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drymix.info Newsletter 153/2014; ISSN Number 1613-0111; 29. July 2014

1. cedmmc four, Istanbul, 10. and 11. September 2014

2. 9th Annual SEADMA Conference in Singapore, 11. November 2014

3. 2nd Australia Drymix Mortar Meeting, Yarra Valley, VIC, 13. and 14.11.2014 with Golf Tournament

4. MEDMA General Assembly (16. Nov.) and Workshop on Big 5 (17. Nov) in Dubai, UAE

5. idmmc five, Nürnberg, Germany, 20. April 2015: Call for Papers Issued

6. X-Calibur Sets Up New Drymix Mortar Plant in Egypt

7. Sika Opens New Plant in North Eastern Brasil

8. IsoBouw (Synbra) Acquires Knauf Insulation Germany

9. Wacker Increases Prices for Dispersions

1. cedmmc four, Istanbul, 10. and 11. September 2014

The Fourth Central and South European Drymix Mortar Conference and Industry Showcase cedmmc four takes place on 11. September 2014 at Çırağan Palace Kempinski Hotel, Istanbul, Turkey. Here drymix mortar experts from Turkey, Minor Asia, Southern Europe, Ukraine and beyond meet and exchange their ideas. The Drymix Mortar Yearbook 2014 is published on occasion of this event. Regular admission is 270 €, reduced to 220 € for members of drymix.info. New: there is a special reduced admission drymix mortar producers: they pay only 160 €. Online registration is available at www.drymix.info (Visa or Mastercard required).

Between Two Continents: the Delegate Welcome for cedmmc four is actually a dinner cruise on the Bosphorus, enjoy the night between Europe and Asia. It takes place in the evening of 10. September 2014, we meet at 19:00 at the jetty near the Beşiktaş Stadium. This cruise is sponsored by Calucem and Wacker Chemie, thanks a lot! It is included in the admission, but seating is limited and thus advance registration by e-mail to info@drymix.info is absolutely mandatory.

2. 9th Annual SEADMA Conference in Singapore, 11. November 2014

The South East Asia Drymix Mortar Association SEADMA invites to its 9th Annual  Conference in Singapore (location tbd.). This unique conference traditionally unites drymix mortar experts from South East Asia in a professional and networking-oriented atmosphere. Especially in Singapore, the audience is particularly international, last time we had delegates from almost all Nations of ASEAN (except for Myanmar, Brunei and Laos). Apart from their regular support of the conference itself, SEADMA is also encouraging sponsors to consider supporting the event. Regular admission is 195 €, reduced to 165 € for members of drymix.info. Like in Istanbul, we offer a reduced admission drymix mortar producers: they pay only 110 €. Online registration is available at www.drymix.info (Visa or Mastercard required).

3. 2nd Australia Drymix Mortar Meeting, Yarra Valley, VIC, 13. and 14.11.2014 with Golf Tournament

drymix.info is again inviting the mortar industry Down Under to the 2nd Australia Drymix Mortar Meeting. The meeting takes place at beautiful Yarra Valley Conference Center, outside of Dixons Creek (about 60 km to the North-East of Melbourne). There are a limited amount of rooms at Yarra Valley Conference Center, and plenty around it. Louise Ward is prepared to find a room for you if you decide to stay overnight (recommended! see below). Accomodation will be fairly reasonable, we can however not publish any rates since several venues may be considered.

We are planning a Delegate Welcome in the evening of 13. November, it will have something to do with wine, of course. The meeting itself takes place on 14. November all morning until 13:30, then we will have a light lunch and head out to Yering Meadows Golf Club to play 9 holes for the First drymix.info Golf Cup. Non-golfers will enjoy a putting contest and the scenery (sponsoring for both extras is welcome).

I personally owe you an apology about our posted prices, there has been a confusion with the exchange rates in our last Newsletters. Here are the corrected prices: Regular Admission: 210 € (300 AU$), reduced admission for members of drymix.info 180 € (260 AU$), special admission for drymix mortar manufacturers only 110 € (160 AU$).

4. Dubai MEDMA General Assembly (16. Nov.) and Workshop on Big 5 (17. Nov.)

The Middle East Drymix Mortar Association MEDMA e.V. invites all its members, partners and friends to its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Sunday, 16. November 2014, 18:00. Traditionally, this meeting takes place at fantastic Al Badia Golf Club, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, a nice dinner is included. The MEDMA AGM is free of charge for MEDMA members (up to two representatives for each company), all others pay 750 AED per person. Advance registration is mandatory by e-mail to info@drymix.info. MEDMA is looking for sponsors for this dinner.

