The Urethane Blog

Shareholders Change Name to Tempur Sealy Intl.

2013-05-24T07:51:33-04:00

Thursday, May 23, 7:14 PM ET
Tempur-Pedic International (TPX) says shareholders have approved the company's name change to Tempur Sealy International, at the company's annual meetingheld yesterday. The new name recognizes the combination of Tempur-Pedic and Sealy. The shares will continue to trade on the NYSE under the symbol "TPX."

http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/1044831?source=email_rt_mc_readmore

Chemtura Acquisition of Remainder of JV

2013-05-23T14:28:18-04:00

Chemtura Buys Full Stake in DayStar

By Zacks Equity Research | Zacks – 3 hours ago

Specialty chemical company Chemtura Corporation (CHMT) has acquired UP Chemical Co., Ltd.’s 50% interest in DayStar Materials, LLC. DayStar is a South Korea based producer and marketer of high-purity metal organic precursors for the fast growing light-emitting diode (:LED) market.

DayStar was formed in 2011 through a joint venture between Chemtura and UP Chemical. With the acquisition of the remaining 50% stake in DayStar, Chemtura now holds a 100% interest in the company. DayStar will be included in Chemtura’s Organometallic Specialties (:OMS) business and play a key role in implementing OMS’ strategy to create a sustainable competitive advantage by providing technologically enhanced products in emerging high-end, greener-application markets.

Pursuant to the transaction, Chemtura plans to build a fully integrated manufacturing, quality, service and distribution channel in Asia by leveraging its total electronic-grade trialkyl product portfolio of trimethylgallium, triethylgallium, trimethylaluminum and trimethylindium.

Chemtura came out with its first-quarter 2013 results on May 2. The company reported a net loss from continuing operation of $21 million or 21 cents a share compared with a profit of $22 million or 22 cents a share a year ago. The results were impacted by higher environmental reserve associated with remediation of a site in France. Earnings from continuing operation of 15 cents per share missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 19 cents and were below 18 cents a year ago.

Revenues went down roughly 2% year over year to $606 million in the quarter and missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $634 million. Lower net sales volumes affected revenues. Also, Chemtura saw weak demand in its industrial engineered products business which led to the decline despite the remaining three of four segments delivering improved performances.

Moving ahead, Chemtura expects its Industrial Performance Products, Consumer Products and Chemtura AgroSolutions segments to continue their improved performance trends in the second quarter of 2013. Chemtura further expects demand for insulation foam and electronics applications to improve in 2013.

However, a significant improvement is not likely in the second quarter, which may lead only to a modest improvement in the Industrial Engineered Products segment. Chemtura is focusing on establishing appropriate pricing levels for bromine based products and implementing cost effective measures.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/chemtura-buys-full-stake-daystar-151002677.html

PFA Week

2013-05-23T09:36:08-04:00

2013-14 Meetings

May 22-23 , 2013

Vinoy® Renaissance Hotel
501 5th Avenue NE
St. Petersburg, FL

PFA General Business Meeting and Technical Program with Hall of Fame Inductions

http://www.pfa.org/pfameet.html

HSM Expansion

2013-05-23T09:21:23-04:00

HSM builds new foam pouring facility

May 22, 2013 3:15 pm

Breaking ground: HSM executives (from left) Cam McLaughlin, Buster Mann, Bobby Bush, Dave Colburn, Dwayne Welch, Lee Lunsford and Conway Wilson at the site of the manufacturer’s new foam lab in Conover, N.C.

Industry supplier HSM (formerly Hickory Springs Mfg. Co.) broke ground April 19 on a 10,000-square-foot foam formulation plant in Conover, N.C., not far from their headquarters in Hickory, N.C.

The $1.5 million facility is being added to HSM’s Conover foam complex and enhances the company’s ability to formulate foams—incorporating new pilot lines and improving testing capabilities, the company said.

“This groundbreaking and the construction that begins today is a tangible illustration of the increased emphasis HSM is placing on research and innovation as the company moves forward,” said Dave Colburn, president and chief executive officer. “It also supports the transition currently under way at HSM, from being a components supplier to a global manufacturer of integrated solutions and components, and demonstrates the company’s continued investment in people, facilities and technologies that is so critical to our success.”

http://bedtimesmagazine.com/2013/05/hsm-builds-new-foam-pouring-facility/

ERA Acquisition

2013-05-23T09:18:20-04:00

Era Polymers Acquires Ariel Industries to Strengthen Presence in PU Systems

2013-05-23 [Source:Erapol]

Era Polymers is pleased to announce that the company has strengthened its presence in the polyurethane systems industry, following the acquisition of the Ariel Industries Pty Ltd business.

