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drymix.info Newsletter 172/2015; ISSN Number 1613-0111; 2. December 2015

1. Sydney, 18.2.2016: Delegate Welcome on 17.2. Sponsored by CTA and Wacker
2. drymix.info Plans Additional Meetings in The Philippines and Argentina in 2016
3. MC Bauchemie Acquires Bautek Chile
4. Sto Acquires Majority Interest in Ströher
5. Celanese Expands Acetic Acid and VAM Capacity in the US
6. Air Products Re-Names its Materials Division to "Versum Materials"
7. IsoBouw Closes EPS Facility in Germany
8. Bakhtar Industry Group Joins drymix.info as Industrial Partner

1. Sydney, 18.2.2016: Delegate Welcome on 17.2. Sponsored by CTA and Wacker

The Third Australia Drymix Mortar Meeting takes place on Thursday, 18. February 2016 at Novotel Sydney Brighton Beach (at Brighton Le Sands, not far from Sydney International Airport). The evening before, on Wednesday, 17. February 2016, 19:00 a Delegate Welcome takes place along with the pre-check-in. We are happy to announce, that Wacker Chemie and Construction Technologies Australia (CTA) are sponsoring this event! The meeting on the next day unites drymix mortar experts from Australia and New Zealand with researchers and the raw materials and equipment supplying industry (the programme has been published earlier and has been updated on our website).

Hotel Accomodation: Novotel Sydney Brighton Beach has granted us a group rate, which is AU$ 229 for single occupancy (breakfast not included). Please book soon, this offer is only based upon room availability. When booking the room (by phone 02 9556 5111 or online at www.novotelbrightonbeach.com.au), please mention the following Promotional Code: INT020216.

Admission for the meeting is 210 €, reduced for drymix.info members to 180 €. The specially reduced admission for drymix mortar manufacturers is only 110 €. Online registration is available through our drymix.info shop (Visa or Mastercard required). Invoicing is also possible, please contact us.

2. drymix.info Plans Additional Meetings in The Philippines and Argentina in 2016

Due to positive feedback and actual requests from the regions, drymix.info decided to organize regional meetings in The Philippines and in Argentina in 2016. Our second meeting in The Philippines will take place in Manila, of course, and is scheduled to take place in March 2016, this meeting will be arranged on behalf of The South East Asia Drymix Mortar Association SEADMA and in cooperation with the newly founded Philippine Drymix Mortar Manufacturer's Association (Phil DMMA). Our so-called Southern Hemisphere meeting will take place in Buenos Aires, Argentina and we hope to unite spanish speaking experts from South America there (Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay and of course Argentina).

Attention supporters: this is a pre conference announcement and we will not issue separate Calls for Papers for these two meetings. The deadline for scientific lecturing proposals (case studies, reports about practical experiences or technical papers) for both events is 31. January 2016 (commercial content will not be accepted). I would like to ask our regular supporters also to step forward with sponsoring support, so the risk for us is limited.

3. MC-Bauchemie Acquires Bautek Chile

MC-Bauchemie Müller GmbH & Co. KG, Bottrop, Germany, via their subsidiary MC-Bauchemie do Brasil has recently acquired the operations of Bautek S.A., Santiago de Chile. Bautek is a producer of waterproofing solutions, concrete repair systems as well as cementitious tile adhesives and construction chemicals. Thus, their portfolio is quite similar to that of MC Bauchemie. Bautek SA has been re-named to MC Bautek recently.

Jaques Pinto, CEO of MC-Bauchemie do Brasil also announced the building of a brand new drymix mortar production unit in Brasil - the exact location was not yet disclosed.

4. Sto Acquires Majority Interest in Ströher

Sto SE & Co. KGaA, Stühlingen, Germany, has recently acquired a majority interest in  Ströher GmbH, Dillenburg, Germany. Ströher, a specialist for weatherproof ceramic materials has 240 employees and an annual turnover (2014) of 32 mio. The company makes specialty ceramics for high-traffic areas as well as frost resistant ceramic plates for terraces and facades. According to both companies, the cooperation will focus on expanding the business with thin brick imitations ("Klinker-Riemchen") which go on top of External Insulation and Finishing Systems (EIFS). The size of the investment was not disclosed, the acquisition is still subject to the necessary regulatory approvals.

5. Celanese Expands Acetic Acid and VAM Capacity in the US

Celanese Corporation, Dallas, Texas, USA has recently announced it will expand its acetic acid and vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) capacities at their Clear Lake, Texas, facility. Planned are debottleneckings at the acetic acid plant which are expected to yield up to 150.000 t/a more product. This will bring up the capacity for acetic acid there to over 1.5 mio t/a by year-end 2016. VAM at Clear Lake will also increase by 150.000 t/a (bringing the VAM capacity there up to 450.000 t/a) after an expansion, which is already being worked on and is expected come on line by 2018. The cost of the investment was not disclosed.

6. Air Products Re-Names its Materials Division to "Versum Materials"

Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. Allentown, PA, USA has recently spun off its materials technologies business (we reported earlier). The new company will be called Versum Materials. Guillermo Novo, currently the executive vice president of Air Product's materials technologies division, will become Versum Materials’ CEO at the completion of the spin-off. For fiscal year 2015, this division had sales of close to 2.000 mio Euro, its EBITDA margins were in excess of 27%. The business employs approximately 3.300 employees and operates in more than 12 countries across the globe.

7. IsoBouw Closes EPS Facility in Germany

IsoBouw GmbH, Abstatt, Germany has announced it will be closing its plant for expanded polystyrene panels (EPS) in Hermeskeil (in the western part of Germany). According to Christoph Nielacny, CEO of IsoBouw the market for EPS has become increasingly difficult in most parts of Germany in recent years. A specific impact came from the ongoing discussion about the flammability of EPS in External Insulation and Finishing Systems (EIFS). This discussion has led to an uncertainty, mainly in the target group of single family home buyers. Also in the field of renovations, where EIFS often is the system of choice, a reluctance to use (even flame-retardant) EPS could be detected.

8. Bakhtar Industry Group Joins drymix.info as Industrial Partner

Bakhtar Industry Group (B.N.H.) of Hamedan, Iran (about 300 km to the West of Teheran) has decided to join drymix.info as Industrial Partner. The company, established in 1998, is focussed upon plant design and equipment for the production of building materials. B.N.H. initially started with equipping many cement factories in Iran and is now designing and manufacturing processing and packaging equipment (such as driers and rotary packers) for cement, lime and gypsum factories.
 Another activity of B.N.H. is the design and turn key installation of plants for artificial stone and drymix mortars.

We warmly welcome Bakhtar Industry Group to our community.

The drymix.info Newsletter is being sent exclusively to registered subscribers and all members of drymix.info. Editor-in-Chief: Ferdinand Leopolder. Back issues will be published on www.drymix.info. Please also check our Chinese Edition on www.drymix.info.

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Sincerely Yours, Ferdinand Leopolder