A memorial service for Katherine will take place at 11:00 AM on Wednesday Visitation will take place at Sacred Heart Catholic Church on Wednesday 2025 from 9:00 AM until the time of service at 11:00 AM 1931 to Joseph and Edna (Berness) Kowalewski in the town of Holway 1951 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Stetsonville Katherine farmed the family farm for 35 years with her children After leaving the farm she was the head cook at Stetsonville Community Center She was proud to say she worked until she was 80 and a member of the homemakers association of Taylor County She was an avid quilter and donated many quilts She enjoyed her flowers and decorating church with flowers and Rita (Brian) Bunkelman of Stetsonville; sister Frances (Clarence) Smith of Medford; 16 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren Katherine was preceded in death by daughters Application Areas Coatings Technologies Legislation Markets & Companies People & Careers Production & Lab Raw materials Sponsored Content Home » News » Markets & Companies » Dow considers closure of East German production sites US chemicals group Dow is considering the shutdown of two energy-intensive plants in Schkopau and Böhlen The decision follows market overcapacities rising costs and increasing regulatory pressures US-based chemicals company Dow is considering the closure of two production facilities in eastern Germany The sites in question are located in Schkopau Both plants are among the more energy- and cost-intensive sites within Dow’s European network No information was provided regarding the number of employees affected the most likely scenarios include either a temporary shutdown or a permanent closure of the facilities The background to this move is a persistently challenging demand situation Additional regulatory burdens are further impacting the competitiveness of these sites Dow had already launched a comprehensive review of its European locations in October 2024 This process is expected to be completed by mid-2025 Employees at the affected plants and the respective works councils have been informed about the ongoing review and possible outcomes Dow employs approximately 3,600 staff across 13 locations in Germany Consultations with employees are being carried out in accordance with applicable regulations Demand for sustainable products continues to grow — but decorative coatings must also be durable Striking the right balance is one of the greatest challenges facing the.. has introduced three regional entities in Germany The aim is to decentralise the company’s structure have inaugurated a new laboratory in Shanghai The centre aims to strengthen innovation capabilities in the region Duncan Taylor will take over as interim CEO of Allnex on May 1 who will retire from the company on June 30 Taylor will continue to serve as Chief Financial Officer.. Marcus Jordan has assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of IMCD N.V Find the answers to the most frequently asked questions in our FAQ collection Responding to economic uncertainty and a longer and deeper chemical industry downturn than it had anticipated Dow is planning further cuts to manufacturing is delaying an ethylene project in Alberta and may idle or permanently shut down three large facilities in Europe Germany.“The reality is our industry is in one of the most protracted downcycles in decades facing a third consecutive year of below 3% GDP growth,” CEO Jim Fitterling said in an April 24 conference call with analysts “This has been further exacerbated by geopolitical and macroeconomic concerns which are weighing on demand globally.”Dow is delaying its so-called Path2Zero project in Fort Saskatchewan The $6.5 billion project includes the construction of new ethylene and polyethylene plants Instead of using fossil fuels to heat the furnaces the company plans to use hydrogen produced by feeding cracker off-gases into an autothermal reformer The carbon dioxide emissions would be captured and stored underground.“We now see a higher probability of a lower-for-longer earnings environment which changes our expectations for when the capacity from this project will be needed,” Fitterling said.Earlier this year Dow announced plans to reduce capital spending by $300 million to $500 million in 2025 it also unveiled a $1 billion cost-reduction program that would lead to 1,500 layoffs or about 4% of its staff.With the Fort Saskatchewan delay Dow is now reducing capital outlays by $1 billion for the year ACS’s Basic Package keeps you connected with C&EN and ACS $80 Regular Members & Society Affiliates ACS’s Standard Package lets you stay up to date with C&EN ACS’s Premium Package gives you full access to C&EN and everything the ACS Community has to offer “The reality is our industry is in one of the most protracted downcycles in decades Dow is delaying its so-called Path2Zero project in Fort Saskatchewan The carbon dioxide emissions would be captured and stored underground “We now see a higher probability of a lower-for-longer earnings environment which changes our expectations for when the capacity from this project will be needed,” Fitterling said Earlier this year, Dow announced plans to reduce capital spending by $300 million to $500 million in 2025. At the time, it also unveiled a $1 billion cost-reduction program that would lead to 1,500 layoffs The company says it will decide by the end of the year whether it will ramp up construction in 2026 Additionally, Dow is expanding its European asset review, which it expects to complete by the middle of this year. Disclosed last October the effort focused on the fate of the firm’s European polyurethane raw material business It plans to idle or shut down its cracker in Böhlen and its chloralkali and vinyl assets in Schkopau the company says it will close its siloxanes plant in Barry are either not fully integrated or have relatively high production costs influenced Dow’s decision to delay the Fort Saskatchewan project with the uncertainty around where tariffs are going to land that’s driving our lower-for-longer outlook,” he said an early indicator of how the rest of the industry will perform in the first quarter Sign up for C&EN's must-read weekly newsletter This article has been sent to the following recipient: Copyright © 2025 American Chemical Society Looking to access paid articles across multiple policy topics Interested in policy insights for EU professional organisations The eight countries asked the European Commission to propose a “Critical Chemicals Act.” either observed and