Ariel Industries has developed an impressive reputation as a developer, manufacturer and supplier of formulated polyurethane systems, tailoring products to meet stringent market requirements. Ariel Industries’ success has resulted from a dedicated team of people who will continue to deliver product quality, customer service and technical support to its customers from the company’s current location in Melbourne, Australia. The Ariel Industries’ product portfolio includes rigid and flexible polyurethane foam systems, as well as specialised polyurethane elastomer systems, which make this company an excellent fit into the Era Polymers family.

Era Polymers is a privately owned business which has been manufacturing polyurethane intermediates for 27 years, supplying products to more than 70 countries worldwide. With three state of the art manufacturing sites across Sydney, Auckland and now Melbourne, supported by a team of industrial chemists located at the company’s dedicated R&D Centre, ensures that Era Polymers will remain a key supplier to the global market for Polyurethane systems into the future. In addition to rigid and flexible polyurethane foams, Era Polymers has an extensive product portfolio which includes a diverse range of cast elastomer prepolymers, spray polyurethane products, sprayable polyurea, rubber binders, timber floor coatings as well as ancillary products and polyurethane dispensing equipment.

http://www.pudaily.com/News/NewsView.aspx?nid=38474

Crude Creeping Back Towards $100

2013-05-21T09:53:35-04:00

http://quotes.ino.com/charting/index.html?s=NYMEX_CL.N13.E&t=&a=&w=&v=d12

Connecticut Passes Mattress Recycling Law

2013-05-21T09:47:44-04:00

175,000 Mattresses a Year Thrown on The Curb? Manufacturers Will Pick Them Up

SustainableBusiness.com News

Imagine looking into a landfill (or incinerator) - what would you see? Tons and tons of still-useful stuff that could be recycled into new products (creating lots of jobs too). What a waste - and a huge expense - to throw so much away.

Connecticut is taking action on one problem product - mattresses. The state just passed the first producer responsibility law for mattresses in the US, which now puts the onus of responsibility on manufacturers.

Manufacturers will have to both finance and manage the collection and recycling of old mattresses.

Under the law, manufacturers will set up an organization that collects mattresses and recycles them at no cost to municipalities. Each manufacturer will pay into the program to fund the organization. That fee, of course, will pass to customers when they buy new mattresses at retail stores.

The law was written with input from the industry's trade association and could become a model for other states. The nonprofit Product Stewardship Institute worked with all the stakeholders to get support for the bill.

About 175,000 mattresses are thrown away in Connecticut each year and are mostly sent to other states to be dumped in landfills or incinerated. By shifting the burden to manufacturers, local governments will save about $1.3 million and the economy will benefit from new recycling opportunities for businesses.

About 95% of the materials in a mattress are recyclable, such as steel, cotton and foam.

"Communities statewide stand to save more than $1.2 million from present disposal costs borne by taxpayers. A cooperative and shared cost for end-of-life management of mattresses lightens the taxpayer burden and also transforms mattresses into feedstock for Connecticut's two mattress recycling facilities," notes Marilynn Cruz-Aponte, assistant director of Hartford's Department of Public Works.

The law passed both houses and is awaiting the governor's signature.

The Product Stewardship Institute is working on this at a national level. Last year, the U.S. Conference of Mayors endorsed state and federal producer responsibility legislation for mattresses as an effective way to cut the costs of mattress disposal for municipalities, create local recycling jobs and encourage other recycling opportunities that this untapped waste stream offers.

Similar legislation is moving forward in California.

Read about the status of producer responsibility laws in the US:

Website: www.hks.harvard.edu/var/ezp_site/storage/fckeditor/file/pdfs/centers-programs/centers/mrcbg/publications/awp/Nash_Bosso_2013-10.pdf

http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/24897

More Fees at the Airport

2013-05-20T16:44:54-04:00

Get ready to pay more to fly

Want to change your flight? That’ll be $200 extra

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By Jennifer Waters, MarketWatch

As air travelers become inured to baggage fees, airlines are betting they’ll accept additional extra charges.

In fact, 2012 was a record year for extra-fee revenues: U.S. airlines raked in a staggering $6.03 billion in baggage and reservation-change fees, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. And it’s likely they will climb even higher in 2013. “We’re going to see more and more higher fees and new categories of fees,” says George Hobica, founder of AirfareWatchdog.com.

Reuters

An American Airlines jet on the runway at Los Angeles International Airport .

Delta outpaced both its legacy rivals and smaller carriers in baggage-fee revenue, chalking up a jaw-dropping $866 million. United took second place at $706 million. (Delta merged with Northwest Airlines, and United merged with Continental.) American, still without a merger partner at the dance, racked up $557 million. Its suitor, U.S. Airways, came in fourth with $516 million — together, they would have left their counterparts in the dust at $1.07 billion.

