company says these pricing actions are needednot only to counter the continuing unprecedentedrises in raw material, energy and transportationcosts but also to support on-going investmentsrequired to meet rapidly expanding demand forthese bromine-based flame-retardant additives inthe building and construction industry. Strongdemand in these segments is driven by bothexpanding end use and fire safety regulatoryrequirements, Great Lakes says. The companyhas also increased the off-list prices forFiremaster 2100 (decabromodiphenylethane) by$0.20/kg worldwide.

Elsewhere, Supresta – the former Akzo Nobelphosphorus chemicals business renamed after itsacquisition by Ripplewood holdings [see ADPO,June 2004] – has raised list and off-list pricesworldwide on a series of its phosphorus-basedproduct lines in response to the growing costs ofproduction and distribution. Products affectedinclude flame retardants for polyurethane foamand engineering resin applications, and plasticiz-ers. Prices for Fyrol PCF, Fyrol FR2, Fyrol 38and Fyrol FRW have increased by US$0.05/lb($0.10/kg), as have those for phosphorus trichlo-ride and phosphorus oxytrichloride. Prices forPhosflex plasticizers and Fyrolflex have beenraised by $0.15/lb ($0.35/kg) and for Phosflex 4(tributyl phosphate) by $0.08/lb ($0.15/kg). Thecompany says that the escalating costs associatedwith phosphorus- and petroleum-based rawmaterials, packaging, energy and product distri-bution have forced it to raise prices. Supresta hasheadquarters in Ardsley, New York, and regionaloffices in Amersfoort, The Netherlands, andShanghai.

All the above-listed price changes are effectivefrom 1 July 2005, or as existing contracts andsales agreements allow.

Contact: Albemarle Corp, 451 Florida St,Baton Rouge, LA 70801-1765, USA; tel: +1-225-388-7402; fax: +1-225-388-7848; URL:www.albemarle.com or www.saytex.comGreat Lakes Chemical Corp, 9025 North RiverRd, Suite 400, Indianapolis, IN 46240, USA; tel:+1-317-715-3000; fax: +1-317-715-3050;URL: www.pa.greatlakes.comSupresta, Ardsley, NY, USA; tel: +1-914-269-5900; fax: +1-914-674-9736; URLwww.phosphorusus.com

Other recent price increasesfor polymer additivesElsewhere, titanium dioxide (TiO2) pigmentsfrom DuPont Titanium Technologies, antioxi-dants from Eliokem and masterbatches fromCabot Corp are all subject to pricing increases.Effective 1 July 2005, DuPont increased the priceof all TiO2 grades by US$150 per tonne in AsiaPacific, excluding Japan. This increase is sup-ported by the continued tight supply-demand sit-uation for TiO2 around the globe. The companysays that other regional increases will beannounced directly within the local regions.

From the same date, the price of phenolic antiox-idant Wingstay L from French firm Eliokem wasincreased by 12%. The company says thisincrease has become necessary to offset the con-tinuous and unprecedented increase on raw mate-rials and energy costs, and will also help restorethe margin levels required to maintain the qualityand consistency of the products for the long termand cover the ever-increasing regulatory andcompliance costs faced by the chemical industry.Eliokem also reports that its new Wingstay Lplant in Ningbo (China), which is the largest sin-gle production facility of its type, has now beenup and running for six months [ADPO, February2005] with a quality level matching the moststringent industry requirements.

In Europe, Cabot has increased the price of all itsmasterbatch grades (Plasblak, Plaswite, Plasgrey,Plasadd and Rainbow) by �70 per tonne from 1June 2005. The price of Cabelec conductive com-pounds has also been raised by �40/tonne. This isto offset the further surge in crude oil prices sincethe beginning of the year and the consequent rawmaterial and energy cost increases.

Contact: Cabot Corp, Interleuvenlaan 15 I, B-3001, Leuven, Belgium; tel: +32-1639-2400;fax: +32-1639-2444; URL: www.cabot-corp.comDuPont Titanium Technologies, CRP 728/1229,4417 Lancaster Pike, Wilmington, DE 19805,USA; fax: +1-302-999-5166; URL: www.titanium.dupont.comEliokem, 14 av Tropiques, 91940 Les Ulis,France; tel: +33-1-6929-2700; fax: +33-1-6929-2701; URL: www.eliokem.com

Additives for Polymers July 2005

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