verified directly by the reporter or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources Böhlen: The morning sun colors the sky behind the Dow Chemical plants ethylene and propylene are produced from raw gasoline in a cracker [Jan Woitas/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa (Photo by Jan Woitas/picture alliance via Getty Images)] the family requests that memorials be given to the family for a future designation Here are the auctions I'll be watching this week: the world's leading materials science company the global pioneer of an advanced plastic recycling solution today announce the next step in their ongoing collaboration to help solve the global plastics waste issue and advance circularity Mura plans to construct a new facility at Dow's Böhlen site in Germany – the latest in a series of planned facilities across the U.S and Europe to rapidly scale advanced recycling of plastics – and the first expected to be based at a Dow site This project is targeted for a final investment decision by the end of 2023 Read the full release here. Published Sep 14, 2022 8am EDT / 5am PDT / 1pm BST / 2pm CEST and will convert mixed-waste plastic waste into naptha that Dow can use to produce virgin-quality polyethylene for packaging plans to construct a new facility at Dow’s Böhlen one of several new plants planned by Dow and Mura in Europe and the U.S and the first to be co-located with a Dow production plant which is targeted for a final investment decision by the end of 2023 was announced to the media during a live event in September would position it to become the largest consumer of circular feedstock for polyethylene production globally The ongoing Dow collaboration with Mura involves an initial project to construct the world’s first plant using Mura’s HydroPRS process which is expected be operational in 2023 with an initial 20-KTA production line Dow plans to use advanced recycling as a complement to traditional mechanical recycling to source recycled plastics for its products Dow EMEA & APAC.As Marc van den Biggelaar the collaboration is one of the ways Dow hopes to meet its circularity and climate goals primary among them to reduce its carbon emissions by 5 million metric tons with a longer-term goal of becoming carbon neutral we want to stop the waste,” van den Biggelaar said “There’s too much plastic going into waste and we want to make sure that by at least 2030 a million metric tons of plastic is collected and then recycled through direct actions and partnerships back into the loop.” we break plastics down to their components pretty much break it down to an oil and bring it back into the loop creating plastics with similar properties to those you can make with fossil-based feed stocks.” The new plant in Böhlen will use Mura’s HydroPRS (Hydrothermal Plastic Recycling Solution) advanced recycling process Mura’s advanced recycling technology is unique in that it uses supercritical steam to convert most forms of plastics—including flexible and multilayer plastics which have previously been deemed unrecyclable—back into the original oils and chemicals from which they were made virgin-equivalent plastic products that are even suitable for food contact packaging “Mura owns a proprietary technology that differs from pyrolysis which is the predominant technology in chemical recycling in that we have a water-based technology so we use water to break down the plastics,” he said “This technology is protected by numerous patents and has been validated through decades-long use of very large pilot plant infrastructure which we have in Australia through a partner company of ours.” CCO of Mura Technology.With Mura’s process the same material can be recycled repeatedly which Mura says means it has the potential to eliminate single-use plastic and prevent it from going to landfill or being incinerated with advanced recycling processes expected to save approximately 1.5 tons of carbon dioxide per ton of plastic recycled compared to incineration and reduce reliance on fossil-based feedstocks van den Biggelaar shared that of the four offtakes of Mura’s advanced recycling process Dow will use naptha for its co-located ethylene crackers initially to produce plastics for packaging is that we bring waste plastics back into similar plastic applications and try and make sure that we go from downcycling to real recycling or in some cases if you have waste coming into the Mura facility to bring that back into food packaging applications you’ll see quite a lot of these circular products ending up in our polyethylene business being used for packaging solutions that these products will end up in other products and there can be other products than polyethylene pretty much each Dow business will also participate in bringing circular-based products to the market based on legislation right now in the market that the quickest and largest need there is but all the other businesses and markets will follow.” This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page there has been a 15 per cent increase in the number of hotels in Antwerp This has increased capacity by hundreds of rooms The new Van der Valk hotel next to City Park a new hotel where the Zillion discotheque once stood and a possible expansion of the Hilton hotel More tourists are needed to fill these hotels luxury residential care centre Park Lane on Antwerp's City Park saw its licence revoked due to staff shortages and defects to the building but eventually Dutch hotel chain Van der Valk bought the former residential care centre It has been completely renovated and converted into a luxury hotel a new hotel will open on the site of the former Zillion discotheque and the Hilton hotel on the Groenplaats also plans to expand substantially Hundreds of rooms are being added to Antwerp’s hotel offerings there were 65 hotels in Antwerp with 4,946 rooms; by May 2024 their number had grown to 75 hotels with 5,823 rooms But is demand for a hotel room in Antwerp so high that more hotels are needed currently there are too few tourists to fill all hotel rooms completely,’ says Didier Boehlen of the Antwerp Hotel Association ‘Too many rooms have been added in recent years.’ the increase in the number of hotel rooms has been very rapid rooms are often full and hotels are doing better and better but during the week it is more difficult to get those rooms filled ‘We are not worried that all hotels will suddenly start to go bankrupt but the value and yield of hotels is a concern,’ Mr Boehlen continues ‘Occupancy rates are now below 70 per cent and we really need to increase that.’ the city of Antwerp and the hotel sector together worked out a plan to attract more conferences to Antwerp ‘Business events like that attract large groups of tourists to our city,’ says Koen Kennis we also try to fill the hotels during the week.’ Last year Ghent decided not to allow any more new hotels within the city ring road we have no such plans,’ says alderman Kennis ‘What we as a city do want to focus on more is getting the Airbnbs under control We don't want their number to explode to ensure they don't become more important than hotels These sentiments are music to the ears of the hotel sector ‘Far too little is being done against the increase in Airbnbs at the moment and we think they are unfair competition,’ says Didier Boehlen It is time to tackle that because Airbnbs and the nuisance they sometimes cause means local residents often have a negative attitude towards tourism.’ As far as the hotel federation is concerned new hotels should definitely not be added at the moment ‘Now we should focus on the quality of existing hotels and make sure they are full’ Alderman Koen Kennis is not working to bring new hotels to the city ‘But if interesting projects present themselves that can fill a gap in the market we won’t say 'no' to them in advance Unless we take urban planning measures to stop it The new Van der Valk and the five-star Botanic Sanctuary add rooms in the more expensive segment of the market we are very happy with that,’ concludes Koen Kennis ‘If Madonna plays a show at the Sportpaleis she no longer has to take a taxi to a hotel in Brussels but can sleep in Antwerp we don't feel there is oversupply at the moment.’ In support of Dow’s 2025 World-Leading Operations Goal to reduce its freshwater intake intensity by 20% at key water-stressed sites had started a collaboration project called “Reshape water use.” This project includes 4 pillars: addressing increased water recycling; digitalization; increasing awareness about the resource of water; and establishing local collaborations with internal and external stakeholders from industry The site expects at least a quarter of its targeted water savings to be achieved in the medium term by treating the rainwater from the site through advanced wetlands and use it as a third freshwater source The remaining reduction in freshwater demand will be met by developing advanced low-energy and low-chemical treatment processes Dow Böhlen is participating in an EU-funded project entitled AquaSPICE that will trial new treatment technologies for water reuse a digital model of the water network will simulate how changes in the raw water quality or water treatment will impact plants a plan for implementing future technologies will be developed to sustainably reduce freshwater withdrawals and stabilize the water supply The AquaSPICE project looks at solutions for digital and circular innovations in the field of water use the project also will try to raise awareness about the importance of efficient use of natural resources €11.06 million in EU grants were awarded for the implementation of the AquaSPICE project This project is aligned with the EU Green Deal and focuses on water scarcity The collaboration consists of 29 partners from industry Both Dow’s Böhlen and Terneuzen (Netherlands) sites are participating in the project Dow's direct partners are the Technical University Aachen (Germany) the HZ University of Applied Sciences (Netherlands) Evides Industriewater (Netherlands) and ENGIE Laborelec (Belgium) The main goals of AquaSPICE are to reduce water demand pre-treat and recycle water and utilize alternative water sources The project seeks to enhance the internal recycle of various process streams including cooling tower blowdown and dilution steam blowdown streams; and create a next level of site management by using smart monitoring algorithms and control on raw water various new treatment technologies will be tested in two on-site pilots The trails for an improved cooling tower operation are carried out with two small-scale cooling towers in Linkebeek The focus of the trials is to achieve a stable raw water treatment for cooling tower makeup water and input for the demin water plant and the treatment and reuse of blowdown streams from the cooling towers The use of digital technologies is intended to make water treatment more efficient and to reduce the use of energy and chemicals which will diminish the environmental impact By rethinking and reshaping how water is used in its operations Dow is taking a more circular approach to how water is used DOWDOWDow (NYSE: DOW) is one of the world’s leading materials science companies serving customers in high-growth markets such as packaging leading business positions and commitment to sustainability enable us to achieve profitable growth and help deliver a sustainable future We operate manufacturing sites in 30 countries and employ approximately 36,000 people Dow delivered sales of approximately $43 billion in 2024 References to Dow or the Company mean Dow Inc and its subsidiaries.​​​​Learn more about us and our ambition to be the most innovative inclusive and sustainable materials science company in the world by visiting www.dow.com More from DOW You may not be able to find the page you were after because of: You might find one of the following links useful: Gain insights on a modern flash point test method that enhances safety and reduces sample volume requirements AFM can provide new insights into 2D materials to better understand their potential applications Kyocera's Fine Ceramics enable next-gen renewable energy solutions offering exceptional stability and performance in hydrogen and nuclear fusion applications Micro-XRF is the key method used for the highly sensitive and non-destructive elemental analysis of a number of samples including in-homogenous and irregular samples Optimize compounding and masterbatch processes to boost efficiency while maintaining top material quality AirBreather is the solution the gas monitoring challenges across applications The global semiconductor market has entered an exciting period Demand for chip technology is both driving the industry as well as hindering it with current chip shortages predicted to last for some time Current trends will likely shape the future of the industry The primary distinction between graphene-based batteries and solid-state batteries lies in the composition of either electrode carbon allotropes can also be employed in fabricating anodes the IoT is rapidly being introduced into almost all sectors but