"Tree" shows flexibility of plastic pipe fittings
Exhibition space was so tight, even in this large hall, that one U.S. company hired a steamer on the nearby Rhine River to show its products
Plastics Makers Show Wares in Germany Visitors to the Fourth International Plastics Fair at Dusseldorf, West Germany, were treated to a dazzling, almost overwhelming array of industrial consumer products as well as fabricating machinery. But they found no really revolutionary new plastics materials. This evidently reflects a period of consolidation in which plastics producers are hitting harder at developing markets for existing materials. Nevertheless, there were some interesting new materials developments at the fair. Among these is nylon 12. This new 12-carbon polyamide, has a lower water absorption and specific gravity than do other nylons. So far, at least two firms are making development quantities of the compound: Chemische Werke Huels and Badische Aniline- and Soda-Fabrik (BASF). Huel calls its material Vestamid. Starting material is butadiene which Huels converts to cyclododecatriene. This is then hydrogenated and oxidized to cyclododecanone. The cyclododecanone is further reacted to the oxime and finally to the lactam, which is polycondensed to the nylon.
Germany's Farbenfabriken Bayer, one of the country's three biggest chemical producers, had one of the exhibition's largest stands
BASF is not saying much about its product. It markets the material through France's Organico in a marketing deal concluded just last July. OCT.
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The Colani GT car, made by Canadur G.m.b.H., claimed much attention from visitors. The car's body is made with Huel's Vestopal glass fiber-reinforced polyester
Huels also unveiled two other products at the pilot-plant stage: isotactic polybutylene and an ethylenepropylene rubber. According to the firm, the big advantage of its new polybutylene is that it resists higher temperatures than do other polyolefins. The firm has checked the material out to 80° C , feels that even higher temperatures can be withstood. Huels' EP rubber was developed in cooperation with Farbwerke Hoechst. Says Huels, the rubber has "remarkable" mechanical properties, compared with butyl rubber. New Uses. In other areas, plastic paving materials are beginning to spark interest in West Germany. Degussa has been experimenting with a material based on methyl methacrylate for coating highways. One use of the material, which can be pigmented, is to mark traffic lanes. Huels, too, is working on a plastic paving material based on its Vestopal polyester. Similar material is already being produced in the United States by at least three firms: Velsicol Chemical, Esso, and Neville Chemical. Imperial Chemical Industries showed products made from its glassreinforced nylon 66 (Maranyl A 190). The product, says ICI, has more than twice the rigidity of unfilled nylon 66. 28
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France's Organico showed small parts made from nylon 12. The nylon is made by Badische Anilin- & SodaFabrik
BASF's stand showed plastics
main exhibition at Dusseldorf wide range of its materials
A.V.C. Plans Purchase Of Its Own Shares
Union Barge Line Adds Double-Skin Barges This double-skin barge is one of five being added to Union Barge Line's tank barge fleet. Each of the barges, built by Dravo Corp., has a capacity of 10,700 barrels and is 195 feet long, 35 feet wide, and 11 feet deep. The double skins are designed to prevent spoilage in the event of a puncture. The barges are divided into six compartments of equal size, and the Pittsburgh-based barge operator will use them to carry noncorrosive liquid cargo that requires no pressurizing or refrigeration. Such cargo would include gasoline, glycols, vegetable oils, and styrene.
Occidental Petroleum Plans Merger with Sulfur Firm Jefferson Lake Sulphur would be acquired by an exchange of stock Occidental Petroleum Corp., Los Angeles, Calif., is moving toward acquisition of Jefferson Lake Sulphur Co., New Orleans, La. The boards of directors of both companies have approved in principle a plan whereby holders of Jefferson Lake would receive 0.65 share of Occidental stock for each share of Jefferson Lake common. The plan still must be approved by shareholders of both companies. This merger would take Occidental one step farther than other major oil companies in their current penetration of the fertilizer business. The company acquired Best Fertilizers, of Lathrop, Calif., and Houston, Tex., in July, and is now negotiating for International Ore & Fertilizer Corp., New York, N.Y. Acquisition of Jefferson Lake would add a third basic fertilizer raw material—sulfur—to Occidental's capacities for phosphate and ammonia. Jefferson Lake estimates that 30% of the sulfur used in the U.S. each year goes into fertilizers, by way of sulfuric acid.
