Specialty Chemicals

French start-up Lactips signed a contract with US packaging group SmartSolve to produce 210 tonnes of its casein-derived water-soluble polymer, a substitute for petroleum-based PVOH, following two years of joint development.

Symphony Environmental Technologies delivered its first commercial container-load of d2p EA masterbatch to Sirane Central Americana in Mexico. The delivery follows new independent ethylene-adsorption test results from AIMPLAS.

Minnesota-based Applied Adhesives acquired Van Asperen Kleefstoffen, a Netherlands-based adhesive solutions provider serving packaging, labeling and paper converting customers, to grow in Europe.

Topsoe signed a contract with Uniper to deliver front-end engineering design (FEED) for the NorthStarH2 e-methanol facility in Östersund, Northern Sweden, based on its ModuLite technology. The plant is expected to produce around 115,000 tons of e-methanol annually, with FID expected in 2028.

Sukano AG signed a capacity reservation agreement with Avantium for releaf PEF polymer, securing future production volumes from industrial-scale facilities built by Avantium's potential licensing partners.

HarperLove, a portfolio company of HBM Holdings, acquired the corrugated products business of ChromaScape (formerly CEL Chemical), which makes adhesives and additives for corrugated packaging. Terms were not disclosed.

APPLIED Adhesives entered an exclusive arrangement to handle US distribution of Henkel's flexible packaging adhesive and coating range, combining Henkel's portfolio with APPLIED's sales, technical support and logistics. The announcement was dated 9 July 2026.

Nur Ink Innovations signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Shenzhen Hosonsoft to deploy its powder-free DTF printing chemistry across China; phase one installations at three printer manufacturers are complete.

Avantium signed a capacity reservation agreement with juice producer Hoogesteger for releaf PEF volumes from future licensed plants, building on an earlier offtake agreement. Avantium has now secured reservations for well over 100 kilotonnes of releaf.

Zoono Group received its first major commercial orders, worth about NZ$600,000, from Sharpak Aylesham, the UK arm of Groupe Guillin, under an exclusive UK soft fruits packaging contract. A second identical order is scheduled for July 2026.

Borouge and Borealis combined into Borouge International, which is acquiring NOVA Chemicals, with OMV and XRG each holding 50 percent. The new company is headquartered in Austria with regional headquarters in the UAE.

Siegwerk announced the acquisition of Hi-Tech Inks, adding production capabilities and product range in India for packaging converters and brand owners.

Henkel is acquiring Stahl for an enterprise value of €2.1 billion, buying the stakes held by Wendel, BASF and Clariant, to strengthen Stahl's specialty coatings for flexible materials. Completion is subject to closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

Samson Controls (China) won a public tender for 91 self-acting control valves for the CNOOC and Shell Petrochemicals Huizhou Phase 3 ethylene project, with a winning bid of CNY 603,000 including VAT. The award was published on January 27, 2026.

Minerals Technologies expects to commission a new satellite plant in China early in 2026 for paper and packaging filler and coating technology.

Loop and Ester Industries' joint venture ELITe awarded Toyo Engineering India a detailed engineering contract for the Infinite Loop India PET resin plant, designed to produce over 70,000 tonnes of PET resin annually.

Ampo Poyam Valves has supplied forged gate valves, including 24-inch 1500-class units in F91 material, for the ethylene unit of BASF's CR Cluster in Zhanjiang, Guangdong, China, for EPC contractor HQC.

Binh Son Petroleum Packaging and Trading JSC published a direct-bidding tender for additives used in packaging production, with a tender value of 1,448,949,600 VND. Bid closing is listed as 6 October 2025, and the notice was published on 29 October 2025.

Westlake Corporation agreed to acquire the global compounding solutions businesses of Portugal-based ACI/Perplastic Group, a maker of PVC, polyolefin, silicone and thermoplastic rubber compounds with four plants, with closing expected in early 2026.

Air Liquide signed a binding agreement to acquire DIG Airgas from Macquarie Asia-Pacific Infrastructure Fund 2 at an enterprise value of EUR 2.85 billion (KRW 4.6 trillion). Closing is expected in the first half of 2026.

Grupo Cobra and Masa, subsidiaries of Cobra IS, were awarded electrical, piping and industrial mechanical works for a €1.2 billion second-generation biofuel plant in Palos de la Frontera, Huelva, for Moeve and Apical, with 500,000 tonnes per year capacity.

thyssenkrupp Uhde's subsidiary Uhde Inventa-Fischer signed a Letter of Intent with KÖKSAN to deliver two PET resin plants, one in Gaziantep, Türkiye and one in Babylon, Iraq with Al Mutahida Packaging, each with 324,000 tons per year capacity. Completion is planned for 2027 and 2028.

The European Commission approved without conditions the acquisition of Nova Chemicals by ADNOC and OMV, part of a broader merger plan with Borealis and Borouge. The approval was reported on 10 July 2025.

Linde will supply industrial gases to a low-carbon ammonia plant in Louisiana. The announcement was reported June 27, 2025.

ExxonMobil introduced its ExxonMobil Signature Polymers portfolio brand, uniting its polyolefin products.