The “Alastian” (www.alastian.com) website, launched by Basell (NL-2132 MS Hoofddorp; www.basell.com) in Europe in April 2004 and claimed to be the first web-based purchasing channel for polyolefins, will be extended to North America on 1 October. The site, where customers can place rail-car quantity orders 24 hours a day, seven days a week, is designed for polyolefins buyers who require little or no technical service. Optional services such as technical support are available at additional cost. Alastian offers a selected range of Basell´s PP grades at what the company claims are “competitive prices.” According to Don Drummond, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Basell North America, price information on the site, which operates parallel to Basell´s full-service direct-sales polyolefins business, is “transparent.”