In cooperation with The Big 5, the Middle East's undisputedly largest trade show for the construction industry, MEDMA is offering a workshop on drymix mortar technology and standards on Monday, 17. November 2014, from 10:00 until 13:30. The workshop takes place in one of the conference venues on the first level of Main Concourse (room remains tbd., follow the signage). The programme (first part) features lectures about manufacturing equipment (Plant Engineering and Sand Mining and Preparation) as well as lectures on drymix mortar technology (CTA, Renders, Screeds and Concrete Renovation => submissions are still welcome). The second part of the programme is dedicated to the progress of The MEDMA Committee on the Safety of External Insulation & Finishing Systems (EIFS). The committee chairman, Mr. Ahmed El Bayaa will present the ongoing cooperation with Dubai Municipality (Building Department) and Dubai Civil Defense (DCD) and we hope for a vivid discussion thereafter.

5. idmmc five, Nürnberg, Germany, 20. April 2015: Call for Papers Issued

The 5th International Drymix Mortar Conference and Industry Showcase idmmc five takes place on 20. April 2015 in Nürnberg, Germany. The Technical Chairman, Prof. Dr. Johann Plank of Technische Universität München (TUM) and the Organizer, Ferdinand Leopolder have recently issued the Call for Papers (available on www.drymix.info). The deadline for the submission of lecturing proposals is 5. October 2014.

6. X-Calibur Sets Up New Drymix Mortar Plant in Egypt

X-Calibur Construction Systems, Davie, Florida USA has started operations at its 8.000 sq. m. production facility located in New Cairo Industrial Area, Egypt. The new factory produces a wide range of drymix mortars in addition to resin products and admixtures for concrete. This brings the number of drymix mortar plants producing X-Calibur products in Africa to four. Two plants are located in South Africa in Johannesburg and Durban. The other plant is located in Tunisia. X-Calibur services Africa from its regional hub and manufacturing facility in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.

7. Sika Opens New Plant in North Eastern Brasil

Sika AG, Tuffenwies, Switzerland has recently opened a new plant in Aparecida de Goiânia, State of Goiás, mid-western Brasil.The new plant will supply mostly concrete admixtures, waterproofing systems and grouts for the construction markets in North-Eastern Brasil, a rapidly growing market. Sika now operates seven factories in Brasil. The operations in Brasil are being orchestrated by Sika's US subsidiary, based in Lindhurst, New Jersey. Says Sika CEO Jan Jenisch: “The new plant (...) is, in addition to the acquisition of Lwart Química earlier this year, a further step in our strategic expansion in Brazil initiated in 2012."

8. IsoBouw (Synbra) Acquires Knauf Insulation Germany

Synbra Group, headquartered in Etten/Leur, The Netherlands and Knauf, Iphofen, Germany have signed a contract to transfer the whole business concern of Knauf Insulating Materials GmbH, Simbach am Inn, Germany to ETRA Traub GmbH part of the IsoBouw Group, Abstatt, Germany. After the Federal Anti-Trust Authority already granted its approval,  the legal implementation of the merger is planned on 1st of August 2014.

Knauf Insulating Materials GmbH supplies mineral wool, wood fiber insulation and EPS panels to the construction industry. The company had a turnover of 100 mio Euro in 2013 and employs 100 people in three plants: Bad Waldsee, Hermeskeil and Wadersloh-Liesborn. IsoBouw is mainly focussed on EPS materials. Its two locations in Germany are Abstatt and Micheln. IsoBouw is part of the Synbra Group, which operates 22 plants (including one for raw materials) in Europe and employs 1.250 people.

9. Wacker Increases Prices for Dispersions

Wacker Polymers, based in Munich, Germany will raise its prices for vinyl acetate-ethylene and ethylene-vinyl chloride-based copolymer dispersions (Vinnapas, Vinnol) in the Americas and Greater China. Effective August 1, 2014 (or as customer contracts allow), prices will be raised by 66 Euro/t (0.03 US$ per pound) in the Americas. In Greater China, prices will increase by 36 Euro/ton (300 CNY/ton). In Europe, the temporary surcharge of 140 Euro/ton for vinyl acetate-based homopolymer dispersions as well as for vinyl acetate-ethylene and ethylene-vinyl chloride based copolymer dispersions will persist until further notice (we reported earlier). Wacker cites higher raw material costs, especially for vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) as main reason for the increase.

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