it has particular importance in the EV industry you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from AZoNetwork.com please log into your AZoProfile account first Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content A few things you need to know before we start Read the full Terms & Conditions A funeral service for Sally will take place at 10:30 AM on Thursday 2023 at Hemer-Pickerign Funeral Home in Medford with Pastors Paul Woods and Josh Kohl officiating Burial will take place at Riverside Cemetery in Ladysmith at 2:30 PM Visitation will take place at the funeral home on Thursday 2023 from 9:30 AM until the time of service at 10:30 AM At 2 weeks old her family moved to Wisconsin and they bought a farm near Tony She graduated from Tony High School in 1945 In Milwaukee she met her classmate’s older brother George Jennings and they married on September 12 She returned to Ladysmith as a war bride when George went to serve in WW2 When he returned from the Marines they moved back to Milwaukee They returned to the Ladysmith area to dairy farm When her husband became a disabled veteran She then worked at Kent’s Hardware and Ladysmith Nursing Home She went back to college and graduated from Taylor County Teacher’s College in 1970 She continued her education and graduated from UW Eau Claire in 1977 She then taught 4th grade at Medford area schools John (Jewel) Jennings of Mosinee; daughter Cindy (Roger) Boehlen of Medford; grandsons Jay (Jennifer) Jennings of Black River Falls Kenn (Jennifer) Boehlen of Medford; granddaughter Garrick (Sheila) DeMeyer and Katie (Adam) Eberle; step-great-grandchildren Sally was preceded in death by her parents Hemer-Pickerign Funeral & Cremation Services of Medford and Rib Lake is serving the family Please visit www.hemerfuneralservice.com to share condolences online Masaaki Suzuki leads the Bach Collegium Japan from the harpsichord as Andreas Böhlen performs a Vivaldi Recorder Concerto Sunday at Jordan Hall Masaaki Suzuki formed an ensemble to introduce historical performance practice to Japanese audiences Bach Collegium Japan stands as one the leading interpreters of the music of J in a concert sponsored by the Celebrity Series Suzuki and his ensemble offered a light program of Baroque favorites that featured works by Bach Bach Collegium Japan tours with a wide number of forces which has included a full chorus in addition to instrumentalists Sunday’s concert featured an exquisitely balanced nonet of violins Period instruments produce an intimate sound world and the ensemble played in a tasteful idiomatic and graceful style that was never overpowering the musicians’ blend was ideal for the acoustics of Jordan Hall and even the prominent clarion trumpet part of the Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No was absorbed into the thin veil of strings and continuo The work is fiendishly difficult for trumpet players Handling the difficult part was trumpeter Guy Ferber The piece also featured stellar playing from Masamitsu San’nomiya (oboe) rounded phrases with each other in the second movement The other instrumental works on the concert were showpieces for the Collegium’s fine soloists who was given the solo spotlight in Vivaldi’s Recorder Concerto in C Major is a first-rate virtuoso in his small wooden instrument  and Böhlen played with astounding control of the rippling lines that make up this piece which drew vigorous and well-deserved applause from the audience Vivaldi’s Oboe Concerto in C major RV 450 showed off the stylings of Masamitsu San’nomiya making for an elegant rendering of the slow movement played with firm command of the Vivaldi’s burbling passages in the outer movements Bach’s Flute Sonata in E minor involves dexterous fingerwork for the soloist Flutist Kiyomi Suga floated searching melodies in the slow movements where long notes seemed to grow organically from silence before turning into gently trickling lines The continuo of Suzuki (harpsichord) and Emmanuel Balssa (cello) supplied soft and sensitive accompaniment Rounding out the program were two vocal works that featured soprano Joanne Lunn The highlight of these pieces was a rare Gloria discovered in a collection of Handel manuscripts at the Royal Academy of Music in 2001 And while the jury is still out on whether or not this piece was actually written by Handel it bears the composer’s characteristic melismatic style and opera-like drama and almost boyish tone that brought warm resonance to the “Et in terra pax.” She was also capable of mining the internal emotional shades of this music The free-flowing lines of “Domine Deus” were given dramatic weight through light and dark shading and the phrases of “Miserere nobis” sounded with a touch of yearning Those characteristics also marked Lunn’s performance of Bach’s cantata Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen Bach cantatas are a specialty for Bach Collegium Japan as the ensemble has released a complete set of the sacred works on the BIS label a recording project that lasted almost twenty years and resulted in fifty discs Jauchzet Gott is a rarity in Bach’s copious output as it is scored for soprano and orchestra and involves a quasi-operatic singing style Lunn deftly handled the vocal flourishes that took her up to a high C Issues with balance crept in the opening aria as her diction and phrases were sometimes buried under the full ensemble accompaniment She fared better in the ensuing recitative Lunn’s tasteful singing capably reflected the text mache deine Güte” was especially poetic Suzuki and company offered a joyous rendition of Bach’s “Wie Freudig ist mein Herz” from Cantata BWV 199 The next classical music concert presented by the Celebrity Series will feature cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Kathryn Stott in music by Bach, Schubert, Gade, Franck, Sibelius, Shostakovich, and others 8 p.m. November 17 at Symphony Hall. celebrityseries.org; 617-482-6661 Posted in Performances XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong> Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Rhinelander will be celebrating all things Hodag with the Hodag Heritage Days This community has really come together and supported each other on the local level This event is for everyone,” said Rhinelander Chamber of Commerce Event and Program Coordinator Rachel Boehlen Boehlen says the idea for the event has been in the works for years it got pushed back because of the pandemic the Hodag Heritage Days will be a celebration of the city’s history and its people “We are so proud of how our