Document N2YvDnKX241JnMnBDnvxBE0mw

$ y?- uduMs HL A**~J KwjU*Li> NOV 25 Yil* r N.VIHtElER )R- UCC 013148 ICI Moiid success could about 47 million of fixed and working capital. If the divi sion's profits were not main tained somewhere near the hinge on wage claims 1974 level, it could be short of the cash needed to finance an expanding programme. "If our present plait to sanc by Ann Taylor tion 39 million of new pro jects in 1973 was achieved, ICI Mond Division's actual volume of sales in 1974 was only 1% up on 1973 and be low plan, but reduced volume was more than offset by higher prices in export markets. Some 43% of profit came from ex ports, which were only onethird of total sales volume. Dr Philip Harvey, division chairman, told the division staff conference that in the first four months of 1975 vol Methyl methacrylate, which goes to ICI Plastics Division for Perspex and other custo mers, is operating at only half the previous rate. The general chemicals group's speciality chemicals had held up reasonably well, but high tonnage products like sulphuric add and hydrochloric acid were well down. In the UK, Harvey said, there was no hope of any decline, and the prospects for 1976 were as poor. The only hope was that world trade would revive and that there would be export possibilities. But the big question mark was "whether the l-unatic wage in creases in this country will have driven us out of these markets because our prices are uncompetitive." If Mond Division was to adhere to the 197J capital plan, then the new capital, fixed and working, to be invested in Mond next year would be 33 million." Costs must be held down, Harvey emphasised ... by higher plant efficiencies and by the reduction of overtime, now unnecessary as the result of reduced demand. And, "we must moderate the demands that we make on our cashflow on our own behalf, that is, ume of sales was 83% of that growth this year, rather a it would spend by reinvestment our pay." achieved in 1973, costs were still rising steeply and profits being squeezed. Control of VCM gas emissionsThese costs could no longer be passed on export prices, where the division was now meeting intense competition in all the product range. All pro duct groups were suffering a drop in demand. After another mild winter, the rock salt mine was opera ting at the absolute minimum production and, in the face of very high stocks, no relief could be expected until next year. Salt was holding up fairly well. Soda ash was now in free supply throughout the world and export sales were under in tense competitive pressure. Demand had fallen in the UK and production was currently about 73% of capacity. Demand for chlorine had been drastically cut by low VCM requirement and, as a result, Mond was short of co-produced caustic soda, which was crea ting a problem for some cus tomers. VCM production had been cut back and the VC3 plant closed altogether. SNPA drugs plan Societe Nationale des Petroles could cost 13 million in UK The engineering programme carried out by the four UK producers of PVC, BF Chemi cals, Id, BIP and Vinstex. to reduce the levels of vinyl chloride gss in plant atmo spheres will cost about 13 million, a conference in London on the problem was told last week. A. W. Bames, chairman of the Chemical Industries Asso ciation'! Vinyl Chloride Com mittee, said that the industry had tackled the problem first, and counted the cost after wards. First priority was to establish the extent of the health problem linked with traces of VC gas in PVC olant*. Over the past 19 months, the companies had succeeded, by a massive effort, in reducing exposure levels from the 130200 ppm levels typical of 1973 to today'! levels, below 23 ppm and typically below 10 ppm. Bames said: "Many millions of pounds have already been spent and it is now expected that the total cash cost to the industry of all the modifica rapid development and installa maximum and immediate in tion of measuring equipment formation on the state of a Bames said that every PVC plant so that action can be taken plant in the UK is now straight away and workers pro equipped with multiple point tected; a monitoring system sequential area monitors must first and foremost be a ssmDling once a minute. tool to be used by the plant "Thus with every plant pro for the purpose of control. ducing 10 000 readinp every "But the results from it are week, this has posed a real of little help in answering the problem of how to analyte this simple question which out mass of data so that immediate sider! always ask in complex action can be taken on any situations, precisely because the single result." Mr Barnes said. system was not designed to give To meet this, computers have simple answers. Because of this been designed and installed - we have had our difficulties in which routinely, or on demand, indicating the immense ad will