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drymix.info Newsletter 214/2018; ISSN Number 1613-0111; 14. October 2018

1. Dubai Municipality Entrusts MEDMA with Expertise on Tile Adhesives Testing According to ISO 13007
2. SEADMA Mortar Technology Day, 7. November 2018, Bangkok, Thailand
3. Planned Cocktail Reception on 7.11.18 Replaced by SEADMA Open EC Meeting
4. 13th Annual SEADMA Conference, Bangkok, Thailand, 8. November 2018
5. 3D Printing: Technical Committee Appointed
6. Former AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals Becomes Nouryon
7. Remmers Establishes Subsidiary in Slovakia
8. Bostik to Increases Prices for Germany in 2019
9. Emaar Buys White Cement Plant in Egypt from Helwan/HeidelbergCement
10. Sika: New Plant in Dubai Industrial City
11. Wacker Polymers Increases Prices for Dispersions in the Americas

1. Dubai Municipality Entrusts MEDMA with Expertise on Tile Adhesives Testing According to ISO 13007

The Middle East Drymix Mortar Association MEDMA e.V. has obtained the mandate to issue an expertise for the standardisation of tile adhesives in accordance with ISO 13007 in Dubai. The mandate was issued by Dubai Municipality, Dubai Central Labs Material Testings Section (DCL). Since 2007 (over ten years now!), MEDMA is closely cooperating with DCL on all fields concerning quality and/or certification of drymix mortars. Since 2012, DCL is running the Middle East Competence Center for Drymix Mortars, a laboratory which can perform all necessary tests on cementitious tile adhesives (CTA) according to ISO 13007. The Gulf Standardisation Organisation GSO has adopted ISO 13007 as binding standard for all member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) back in 2008. National legislation has been effected in Saudi Arabia in 2013 already. In the course of the cooperation with the Saudi Standards and Metrology Organisation SASO, MEDMA has initiated the first translation of ISO 13007 into Arabic in 2012 – this work was carried out by experts from Sharjah Research Academy.

Now, DCL and Dubai Municipality want to see to the speedy introduction of ISO 13007 in Dubai and have asked MEDMA to deliver an expertise as basis for its decision within October 2018. The Technical Chairman of MEDMA, Mohammed Sanaobar is preparing the document with MEDMA members, the President of MEDMA will present the draft expertise to interested drymix mortar producers (not only to members of MEDMA of course!) in the United Arab Emirates from Sunday, 21.10.18 to Wednesday, 24.10.18.

Should you be interested to enter into the review process, please drop us a line immediately – and make an appointment with Leo next week.

2. SEADMA Mortar Technology Day, 7. November 2018, Bangkok, Thailand

The SEADMA Mortar Technology Day is beginning to take shape. The Thai Drymix Mortar Group (Thai Concrete Association, Mortar Subchapter) and The South East Asia Drymix Mortar Association SEADMA in cooperation with the main partners Bouygues Thai, Maltech, Parex Group and Insee Mortar (Siam City Cement) organize this industry workshop. Each of the main partners will bring it its own clients from the Thai construction industry (developers, consultants/architects, contractors and specialized sub-contractors). The program will feature practical technical lectures on the industrial application of renders (plasters), jobsite logistics and automation, the interaction of the raw material suppliers with the contractors as well as an outlook onto future building technologies such as 3D printing of mortars.

The SEADMA Mortar Technology Day takes place on 7.11.18, from 13:00 to 18:00 at Swissotel Ratchada (le Concorde), Bangkok. The event is free of charge for the guests of the main partners (by invitation only), the organizing committee has recently decided to admit industry observers which pay 350 Euro per person, reduced to 270 Euro for drymix.info or SEADMA members or partners. Mortar producers only pay 150 Euro per person. Pre registration is absolutely mandatory.

3. Planned Cocktail Reception on 7.11.18 Replaced by SEADMA Open EC Meeting

Attention, here is an important change of program: due to limited response and the lack of a sponsor we had  to cancel the cocktail reception unfortunately. This event was initially planned as a networking session between the delegates of The SEADMA Mortar Technology Day and those of the 13th Annual SEADMA Conference.

BUT (here is the good news): SEADMA is conducting an open Executive Committee (EC) meeting on 7.11.18, 19:00, consisting of a discussion session and dinner. It was decided to invite all interested representatives of mortar producers to this event, which have already arrived for the 13th Annual SEADMA Conference.

Admission is free of charge for mortar producers, all others will be asked to make a contribution on-site. Pre-registration absolutely mandatory.

4. 13th Annual SEADMA Conference, Bangkok, Thailand, 8. November 2018

The Thai Drymix Mortar Group (Thai Concrete Association TCA, Mortar Subchapter) and The South East Asia Drymix Mortar Association SEADMA jointly invite to the 13th Annual SEADMA Conference and Industry Showcase at Swissotel Ratchada (le Concorde) in Bangkok, Thailand on Thursday, 8. November 2018. Honored Prof. Dr. Thanakorn Pheeraphan, TCA's Chairman, has agreed to address the assembly in his welcome note. The entire program has recently been published in our Newsletter, updates are available online on www.drymix.info. Delegates from most Nations of South East Asia have already registered, namely from Indonesia, Vietnam, The Philippines, Singapore, Myanmar and Malaysia, we certainly hope that drymix mortar makers from Cambodia, Brunei and Laos get wind of our event so we can complete the line-up. Sponsors include (in alphabetical order) Actemium, Avebe, Dairen, Haver & Boecker, Imerys Aluminates, Maltech, Parex Group, Poraver, Siam City Cement (Insee Mortar), Testing Bluhm & Feuerherdt and Wacker Chemie (additional support is always welcome ;-).

