- Email: [email protected]
Beimei Chemical & Jiehong Pigment are China’s leading producers
FOCUS quantities of kaolin for coating and PCC for filler applications. There is still room for some replacement of kaolin by GCC in North America, but such replacement will be limited in certain areas that lack local goodquality marble deposits. GCC is now well established as the most widely used paper pigment in Western Europe and in this region particularly GCC has proved to be competitively priced against kaolin, talc and PCC. However, the inherent technical advantage of PCC is the scope for engineering the particle shape and size, whereas GCC (based on marble) is always the same rhombohedral crystal shape. The plastics industry is the second largest user of GCC, accounting for just over 8 M tonnes in 2001. The rise of consumption in the Chinese plastics industry is a major factor here. Meanwhile, in Western Europe and North America, there are significant growth opportunities in the use of GCC in breathable polyolefin films for diapers, disposable clothing and other hygiene/healthcare applications. About 5 M tonnes/y of GCC is used in the manufacture of paint, mainly emulsion and semi-gloss products. Suppliers of GCC slurries have shown that the grades developed for papermaking are equally suitable in paint formulations. High-quality GCC grades are available for food and pharmaceutical applications, the key to acceptance here being the nature of the marble source, where the presence of certain trace elements such as lead must be negligible (below 3 ppm). Roskill’s report runs to about 300 pages, divided into 23 chapters. After the 4-page executive summary, the next three chapters cover the geology, mineralogy, chemical and physical properties, mining and processing technologies applicable to GCC. There is a brief discussion of the capital costs involved, noting that while modern computer-controlled GCC plants are capital-intensive, they are not labour-intensive. Chapter 5 presents a synopsis of the specifications and performance characteristics of some of the main commercially available GCC grades. Chapter 6 includes a detailed list of the world’s GCC plants, identifying location, producing company, carbonate source (marble, chalk,
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limestone, etc), product types (wet- or dry-ground) and nameplate capacity. The next eight chapters, with one chapter per geographical region, describe the individual GCC plants, projects and resources. Chapter 15 presents a statistical breakdown of GCC consumption, by end-use sector and geographical region. The next seven chapters deal with the individual end-use sectors, highlighting the major GCC consumers in each sector, the threats and opportunities for substitution of competing pigments and the general outlook for the end-user industry. The final chapter of the report is on pricing and includes tables of GCC prices drawn from published sources. Roskill notes: “The papermakers have little control over pulp prices, but they have managed to restrict price increases for GCC over a long period of time. In a growing market, the customer (papermaker) has controlled the GCC producer on pricing, with the promise of one- to two-year supply agreements, whilst at the same time, the major GCC suppliers have been building up their market share against their competitors. This policy, it could be argued, has restricted the number of new entrants to the supply of GCC to the paper industry. The ten leading paper producers have the purchasing power to control pricing. Whilst a continuing dialogue between paper and pigment producers is important to understand one another’s problems, the premise from the papermaker is that paper prices will decline in the long term!” Roskill forecasts that the high growth rates for global GCC consumption experienced over the past decade are unlikely to be maintained. Growth in world GCC consumption is still likely to outpace general economic growth, with China and other Asian markets becoming more and more prominent. The demand for grades of GCC with high performance characteristics will be particularly strong.