Occidental's acquisition of Jefferson Lake Sulphur would include the latter's 75% interest in Jefferson Lake Asbestos Corp., 69% interest in Jefferson Lake Petrochemicals of Canada, Ltd., 50% interest in Trans-Jeff Chemical Corp., and Jefferson Lake's share of Sulphur Export Corp., which it owns jointly with Duval Corp., Freeport Sulphur, and Texas Gulf Sulphur. Though sulfur is its prime product, Jefferson Lake also markets oil, natural gas, chemicals, and asbestos. Its chemical division produces phenol, cresols, and xylenols from petroleum sources. Part of its sulfur output comes from sour-gas hydrogen sulfide. Oil production in 1962 amounted to less than 200,000 barrels; gas production was about 1.4 billion cubic feet. Jefferson Lake's earnings were $1.03 million on sales of $10.9 million in 1962. Jefferson Lake Asbestos, which began commercial production in October 1962 at its Copperopolis, Calif., plant, showed a $227,000 loss for the year. Occidental Petroleum derived about 66% of its gross income last year from oil and natural gas sales, about 32% from contract drilling operations. Net income was $6.04 million on sales of $14 million.
A.V.C. Corp. (formerly American Viscose) will offer to purchase its own shares for a price equal to the net asset value of the shares as of Nov. 26, 1963, in a plan approved by the company's directors. The offer is to be open from Dec. 2, 1963, until Jan. 31, 1964. The plan is conditional upon stockholder approval of reducing the corporation's capital and transferring the amount of the reduction to surplus. Shareholders would receive a combination of cash, common shares in Monsanto Chemical, and a certificate showing a proportionate interest in a fund consisting initially of cash equal to $2.00 a share. The fund is to be increased by any money received from income tax refund claims, by other recoveries attributable to events prior to Nov. 26, and by net income earned by the fund. Expenses are to be charged against the fund. The company says it has formulated no definite program for the period following the termination of its offer. FMC Corp. has purchased all of the assets of American Viscose ( except the shares of Monsanto) for $116 million (C&EN, Aug. 12, page 28).
BRIEFS U.S. output of primary aluminum in
the third quarter of this year totaled 601,808 short tons, nearly 14% more than was produced in the corresponding period of 1962 and a record for any third quarter, according to the Aluminum Association. Output for the first nine months of this year amounted to nearly 1.7 million tons, an 8.1% increase over the amount produced the first nine months of 1962. The nine-month total was also a record for any nine-month period. For the whole of 1962, the nation's seven producers of primary aluminum turned out 2.1 million tons.
Monsanto, effective Nov. 1, will increase the price of its polyvinyl chloride film and sheeting. General-purpose formulations are increased 1 cent a pound and some specialty formulations will increase from 1 to 2 cents a pound. The company says the new prices reflect recent increases in resOCT.
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ins, plasticizers, and other raw materials used in the manufacture of vinyl film and sheeting.
Nalco Chemical and Dow Chemical now have a working agreement dealing with the manufacture and sale of ion exchange resins. The essence of the agreement is the combining of
Nalco's technical and marketing capabilities with Dow's manufacturing facilities in the field. Nalco has been marketing Dow-produced ion exchange resins for water conditioning, but the new agreement calls for Nalco to also market Dow resins used in the chemical processing industries. The resins will be sold under the trade name Dowex.
Control Data, Inc., Minneapolis, Minn, plans to acquire Daystrom, Inc.'s control systems division. The price was not revealed, but an exchange of stock and other considerations are involved. Control Data says the acquisition will provide it with an opportunity to expand the division's engineering and marketing efforts in the industrial computer-control field.
Profits Are Up Substantially; Sales Climb Higher, Too Business is better this year than last for U.S. chemical and drug companies; third-quarter earnings and sales point to record year
CHEMICALS American Cyanamid Celanese Chemetron Corp. DeSoto Chemical Coatings Diamond Alkali Du Pont Eastman Kodak Ethyl Corp/ Hercules Powder Hooker Chemical* Interchemical Monsanto Chemical National Starch Olin Mathieson6 Pittsburgh Plate Glass Rohm & Haas Rayonier Stauffer Chemical Texas Gulf Sulphur Union Carbide Virginia Chemicals & Smelting Vitro Corp.
Third-Quarter 1963 Net Change from Income 1962 (Millions)
Earnings/Share 1963 1962
.+13 +13 +6 +25 +3 +6 +3 n.a. +6 +2 +14 +20 +10 +7 +20 +6 -7 +6 +10 +6 +10 +