As for cancellation fees, Delta again took the top spot, collecting $778 million in 2012, while United pocketed $661 million. American added $518 million to its top line as U.S. Airways brought in $298 million.

And those figures are only going to swell. In what FareCompare.com chief executive Rick Seaney calls “the worst fee ever,” cancellation charges already have risen: United last month upped its change fees to $200 from $150. As is typical of the herd mentality of the airline industry, American, Delta and U.S. Airways followed suit.

That basically renders some tickets unchangeable. If you bought a one-way discount ticket for $200 and wanted to change your flight, it would cost you another $200. Hobica thinks the change-fee hike isn’t targeted at discount leisure travelers but at business travelers who carriers hope will opt for the more pricey nonrefundable tickets. If the difference between the refundable and the nonrefundable fee is $300 but a change fee is $200 on a nonrefundable ticket, “business travelers might be more apt to choose the nonrefundable fee from the beginning,” he says.

Meanwhile, Frontier Airlines has introduced new charges that it hopes other carriers will follow, thereby decreeing an industrywide acceptance that travelers just have to, well, accept. So far, however, the legacy carriers are standing still.

Beginning this summer, Frontier will require passengers who bought tickets through a third party to pay carry-on baggage fees of up to $100. That’s right, for carry-on bags. The goal here is for travelers to bypass discount online providers like Expedia, Kayak or Hotwire, not to mention travel agents, in favor of Frontier’s own booking site.

Airplane wi-fi to speed up

The FCC is expected to approve a proposal that could speed up airplane Internet speeds. Photo: AP

If you buy the carry-on choice in advance, it will cost you $25. But it doubles to $50 if you pay at the counter or at an airport kiosk. It doubles again to $100 if you purchase it at the gate. But buy your tickets at FlyFrontier.com and the carry-on bag is included in the airfare.

Frontier also said it will begin charging $1.99 for coffee, tea, soda and juice on all flights. It’s unclear if taxes will be charged.

Frontier, which is transforming itself into what it calls the “ultra low-cost” carrier, is following the lead of Allegiant and Spirit airlines. Those carriers offer bargain-basement tickets for flights, but tack on exorbitant fees for everything else. Frontier’s carry-on bag charges, however, are steeper than Allegiant and Spirit.

Airline experts expect the carriers to again up their baggage fees, but at this point most are a standard $25 for the first bag. It’s the second bag that will cost you much more, depending on where you’re going, according to AirfareWatchdog.com.

For a thorough rundown of baggage fees by carrier, see AirfareWatchdog’s baggage-fee chart.)

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/get-ready-to-pay-more-to-fly-2013-05-20?link=sfmw

Propylene Settles Down 1c/lb for May

2013-05-20T09:36:56-04:00

The Urethane Blog

Chemtura Expands Line

2013-05-16T09:49:59-04:00

Chemtura Announces Expansion of Its Urethanes Business into High-Performance Thermoplastic Polyurethane Products

5/15/2013 11:00:00 PM - Article #50429 PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Chemtura Corporation (NYSE/EuroNext Paris: CHMT), a world leader in hot-cast urethane pre-polymers, today announced the launch of its thermoplastic polyurethane product line under the Ultralast™ brand. “The unique formulation of our Ultralast Thermoplastic Urethanes allows plastic manufacturers to achieve superior performance by utilizing Chemtura's cast urethanes technology”

“The unique formulation of our Ultralast Thermoplastic Urethanes allows plastic manufacturers to achieve superior performance by utilizing Chemtura's cast urethanes technology,” said Matthew Hellstern, president and general manager of the Urethanes business.

Ultralast products are based on Chemtura's proprietary low free (LF) technology, which helps to eliminate undesired reactions. This well-defined polymer structure results in improved properties and easier processing. Chemtura's leadership in cast urethanes, with more than 300 prepolymer products under the Adiprene® / Vibrathane® / Duracast® brands, has allowed it to leverage its cutting-edge urethane technologies in designing its Ultralast products.

“We are proud of this addition to our urethanes portfolio, which signifies a commitment to innovation that allows our customers to be more successful in their industries,” Hellstern said.

Ultralast Thermoplastic Urethanes are commercially available in North America through Chemtura's current urethanes sales (www.chemtura-ultralast.com) and channel partner Adiprene Direct (www.adiprenedirect.com). More information is also available by contacting Ultralast customer service (ultralast@chemtura.com).

http://www.mfrtech.com/articles/50429.html