community has responded to everything going on in the last year The Chamber along with Pioneer Park Historical Complex and the Hodag Store are hosting a series of events the week of May 17th Boehlen says there’s something for everyone “We wanted to provide the general public within person options or virtual options depending on everybody’s comfort level everybody’s at different comfort levels,” said Boehlen Hodag Heritage Days will feature the following events: Boehlen says they plan to make this annual event “We’ve already got plans going for next year,” she said You can learn more about the events on the Rhinelander Chamber of Commerce website An on-site visit at a Dow turnaround in a chemical plant in Böhlen reveals the complexities of a well-planned turnaround has worked on site at the plant for 40 years Here he discusses possible solutions for a leak with employees from various companies When some machines rest it’s when others are running at peak levels: during a so-called turnaround in chemical plants as it took place in Böhlen in September 2015 this is what happens every three to five years but cranes and lifting platforms are on the move – during the safety inspections by TÜV SÜD Chemie Service and during clean-ups “Where the cranes are is where the action takes place,” says Reiko Hass turnaround manager in the Dow plant in Böhlen during the inspection of the premises of the chemical plant near Leipzig The 320 ha large premises is currently covered in cranes and scaffolding About 30 cranes stretch up into the blue sky Disassembled parts are lying around everywhere – from fittings to pipes up to boilers The regular shutting down of chemical plants is called turnaround or (large-scale) shutdown The term “turnaround,” which is mostly used in Böhlen in particular highlights the long lead time of 30 months this suits that each single part is turned around refers to the downtime of regular operation: usually these installations are in operation for 24 hours seven days a week and only a few people enter the premises But every three to five years the installations are shut down in order to carry out statutorily prescribed and other inspections – mainly based on industrial safety regulations – as well as repair works The period is calculated based on the measures “relevant for the turnaround” since the last turnaround: in this case 1.5 months covered in scaffolding during the turnaround the oldest parts of which are around 40 years old almost 600 Dow employees and an external service team of 300 persons are working at the location; however another 1,500 employees from various companies are working there as well And despite everything being strictly organized and monitored by security guards the atmosphere is concentrated and familiar an extreme amount of logistics is needed for the project not only with regard to inspection and repair works “Everything needs to be planned up to the cutlery,” says Hass The materials storage covers for this period 50 containers for granting the work permit on site but also additional traffic lights installed Jörg Friedrich (left) and Reiko Hass during a tour of the plant checking on a daily basis that everything is going according to plan a rattling thunder in the background: the “washing machine” is in full swing It cleans materials by spinning it together with gravel At some locations it smells of caustic soda from the cleaning – “not dangerous,” says Peter Goth The TÜV SÜD Chemie Service expert witness has been working for 35 years for the chemical plant in Böhlen he was working at the self-monitoring at Dow from which this TÜV SÜD Chemie Service location emerged Three to four employees are always on site Peter Goth fell in love twice: once with his today’s wife and once with the cracker on site – there is a reason why it is called the “heart of the plant” petroleum is cracked into hydrocarbon compounds – ethylene and propylene – in 15 furnaces at around 800 °C basic materials for the plastic production Petroleum is delivered via a more than 430-km long pipeline directly from the harbour in Rostock to this plant The cracker is the heart of the Dow Olefineverbund in central Germany It supplies the plants and installations in Schkopau and Leuna with intermediates which are further processed and made into plastics several installations depend on the cracker especially since it produces the process steam for further installation parts head of Plant Monitoring Central Germany at TÜV SÜD Chemie Service all other installations and parts need to be shut down when the cracker needs maintenance Shutting down and cleaning all installations alone takes 10 days located in the traditional plant founded in 1921 This makes it even more important that it is regularly checked to consider which parts need to be replaced or repaired Discarded measuring instruments in front of the machine house The cracker’s powerhouse is the most active today One worker is measuring the turbine’s bearings “Here in the heart of the plant only highly qualified experts are at work,” says Hass The different trades and employees jointly dismantle the affected parts completely replace or renew parts and reassemble everything afterwards – subject to the strictest safety regulations comprehensive and thorough planning is required The colleagues of the turnaround team need to co-ordinate 1,200 to 1,500 jobs with a total of 25,000 sequences “There is no point in bringing all these people here to have them check something and then there is no security guard,” says Hass “To ensure that the colleagues can start their work scaffolding and the right material are needed.” Planning is co-ordinated months in advance and documented in a complex project plan The particularities for the Dow turnaround in Böhlen are that all parts also micro-parts are planned and ordered in advance Every evening they check whether the plan was met in terms of safety and effectiveness the plant usually makes a turnover of about one million euros Plus the investment of 42 million euros for the turnaround and technical innovations such as the step-by-step introduction of a new process control system showing the plans of the plant in a turnaround container during a tour of the plant more than 100 experts are on site and more than 2,500 safety trainings were carried out The Safety Shop has 8,300 items available for the employees’ equipment TÜV SÜD Chemie Service has 13 engineers participating in the turnaround the project wouldn’t take place: the TÜV SÜD Chemie Service inspections are top priority as they are statutorily