Kemira Inaugurates Its Chemical Production Plant in Nanjing, China

Global chemicals company Kemira celebrated the completion of its new Nanjing production base in November. The Nanjing plant is located in the Nanjing Chemical Park, Jiangsu Province. Kemira says future investments into the plant will amount to approximately US$100 million in an area of 77,000 sq. m. (828,500 sq. ft.). It will provide a wide range of functional and process chemicals for water-intensive industries such as the paper industry. The estimated annual capacity is 100,000 tons. The first phase of operations provides nearly 100 jobs for the local community. Construction was completed in August 2013, and production started at the end of 2013.

Kemira’s new plant is focused on the Asian market, China in particular. Production will be mainly serving the paper industry, while at the same time providing products and services to the oil & mining industry and municipal water treatment. Currently there are five production lines serving across an array of chemical products for pulp and paper manufacturing. The production capacity for sizing agent (ASA), which mainly used for improving water-resistance in middle to high end paper, will be the largest in Asia. Besides ASA products, the new plant also produces polyacrylic ester, polyacrylamide emulsion, defoamers, and deinking agents, all of which are widely applied in key paper manufacturing processes.

“This investment is an important move for Kemira to strengthen its position in China and promote sustainable development in the paper industry,” said Jari Rosendal, President and CEO of Kemira. He further noted, “Here in China and Asia-Pacific, we see huge business potential for us especially in serving the paper industry. We demonstrated our commitment to this industry and the region recently by announcing the acquisition of AkzoNobel’s global paper chemical business. This alone will double the size and scope of our business in the Asia-Pacific region.”

ICA Fluor To Build $1.3-Billion
Coker Plant in Mexico

Fluor Corporation announced December 3rd that its ICA Fluor industrial engineering-construction joint venture with Empresas ICA, S.A.B. de C.V. signed a contract with Pemex Refinación for the construction of the delayed coker unit that will be installed at the Miguel Hidalgo Refinery in Tula, Hidalgo, Mexico. The total contract value is $1.3 billion, and Fluor will book its $650 million share of the contract in the fourth quarter of 2014.

ICA Fluor was awarded a contract for Phase I of the Residue Recovery Project for the Miguel Hidalgo Refinery in 2013. This Phase II contract involves providing detailed engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for the 86,000-barrels-per-day capacity plant. It is the first package to be converted to the EPC stage under the open book established in the Phase I contract. The mechanical completion of the project is scheduled for the second quarter of 2018.

"This project is a major step in the modernization of Mexico's oil processing facilities," said Juan Carlos Santos Fernandez, director general of ICA Fluor. "We are proud to be in the position to support Pemex with our Mexican engineering and construction resources to advance the key goals set forth in its strategic plan."

ICA Fluor is the leading industrial engineering-construction company in Mexico, dedicated to the engineering, procurement, construction and maintenance of industrial facilities in the oil and gas, chemical, petrochemical, automotive, power, mining and telecommunication industries.

Nestlé Launches 'Zero Water'
Operations in Mexico

Nestlé has expanded its dairy factory in Jalisco, Mexico, transforming it into the company's first "zero water" manufacturing site in the world. The company has installed new processes and equipment at the "Cero Agua" factory, located in the central, water-stressed state of Jalisco, which will enable it to use recycled water from its dairy operations. Nestlé plans to replicate this approach in other factories globally.

The water resource savings are equivalent to the volume needed per day to fill an Olympic-size swimming pool, or enough water to meet the average daily consumption of 6,400 people in Mexico. Over the past 60 years, the amount of water available for each person in Mexico has declined drastically due to population growth. Saving groundwater is therefore important for the continued wellbeing of local populations.

The amount of groundwater that the Cero Agua dairy saves each day, around 1.6 million litres, will amount to roughly 15 percent of the total water used by Nestlé in Mexico each year in its factories, operations and offices. Such water savings are part of Nestlé efforts to promote the "conservation, treatment, recycling and water efficiency in our operations and among farmers, suppliers and other partners in our supply chain," said Marcelo Melchior, who heads Nestlé Mexico.

Iconic Australian Project Set
To Expand Production

In November, Nestlé Australia unveiled the final stage of a substantial three-year project to expand the production capabilities of its factory at Smithtown on the New South Wales mid-north coast. This latest investment includes the construction of new facilities to house state-of-the-art technology, the first of its kind in Australia.

Over the last three years, around AU$53 million has been invested into the factory with a large majority of those funds allocated to bring production of NESCAFÉ CAFÉ MENU permanently to Smithtown following an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in South Korea in 2010. The investment has created nearly 25 full-time positions since 2011.

Nestlé Australia's Business Executive Manager - Beverages, Evan Gongolidis, said the expansion had seen the creation of a permanent home for NESCAFÉ CAFÉ MENU.

"The decision to create this substantial investment and a long term vision for our business in Smithtown is a tribute to the region, its residents and the local economy," he said.

