from industrial chemicals, 17% fromfluoropolymers and 16% fromfluorochemicals. According to MrMitsch, Chemours’s shares will bepriced at around $7 each, while theshare price of the remaining “coreDuPont” will be around $65. Thosefigures compare against the end-September 2014 price of $70 pershare for the whole entity.

The TiO2 industry’s fifth largestplayer – Tronox – has often repeatedits goal, which is to become a “larger-scaled, globally cost-competitive fullyintegrated producer of TiO2 pigment.”The company has favourable taxattributes worth $9.8 bn and wouldtherefore be well poised to expand by acquisition – of Chemours? Or of Huntsman Pigments? Or ofKronos?

Meanwhile, average earnings forthe major quoted TiO2 producers fellby 70% from 1Q 2012 to 2Q 2014. Atthe same time, average earnings forthe major US-based paintmakershave steadily trended upwards. Inconclusion, Mr Mitsch gave his topthree tips for stock purchases, lookingto future prospects for improvingshareholder value – Dow Chemical,LyondellBasell and PPG Industries.

A comprehensive review of the second and third days of theMontreal Conference will be publishedin next month’s issue of ‘Focus onPigments’.

Reg Adams

1) Reviews of the Rome conference (1-3 October2013) were published in ‘Focus on Pigments’, Dec2013, 1-3 & Jan 2014, 1-4

2) Reviews of the Barcelona conference (30 April – 2 May 2013) were published in ‘Focus on Pigments’,Sep 2013, 1-4 & Oct 2013, 1-2 & Nov 2013, 1-4

3) For those who were unable to attend the event, thefull set of published papers from the MontrealPigment & Colour Science Forum & TiO2 WorldSummit conferences (7-9 October 2014) is availablefor sale. For details, please contact: Mr AndrewSmaha, Smithers Rapra, 19 Northbrook Drive,Portland, ME 04105, USA. Tel: +1 (207) 781 9800. E-mail: asmaha@smithers.com

4) ‘The Future of High Performance & SpecialityPigments to 2019’, 175 pp, 100 tables & charts. Price:£3950 or $6511.34 or €4720.29 for single-userlicence electronic copy (in *.PDF format). For details,please contact Smithers Rapra – Mr Brian Santos,Portland ME 04105, USA, tel: +1 (207) 781 9618 orMr Bill Allen, Leatherhead, Surrey KT22 7RU, UK, tel:+44 (0)1372 802086. Website:http://info.smithersrapra.com/publishing/SMRMR2014005/the-future-of-high-performance-and-specialty-pigments-to-2019

PLANTSCanada: Imerys – talc

Imerys has completed the first phaseof the expansion project at its talcprocessing plant at Timmins inupstate Ontario (725 km north ofToronto). The company installed a unitemploying proprietary beneficiationtechnology which enables theproduction of a minimum 92% GEbrightness, lamellar, micronised talcfor the first time in North America.This type of talc is said to be the bestgrade for use as a pigment/filler withpolypropylene. Lacking indigenoussources of bright, platy talc ore, NorthAmerican customers in thepolypropylene sector have hithertorelied mainly on imports from Chinaand Pakistan. As a competitive importsubstitute, Imerys recently launchedJetWhite-7C, with 92% GE brightnessand an average particle size rating of7 on the Hegman scale (around 12.5microns).

Original Source: Compounding World, Sep 2014, 10(Website: http://www.amiplastics.com/mags) © Applied Market Information Ltd 2014

China: Lanxess – iron oxide pigments

About 18 months ago, Lanxess AGannounced that it would invest €55 Mto build a new 25,000 tonnes/y rediron oxide pigments plant at theNingbo Chemical Industry Park (150km southeast of Hangzhou, thecapital of Zhejiang province). Theplant has been designed to employthe latest improved version of thePenniman process, which offers anumber of advantages in terms ofsustainable development.

Construction work is now wellunderway and the plant is due tocome on-stream next year. When it isup and running, it will provideemployment for 150 people. Thetarget completion date for this projectis March 2015. (See also ‘Focus onPigments’, Mar 2013, 5).

In mid-September 2014, Lanxessdeclared that it plans to install an ironoxide pigment-finishing unit at theNingbo site, incorporating pigmentblending and milling facilities. Thecapital cost of this unit is estimated at€5 M, bringing the company’s totalinvestment at Ningbo to €60 M. Thenew pigment-finishing unit will employ

about 200 people when it is fully upand running. It will be capable ofproducing 70,000 tonnes/y of finishediron oxide pigments. The unit shouldbe ready to commence production in1Q 2016.

Lanxess states that both the25,000 tonnes/y plant and the 70,000tonnes/y pigment-finishing unit will“process raw pigments from otherLanxess sites.” In a recent interview,Mr Joerg Hellwig (Head of Lanxess’sInorganic Pigments business unit)explained that the decision to extendthe Ningbo complex was motivated bythe currently anticipated 3% perannum growth in global demand foriron oxide pigments.

The company has also declaredthat at the end of 2016 it will shutdown its existing 35,000 tonnes/ypigment-finishing unit (with mixing andmilling facilities), located in theShanghai-Taopu district. TheShanghai City Council will thenintegrate the vacated site into itsPutuo Industrial Estate.

Original Source: Lanxess AG, Kennedyplatz 1, 50569Köln, Germany, website: http://www.lanxess.com (11Sep 2014) © Lanxess 2014. Original Source: ChimiePharma Hebdo, 15 Sep 2014, (688), (Website:http://www.industrie.com/chimie/) (in French) © ETAIInformation 2014

Germany: Pyrolyx – carbon black fromscrap tyres

Pyrolyx AG (of Munich) was recentlygranted US Patent 13/498,032 andChinese Patent 2009/8016/26128 inrespect of its process for the recoveryof carbon black from scrap tyres. Thecompany is now completing theengineering process design for its firstcommercial-scale plant, which shouldcome on-stream at an as yetundisclosed location in Germany. Theplant should be ready to commenceproduction next year. No details havebeen released on the proposed scaleof carbon black production. Once thenew German plant is up and running,Pyrolyx – together with ZeppelinSystems (of Friedrichshafen) – willbegin actively marketing turnkeyprojects employing the technology ona worldwide basis.

According to Pyrolyx, about 3.2 Mtonnes of scrap tyres becomeavailable each year within the EU.About 50% of them are used as fuel incement furnaces. Some of theremainder are ground into rubber

4 NOVEMBER 2014

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