required These are 80 per cent of the turnaround’s work packages they constitute the “largest challenge.” This comprises the corrosion monitoring the supporting poles of 10 containers need to be replaced due to corrosion: for ten containers a total of 100 support poles have been replaced this meant 10 folders with inspection documentation for Dow Decisive for the inspections by TÜV SÜD Chemie Service is the Industrial Safety Regulation including explosion protection which is now regulated in the Ordinance on Hazardous Substances company attaches great importance to safety so that the requirements partially exceed the statutory requirements While shutting down the installations is most critical due to the ongoing production processes at the beginning the most decisive weeks are the three subsequent weeks during which TÜV SÜD Chemie Service can carry out their work no investigator can enter a vessel for an internal inspection before release measurements were carried out and proof is provided by means of gas measurements that all critical values are met This is why such inspections are prepared overnight or in the morning between 3 a.m a safety guard must be within sight during the inspections The inspection obligations are flexibly defined by the operation based on the statutorily permitted framework vessels under pressure need to be inspected at the latest every five years if the TÜV SÜD Chemie Service experts conclude that safety is not guaranteed for the period It is only possible to extend the inspection period to a certain degree in exceptional cases This year’s turnaround is smaller than usual in terms of scope but: “When some installation parts are still okay in particular with regard to safety,” says turnaround manager Reiko Hass But what makes it a bit easier for the TÜV SÜD colleagues: more internal inspections are carried out – and less of the more complex pressure tests “We will have to face them in the large-scale shutdown in five years time,” says Olaf Fuchs Olaf Fuchs discusses the next job with his colleague Peter Goth (right) Next on the agenda is the inspection of a welded pipe Olaf Fuchs from TÜV SÜD coordinates the inspection works he starts working on the shutdown project long before it starts and continues his work afterwards The graduate engineer has his office in Schkopau and also co-ordinates the regular TÜV SÜD inspections during ongoing operation During the turnaround he co-ordinates the 13 TÜV SÜD experts from Schkopau who travel to Böhlen for the specific tasks: which specialist is needed when Where will he be accommodated and with whom can he share a car The hotels in the area are booked months in advance “The colleagues volunteer for the turnaround,” says Olaf Fuchs “Here they can meet colleagues from other locations Noteworthy: Nearly all colleagues are older than 40 “Especially in a plant with tradition as it is the case in Böhlen experience plays an important role,” says Olaf Fuchs He is convinced that without the practical long-time experience in the chemical industry the employees wouldn’t be able to correctly classify the corrosion stages a welding seam from the past cannot be compared with the machine-created seams from today and still it can be integer,” he says “a huge machinery would be initiated unnecessarily.” the whole team from TÜV SÜD Chemie Service gathers with Goth to talk about a leakage at a heat exchanger’s welding seam The specialists find a reliable solution that doesn’t endanger the scheduled completion date Peter Goth wants to quickly go and take a look at the situation himself employees from different companies stand around the heat exchanger but I would be happy to realize another 10 turnarounds with this team” – and of course with his great love Hanno Kurzeja is head of Department Marketing & Sales, TÜV SÜD Chemie Service GmbH. For more information, visit www.tuev-sued.de/chemieservice The town of Böhlen in the German state of Saxony has been selected as the location for what could be Europe's largest chemical recycling plant the plant would have an annual capacity of 120,000 tonnes per year the US chemicals group Dow and the British company Mura Technology announced on Wednesday the recycling plant to be co-located with a Dow cracker facility and is to process plastic waste that is currently incinerated or landfilled The final investment decision is expected by the end of 2023 and the plant could be operational by 2025 Customer Service+49 7224 9397-701servicenoSpam@GO-AWAYeuwid.de Editorial Team+49 7224 9397-0recyclingnoSpam@GO-AWAYeuwid.com Get the latest news about developments and trends in the industry sent to you once a week free of charge by newsletter Sign up for our newsletter We use cookies and external services on our website others enhance your user experience or help us improve this website You can change your privacy settings any time by clicking privacy policy Necessary cookies are required for the correct functioning of the website Content from video and social media platforms is blocked by default. 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You can find more information on the individual external services in our privacy policy further into an energy crisis as Russia withholds natural gas supplies The situation has become so severe that chemical makers are beginning to permanently shut down plants Trinseo says it has begun discussions with the local works council about the potential closure of its styrene facility in Böhlen which has 300,000 metric tons per year of production capacity has lost a total of $30 million over the past four quarters “The cost position of the Böhlen facility is challenged due to the current energy cost environment in Europe as well as the facility’s smaller scale and it’s difficult to envision significant earnings improvement at the site in the near to medium term,” Trinseo CEO Frank Bozich says in a statement Trinseo announced that it was exploring options to sell its polystyrene In November 2021, Trinseo announced that it was exploring options to sell its polystyrene and styrene business a divestiture that would have included the Böhlen plant Citing uncertainty due in part to the war in Ukraine Similarly, Olin has announced that it intends to shut down methylene chloride and chloroform production in Stade, Germany, by the third quarter of 2023. The company reduced its corporate earnings outlook in September because of deteriorating demand in Europe and North America And the Japanese firm Arakawa Chemical Industries recently announced that it would close a hydrogenated hydrocarbon