New Manufacturing Process to Drive S.C. Plant

Having developed what it claims is a breakthrough in manufacturing a widely used packaging material, Eastman Chemical Co. is building the first commercial-scale plant for integrated manufacturing of paraxylene (PX) to polyethylene terepthalate (PET) resin. The process reduces steps needed to produce PET and substantially reduces the size of the plant, say company officials.

PET packaging technology is more than 30 years old. It is most often seen in bottles for water and soft drinks, said Greg W. Nelson, vice president of technology for Kingsport, Tenn.-based Eastman's Voridian Division. There have been no step-changes in that time, only scaling up to reduce costs, he said.

Last September, Eastman announced it had developed a process, dubbed IntegRex, to go from PX to purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and directly to PET within a single plant complex. Integrating the steps produces "significant synergies" and is "the largest single difference" from other PET manufacturing plants, said Nelson. But the process also eliminates a step called solid-stating.

"From a plant construction standpoint, the result is the elimination of an entire process, its equipment and building space," he said. That "considerably reduces the footprint required for a world-scale plant," as well as the time required for construction. The IntegRex footprint is about half of the size of a PET plant of similar capacity, according to company officials.

Lockwood Greene, Spartanburg, S.C., began construction in March on a small corner of Eastman's existing plant in Columbia, S.C. under an engineer-procure-construct contract. Eastman pegs costs as more than $100 million. At an annual capacity of 350,000 tonnes, it is more than 10 times the size of a 30,000-tonne pilot plant in Kingsport. Completion is scheduled for late 2006. Source: Engineering News-Record.

N .C. Activity Up Sharply, While S.C. Shows Decline

McGraw-Hill Construction reported that, compared to a year ago, the value of May contracts for future construction activity improved by a significant 19 percent in North Carolina while declining by 10 percent in South Carolina.

In North Carolina, May's uptick resulted in an approximately $2 billion cumulative value. The biggest sector, residential, increased by 10 percent to tally nearly $1.4 billion. Meanwhile, the value of nonresidential contracts repeated its performance in April by again jumping by 25 percent in May, over the same period of a year ago, to total $410 million. The value of nonbuilding contracts soared by 85 percent to total approximately $227.3 million.

Year-to-date, North Carolina contract activity is 8 percent ahead of the first five months of 2004, with a total value of approximately $9.7 billion. Despite its strong gains lately, nonresidential remains 10 percent behind last year's pace, with roughly $1.9 billion in contracts reported to date. The value of residential contract activity has climbed by 12 percent to total roughly $6.5 billion. The nonbuilding sector is now estimated to be 20 percent ahead for the year, with approximately $1.3 billion in new contracts reported.

The South Carolina market continued its decline in May, with the value of new contracts decreasing by 10 percent to total roughly $888.4 million. Again, residential was the only positive sector for the month, increasing by 11 percent to total roughly $594.3 million. The nonresidential category declined by 42 percent for a monthly total of roughly $210.3 million. The nonbuilding sector also declined, by 8 percent, to tally $83.8 million for the month.

Year-to-date, the value of new contracts in South Carolina is estimated at roughly $4.6 billion, or 13 percent behind last year's pace. Residential, estimated at $3.1 billion and with a 15-percent improvement so far, is the only positive sector. The nonbuilding category, with a $451.5 million total, is an estimated 65 percent behind the first five months of 2004, while nonresidential, with a value of about $1.1 billion, is 21 percent behind last year's pace.

Rendina Cos. Developing Clinic of the Carolinas

Rendina Companies of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., announced the development of the $16 million, 109,500-sq.-ft. Steadman Hawkins Clinic of the Carolinas. The new facility will be located on the campus of Mary Black Memorial Hospital in Spartanburg, S.C.

The clinic will house the Steadman Hawkins Orthopedic Group