print out a wide range of vances that have been made average, trend or individual and in explaining just how figures for each area or for the tight a regulation the British plant as a whole, and will alert interim hygiene standard really personnel to any change. is. Commentators have fallen Bames pointed out that in into the trap of comparing the UK system the sampling numbers without reference to points are concentrated in the how the numbers are obtained: most sensitive areas of the and a number of misconcep plant, deliberately so that the tions have been born." results can serve the dual pur Bames went on to say that pose of measuring area con the UK interim standard re centrations and of acting as quires that no-one during any permanent leak delectors. 8-hour period should have "A second important fact," higher exposure than 23 ppm. d'Aquitaine (SNPA) is plan tions when completed will be Bames said, "is that the UK It has been shown that this ning to acquire a stake of 33% close to 9 million; in addition, Code of Practice of Vinyl meant that the plant atmo in the French pharmaceutical process changes have led to a Chloride, wherever it is con sphere itself must not exceed company Choay. capacity reduction of between cerned with monomer concen- an average of about 10 ppm The company will be the 3% and 10%. The replacement centrations, it built around over a'somewhat longer period. seventh acquisition to be made of this lost production will re this monitoring system; this "Iodeed, if we were to add by SNPA in the health sector. The company has already bought up Labaz, Les Laboratoires Robilliard, the cosmetic company Yves Rocher, the quire a further investment of at least 4 million. Describing the work done by the industry so far, Bames said that the strict control of has given some problems on public relstions and com munications, since the system is designed to be ultra sensi tive and pick up even tran to the existing UK hygiene standard a requirement that no one should be exposed to a monthly average higher than 10 ppm, this would in no way veterinary group Vetagri and the amount of VCM gas per sient high concentrations," . tighten the standard. It would the pharmaceutical group Par- mitted in the air in UK PVC "This is the right philo then make it look like some cour (formerly Castaigne). production plants has meant sophy if one's aim is to get European regulations." CHEMICAL AGE 0 JUNE 1979 7 ucc 013149 BPF warns on effects Future for STPP market of PVC by Adrian Wright "The preservation of the PVC industry is not just an exercise in big business, it is the pre servation of an important part of the nation's economy," Dr W. A. Holmes-Walker of the British Plastics Federation told a conference on vinyl chloride and safely at work last week. Holmes-Walker said that from time to time during 1974, following the discovery of the link between exposure to VCM and angiosarcoma, a rate form of liver cancer, there had been suggestions that PVC should be 'banned' because it was dan gerous. "Not only are such sugges tions completely irresponsible, but they also ignore die pur pose of the very thorough and effective tripartite discussions between industry, government and trades unions in agreeing safety standards which are at the same time both realistic and attainable." Despite the widespread pub licity given to the VCM health problem during 1974, HolmeaWalker said that no reduction in demand for PVC or pro ducts made from PVC as result of this had been observed in either the UK or Europe. General downturn "Such fall off in demand as there has been in 1974/75 is paralleled in other plastics materials and is due to the general economic climate," he said. The effect of a ban on PVC in the UK would be a direct loss of production to the chemical industry of some 160-200 million/year, consist ing of 110-150 million/year of PVC at the pre-polymer stage; 40 million of compounding ingredients for PVC, and 16 million from the loss of onethird of the UK production of caustic soda. There would also be a loss of some 2 500 jobs in the chemical industry mostly in the development areas, he said. In addition, there would be a loss of production in the pro cessing and fabrication sector, which would amount to some 250-300 million, with an asso ciated unemployment which could reach as high as 70 000. ban in UK There would also be a rapid loss of production in related industries, particularly the building, motor, coal mining and food packaging industries that would be, said HolmesWalker, `a national problem'. Building, he argued, would be harder hit than any other industry by a sudden cessation of PVC production, for almost half the UK PVC consumption is in building. About 90% of rain water pipes and much of the guttering is PVC, together with 75% of soil pipes and 60% of tiles and continuous flooring. In the motor sector, 