By Zacks Equity Research | Zacks – 3 hours ago
Specialty chemical company Chemtura Corporation (CHMT)
has acquired UP Chemical Co., Ltd.’s 50% interest in DayStar Materials,
LLC. DayStar is a South Korea based producer and marketer of
high-purity metal organic precursors for the fast growing light-emitting
diode (:LED) market.
DayStar was formed in 2011 through a joint
venture between Chemtura and UP Chemical. With the acquisition of the
remaining 50% stake in DayStar, Chemtura now holds a 100% interest in
the company. DayStar will be included in Chemtura’s Organometallic
Specialties (:OMS) business and play a key role in implementing OMS’
strategy to create a sustainable competitive advantage by providing
technologically enhanced products in emerging high-end,
greener-application markets.
Pursuant to the transaction,
Chemtura plans to build a fully integrated manufacturing, quality,
service and distribution channel in Asia by leveraging its total
electronic-grade trialkyl product portfolio of trimethylgallium,
triethylgallium, trimethylaluminum and trimethylindium.
Chemtura
came out with its first-quarter 2013 results on May 2. The company
reported a net loss from continuing operation of $21 million or 21 cents
a share compared with a profit of $22 million or 22 cents a share a
year ago. The results were impacted by higher environmental reserve
associated with remediation of a site in France. Earnings from
continuing operation of 15 cents per share missed the Zacks Consensus
Estimate of 19 cents and were below 18 cents a year ago.
Revenues went down roughly 2% year over year to $606 million in the
quarter and missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $634 million. Lower
net sales volumes affected revenues. Also, Chemtura saw weak demand in
its industrial engineered products business which led to the decline
despite the remaining three of four segments delivering improved
performances.
Moving ahead, Chemtura expects its Industrial
Performance Products, Consumer Products and Chemtura AgroSolutions
segments to continue their improved performance trends in the second
quarter of 2013. Chemtura further expects demand for insulation foam and
electronics applications to improve in 2013.
However, a
significant improvement is not likely in the second quarter, which may
lead only to a modest improvement in the Industrial Engineered Products
segment. Chemtura is focusing on establishing appropriate pricing levels
for bromine based products and implementing cost effective measures.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/chemtura-buys-full-stake-daystar-151002677.html
|
May 22, 2013 3:15 pm
Breaking ground: HSM executives (from left) Cam McLaughlin, Buster Mann, Bobby Bush, Dave Colburn, Dwayne Welch, Lee Lunsford and Conway Wilson at the site of the manufacturer’s new foam lab in Conover, N.C.
Industry supplier HSM (formerly Hickory Springs Mfg. Co.) broke ground April 19 on a 10,000-square-foot foam formulation plant in Conover, N.C., not far from their headquarters in Hickory, N.C.
The $1.5 million facility is being added to HSM’s Conover foam complex and enhances the company’s ability to formulate foams—incorporating new pilot lines and improving testing capabilities, the company said.
“This groundbreaking and the construction that begins today is a tangible illustration of the increased emphasis HSM is placing on research and innovation as the company moves forward,” said Dave Colburn, president and chief executive officer. “It also supports the transition currently under way at HSM, from being a components supplier to a global manufacturer of integrated solutions and components, and demonstrates the company’s continued investment in people, facilities and technologies that is so critical to our success.”
http://bedtimesmagazine.com/2013/05/hsm-builds-new-foam-pouring-facility/
SustainableBusiness.com News
Imagine looking into a landfill (or incinerator) - what would you see?
Tons and tons of still-useful stuff that could be recycled into new
products (creating lots of jobs too). What a waste - and a huge expense -
to throw so much away.
Connecticut is taking action on one problem product - mattresses. The
state just passed the first producer responsibility law for mattresses
in the US, which now puts the onus of responsibility on manufacturers.
Manufacturers will have to both finance and manage the collection and recycling of old mattresses.
Under the law, manufacturers will set up an organization that collects
mattresses and recycles them at no cost to municipalities. Each
manufacturer will pay into the program to fund the organization. That
fee, of course, will pass to customers when they buy new mattresses at
retail stores.
The law was written with input from the industry's trade association and
could become a model for other states. The nonprofit Product
Stewardship Institute worked with all the stakeholders to get support
for the bill.
About 175,000 mattresses are thrown away in Connecticut each year and
are mostly sent to other states to be dumped in landfills or
incinerated. By shifting the burden to manufacturers, local governments
will save about $1.3 million and the economy will benefit from
new recycling opportunities for businesses.
