gear and plastic bags, people are unknowingly causing the deaths of millions of mammals, fish, birds and reptiles every year.

We defile the face of the earth with plastic refuse. Since the invention of plastic earlier this century, it has become a popular material used in a wide variety of unique and innovative applications. Plastic is used to make, or wrap around, many of the items we buy or use. The problem comes when we no longer want these items and how we dispose of them, particularly the throwaway plastic material used in wrapping or packaging. Plastic is handy, lightweight and easily discarded. Too easily discarded.

Plastics are not themselves the problem. They are useful materials which can be produced with relatively little damage to the environment. The problem is the excessive use of plastics in one-time applications together with careless disposal.

Take a look around you. Plastic bags can readily be seen hanging from the branches of trees, flying about on windy days, settled amongst grasses and floating on streams. They clog up drains causing water and sewage to overflow and become the breeding grounds of germs and bacteria that spread disease.

Plastics are utilized because they are easy and inexpensive to manufacture, strong and durable. Unfortunately these same useful qualities make plastic an overwhelming pollution problem. Inferior quality and low cost means plastic is readily discarded. Plastics take around 300 years to photo degrade. Plastics long life assures it survival in the environment for extended periods where it can do great harm. Because plastic does not easily decompose and requires high energy ultra-violet light to break down, the volume of plastic waste in the world?s oceans is steadily increasing.

Plastic is now found in virtually all the oceans and rivers of the world, even the most remote and once pristine.

American oceanographer Charles Moore says the amount of plastic pollution in the worlds oceans is so extensive it?s beyond cleaning up. A toxic plastic ?graveyard? double the size of Texas swirls in the waters of the Pacific between San Francisco and Hawaii. There his crew found that the water contained over 40 parts of plastic for every part plankton, with a fivefold increase in the amount of plastic between 1997 and 2007.

Annually approximately 500 billion plastic bags are used worldwide. That is an unconscionable amount of waste, so much that more than one million bags are used every minute and their impact on the planet is devastating. Plastic bags are only part of the problem. America alone, yearly produces in excess of 800,000 tons of plastic bottle pollution. World-wide our precious planet is defaced and poisoned with more than 100 million tons of plastic pollution annually.

According to the California Costal Commission, over 80% of refuse within waterways, most of it being plastic, originates on land rather than coming from boats.

Plastic affects marine wildlife in deadly ways: entangling creatures and by being consumed.

Turtles are particularly devastated by plastic pollution. All seven of the world\'s turtle species are already endangered or threatened for a multitude of reasons. Turtles become entangled in plastic fishing nets, and many sea turtles have been found dead with plastic garbage bags in their stomachs. Studies indicate turtles mistake these floating semi-transparent bags for jellyfish and eat them. The turtles die an inhumane death from choking or from being unable to eat. A dead turtle found off the coast Hawaii was found to have more than 1000 pieces of plastic in its stomach including part of a comb, a toy truck wheel and lank of nylon rope.

There is great environmental concern about the effect of plastic trash on all marine mammals. These elegant creatures are already under threat for a variety of other reasons: e.g. seal and whale populations have been decimated by unregulated hunting. A recent study concluded that in excess of 100,000 marine mammals die needlessly each year from the deadly effects of plastic pollution.

World-wide over 100 bird species are known to ingest plastic particles. This includes 36 species found off the coast of South Africa. A recent study of blue petrel hatchlings at South Africa\'s remote Marion Island showed that 90% of the chicks examined had plastic in their digestive systems, apparently fed to them accidentally by their parents. South African seabirds are among the worst affected in the world. Plastics remain in the bird?s stomachs, impeding digestion and causing starvation.

Scientific studies are not conclusive about how much plastic birds and fish are consuming, however scientist agree that plastic in seafood is likely to be harmful for people. Plastic is compared with better understood toxic materials such as mercury. Plastic acts like a sponge when in contact with poisons such as PCBs, concentrating them at levels that are millions of time more than in seawater.

The ingredients in plastic have been linked to cancer and reproductive abnormalities. Bisphenol A, found in plastic water bottles, has been shown to produce cancer in lab rats, to disrupt hormone levels and is associated with diabetes and obesity.

Scientists also voice concerns that the massive swirls of floating plastic could contribute to global warming by creating a dense shade canopy that makes it difficult for plankton to grow.