Admission to the 13th Annual SEADMA Conference on 8.11.18 is 350 €, reduced to 270 € for SEADMA, drymix.info or MEDMA Partners. Drymix mortar producers pay only 150 €. Special: Mortar Producers from outside Thailand pay only 100 €uro per person. Please register online on www.drymix.info using your credit cards (Visa or Master).

5. Scaling Up 3D: Call for Papers Issued, Technical Committee Appointed

As announced earlier, Scaling Up 3D, The Interdisciplinary Conference on Printable Mortars, is being organized by drymix.info in the last week of June 2019 in the Washington DC, USA area. The exact date and location will be announced in our newsletter at a later date. But now it is time to find scientific and technical papers to create an interesting program and make Scaling Up 3D a successful meeting. A Call for Papers has been issued last week and is available for all who want to lecture on their research work (please contact us!), testing setups and/or practical experiences (case studies). This Call for Papers expires on 31. January 2019, after which the Technical Committee will choose the works to be presented.

Also, drymix.info needs signals from the industry about sponsoring, without early and encouraging support, a complex conference without attachment to a technical college or university is impossible. So please contact us and pledge your support and commitment.

For the technical committee, drymix.info has already found tremendous help, it consists of:
Prof. Dr. Peter Fischer, Editor of Applied Rheology and President of The European Society of Rheology (ESR), Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH), Zürich, Switzerland (Technical Chairman)
Dr. Scott Z. Jones, National Institute of Standards and Technology NIST, Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA
Prof. Dr. Dietmar Aloys Stephan, Technische Universität Berlin, Germany
and Ferdinand Leopolder

High performance mortars with defined rheological properties as well as curing behaviour and strength development play a vital role when it comes to automated (robot-supported) additive printing of three-dimensional structures. This formulation design is key knowhow at drymix.info members and partners. Also, many partners of drymix.info provide mortar machinery and processing knowledge to this young industry, ensuring steady pressure at the extrusion point, continuous, controlable (and changeable) flow and finishing technologies.

6. Former AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals Becomes Nouryon

The former AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals Division, which included AkzoNobel Chemicals AG, Sempach-Station, Switzerland and many other specialty chemical businesses within AkzoNobel had recently been sold to private equity companies The Carlyle Group and GIC Singapore (we reported earlier, transaction value was estimated to be 11.000 mio Euro). The activities have been re-named recently to Nouryon, the company headquarters is in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The company had a turnover of 5.000 mio Euro in 2017, and profit (EBITDA) was estimated at 1.000 mio Euro in that year. “Launching our new company is a significant milestone to add to our proud history and we are all looking forward to this exciting new chapter,” said new Nouryon CEO Charles W. Shaver. It is expected, that Nouryon will try to make an Inital Public Offering (IPO) in 4 to 6 years.

7. Remmers Establishes Subsidiary in Slovakia

Remmers GmbH, Löningen, Germany will establish a subsidiary in Martin, Central Slovakia. According to Remmers, demand has been strong for surface coatings and construction chemical products in Central Europe. Also flooring, concrete protection and renovation play an increasing role. Instead of acting from Löningen (North-Western Germany), Remmers expects improved logistics and shorter response time from the new base in Slowakia.

8. Bostik to Increases Prices for Germany in 2019

Bostik GmbH, Borgholzhausen, Germany, has recently announced price increases for all business segments effective 1. January 2019 or as customer contracts allow. In some segments, such as silicone sealants, the increase ranges from 10 to 20%. The company cited significant increases of almost all raw materials as main reason for the measure. Some of those feedstocks are even in short supply. But also higher costs along the entire logistics chain as well as wages and regulating costs (CLP, REACH) played a role in the decision.

9. Emaar Buys White Cement Plant in Egypt from Helwan/HeidelbergCement

Emaar Industries, Dubai, United Arab Emirates has reached an agreement to purchase the white cement plant in Minya, Egypt from Helwan Cement, Cairo Egypt (part of Suez Cement, in turn part of HeidelbergCement, Heidelberg, Germany). The white cement plant in Minya was commissioned in 1991 and produces CEM I 52.5 and CEM II 42.5 white cements. The transaction value was not disclosed in detail, the deal is still subject to the usual conditions as well as the de-merging of the plant from Helwan Cement. Nevertheless, it is expected to be completed in Q4 2018 or Q1 2019. “As a niche product with small volumes, the standalone production of white cement does not fit to the strategic focus on efficiency of HeidelbergCement,” said Dr. Bernd Scheifele, Chairman of the Managing Board of HeidelbergCement.

10. Sika: New Plant in Dubai Industrial City

Sika AG of Baar, Switzerland has recently bundled some of its industrial activities in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The company has relocated its existing concrete admixtures plant to Dubai Industrial City and added a drymix mortar plant and a reactor for polymerizations at the same location. Also, enlarged offices, warehousing and logistics capacity will be available at the new site. Ivo Schädler, Leader EMEA of Sika said: "The new site in Dubai Industrial City is located conveniently between Dubai and Abu Dhabi and we will establish it as strategic production, service and logistics center for the GCC Nations (...)“ .

11. Wacker Polymers Increases Prices for Dispersions in the Americas

Wacker Chemie AG, Wacker Polymers Division, Munich, Germany has announced that it will raise prices for dispersions (trade name Vinnapas) in the Americas by 10 %. The price increase becomes effective on 5. November 2018, or as existing contracts allow. Wacker attributes the measure to the higher raw material prices, namely that of vinyl acetate monomer (VAM), a key raw material for the manufacturing of vinyl acetate-ethylene copolymer dispersions. Apart from that, higher logistics cost are being cited.


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Editor-in-Chief: Ferdinand Leopolder.

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Sincerely Yours, Ferdinand Leopolder