MARKETS US carbon black demand bounces back in 2002 after steep fall in 2001 After a 12-15% drop in 2001, US carbon black consumption increased by about 3% in 2002. Cabot Corp, the market leader, reported strong growth in sales volume during July and August 2002, easing off in September, though remaining quite buoyant throughout the final quarter of the year. Sid Richardson, the country’s fourth largest supplier, also reported healthy demand for carbon black, enabling the company to maintain average operating rates above 90% at its three plants in Texas and Louisiana. However, profit margins came under pressure as a result of rising oil and natural gas feedstock costs. Total North American carbon black capacity is around 1.9 M tonnes/y, not counting Columbian’s 50,000 tonnes/y plant in Arkansas, where production has been suspended since 2001, and not counting the 100,000 tonnes/y of capacity idled by Degussa Engineered Carbons during 2002. Long-term trendline growth in North American carbon black consumption is estimated at between 2% and 3% per annum. Chemical Market Reporter, 4 Nov 2002 & 27 Jan 2003. Website: http://www.chemicalmarketreporter.com
Top five organic pigment suppliers control 84% of the global market In terms of value, Clariant is the world’s leading producer of organic pigments, with a 22% market share. Dainippon Ink & Chemicals (DIC) has a 20% share, Ciba 18%, BASF 14% and Toyo Ink 10%. A large number of small suppliers, mainly producing relatively inexpensive classic pigments account for the remaining 16% of the market. Chimie Hebdo, 16 Dec 2002, (196), 8 (in French)
Reg Adams
“The Economics of Ground Calcium Carbonate” (299 pages, 201 tables, 52 charts, plus an appendix listing suppliers’ E-mail and Website details). Available for £1200 or $2400 or €2100 from: Roskill Information Services, 27a Leopold Road, Wimbledon, London SW19 7BB, England. Tel: +44-20-8944-0066. Fax: +44-20-8947-9568. E-mail: [email protected]
Beimei Chemical & Jiehong Pigment are China’s leading producers For the first six months of 2002, China’s production value of organic pigments and dyestuffs increased by 13.1% to Yuan 4.88 bn. The leading
FEBRUARY 2003
FOCUS producer of organic pigments was Changzhou Beimei Chemical Group Corp (8050 tonnes), followed by Hebei Jiehong Pigment Chemical Industrial Co Ltd (6406 tonnes). The leading producer of organic dyes was Zhejiang Longsheng Group Co Ltd (35,745 tonnes), followed by Zhejiang Runtu Chemical Industrial Group Corp (28,550 tonnes). Exports of organic pigments increased by 8% in volume terms to 40,736 tonnes and by 24.5% in value terms to $139.05 M. Imports of organic pigments increased by 12.5% in volume terms to 15,187 tonnes and by 33.4% in value terms to $59.73 M. China Chemical Reporter, 6 Dec 2002, 13 (34), 12-13
Huge potential for growth in Indian paint consumption Total expenditure on paints in India is estimated at Rup 500 bn, split 70% architectural and 30% industrial. The leading “organised sector” paintmakers include: Asian Paints, Goodlass Nerolac, Berger Paints, ICI Paints and Jensen & Nicholson. The “unorganised small sector” paintmakers number about 2500 and together they represent 40% of the Rup 500 bn market. Even compared against other developing countries, India has a remarkably low per capita consumption of paint, assessed at only 0.4-0.5 kilos. The demand for better housing and general living standards supports the potential for a significant expansion in the Indian paint market over the next 10-20 years. The steady reduction in tariffs and tazes on paint raw materials should also help Indian consumers to realise that paint is more affordable than ever. Chemical Engineering World, Dec 2002, 37 (12), 84
COMPANIES American Synpol in Chapter 11 – where does that leave DEC carbon black? Ameripol Synpol Corp filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11, with effect from 16 December 2002. As well as being a major synthetic rubber producer, American Synpol is the parent company of Engineered Carbons Inc (ECI) – a
FEBRUARY 2003
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partner of Degussa in a joint venture with nearly 550,000 tonnes/y of carbon black capacity. To the joint venture, Degussa Engineered Carbon (DEC), ECI contributed its three plants – at Orange, Borger and Baytown (all located in Texas) – with a combined capacity of 295,000 tonnes/y of carbon black. Degussa’s Advanced Fillers & Pigments business unit is responsible for sales and marketing of all the carbon black produced by DEC. (See also ‘Focus on Pigments’, Dec 2001, 6). Almost immediately after filing for Chapter 11 protection had been announced, International Specialty Products Inc (ISP) declared its intention to make an offer for American Synpol’s emulsion styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) assets. These include notably the 336,000 tonnes/y plant at Port Neches, TX. So far, no candidates have presented themselves as potential buyers of American Synpol’s carbon black interests. Ameripol Synpol has assets of $112 M and liabilities amounting to $98 M. In full-year 2001, the company reported an operating loss of $21 M on sales of $187 M. For the first 10 months of 2002, it recorded an operating loss of $10 M on sales of $110 M.