100% of motor vehicle wiring is PVC insulated and considerable dif ficulty could be expected in getting sufficient supplies of alternative wiring which would in any case be mote expensive. The effect on the coal mining industry would also be drama tic, with 15% of the under ground conveyor belts being immobilised after six months and 45% after IS months. Apart from the direct effect on downstream industries, there would also be severe indited results of a PVC ban. The pro duction of viscose rayon, and cellophane. pharmaceuticals and chemicals, soap and paper, would ail be curtailed because a cessation of PVC manufac ture would involve a one-third reduction in caustic soda out put, and for many of these applications, there is no prac ticable alternative. "The shortage in home sup plies of caustic soda would be 15-20% and* there would be no readily envisaged practic able means of replacement by import or alternative produc tion in the short term. The related soda ash is on short supply and any resulting pres sure on it would react on the glass industry," said HolmesWalker. Moreover, elimination of UK exports of caustic soda, cur rently running at 10 million/ year, would be the first effect Holmes-Walker said that a total ban on PVC usage; should never need to happen. It waa conceivably however, that legislation or pressure of pub lic opinion, however misguided, could make the use of PVC unacceptable for certaiA appli cations. It has been announced by certain US toiletriea and pharmaceutical firms, for example, that they are to switch to oriented polypropy lene bottle*. On the question of substitu tion of PVC, Holmea-Walker said that all polymeric replace ments for PVC would com pete for already established markets, and although capacity existed at present, to a limited extent; this was only due to the current shortage of orders. Coal overtakes oil in UK For the first, time since 1970 coal has overtaxen oil as me lllt'i main"fuel source. According to the Department of__Enerav'a trends bulletin consumption of coal in hilarch readied 14-2 million tons com pared witn ijj million tons of oil;' ItiaSiUrtfl in coal equiva lent units. the eminence of coal partly reflects an inr.rme during March of coal used for^electr'icitv generation and a corres ponding drop in the use of*oil in this sector and the general low level ot qemand for oil products. "The Bulletin showed that reflr.ery output in March amounted to over 6-9 million tons, more than 35% down on March 1974. Total deliveries of products during the first three months of the yesr were 10-5% down on the corres ponding period of 1974. Although stocks of oil held by the oil companies fell marginilly between March and April, their estimated duration increased from 96 to 106 days. Erco expansion Erco Industries, the Albright dt Wilson subsidiary, has started up i*s electrolytic cell line at North Vancouver, Canada, for the production of sodium chlorate. Capacity has been in creased by 9 000 tons/year to 50000 tons/year. to 1985 looks bleak World consumption of sodium tripolyphosphate will fall by 17% to about 2-2 million ton nes this year, against 2-7 mil lion tonnes in 1974, according to the Dynachim report Phosmarket. The survey also argues that consumption should go up slightly in 1976-77, without climbing over 2-5 million tons, but the future looks bleak for sodium tripolyphosphate. With only a limited substitu tion, the level of consumption should fall below 2 millioo tons by 1985, the same level as in 1966, and if what the report calls `substantial substitution* occurs, consumption could fall to only 1-4 million tonnes, the same level as in 1963. and the equivalent of a 50% drop in consumption within 10 years. STPP, says the report, was the fastest growing industrial chemical up to 1966 but en vironmental pressure* put * stop to its growth world wide, and even a decline in the US, while the 450% rise in phos phate rock prices during the last 18 months has altered its economic competitiveness. "Strangely enough." the report continues, "new STPP capacity is coming on stream in Europe this year, next year and even in 1977, despite the fact that the handwriting has been on the wail for over half a decade, and the Moroccan verdict on rock prices has been known since the autumn of 1973. "This casts a shadow on the management abilities of some leading European companies, che amazing slowness of their planning and decision proces ses, and particularly their ap parent inability to stop projects for which they have no custo mers, and have few chances of getting any." Celanese in Europe Amcel, of Watford, UK, an affiliate of Celanese, has set up a European films division to market the range of Celarur polyester films and the new Celgatd range of microporou* polyester films. Regional man ager for Europe/UK is Gary Baltsoo. s CHEMICAL AGE t JUNE 1S75 ucc 013150