This new center will contain offices for the research director and other ex ecutive personnel, a glass testing and development lab, plastics lab, meeting room, and library. This step in the di rection of research, the company says, is being taken because of the increased sales volume a n d profitable operation resulting from the merger last M a r c h of Glass Fibers with the Fiber Glass and Corrulux divisions of Libbey-OwensFord.
Gulf Considers Expansion Third ethylene unit may bring output over 500 million pounds; more rubber latex in offing AT
R E C E N T BOARD M E E T I N G S 0Π
the
Gulf Coast, b o t h Gulf Oil a n d Good rich-Gulf Chemicals revealed that major expansions are u n d e r considera tion. S. A. Swensrud, chairman of the boards of both companies stated t h a t at present Gulf is considering even further expansion of its ethylene activ ities. H e says that the company is studying the advisability of a d d i n g a third unit of similar size t o the second, which was completed this summer at Port Arthur, Tex. Current ethylene capacity is nearly 3 6 5 million pounds a year, of which the newer unit sup plies 220 million p o u n d s . Swensrud says the company expects to reach a decision on a third unit in t h e near future. At the Goodrich-Gulf meeting it was stated that in the first three m o n t h s of the company's operations, production in the b u t a d i e n e plant at Port Neches, Tex., has increased 8 8 % over t h e simi lar period in 1954 w h e n it was operated for the Government. Synthetic rubber output is up 8 7 % over t h e same span. T h e butadiene plant is operated jointly with Texas-U. S. Chemical, while the synthetic rubber plant is exclusively Goodrich-Gulf. Both plants are being operated at maximum capacity. T h e company is now studying engineering surveys that may lead to a major expansion program in the foreseeable future in order to meet increased demand for synthetic rubber. Goodrich-Gulf has m a d e a number of modifications in operating equipment to improve efficiency and increase pro duction. The company now has plans for diversification of activities, starting with immediate production of latex. Initially it plans to produce about a million pounds a month. However, it is installing necessary facilities to triple this amount within the very near future.
Chemical Sales Boom Continues Sales f o r 1 9 5 5 m a y reach record $ 2 3 , 5 billion, 2 0 % over 1 9 5 4 CONTINUATION
O F C H E M I C A L SALES at
present record levels will chalk u p a n e w high of $23,500 million for 1955, the Commerce Department's Chemical and Rubber Division reports. This will represent a 2 0 % gain over t h e 1954 record level of $19,556 million. In addition to a big boost in sales in chemicals, a 1955 review and prospects study for the chemical and rubber products industries reflects that pro duction, consumption, and sales in t h e rubber industry will likewise b e at rec ord levels. • Chemicals a n d Allied Products. Capital equipment expenditures in the chemical field will reach an estimated $950 million, a decline from t h e record level of $1,130 million in 1954. Production in 1955, as reflected by estimates based on the Federal Re serve Board index, will average 168 for the year, a n e w peak which is 1 3 % above the earlier peak of 148 in 1954. This production peak will b e ahead of estimates m a d e earlier this year. A 2 1 % decline in the value of chemical manufacturers' inventories took place in the first half of 1955. At t h e end of 1954 inventories were equivalent to almost two months sales; by June they w e r e down to 1.5 months. T o support present high sales volumes, a moderate degree of inventory buildup is ex pected. The Chemical and Rubber Division
looks for progressively keener c o m p e t i tion resulting from increased domestic costs, additional capacity from new plants, and mounting production abroad. Maintenance of competitive positions will depend in. part on in creased efficiencies, technological ad vances, and diversification of products a n d distributive channels. Moderate upward pressures on chemical wholesale prices are expected. Average employment will total 810,000 which will top the 1953 high by 0 . 6 % . Wages of chemical production workers averaged $83.22 in July, a 6% gain over J u n e 1954. Important factors in the future pic t u r e are the impact of atomic energy applications a n d effects of growing shortages of technical and professional personnel. ί Rubber G o o d s O u t p u t U p . D e spite a seasonal decline in automobile output during the last Eve months of 1955, new records for t h e year will be established b y the rubber industry. Tire production for passenger cars, trucks, and buses is expected to pass t h e 100 million mark for the first time. N e w rubber consumption may attain a record high of 1,440,000 long tons in 1955, 7% above the 1953 record level. Because of increases in natural rubber prices, the ratio of synthetic to total n e w rubber consumption has risen and should result in a new record for syn thetic usage. T h e synthetic rubber plants, u n d e r private ownership since May, will pro d u c e in excess of 900,000 long tons. Exports for t h e first six months are
OCT.
3,
195 5
C&EN
4179