State Member for Oxley, Mr Andrew Stoner, said Nestlé had continued to show confidence in the Macleay Valley and Mid North Coast with its ongoing investment at the Smithtown factory. "Nestlé is not only one of the biggest employers in the area but has also been in Smithtown for more than 90 years - with many more to come," he said. The factory has been operating at Smithtown since 1921 and is the birthplace of MILO, the iconic milk drink that was invented 80 years ago and has been produced at the factory ever since. The factory also manufactures NESQUIK and NESTLÉ Malted Milk.

BorgWarner Opens Manufacturing
Plant in Portugal

BorgWarner opened its new production plant in Lanheses, Viana do Castelo, Portugal, on November 7, 2014, with an inauguration ceremony attended by Deputy Prime Minister Paulo Portas and BorgWarner representatives. The state-of-the-art building expands BorgWarner's production capacity to meet growing demand for several exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) technologies, such as EGR coolers and EGR tubes, as well as glow-plug control modules for passenger cars and commercial vehicles. With a total facility area of 280,000 square feet (26,000 square meters), the new facility provides 50 percent more manufacturing space than the currently rented site in Valenca and has additional space for future expansion.

"Investing in our strategically important location in Portugal reinforces our international product leadership position in advanced EGR solutions engineered to reduce emissions," said Brady Ericson, President and General Manager, BorgWarner Emissions Systems. "Our customized EGR and diesel cold-start technologies help automakers fulfill increasingly strict emissions regulations such as the Euro 6 standard scheduled to take effect in Europe this year."

By opening the new plant in Portugal, BorgWarner has taken the next step toward expanding production of its diesel cold-start technologies while meeting growing demand for EGR technologies currently manufactured at the facility in Valenca. BorgWarner's EGR technologies help automakers reduce NOx emissions by recirculating and cooling exhaust gases to reduce combustion temperatures. BorgWarner's diesel cold-start technology contributes significantly to a cleaner combustion process. The use of state-of-the-art building thermal insulation and a combination of natural and energy-efficient lighting reduces the building's energy costs up to 50 percent compared with the plant in Valenca. BorgWarner intends to complete the shift of its present production lines in Valenca to the newly inaugurated site in Viana do Castelo in early 2015.

Honda Chooses Ontario Plant
for an $857-Million Investment

Canada's Province of Ontario is partnering with Honda to make the company's Alliston, Ont., plant one of the most innovative in North America, Premier Kathleen Wynne announced Nov. 6th. The partnership will support 4,000 highly skilled jobs at the plant and thousands more in the supply chain.

Honda will invest about $857 million over three years in leading-edge technologies for vehicle assembly and engine manufacturing, as well as worker training and research and development partnerships with Ontario universities and colleges. This project will make Honda's Alliston operations a teaching plant for all other Honda facilities worldwide.

"Today, we employ more than 4,000 highly skilled Ontarians in our three plants, have built over 6 million vehicles in this province and our total manufacturing investments in Ontario will now reach nearly $3.9 billion," noted Jerry Chenkin, President and CEO, Honda Canada Inc. "I would like to thank the Government of Ontario for supporting our efforts to innovate and remain competitive in an increasingly aggressive global automotive market."

Ontario will provide a conditional grant of up to $85.7 million for this project. Provincial support helped Honda of Canada Mfg. in Alliston win out over other Honda plants which were competing to be chosen for this project. The province's investment will help enhance workers' skills and secure the Alliston plant's long-term future.

"Our government is proud to partner with companies that are making the investments in innovation and skills that help us compete globally," said Kathleen Wynne, Premier of Ontario. "The fact that Ontario successfully competed for this project reinforces our position as a global leader in auto manufacturing, and it is a vote of confidence in our province as a great place to do business - now and in the future."

TI To Open 300mm Wafer Bumping Facility in Chengdu, China

Texas Instruments announced Nov. 5th it will expand its manufacturing capacity in Chengdu, China, with a 300-mm wafer-bumping facility. The addition of this manufacturing process in Chengdu further increases TI's 300-mm analog capacity and its ability to support customer demand. TI announced the new operation in concert with an event celebrating the grand opening of its seventh assembly/test (A/T) facility. The 358,000 sq.-ft. (33,258-sq.-m.) A/T facility was purchased from UTAC Chengdu Ltd. in December 2013 and is now qualified and in production using advanced quad-flat no-leads (QFN) packaging technology.

TI's manufacturing investment in China began in 2010 with the opening of the company's first wafer fabrication plant in Chengdu. TI extended its investment with the adjacent A/T facility, that opened in November. TI will now further extend its operations in Chengdu with a 300-mm wafer bumping facility on its Chengdu High-tech Zone (CDHT) campus.

"The CDHT has been a dynamic area of economic development in West China, offering a strong environment for investment and government service," said Kevin Ritchie, senior vice president of TI's Technology & Manufacturing Group. "We're pleased to extend our 300-mm manufacturing capabilities at our world-class Chengdu facility to further ensure continuity of supply to our customers and support their growth."

Wafer bumping is a manufacturing process for advanced packaging technologies, which is completed prior to assembly. The process replaces wire bonding as the interconnection by applying solder, in the form of bumps, or balls, to a device at the wafer level. Nearly 40 percent of TI's wafer production is manufactured using bump techniques.