"When you defile the pleasant streams and the wild bird\'s abiding place, you massacre a million dreams and cast your spittle in God\'s face." ~ John Drinkwater

Let?s look at a few different ways where ?Together We Can Make A Difference?.

The crisis of plastic pollution demands urgent study and action. Businesses should be encouraged to reduce the amount of plastic used in packaging and to re-cycle.

Plastic wrapping and bags should be required to carry a warning label advising of the dangers of plastic pollution and shoppers should be encouraged to use eco-friendly shopping bags of organic, natural materials or recycled plastic fibers. Tell this to our law makers. The situation only continues to worsen. We must act now!

When a tax levy was imposed on plastic bags in Ireland, usage dropped by 90 percent. Several other countries have already banned the use of plastic bags with significant impact. America must follow their example. Support re-cycling programs and promote environmental awareness in your local community. Be pro-active in asking governments to make changes and consumers to re-think their attitudes. Purchase products requiring less plastic packaging and inform store management why you are doing so. We can speak with a loud voice when we speak with our ?dollars?.

Choose to drink tap or carbon filtered water from a glass lined reusable container. If you do purchase plastic bottled, dispose to the container properly. Recycle.

With the increase in environmental awareness, it has become obvious that there is more that we can do to create a sustainable society. If everyone of us would take a few tiny steps, make a few different choices and consciously consider our impact on the planet, there might be a way to restore the world to its original beauty and resources.

Join us in protecting the diversity and quality of our environment. We can all contribute to a healthier, greener world.

http://www.articlesbase.com

Rehrig Pacific Company Adds New Line of Extruded Plastic Sheet Products

Rehrig Pacific Company, a leading manufacturer of reusable plastic pallets, crates and containers for the material handling and many food & beverage industries, is pleased to announce a new line of extruded plastic sheet products including slip sheets, divider sheets, tier sheets, and pallet pads.

Made from 100% recyclable materials, the Rehrig Slip Sheet is the key product in the group providing an alternative to other shipping platforms, such as wooden pallets and corrugated sheets, used in many industries including food, beverage, bagged goods and electronics. Slip sheets utilize a push/pull device that attaches to an existing forklift and function as the shipping platform typically for one-way shipments.

Since 1913, Rehrig Pacific has developed customized products and shipping solutions for many industries. “With years of design expertise and manufacturing experience, Rehrig decided to engineer an improved slip sheet which reduces tab failures and has a higher coefficient of friction (COF) than others,” said Nathan Franck, New Product Development Manager for Rehrig. “Our new state-of-the-art equipment and material blend combination allows us to manufacture a sheet that addresses these existing problems.”

Rehrig Slip Sheets weigh approximately 2 lbs and take up virtually no space in a trailer or container. A typical 40x48 wooden pallet weighs up to 50 lbs and takes up over six cubic feet of storage space. “The slip sheets’ size and weight allows companies to ship more product, improve sanitation, save warehouse space and reduce the cost of each unit load shipped,” said Franck.

The Rehrig Slip Sheet is manufactured using nearly 100% recycled HDPE resin and may be reusable in certain applications. Rehrig offers a buy-back program which assures the value of the material at the end of the sheets’ useful life. Slip Sheets are available in standard or custom sizes to meet each customer’s requirements and with different COFs depending on the application.

Rehrig also provides asset recovery programs and reverse logistics solutions, which can further reduce the average shipping cost per unit load, through Rehrig Penn Logistics (RPL), a Rehrig subsidiary. RPL develops customized pooling solutions and provides a full service for the various products Rehrig manufactures.

www.businesswire.com

Telles Customer Receives 2010 Greener Package Award

Telles™, the joint venture between Metabolix, Inc. (NASDAQ: MBLX) and Archer Daniels Midland Company, announced that Ball Innovations, a business unit of Ball Horticultural Company, received a 2010 Greener Package Award for its SoilWrap® plantable container made with Mirel™ bioplastic. In addition, both Mirel and SoilWrap are listed on the USDA Biopreferred program, which designates biobased products that are preferred for purchase by Federal agencies and their contractors.

Made with Mirel, SoilWrap is a biobased, plantable, biodegradable alternative to petroleum-based plastic plant pots. In addition to eliminating waste, internal and commercial grower trials have shown that the superior drainage and gas exchange permitted by the bottomless SoilWrap design allows many species of plants to grow more quickly than in conventional pots. Mirel also provides a more durable container than other natural fiber pots and its physical properties allow it to be easily printed with brand messaging and UPC barcodes for attractive on-shelf appearance.

