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drymix.info Newsletter 207/2018; ISSN Number 1613-0111; 9. April 2018

1. admmc six, Chicago, 26-04-18: drymix.info Club on Wednesday, Raffle on Thursday
2. Call for Support for MEDMA Contractor/Consultant Workshops Expires this Week
3. SEADMA Vietnam Kick-off Meeting in Ho Chi Minh City: 17. July 2018
4. The 2nd South American Drymix Mortar Meeting, Medellín, 21.8.18: Preliminary Program
5. Knauf Makes Offer for US Gypsum (USG) Takeover
6. AkzoNobel Sells Chemical Division to Carlyle and GIC
7. Sika Starts up New Mortar Plant in Vietnam
8. TUM-Asia Singapore Offers Master Class in Construction Chemistry

1. admmc six, Chicago, 26-04-18: drymix.info Club on Wednesday, Raffle on Thursday

The 6th American Drymix Mortar Conference and Industry Showcase admmc six takes place at Hyatt Regency McCormick Place Hotel, Chicago, IL, USA on April 26, 2018. A comprehensive lecturing program as well as a large Industry Showcase accompanies the event. Plus: the new Drymix Mortar Yearbook 2018 will be published on this occasion.

There are some specials we would like to outline for our delegates in this newsletter:
a) Casual drymix.info club event (= Delegate Welcome and Pre-Registration) in the conference hotel lobby bar (“ARC Bar”) with pre-check-in option: Wednesday, April 25, 6 to 8 pm. This get together is  sponsored by Cementos Molins and drymix.info. Free of charge but pre-registration is mandatory by e-mail to info@drymix.info (if you not already have done so)
b) There will be a raffle during the day on Thursday,
you can win one of two brand new Apple I-Phones X.. The only thing you have to do is mingle, mingle, mingle (and get your mingling rated by our sponsors ;-)

Admission per person to admmc six is 350 Euro, reduced to 270 Euro for drymix.info members. Drymix mortar producers pay only 150 Euro per person. To register, please use our website if you can (Visa or Mastercard required).

2. Call for Support for MEDMA Contractor/Consultant Workshops Expires this Week

Before the Annual General Meeting of The Middle East Drymix Mortar Association MEDMA e.V. there will be the Kick-Off Meeting to discuss and plan the MEDMA Contractor/Consultant Workshops, which will take place on 20.9.18: Construction Adhesives, on 29.11.18: Repair Mortars and Concrete Renovation and on 24.1.19: Renders – Plasters - and Machine Application of Mortars. MEDMA members (mortar manufacturers only) are given until Thursday, 12. April 2018 to submit their proposals for the workshops (we reported earlier).

The Kick-Off meeting takes place at Wacker Academy, Dubai Silicone Oasis on 7. May 2018, we start at 14:00. At 16:00, the MEDMA e.V. Annual General Assembly takes place, to which all members and partners are warmly invited. Pre-registration is mandatoy for both events by e-mail to info@drymix.info.

Attendance is free of charge for drymix mortar manufacturers (up to two delegates per company, additional delegates pay only AED 680 | 150 €), but advance registration is absolutely mandatory. Industry observers pay AED 1.580 | 350 €, reduced to AED 1.250 | 270 € for MEDMA or drymix.info members.

3. SEADMA Vietnam Kick-off Meeting in Ho Chi Minh City: 17. July 2018

The SEADMA Vietnam Kick-off meeting (we reported earlier) will take place on Tuesday, 17. July 2018 from 14:00 to 18:00 at the historic Continental Hotel, Ho Chi Minh City. To this meeting all interested drymix mortar producers (skim coats, renders/plasters, tile adhesives, specialty mortars) are being encouraged to join and exchange thoughts on the formation of SEADMA's local chapter for Vietnam. Industry support is highly appreciated for this meeting, please enquire with us.

Attendance is free of charge for drymix mortar manufacturers (up to two delegates per company, additional delegates pay only VND 4.200 | 150 € per person), but advance registration is absolutely mandatory. Industry observers pay VND 10.000 | 350 €, reduced to VND 7.500 | 270 € for MEDMA or drymix.info members.

4. The 2nd South American Drymix Mortar Meeting, Medellín, 21.8.18: Preliminary Program

The 2nd South American Drymix Mortar Meeting takes place on Tuesday, 21. August 2018 at Intercontinental Hotel, Medellín, Colombia. The 2nd South American Drymix Mortar Meeting gives drymix mortar experts the ideal occasion to meet, chat, network and grasp future trends for our industry. Sponsors are still welcome! Here is a glimpse at our program (sorted alphabetically by company name; subject to change without notice):