its mixed metal oxide pigments business to Heubach and its US organic pigments assets to Dainippon Inks & Chemicals (DIC). It also closed its chrome pigments facilities in Brazil and Indonesia. The majority of Bayer’s dyestuffs activities were transferred to the DyStar joint venture in the mid-1990s. During 2003, Bayer plans to spin off its Polymers division as a separate entity. Bayer Polymers doubled its operating income to €152 M on sales of €2.7 bn in 3Q 2002. The company has a leading position in the global markets for: polycarbonate, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and polyurethane. Bayer’s capacity for making Makrolon polycarbonate at Krefeld-Uerdingen (Germany) is to be stepped up by 50% to 300,000 tonnes/y, but it has suspended a project to build a new 150,000 tonnes/y polycarbonate facility at Map Ta Phut (Thailand). Meanwhile, the company’s major project to install facilities for making coatings, colorants, polycarbonates and polyurethanes units at Caojing (near Shanghai, China) is moving ahead as planned. Press release from: Bayer AG, 51368 Leverkusen, Germany. Website: http://www.bayer.com (17 Dec 2002) & Kunststoffe, Nov 2002, 92 (11), 6,8 (in German)
Rubber and Plastics News II, 23 Dec 2002, 24 (6), 1-2
Bayer reorganises With effect from 1 January 2003, Bayer has adopted a substantial reorganisation of its activities. The newly created Performance Materials group replaces four previous product groups – Plastics, Rubber, Polyurethane and Coatings & Colorants. The new group will consist of three sub-groups: Systems (mainly centred on polyurethanes); Solutions (mainly centred on speciality chemicals); and Commodities (including colorants). Iron oxide pigments remain one of the company’s most important product lines. Bayer also supplies Macrolex organic colorants for plastics and a wide range of high-performance organic pigments. However, Bayer relinquished the last of its holdings in the TiO2 business, selling its European assets to Kerr-McGee and its South American assets to Millennium. Last year, Bayer also sold
Cardre to be absorbed into LCW after acquisition by Sensient Technologies Sensient Technologies Corp (formerly Universal Foods, of Milwaukee, WI) recently acquired Cardre Inc (of South Plainfield. NJ), a producer of speciality cosmetics ingredients. Cardre’s business activities will be absorbed into LCW, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sensient. HAPPI, Household & Personal Products Industry, Jan 2003, 40 (1), 103-104
Chance & Hunt to sell TiO2 for Precolor and barytes for Baser Chance & Hunt Ltd (of Runcorn in Northwest England) has been appointed as a distributor for the Pretiox range of TiO2 pigments, manufactured by Precheza in the Czech Republic. The full range of products consists of high-quality, competitively priced TiO2 pigment
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limestone, etc), product types (wet- or dry-ground) and nameplate capacity. The next eight chapters, with one chapter per geographical region, describe the individual GCC plants, projects and resources. Chapter 15 presents a statistical breakdown of GCC consumption, by end-use sector and geographical region. The next seven chapters deal with the individual end-use sectors, highlighting the major GCC consumers in each sector, the threats and opportunities for substitution of competing pigments and the general outlook for the end-user industry. The final chapter of the report is on pricing and includes tables of GCC prices drawn from published sources. Roskill notes: “The papermakers have little control over pulp prices, but they have managed to restrict price increases for GCC over a long period of time. In a growing market, the customer (papermaker) has controlled the GCC producer on pricing, with the promise of one- to two-year supply agreements, whilst at the same time, the major GCC suppliers have been building up their market share against their competitors. This policy, it could be argued, has restricted the number of new entrants to the supply of GCC to the paper industry. The ten leading paper producers have the purchasing power to control pricing. Whilst a continuing dialogue between paper and pigment producers is important to understand one another’s problems, the premise from the papermaker is that paper prices will decline in the long term!” Roskill forecasts that the high growth rates for global GCC consumption experienced over the past decade are unlikely to be maintained. Growth in world GCC consumption is still likely to outpace general economic growth, with China and other Asian markets becoming more and more prominent. The demand for grades of GCC with high performance characteristics will be particularly strong.