The second annual Greener Package Awards were sponsored by Summit Publishing’s GreenerPackage.com. The program aims to recognize the consumer packaged goods companies, suppliers and individuals that have helped move the packaging community toward greater sustainability throughout the year.

“SoilWrap is a prime example of a product that not only leverages Mirel’s ability to biodegrade in soil and also provides added convenience and value to the consumer,” said Robert Engle, Telles general manager. “We are thrilled to be recognized with our partner Ball for developing innovative packaging that meets a significant need in the horticulture market. Mirel-based bioplastics continue to be introduced across a number of industries, from packaging to consumer goods, to meet the growing demand for reducing packaging and waste sent to landfills.”

“We are in an industry that is by nature focused on the environment, so bringing a product to market that decreases waste and offers superior performance is a huge win for us,” said Greg Trabka, product development manager, Ball Horticultural Company. “When developing SoilWrap, Ball recognized the need for a bioplastic resin that responded to the issue of unnecessary waste, maintained its performance integrity through the production cycle to the retail shelf, and met environmental certification standards. Mirel was the only biobased, biodegradable offering that met all of our business needs and we look forward to growing our relationship with Telles on future product endeavors.”

Ball plans to increase SoilWrap distribution through its grower customers in North America and to independent garden centers and mass market retailers beginning in spring 2011. SoilWrap is available in a 3.5 inch design and the company plans to produce a 4.5 inch product.

SoilWrap and the rest of the 2010 class of Greener Package Award winners will be on display in the The Showcase of Packaging Innovations® at Pack Expo International 2010, taking place from Oct. 31 to Nov. 3 at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois.

About Mirel Bioplastics

Mirel is a family of bioplastic materials that have physical properties comparable to petroleum-based resins, yet are biobased and biodegradable in natural soil and water environments, in home composting systems, and in industrial composting facilities where such facilities are available. The rate and extent of Mirel’s biodegradability will depend on the size and shape of the articles made from it. However, like nearly all bioplastics and organic matter, Mirel is not designed to biodegrade in conventional landfills.

About Metabolix

Founded in 1992, Metabolix, Inc. is an innovation-driven bioscience company focused on providing sustainable solutions for the world’s needs for plastics, chemicals and energy. The Company is taking a systems approach, from gene to end product, integrating sophisticated biotechnology with advanced industrial practice. Metabolix is now developing and commercializing Mirel™, a family of high performance bioplastics which are biobased and biodegradable alternatives to many petroleum based plastics. Metabolix is also developing a proprietary platform technology for co-producing plastics, chemicals and energy, from crops such as switchgrass, oilseeds and sugarcane.

About Ball Horticultural Company

Ball Horticultural Company is an internationally renowned breeder, producer and wholesale distributor of ornamental plants. A family-owned business since it was founded in 1905, Ball has introduced many innovative, award-winning varieties to the world of horticulture, including the Wave® petunia family and Super Elfin® impatiens. Ball is committed to sustainable practices and has highlighted its green accomplishments in its “Sustainability Report.” The company has worldwide production, sales and marketing through its many subsidiaries on six continents. For further information, log on to ballhort.com.

Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The forward-looking statements in this release do not constitute guarantees of future performance. Investors are cautioned that statements in this press release which are not strictly historical statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding expectations for Mirel market demand, constitute forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated and are detailed in Metabolix\'s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Metabolix assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking information contained in this press release or with respect to the announcements described herein.

Mirel Bioplastics

Innovations in material handling increase flexibility, efficiency and ease of use

MANN+HUMMEL Pro Tec introduces further developments and expansions of its innovative systems for drying, conveying and dosing of free flowing plastics in hall 9, stand D60 in Düsseldorf. Single workplace solutions and solutions for complete factories offer great operating comfort and flexibility for stable, efficient and economic process management in extrusion, injection moulding, calendering or blow moulding.

Module dryer update – small load dryer for engineering plastics

The new generation of stationary material drying systems is presented at the K with the example of a SOMOS® D200 dry air dryer (air flow 200 m³/h) and a module hopper system with drying hoppers from 50 to 300 l. The technical innovations in design, process control and control engineering that are utilised here combine great operating comfort with a further improvement in energy efficiency. This results amongst other things in the new process control of the rotary desiccant container of the D dryer taking a much shorter time for regeneration of the drying agent, which means that the energy required for this can be used more effectively. At the same time all module hoppers have their own control system structured on a universal concept. This independent mode of operation makes things like the expansion of the module system through the adding on of one or several drying hoppers considerably easier. The tried and tested ALAV and Super-SOMOS® control mechanisms used in SOMOS® dryers continue to provide high energy efficiency adapted to the respective current material throughput.