Allgaier Mogensen, Juan Cebrian: Compact and Efficient Solutions for the Preparation of Aggregates for the Drymix Mortar Industry
Bernhard Hanisch: The Influence of Wall Surfaces on the Acoustical Performance of Rooms
Dow, Ricardo Hernandez: Synthesis and Characterization of Cross-linked Cellulose Ethers and their Use in Cement Tile Adhesives
Formitex, Celeste BoSung Kim: The First HPMC Plant in South America, with Zero Emission of Wastes
Granitos y Mármoles (Gramar), Leidy López López: (working title) The Installation of Natural Stone Tiles - a Challenge for Cementitious Tile Adhesives
Haver Filling Systems, Kevin Rodriguez: Sealed Packaging of Dry Goods
Imerys Aluminates, Samuel Oliveira: Powering Performance into Drymix Mortars with Calcium Aluminate Technologies        
Mapei, Dr. Stefano Carrà: Tile Adhesives' Water Immersion Stability: Testing and     
Wacker Chemie, Héctor Muñoz: Influence of Substrate and Ambient Environment on Mortar Bond Strength

Admission to the 2nd South American Drymix Mortar Meeting is 350 Euro, reduced to 270 Euro for members of drymix.info. Mortar Manufacturers pay only 150 Euro. Online registration (visa or Mastercard required) is available on www.drymix.info. Special rebates are available for delegates of drymix mortar producers flying in from other Central American Nations, please enquire with us!

5. Knauf Makes Offer for US Gypsum (USG) Takeover

Gebr. Knauf KG (Knauf Gips), Iphofen, Germany has recently made another offer to take over the remaining shares of USG Corp., Chicago, Illinois, USA amounting to 4.800 mio Euro (US$ 5,900 mio; equivalent to US$ 42 per share, 25$ on top of the closing price). Knauf is already to second largest shareholder of USG (10,5 %). The USG majority was acquired by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Omaha, Nebraska, USA in the wake of the sub-prime loan crisis back in 2009. USG was founded in 1902 and produces ceiling tiles and gypsum boards, USG has coined and owns the famous brand “Sheetrock”, an almost generic term for cardboard backed gypsum boards for interior walls in the US. Currently, USG employs 6.800 people and had sales of 2.600 mio Euro (US$ 3.200 mio) in 2017 (+ 6,2 %).

The board of USG rejected the offer for being too low: “Knauf’s (...) proposal is wholly inadequate as it does not reflect USG’s intrinsic value, including the significant opportunities ahead of us,” said Steven Leer, USG’s non-executive chairman. Since Berkshire Hathaway has shown interest in selling its stake under certain conditions to Knauf, other shareholders are likely to follow suit, of course only if the purchase price per share is higher (“sweetened offer”).

6. AkzoNobel Sells Chemical Division to Carlyle and GIC

AkzoNobel N.V. of Amsterdam, The Netherlands has sold its recently spun-off specialty chemicals business to Carlyle Group, Washington, D.C., USA and GIC Pte. Ltd., Singapore (former Government of Singapore Investment Corporation) for the sum of 8.900 mio Euro in cash (we reported earlier on the spin-off). AkzoNobel will use the bulk of the cash inflow for dividend increase for its shareholders. The chemical division of AkzoNobel is said to include, amongst others, its business with redispersible powders and mortar additives (tradename Elotex) and cellulose ethers (tradename Bermocoll).

Details on the share distribution between various Carlyle funds, independent investors and GIC were not given yet. The transaction is still subject to customary closing conditions, consultation with the relevant employee representative bodies and regulatory approval, it is expected to be completed before the end of 2018.

7. Sika Starts up New Mortar Plant in Vietnam

Sika AG, Baar, Switzerland, has recently commissioned a drymix mortar plant at its existing production site in Bac Ninh (near Hanoi in the North of Vietnam). At the Bac Ninh site, there is already a production unit for concrete admixtures. Sika estimates the construction sector will grow by close to 10% this year and continue sustainably at levels well over 7% for the next 8 to 10 years. Sika also expects to profit from legislative measures banning jobsite mixtures in Vietnam.

8. TUM-Asia Singapore Offers Master Class in Construction Chemistry

TUM-Asia, Singapore (a subsidiary of Technische Universität München TUM, Munich, Germany), is starting a new Master course in Industrial Chemistry. The class is being supported by National University of Singapore (NUS) and several Chinese universities. Professors from TUM will lead the classes, Prof. Dr. Johann Plank, Chair for Construction Chemistry is amongst them. The first class starts on 1. August 2018. The program is administered by Dr. Iulius Markovits at TUM-Asia (iulius.markovits@tum-asia.edu.sg), he can also give interested students with a chemistry, chemical engineering or material science background more details about the application process and its requirements.

After a common first semester featuring the fundamentals of inorganic and general chemistry, students will specialize either in “materials in construction” or “petrochemistry/catalysis”. In the construction oriented curriculum, the modules “fundamentals of material properties”, “mix design of concrete and mortar”, “chemistry of cement and its hydration” and “chemical admixtures” such as superplasticizers and latex polymers will be taught. The third semester includes a mandatory industrial internship in a company in Asia or Europe followed by a 6 month Master thesis, optionally at TUM or in the industry.

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