resin plant in Germany in 2023 Russia has been scaling back natural gas exports to Europe, apparently in retaliation for European support for Ukraine in the war. According to a new report from the International Energy Agency Russian gas supplies to Europe have declined by 50% since the beginning of the year and could decrease further “The complete shutdown of Russian pipeline gas supplies to the European Union cannot be excluded ahead of the 2022/2023 heating season—when the European gas market is at its most vulnerable,” the report says head of ammonia for the consulting firm Wood Mackenzie says some sectors of the chemical industry have seen operating rates fall to 40–50% of capacity “While all commodity chemicals are impacted as energy-intensive businesses the sectors that are seeing the biggest adverse impacts are those that either consume natural gas as a feedstock or cannot pass costs on to end users,” she says singling out the ammonia and nylon industries Indeed, CF Industries ceased production at its ammonia plant in Billingham and Yara International has cut its European ammonia production to 35% of capacity In a recent poll by the German industry group VCI of chemical companies operating in the country’s chemical heartland of North Rhine–Westphalia 34% of respondents said they had to cut production Solarpark Böhlen auf ehemaliger industrieller Absetzanlage beim Kraftwerk Lippendorf fertiggestellt Ein weiterer Schritt für die zukünftige Grünstromversorgung von Mitteldeutschland: Im sächsischen Böhlen wurde auf dem Gelände einer ehemaligen und teilrekultivierten industriellen Absetzanlage nahe des Kraftwerks Lippendorf ein weiteres PV-Projekt der LEAG fertiggestellt Den 17 Megawatt-Solarpark hat die LEAG gemeinsam mit ihrem strategischen Partner EP New Energies GmbH (EPNE) entwickelt und umgesetzt LEAG-Vorstandsvorsitzender: „Wir freuen uns dass das Areal der ehemaligen IAA Böhlen eine besonders nachhaltige Nutzung erfährt Mit der Inbetriebnahme tragen wir zur Erweiterung des Grünstromangebots in Mitteldeutschland bei Das ist die Grundlage für eine forcierte Entwicklung der Region im Bereich der grünen Wasserstoffwirtschaft Der weitere Ausbau der Grünstromerzeugung sowie von Wasserstoff- und Speichertechnologien ist eine wichtige Voraussetzung für den Erhalt von Wirtschaftskraft und Arbeitsplätzen für Wirtschaftswachstum und die Ansiedlung neuer Industriearbeitsplätze.“ Eine entscheidende Bedingung für eine erfolgreiche Transformation sei dass große Kraftwerks- und Industriestandorte in der Lausitz und in Mitteldeutschland an das Wasserstoffkernnetz angebunden werden und dass sich die Genehmigungsverfahren für Erneuerbare-Energien-Anlagen deutlich vereinfachen und beschleunigen An ihren Kraftwerksstandorten – darunter das Kraftwerk Lippendorf im Süden von Leipzig – plant die LEAG den Neubau flexibler H2-ready-Gaskraftwerke oder reiner Wasserstoffkraftwerke Die Gesamtkapazität dieser Kraftwerke soll bis 2040 bis zu 4,5 GW betragen „Zusammen mit bis zu 14 GW Grünstromerzeugung kann damit die Stromerzeugungskapazität der heutigen Braunkohlekraftwerke in der Lausitz und in Mitteldeutschland ersetzt werden“ Für den PV-Park Böhlen wurden 30.000 Module installiert rein rechnerisch wird er rund 6.000 Haushalte mit Grünstrom versorgen handelt es sich um das Gelände einer ehemaligen industriellen Absetzanlage für Kraftwerksasche die direkt auf dem Areal eines ehemaligen Tagebaus liegt Die Nachnutzung ehemals industriell genutzter Flächen wie Bergbaufolgeland oder Altkraftwerksstandorte sind ein essentieller Bestandteil der LEAG-GigawattFactory da sie einen konfliktarmen und gleichzeitig nachhaltigen Ausbau von Erneuerbaren Energien ermöglichen Geschäftsführer des Projektentwicklungsunternehmens EP New Energies GmbH unterstrich die Fertigstellung als Baustein der Transformation der Tagebauregionen zu klimaneutralen Energielandschaften: „Mit dem PV-Park Böhlen und unseren anderen Multimegawatt-Solar- und Windprojekten in fortgeschrittener Entwicklung bringen wir die notwendige Power für die GigawattFactory Insgesamt haben wir von den Projektpotenzialen der LEAG bereits über ein Gigawatt in Genehmigungsverfahren gebracht.“ Darüber hinaus betonte Guillou die umfangreichen Ausgleichsmaßnahmen die in Böhlen umgesetzt wurden: „Ein besonderes Augenmerk liegt hier auf dem Artenschutz So wurden bestimmte Bereiche von den Bauarbeiten ausgenommen naturbelassene Unterschlupf-Möglichkeiten aus Feldsteinen und Totholz sowie zahlreiche Brutkästen als ökologische Habitate zur Steigerung der Artenvielfalt.“ steffen.herrmann(at)leag(dot)de Subscribe Groupe Autajon, a converter of folding boxes, presentation boxes and labels, has announced the takeover of the Bopack Group a printer of pressure sensitive labels and sleeves one in Belgium (Wommelgem) and one site in the Netherlands (Zeist) Bopack is one of Europe’s leading self-adhesive label converters ‘The integration of Bopack in Groupe Autajon guarantees the continuity of our projects creates an unprecedented innovative force and gives access to a wider market and more market segments,’ commented Marc Boehlen ‘Our 580 employees can rest assured that this integration offers the best possible chances of future success for their company.’ ‘We decided to seize this important opportunity,’ explained Grard Autajon to increase our international presence and to build on the similarities and synergies between the two companies in order to become a still better performing partner for our customers especially in these technically demanding products.’ Groupe Autajon now employs nearly 3,000 people in 22 sites in Europe and the US with a consolidated turnover of close to 400 million euros Click here for more stories about Bopack on L&L.com Gain knowledge with articles and videos collated from Label Academy books LAST F3 RACE At the final rounds of the Drexler Formula Cup in Monza Thomas Aregger celebrated his first Formula 3 victory after Sandro Zeller retired The champion took revenge in the final race the final round of the 2020 Drexler-Automotive and Swiss Formula Cup in Monza not only saw the strongest regular drivers back on the grid the finale of the Drexler-Automotive and Swiss Formula Cup 2020 in Monza saw not only the strongest regular drivers at the start again but also the race cars from the Topjet F2000 Italian Trophy This resulted in a respectable field of more than 30 race cars from Formula 3 Premature abandonment After the fastest Italian Bernardo Pellegrini had to refrain from starting due to damage to his more powerful FIA engine in the