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drymix.info Newsletter 201/2017; ISSN Number 1613-0111; 10. November 2017

1. 12th Annual SEADMA Conference in Nusajaya Johor, Malaysia, 23.11.17: already 100 Delegates Registered!
2. The 12th Middle East Drymix Mortar Conference, Sharjah, 26.11.17: ICCX and Banquet Details
3. Russian Mortar Days, Moscow, 30. January 2018: a Glimpse at the Program
4. Sika Opens New Plant in Angola
5. Akzo Nobel in Merger Talks with Axalta
6. Neuvendis Acquired by IMCD
7. Wacker to Increase VAE Dispersion Capacity in China
8. Dow Chemical and DuPont Complete Merger after 2 Years

1. 12th Annual SEADMA Conference in Nusajaya Johor, Malaysia, 23.11.17: already 100 Delegates Registered!

The 12th Annual SEADMA Conference takes place at Jen Hotel Puteri Harbor, Nusajaya Johor, Malaysia (just across the second link from Singapore) on Thursday, 23. November 2017, from 11:00 to 19:00. The newly formed Malaysia Drymix Mortar Manufacturer's Association MDMMA and SEADMA are proud to welcome the international delegates. The SEADMA/MEDMA Technical Bulletin 12 will be presented on this occasion. The program has recently been published on drymix.info.

We have arranged for a free shuttle service from the bus shelter at Takashimaya Department Store on Orchard Road, Singapore on 23.11.17 in the early morning., reservation by e-mail is absolutely mandatory, we ask for your understanding. You have to get a reservation number and will get the departure details once you are registered. If you send us your passport copy, it will speed up your immigration into Malaysia.

drymix.info Club: we are planning a casual gettogether on the harbour after the conference on 20:00 (everyone pays on his own). Again, advance reservation by e-mail is required, so we can reserve enough space for us.

Admission to the 12th Annual SEADMA Conference is 350 Euro per person, reduced for members of drymix.info to 270 Euro, drymix mortar Manufacturers pay only 150 Euro per person. A special rebate has been granted to members of our regional chapters, namely PhilDMMA, ThaiDMMA, Promindo and MalaysiaDMMA: members pay only 100 € per personl

2. The 12th Middle East Drymix Mortar Conference, Sharjah, 26.11.17: ICCX and Banquet Details

The 12th Middle East Drymix Mortar Conference takes place on Sunday, 26. November 2017 from 09:00 until 18:00 at University of Sharjah's Men's Engineering College, building M9, Al-Bayrouni Hall, ground floor. The MEDMA/SEADMA Technical Bulletin 12 will be published on this occasion. The program is available on our website, too.

The assembly leaves for an excursion visit to the International Cement and Concrete Exhibition ICCX Middle East at Sharjah Expo. Afterwards (ca. 18:15) we take a stroll to dinner at Beit Setti Restaurant on the Qasba Canal (ca. 500 m, the weather will be fine, for sure ;-): Prof. Dr. Mufid Samarai of Sharjah Research Academy has invited all delegates to this Gala Diner, thanks a lot. For organization purposes, it is ABSOLUTELY MANDATORY to pre-register for this Gala Dinner. Please do so when registering for our conference or by e-mail to info@drymix.info.

Admission to the Middle East Drymix Mortar Conference is 350 Euro, reduced admission for members of drymix.info, SEADMA or MEDMA is 270 Euro. Drymix mortar manufacturers pay only 150 Euro.

3. Russian Mortar Days, Moscow, 30. January 2018: a Glimpse at the Program

The scientific conference Russian Mortar Days 2018 takes place in Moscow, Russia on 30. January 2018. The event is hosted by the Moscow State University of Civil Engineering (MCU or MGSU), Technical Chairman is Vice-Rector Prof. Dr. Andrey Pustovgar. The Russian Mortar Days are being organized in a cooperation of MCU with The Association of Russian Mortar Producers SPSSS, The Russian Gypsum Association and drymix.info, The International Community for Drymix Mortars. Quintet Company, St. Petersburg, Russia is organizing the event locally. Like the previous events at MCU, Russian Mortar Days 2018 will feature 12 scientific lectures and an Industry Showcase. Apart from several Universities, Actemium, AkzoNobel, Henkel, Haver & Boecker, Kerneos, Lahti, Stroy Informace and Wacker have already confirmed scientific contributions. The exact program will be published in our next Newsletter. Attention international delegates: please obtain your Visa for Russia now!

Admission per person is 350 Euro, reduced to 270 Euro for drymix.info members. Drymix mortar producers pay only 150 Euro per person. Delegate registration for international visitors is available on the drymix.info website, for payments in Roubles within Russia, it is better to register with Quintet at baltimix.ru. A suitable hotel nearby is Hotel Cosmos, from which there is also a shuttle bus to MCU in the morning of 30.1.18.

4. Sika Opens New Plant in Angola

Sika AG, Baar, Switzerland has recently opened a new drymix mortar production facility in Luanda, Angola. The plant is located on an existing site, where Sika already produces concrete admixtures. Sika said it also recently commissioned drymix mortar production facilities in Nigeria and the Ivory Coast. According to Ivo Schädler, Sika's Leader for the EMEA region, Sika now operates 18 production plants in Africa.

5. AkzoNobel Confirms Merger Talks with Axalta

AkzoNobel N.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands has confirmed it is currently in merger talks with its US competitor Axalta, Philadelphia, PA. The companies are discussing a merger of equals of their coatings activities (AkzoNobel's Paints & Coatings business with Axalta Coating Systems). According to AkzoNobel, this step has already been discussed during the failed takeover attempt of PPG this year (we reported  earlier). AkzoNobel stated that the separation of its specialty chemicals business remains on track (target date for completion is April 2018) and that this re-structuring is not affected by the merger plans with Axalta.

6. Neuvendis Acquired by IMCD

IMCD N.V., Rotterdam, The Netherlands has announced in July 2017, that it has bought all shares of Neuvendis SpA, Milan, Italy. Neuvendis is a distributor active in the construction, paints & coatings, adhesives, plastics, ink, leather and other speciality chemical markets in Italy and Southern Europe. In 2016, the company’s turnover was 26,3 mio Euro and it had 20 employees. A transaction value was not disclosed by either party.

7. Wacker to Increase VAE Dispersion Capacity in China

Wacker Chemie AG, Munich Germany has announced that it will debottleneck its existing plant for the production of vinyl acetate-ethylene (VAE) copolymer dispersions (tradename Vinnapas) in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China. This process is expected to increase dispersion capacity by up to 30.000 tons per year. The announced investment package of 20 mio Euro also includes measures at Wacker’s Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu, plant for pryogenic silica and solid silicon rubber. Also new labs for several product groups are being realized at Wacker’s technical centre in Shanghai.

8. Dow Chemical and DuPont Complete Merger after 2 Years

Dow Chemical, Midland, Michigan and DuPont, Wilmington, Delaware, finally completed their merger of equals (we reported earlier). After all regulatory and board approvals have been obtained the management of the new company, called DowDuPont, immediately begins re-structuring and consolidation of the many production units and locations. Also, layoffs, sales of businesses and closures of sites have been announced to the employees. The goal of the restructuring of all activities of DowDuPont is to create three separate entities: Material Science („Dow“, headquartered in Midland, MI, segments include: Performance Plastics, Performance Materials & Chemicals, Infrastructure Solutions and Consumer Solutions), Specialty Materials and Agriculture (both headquartered in Wilmington, DE).

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.

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Sincerely Yours, Ferdinand Leopolder