MARKETS US carbon black demand bounces back in 2002 after steep fall in 2001 After a 12-15% drop in 2001, US carbon black consumption increased by about 3% in 2002. Cabot Corp, the market leader, reported strong growth in sales volume during July and August 2002, easing off in September, though remaining quite buoyant throughout the final quarter of the year. Sid Richardson, the country’s fourth largest supplier, also reported healthy demand for carbon black, enabling the company to maintain average operating rates above 90% at its three plants in Texas and Louisiana. However, profit margins came under pressure as a result of rising oil and natural gas feedstock costs. Total North American carbon black capacity is around 1.9 M tonnes/y, not counting Columbian’s 50,000 tonnes/y plant in Arkansas, where production has been suspended since 2001, and not counting the 100,000 tonnes/y of capacity idled by Degussa Engineered Carbons during 2002. Long-term trendline growth in North American carbon black consumption is estimated at between 2% and 3% per annum. Chemical Market Reporter, 4 Nov 2002 & 27 Jan 2003. Website: http://www.chemicalmarketreporter.com
Top five organic pigment suppliers control 84% of the global market In terms of value, Clariant is the world’s leading producer of organic pigments, with a 22% market share. Dainippon Ink & Chemicals (DIC) has a 20% share, Ciba 18%, BASF 14% and Toyo Ink 10%. A large number of small suppliers, mainly producing relatively inexpensive classic pigments account for the remaining 16% of the market. Chimie Hebdo, 16 Dec 2002, (196), 8 (in French)
Reg Adams
“The Economics of Ground Calcium Carbonate” (299 pages, 201 tables, 52 charts, plus an appendix listing suppliers’ E-mail and Website details). Available for £1200 or $2400 or €2100 from: Roskill Information Services, 27a Leopold Road, Wimbledon, London SW19 7BB, England. Tel: +44-20-8944-0066. Fax: +44-20-8947-9568. E-mail: [email protected]
Beimei Chemical & Jiehong Pigment are China’s leading producers For the first six months of 2002, China’s production value of organic pigments and dyestuffs increased by 13.1% to Yuan 4.88 bn. The leading
FEBRUARY 2003
FOCUS producer of organic pigments was Changzhou Beimei Chemical Group Corp (8050 tonnes), followed by Hebei Jiehong Pigment Chemical Industrial Co Ltd (6406 tonnes). The leading producer of organic dyes was Zhejiang Longsheng Group Co Ltd (35,745 tonnes), followed by Zhejiang Runtu Chemical Industrial Group Corp (28,550 tonnes). Exports of organic pigments increased by 8% in volume terms to 40,736 tonnes and by 24.5% in value terms to $139.05 M. Imports of organic pigments increased by 12.5% in volume terms to 15,187 tonnes and by 33.4% in value terms to $59.73 M. China Chemical Reporter, 6 Dec 2002, 13 (34), 12-13
Huge potential for growth in Indian paint consumption Total expenditure on paints in India is estimated at Rup 500 bn, split 70% architectural and 30% industrial. The leading “organised sector” paintmakers include: Asian Paints, Goodlass Nerolac, Berger Paints, ICI Paints and Jensen & Nicholson. The “unorganised small sector” paintmakers number about 2500 and together they represent 40% of the Rup 500 bn market. Even compared against other developing countries, India has a remarkably low per capita consumption of paint, assessed at only 0.4-0.5 kilos. The demand for better housing and general living standards supports the potential for a significant expansion in the Indian paint market over the next 10-20 years. The steady reduction in tariffs and tazes on paint raw materials should also help Indian consumers to realise that paint is more affordable than ever. Chemical Engineering World, Dec 2002, 37 (12), 84
COMPANIES American Synpol in Chapter 11 – where does that leave DEC carbon black? Ameripol Synpol Corp filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11, with effect from 16 December 2002. As well as being a major synthetic rubber producer, American Synpol is the parent company of Engineered Carbons Inc (ECI) – a
FEBRUARY 2003