Dallara F313 occupied the first row of the grid in both races who was already established as the champion seemed to turn pole position in the first race the Zurich driver unexpectedly turned into the pit lane instead of accelerating because the Mercedes engine in his Dallara F312 ran out of puff First victory for Aregger Thomas Aregger then took the lead and celebrated his first victory in the Formula 3 class with a Dallara F309-Volkswagen of series organizer Franz Wöss five Italians were running in the next positions with a large gap before Urs Rüttimann in the Dallara F306-Mercedes of Jo Zeller Racing was the runner-up in the Drexler classification Faster than Rüttimann and all the Italians would have been Kurt Böhlen in another Zeller-Dallara the man from Berne stopped at the start and was immediately one lap down as the safety car did not wave him past after the last yellow period and so he stayed in the lead with Aregger after the clearance End of season as desired In the final twelfth race of the season Sandro Zeller set the hierarchy straight again Although Aregger was at the front this time was soon unable to hold off the runner-up on his way to his ninth victory of the season After Zeller had hesitated for a long time as to whether he should start at all because of the effort involved - with Papa Jo he looked after a total of four race cars - the season ended for him as he wished GP2 starts from Böhlen Kurt Böhlen had a much better start from 6th place on Sunday but had to swerve over the curbs in the first corner and lost several positions in the process he was one lap short of passing Italy's Franco Cimarelli to move into third place overall In the Maxx Formula Series for large-displacement race cars (a counterpart to the BOSS GP Racing Series created after some drivers split off) the excavator and transport operator from Riggisberg enjoyed himself at the wheel of a potent GP2 race car and won his class there Swiss ahead As a good sixth Urs Rüttimann ensured a fourfold victory for the Swiss in the last race of the Drexler Cup the Wöss series would be well served by more good participants and not just field fillers There would still be enough usable race cars Final standings Drexler Cup 2020 Final standings Swiss Formula Cup 2020 afr-cups.com Zurich's Sandro Zeller remains unbeaten in the Swiss Formula 3 Cup he had to admit defeat to a stubborn Italian in the international standings in the first of the two races in Most The three Swiss drivers had to travel all the way to the Czech Republic to also compete for the Swiss Formula 3 [...] in the Remus Cup series run by Austrian Franz Wöss The three Swiss drivers who also compete for the Swiss Formula 3 Cup in the Remus Cup series run by Austrian Franz Wöss had to travel all the way to the Czech Republic they have ambitions of finishing at the top of the international rankings as Zeller did as champion in 2011 and Thomas Amweg in 2014 Zeller suffered his first defeat of the season While he was clearly the fastest in practice with his Dallara F308-Mercedes Italian Paolo Branjnik (Dallara F308-VW) got the better start in the first race whereupon he withstood Zeller's pressure and drove home the victory Marcel Tobler (Dallara F308-Mercedes) and Kurt Böhlen (Dallara F308-Spiess) fought for third place for several laps which Tobler saved by crossing the finish line three tenths ahead of the Bernese Amazing Kurt Böhlen The second race was the same: pole position for Zeller the Swiss stayed on and successfully countered in the first lap the son of 13-time Swiss race car champion Jo Zeller now leads both classifications clearly ahead of Branjik who is contesting his second Formula 3 season was allowed to put himself on the podium in third place Marcel Tobler was unlucky when he was hit by an opponent in the chicane and had to retire Böhlen and Tobler continue to fight it out between themselves for second place in the Swiss Cup and are also ahead of the other Austrians and Germans in the international standings www.afr-pokale.com Documentation and photo: Rolf Schindler Sandro Zeller claimed a double victory on the Italians' home track in Imola the driver from Zurich is clearly leading all classifications in the Drexler F3 Cup would have liked to take revenge at the Autodromo "Enzo e Dino Ferrari" for the double defeat at the season opener in Monza would have liked to take revenge at the Autodromo "Enzo e Dino Ferrari" for their double defeat at the season opener in Monza Sandro Zeller left them behind in both free practice sessions on Friday and then also took the best grid position for his Dallara F312-Mercedes in qualifying Up and away While the Dallara F312 Volkswagen of Andrea Cola stalled at the start of the first race and lagged behind the field The Zurich native then went on to win by six seconds ahead of Bernardo Pellegrino in a Dallara F308-Toyota With Antoine Bottiroli (Dallara F312-Mercedes) a second Swiss driver finished third alongside Zeller After an accident in qualifying due to brake failure His thanks therefore went to his team for the perfect repair work followed by the other Swiss drivers Kurt Böhlen in the Dallara F309-Volkswagen of series organizer Wöss and Marcel Tobler in his own Dallara F308-Mercedes Chain reaction A mass crash at the back of the field resulted in the race being stopped shortly after the start of the second race which led to a chain reaction involving a total of six cars 16 of the 22 Formula 3 and Formula Renault 2.0 race cars tackled the remaining distance of 13 laps Andrea Cola didn't let the defending champion get too far away this time and was only beaten by half a second at the finish But that's just it: The Italians only came away with victories in their second home race in the internal TopJet F2000 Italian Trophy Zeller back on course for the title Bernardo Pellegrino climbed onto the podium in third place in the day's overall standings Behind Czech Tom Beckhäuser (Dallara F308-Opel Spiess) while Marcel Tobler and Kurt Böhlen swapped places from the first race Zeller extended his lead in the Drexler-Automotive Cup over Bottiroli and Cola as well as in the Swiss Formula 3 Cup supported by Horag Hotz Racing the Genevan has also moved past Böhlen into second place In the Trophy classification for older Formula 3 racing cars up to 2007 Florian Münger in the Dallara F306-Volkswagen from Jo Zeller Racing took victory in the second race Simon Stoller celebrated a second place in the first race in the second race his Tatuus-Renault fell victim to the starting collision in the midfield afr-cups.com