The new SOMOS® TP 8 compressed air dryer extends the series of small load dryers specially designed for multi-component injection moulding in the processing of engineering plastics. With an insulated drying hopper of eight litres capacity and a freely selectable drying temperature from 60 to 180°C it is suitable for throughputs of up to approx. 2 kg/h. The dryer works on the principle of air expansion and can be fitted with conveyer equipment that is operated directly from the dryer control unit.

Communicating conveyer equipment – high-precision, gravimetric dosing of small amounts

The current SOMOS® FG series of suction conveying equipment differs from existing models particularly in its range of features: the devices are fitted with control units which can communicate with each other. There are also cost advantages with this further feature, as up to 16 conveyer units can now be flexibly linked together to a composite without the requirement of a central control.

Another innovation at the K is a fully weighing dosing system for small amounts which can be used in the SOMOS® Gramix S9 or Gramix E gravimetric dosing and mixing systems for the production of multi-component mixtures for extrusion processes. Designed for throughputs of approx. 2 kg/h down to 200 g/h, a dosing precision of ± 1 % is achieved. In a throughput of 200 g/h the target weight of approx. 3.3 g/min thus varies on average by a mere ± 33 mg. This high dosing precision has clear advantages in the increasingly used practice of dosing very small amounts of highly concentrated masterbatches into the main flow of material.

Mann+Hummel ProTec GmbH

Acando signs SAP agreement with Plastal Industri

Plastal Industri has chosen Acando as partner for implementing a new global SAP solution within finance and logistics. The assignment also includes moving Plastal´s SAP environment from Italy to Sweden and a technical SAP upgrade.

Acando has also signed an agreement with Plastal regarding application management of their portfolio of applications, as well as procurement of new SAP licenses for their business in Sweden and Belgium.

Plastal Industri is a leading international group within development, design and production of plastic components for the automotive industry. The development is conducted in close cooperation with their customers.

”Acando offers a good combination of deep business knowledge and SAP competence. In addition, Acando´s application management services make them a very strong player in the SAP market place”, says Peter Karsberg, CFO, Plastal Industri.

”We have had the pleasure of working together with Plastal on strategic matters for some time and are very proud that Plastal now chooses to expand the cooperation with us”, says Jan Koch, Customer and Delivery Manager, Acando.

Acando

BASF's activities are concentrated in styrenics

Under the name BASF STYROLUTION the future will combine their business with styrene plastics. This is the company's business with styrene monomer (SM), polystyrene (PS), acrylic butadiene styrene (ABS), Styrolbutadiencopolymere (SBC) and other styrene-based copolymers spin off and place into separate companies. The global business with polystyrene foam remains within BASF. This also applies for the necessary for their production SM and PS capacity in Ludwigshafen.

The restructuring is designed to 1 January 2011 for completion. The name STYROLUTON will then take a leading position in the styrene plastic industries, BASF.

Dr. Martin Brudermüller for the plastics business of competent BASF Board. "The creation of STYROLUTION is another step in the implementation of BASF\'s strategy for the styrene plastics, it is the right measure to our worldwide activities in this area permanently and better compared to more volatile demand to position a high pressure on margins and intense competition in the industry. STYROLUTION is because of their advanced technology, its excellent product portfolio and its clear focus on becoming a preferred supplier to customers around the world. At the same time we remain open to further strategic options. "

BASF will contribute its business with styrene plastics at locations in Germany (Ludwigshafen, Black Heath), Belgium (Antwerp), Korea (Ulsan), India (Dahej) and Mexico (Altamira) in STYROLUTION. Separate companies are set up in other countries such as USA, Italy or China, where BASF has more styrenic activities, such as marketing and sales.

BASF currently employs approximately 1460 employees in its styrenic business and achieved 2009 sales of approximately 2.5 billion €. How BASF tells during the restructuring, the proper care of their customers is ensured.

Styrene plastics are used mainly in home and office, electrical and communication equipment and packaging. Styrene copolymers are thermoplastics based on the monomers styrene and acrylonitrile. They are used as materials in a variety of automotive and electronic industries as well as many articles of everyday use.