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partner of Degussa in a joint venture with nearly 550,000 tonnes/y of carbon black capacity. To the joint venture, Degussa Engineered Carbon (DEC), ECI contributed its three plants – at Orange, Borger and Baytown (all located in Texas) – with a combined capacity of 295,000 tonnes/y of carbon black. Degussa’s Advanced Fillers & Pigments business unit is responsible for sales and marketing of all the carbon black produced by DEC. (See also ‘Focus on Pigments’, Dec 2001, 6). Almost immediately after filing for Chapter 11 protection had been announced, International Specialty Products Inc (ISP) declared its intention to make an offer for American Synpol’s emulsion styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) assets. These include notably the 336,000 tonnes/y plant at Port Neches, TX. So far, no candidates have presented themselves as potential buyers of American Synpol’s carbon black interests. Ameripol Synpol has assets of $112 M and liabilities amounting to $98 M. In full-year 2001, the company reported an operating loss of $21 M on sales of $187 M. For the first 10 months of 2002, it recorded an operating loss of $10 M on sales of $110 M.
its mixed metal oxide pigments business to Heubach and its US organic pigments assets to Dainippon Inks & Chemicals (DIC). It also closed its chrome pigments facilities in Brazil and Indonesia. The majority of Bayer’s dyestuffs activities were transferred to the DyStar joint venture in the mid-1990s. During 2003, Bayer plans to spin off its Polymers division as a separate entity. Bayer Polymers doubled its operating income to €152 M on sales of €2.7 bn in 3Q 2002. The company has a leading position in the global markets for: polycarbonate, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and polyurethane. Bayer’s capacity for making Makrolon polycarbonate at Krefeld-Uerdingen (Germany) is to be stepped up by 50% to 300,000 tonnes/y, but it has suspended a project to build a new 150,000 tonnes/y polycarbonate facility at Map Ta Phut (Thailand). Meanwhile, the company’s major project to install facilities for making coatings, colorants, polycarbonates and polyurethanes units at Caojing (near Shanghai, China) is moving ahead as planned. Press release from: Bayer AG, 51368 Leverkusen, Germany. Website: http://www.bayer.com (17 Dec 2002) & Kunststoffe, Nov 2002, 92 (11), 6,8 (in German)
Rubber and Plastics News II, 23 Dec 2002, 24 (6), 1-2
Bayer reorganises With effect from 1 January 2003, Bayer has adopted a substantial reorganisation of its activities. The newly created Performance Materials group replaces four previous product groups – Plastics, Rubber, Polyurethane and Coatings & Colorants. The new group will consist of three sub-groups: Systems (mainly centred on polyurethanes); Solutions (mainly centred on speciality chemicals); and Commodities (including colorants). Iron oxide pigments remain one of the company’s most important product lines. Bayer also supplies Macrolex organic colorants for plastics and a wide range of high-performance organic pigments. However, Bayer relinquished the last of its holdings in the TiO2 business, selling its European assets to Kerr-McGee and its South American assets to Millennium. Last year, Bayer also sold
Cardre to be absorbed into LCW after acquisition by Sensient Technologies Sensient Technologies Corp (formerly Universal Foods, of Milwaukee, WI) recently acquired Cardre Inc (of South Plainfield. NJ), a producer of speciality cosmetics ingredients. Cardre’s business activities will be absorbed into LCW, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sensient. HAPPI, Household & Personal Products Industry, Jan 2003, 40 (1), 103-104
Chance & Hunt to sell TiO2 for Precolor and barytes for Baser Chance & Hunt Ltd (of Runcorn in Northwest England) has been appointed as a distributor for the Pretiox range of TiO2 pigments, manufactured by Precheza in the Czech Republic. The full range of products consists of high-quality, competitively priced TiO2 pigment
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