About 95% of the materials in a mattress are recyclable, such as steel, cotton and foam.
"Communities statewide stand to save more than $1.2 million from present
disposal costs borne by taxpayers. A cooperative and shared cost for
end-of-life management of mattresses lightens the taxpayer burden and
also transforms mattresses into feedstock for Connecticut's two mattress
recycling facilities," notes Marilynn Cruz-Aponte, assistant director
of Hartford's Department of Public Works.
The law passed both houses and is awaiting the governor's signature.
The Product Stewardship Institute is working on this at a national
level. Last year, the U.S. Conference of Mayors endorsed state
and federal producer responsibility legislation for mattresses as an
effective way to cut the costs of mattress disposal for municipalities,
create local recycling jobs and encourage other recycling opportunities
that this untapped waste stream offers.
Similar legislation is moving forward in California.
Read about the status of producer responsibility laws in the US:
By Jennifer Waters, MarketWatch
As air travelers become inured to baggage fees, airlines are betting they’ll accept additional extra charges.
In fact, 2012 was a record year for extra-fee revenues: U.S. airlines raked in a staggering $6.03 billion in baggage and reservation-change fees, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. And it’s likely they will climb even higher in 2013. “We’re going to see more and more higher fees and new categories of fees,” says George Hobica, founder of AirfareWatchdog.com.
Delta outpaced both its legacy rivals and smaller carriers in baggage-fee revenue, chalking up a jaw-dropping $866 million. United took second place at $706 million. (Delta merged with Northwest Airlines, and United merged with Continental.) American, still without a merger partner at the dance, racked up $557 million. Its suitor, U.S. Airways, came in fourth with $516 million — together, they would have left their counterparts in the dust at $1.07 billion.
As for cancellation fees, Delta again took the top spot, collecting $778 million in 2012, while United pocketed $661 million. American added $518 million to its top line as U.S. Airways brought in $298 million.
And those figures are only going to swell. In what FareCompare.com chief executive Rick Seaney calls “the worst fee ever,” cancellation charges already have risen: United last month upped its change fees to $200 from $150. As is typical of the herd mentality of the airline industry, American, Delta and U.S. Airways followed suit.
That basically renders some tickets unchangeable. If you bought a one-way discount ticket for $200 and wanted to change your flight, it would cost you another $200. Hobica thinks the change-fee hike isn’t targeted at discount leisure travelers but at business travelers who carriers hope will opt for the more pricey nonrefundable tickets. If the difference between the refundable and the nonrefundable fee is $300 but a change fee is $200 on a nonrefundable ticket, “business travelers might be more apt to choose the nonrefundable fee from the beginning,” he says.
Meanwhile, Frontier Airlines has introduced new charges that it hopes other carriers will follow, thereby decreeing an industrywide acceptance that travelers just have to, well, accept. So far, however, the legacy carriers are standing still.
Beginning this summer, Frontier will require passengers who bought tickets through a third party to pay carry-on baggage fees of up to $100. That’s right, for carry-on bags. The goal here is for travelers to bypass discount online providers like Expedia, Kayak or Hotwire, not to mention travel agents, in favor of Frontier’s own booking site.
The FCC is expected to approve a proposal that could speed up airplane Internet speeds. Photo: AP
If you buy the carry-on choice in advance, it will cost you $25. But it doubles to $50 if you pay at the counter or at an airport kiosk. It doubles again to $100 if you purchase it at the gate. But buy your tickets at FlyFrontier.com and the carry-on bag is included in the airfare.
Frontier also said it will begin charging $1.99 for coffee, tea, soda and juice on all flights. It’s unclear if taxes will be charged.
Frontier, which is transforming itself into what it calls the “ultra low-cost” carrier, is following the lead of Allegiant and Spirit airlines. Those carriers offer bargain-basement tickets for flights, but tack on exorbitant fees for everything else. Frontier’s carry-on bag charges, however, are steeper than Allegiant and Spirit.
Airline experts expect the carriers to again up their baggage fees, but at this point most are a standard $25 for the first bag. It’s the second bag that will cost you much more, depending on where you’re going, according to AirfareWatchdog.com.
For a thorough rundown of baggage fees by carrier, see AirfareWatchdog’s baggage-fee chart.)
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/get-ready-to-pay-more-to-fly-2013-05-20?link=sfmw
