Hercules Ponder, Hooker, D o w , and R o h m & Haas. Some preliminary rev i e w s of company planning follow.
•
BUSINESS
Chemical Firms Spending More Expenditures on new plant and equipment will rise \Ï* 195*6 a s industry is encouraged to spend more A HE CHENOCAL INDUSTRY is again off
to the races. Plarrt and equipment construction expenditures will rise in 1956 as the industry is encouraged to spend more money on productive facilities. The high level of sales activity may be cited as a major factor supporting current optimism, for itfciasshortened surplus capacity to a point generally regarded as dangerous in t h e industry. A short year ago, ethylene oxide capacity looked ample f?or years t o come, yet two major producers have recently announced expansion plans for this chemical. Another factor influencing expansion plans is t h e chauige in depreciation methods to permit faster ^write-offs of capital projects. The income tax law authorizes tlie u s e oF sum-of-the-digits or the declining balance methods of depreciation-, botht of -which permit the recovery of two thiirds of capital investment costs o-ver hadf dhe life of the prop-
erty. With depreciation schedules n o w cut loose from arbitrary limitations of the past and offering greater incentives to business managers, capital investment programs have been supplied with powerful motivations understood only upon careful and thorough study of t h e new tax laws. • Capital Expenditures. Spending by all business totaled ahout $28.5 billion last year and is expected to rise this year to ahout $32 billion. A review of capital spending b y chemical and allied products industries for the past five years shows a rapid elevation during 1951-53 when spending peaked out at $1.4 billion. Spending declined the next two years and appears to have bottomed out in 1955 at $1 billion. The current year should produce plant and equipment expenditures of about $1.3 billion if present estimates by the major companies hold. Greatest percentage increases will b e shown hy
• Du Pont. T h e largest chemical company is evidendy thinking n o w in terms of a 3 0 to 40% increase i n construction expenditures for 1956. Last year, such spending ran about $125 million. Wbile there is as yet no indication of resolution of a n e w nylon plant location, signs point to the old rayon plant at Ricbmond, Va., with Memphis as t h e source of intermediates. Other projects slated for additional spending probably include Orion, neoprene, acrylics, tetraethyllead and Fréons, and possibly titanium and polyethylene. • Union Carbide. The second largest company may increase capital spending only 10% over 1955's $102 million, but capital projects up for approval might total more than $130 billion. The West Coast polyethylene facility should require a substantial sum, as should t h e titanium plant at Ashtabula, Ohio. Smaller hut substantial amounts will probably b e allocated to oxo process facilities, ethylene oxide and other petrochemicals, dynel, epoxy resins, and special metals. • Allied. Plant and equipment expenditures for Allied will move up about 35% to $ 7 0 to 8 0 million this year. Projects include facilities for production of isocyanates, vinyl chloride, and aniline a t Moundsville, W . Va., and chlorine-caustic soda in Ontario.
Pueeucfiou (Chemicals & A l l i e d Products vs· I n d u s t r i a l )
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CHEMICALS & ALLIED PRODUCTS
INDUSTRIAL
iiFfr-jsi m zïusi 1954 PLANT EXPENDITURES All Manufcacturing, Iaicludrr»g Equipment, End of Quarters, Billions o f Dollars
1256
CSEN
MARCH
12, 1956
1956
1^55
INDUSTRIAL E X P L O S I V E S
NEW
Shipments o f Black Blasting Powder a n d High Explosives, Millions of Pounds
A l l Types Billions of Dollars
CONSTRUCTION
• Monsanto· With the Lion Oil merger still t o digest, Monsanto h a s not given much indication of 1 9 5 6 plans other than an adipic acid plant costing several millions to be located at t h e Lion Oil Barton plant site. Expansions of some monomer capacities, as vinyl acetate and melamine, have also been indicated. • American Cyanamid. 1956 m a y be t h e fateful year of decision for Creslan, Cyanamid's acrylic fiber. Planned construction projects as titanium dioxide and methyl styrene, acrylamide, a n d others will boost spending from $ 3 5 million t o $45 million, but t h e Creslan project will require, if approved, still larger spending. • Dow· Dow's capital spending plans were recently adjusted from estimates of $50 million, the same spent in the 1955 fiscal year, to $ 7 5 million. It is difficult to account for t h e increase unless it may b e attributed to Dow's rumored acrylic fiber. Petrochemicals acetylene, ethylene oxide and derivative products, Styrofoam, and probably polyethylene will all require further capital spending. • Rohm & Haas· A gain of nearly 50% in capital spending to $ 1 9 million may very well be realized b y Rohm & Haas in view of acetylene and ammonia plant construction in Texas which will integrate its acrylic process. • Hooker. The start this year of construction of the Vancouver chlorine-caustic soda plant should accelerate Hooker's capital spending to the level of $13 to $15 million, a husky gain over 1955 spending of $8.5 million. • National Distillers. Total authorized capital projects amount to $ 2 5 million for 1956, the major amount for chemicals. National Petro-Chemicals will spend about $10 million to add 50% to polyethylene capacity as well as to basic ethylene capacity. • W . R. Grace. One of the newest entries i n the chemicals business, Grace is planning a $100 million capital program for 1956, of which 40% is in chemicals expansion. Presumably, a major chunk will be dropped into a low pressure polyethylene operation near Baton Rouge, La. • Hercules Powder * Capital spending will be doubled over the 1955 level to about $25 million to include a low pressure polyethylene plant, two tall oil plants, pentaerythritol expansion, and further elaboration of the oxychemicals program. CHART CREDITS: Production {Chemicals ir Allied Products vs. Industrial), Nezo Construction, Plant Expenditures, Industrial Explosives—Department of Commerce.
Standard Milton Roy motor-driven controlled volume p u m p . • W e a r on all moving parts minimized b y dose tolerance machining o f cross-head, pump frames and liquid end parts. · Excessive packing wear avoided by large length-to-diameter ratio o f cross-head which fully supports plunger. · Long service l i f e under shock and oscillating loads assured by generously-sized reducer and connecting rod bearings.
BfepezidaJbility for metering process additives ILTON R O Y dependability means long M service life in your controlled volume pump . . . minimum maintenance . . . lower
Exclusive M i l t o n Roy STEP-VALVE LIQUID END
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Double ball checks, sloping passages and absence of air pockets assure highest possible volumetric efficiency. Should a solid particle lodge under one suction ball, for example, second suction ball will seat on discharge stroke, thereby preventing fluid from being pumped into suction piping.
operating cost. Here's why. Designed-in dependability is t h e result of extreme care i n the sizing of motor horsepower, reducer torque and overhung load capacity. Reducer, motor and pump mounting pads on a rigid, webbed base are precision machined to assure perfect alignment of the entire assembly . . . and of all moving parts. Specify Milton Roy . . . your guarantee of dependability in controlled volume pumps and complete chemical feed systems. A practical solution to your metering problem will be found in one o f the following bulletins. Write for your copy today. Bulletin 455 "Controlled Volume Pumps in Paper Making." Bulletin 953 "Controlled Volume Pumps in Industrial Water Treating." Bulletin 1253 "Controlled Volume Pumps in Process Instrumentation.'' Milton Roy Company, Manufacturing Engineers, 1300 East Mermaid Lane, Philadelphia 18, Pa. Engineering Representatives in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Asia, South America and Africa.
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MARCH
12.
1956
C&EN
1257
