- Email: [email protected]
Cabot and HYC inaugurate fumed silica plant in China
STRATEGIES
Haunschild, senior VP of BASF’s global pigments business. ‘Following the expansion of capacity for bismuth vanadate [ADPO, April 2015, pp. 6–7] and Paliocrom effect pigments, the laboratory opening also shows that we regularly invest in the Besigheim site’, says Haunschild, emphasizing the importance of the new laboratory for the future of the site. The company announced an increase in production capacity for the aluminium-based Paliocrom effect pigments at its Ludwigshafen and Besigheim locations in June 2018, for an investment of c. E15 million. BASF has been manufacturing inorganic and organic pigments and dyes at Besigheim for more than 95 years. The site’s output serves the plastics, paints, coatings and ceramics industries. Elsewhere in Germany, BASF has recently brought additional capacity on-line at the neopentyl glycol (NPG) plant at its Ludwigshafen Verbund site. Production capacity for the polyalcohol has been expanded by 10 000 tonnes/year at the plant, taking the company’s total NPG capacity to 215 000 tonnes per year across its facilities in Ludwigshafen, Nanjing and Jilin in China, and Freeport in the USA. ‘The production expansion in Ludwigshafen underlines our clear commitment to continuously support the growth of our European customers’, comments Michael Britt, senior VP of acids and diols in BASF’s Intermediates division. The company is also currently expanding NPG capacity at its Nanjing site by a further 40 000 tonnes/year, which is scheduled to become available in 2020 [ibid., March 2018, p. 6]. NPG possesses high chemical and thermal stability and has many applications. Its main use is as a building block in the production of polyester and alkyd resins but it also has applications in plasticizers and lubricants, among other areas. More information: www.basf.com
Italmatch announces investment in FRX Polymers
I
talian performance additives company Italmatch Chemicals Group has formed a strategic partnership with FRX Polymers Inc by making an unspecified investment in the US-based manufacturer of Nofia® halogen-free, polymeric phosphonatebased flame retardants. According to Genoaheadquartered Italmatch, the investment further strengthens its position in its core, halogen-free, flame retardants business while bringing its global
8
Additives for Polymers
reach to bear to expand market access to Nofia products. Founded in 2007 [ADPO, November 2007, p. 5], FRX Polymers claims to have developed the world’s first halogenfree polymeric flame retardant additive. The company owns a comprehensive patent estate allowing it to apply its innovative technology to a wide range of applications, which currently include textiles, polyurethane foam and coatings, copper clad laminates, polycarbonate blends and alloys, and other thermoplastics. It has a workforce of 26 employees, and operates an application development centre in Chelmsford, MA, USA, and a full-scale polyphosphonate plant in Antwerp, Belgium [ibid., January 2014, p. 9]. Alongside Italmatch, the firm is backed by major venture capital investors, including BASF Ventures, Capricorn Venture Partners, Citic Capital, Evonik Venture Capital, Israel Cleantech, Mubadala, PMV, RobecoSam and Triton Systems. Commenting on the deal, both parties say that they expect the partnership to unlock technical synergies between their respective products, which will in turn accelerate the growth of the combined product lines. According to founding CEO Sergio Iorio, Italmatch is the largest global producer of phosphonate and of industrial phosphorus derivatives and is therefore confident that it can ‘support and accelerate the growth of FRX through technological support and synergies’. Established in 1997, Italmatch Chemicals focuses on the production and marketing of flame retardants and performance additives for plastics, water & process treatment, oil & gas, and industrial lubricants. Its flame retardants portfolio comprises phosphorus- and melamine-based additives and masterbatches sold under the Masteret, Phoslite and Melagard trade names. The group reported annual sales revenue of approximately E420 million in 2018. It employs about 1000 staff and operates seven manufacturing plants in Europe, five in Asia Pacific and six in the USA, as well as a number of sales and distribution subsidiaries. Since October 2018 the group has been majority owned by Bain Capital Private Equity [ibid., September 2018, p. 8]. More information: www.italmatch.com
Cabot and HYC inaugurate fumed silica plant in China
T
he joint venture between Cabot Corp and Inner Mongolia Hengyecheng Silicone (HYC) [ADPO,
November 2019
STRATEGIES
February 2017, pp. 9–10] has officially opened its new fumed silica manufacturing facility, located in Wuhai, Inner Mongolia, China. Ground-breaking for the state-of-the-art plant took place in June 2017 and construction was completed ahead of schedule this year, Cabot reports. The Wuhai site’s output will serve the rapidly growing fumed silica market in China, boosted by increased demand in construction, automotive and infrastructure development as the country’s urban population continues to expand. Cabot holds an 80% equity interest in the new facility and brings advanced fumed silica production technology and a strong leadership position to the project. HYC owns the remaining share and will provide a long-term reliable source of feedstock for the plant, operating in a closed-loop fashion with Cabot, thus maximizing byproduct streams and eliminating waste. With the opening of the facility, 8000 tonnes/year of fumed silica capacity has been added to Cabot’s global network, making the company one of the largest providers of these materials in the Chinese market. This strategic expansion of its fumed silica manufacturing capabilities will allow the company to better reach customers in a part of China where it expects to see significant growth and development in the coming years, comments Jay Doubman, president, Performance Additives at Cabot. ‘We look forward to pioneering innovative new solutions in fumed silicas by pairing our new world-class Wuhai manufacturing facility with the technical expertise at our Asia Technology Center in Shanghai to help our customers drive towards a more-sustainable future’, he says. The Wuhai plant joins Cabot’s existing network of manufacturing sites in China – at Jiangxi, Shanghai, Tianjin and Xingtai – as well as its Asia Technology Center in Shanghai. The company reports that it has operated in China for more than 30 years. Elsewhere, Cabot has received a gold level rating from EcoVadis, an independent assessor of sustainability performance, for the fourth consecutive year. The company reports that it was ranked in the top 1% within the chemical manufacturer group and the top 5% of suppliers assessed by EcoVadis in all categories. In addition, it exceeded industry benchmarks in each performance area and improved on its 2018 score by five points. The EcoVadis assessment included the sustainability impacts of Cabot’s materials.
iev-based masterbatches and polymer additives manufacturer Technocom LLC has recently opened a trade office in Slovenia as it seeks to expand its presence in Europe. The company is Ukraine’s foremost masterbatch producer and one of the leading producers in Eastern Europe’s masterbatch market. Established in 1994, Technocom celebrated its 25th anniversary this September. Its production plant is located in Irpin, near Kiev, where it manufactures Technofin®-branded, polyolefin-based white, black and colour masterbatches; Additech® modifying additives; and Credolen® calcium carbonate fillers. All products are REACH-registered. They serve applications in the packaging, construction and agriculture sectors, among others. The company’s current manufacturing capacity is 15 000 tonnes per year, having increased production volumes by 25% over the past two years in response to increasing demand for its products from both domestic and European Union customers, after commencing an export programme in 2016, it reports. Initial interest was from companies in Poland, Hungary, Italy and Germany. Trading arm Technocom Compounds doo was set up in Slovenia in 2018, marketing the company’s products in south-eastern European countries including Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Slovenia, Serbia and Croatia. The move has made it easier to reach EU customers, the company reports. It transfers small batches of its products to the Slovenian city of Celje for European shipments, while orders over 20 tonnes will be shipped directly from Ukraine to the customer. Petrenko Sergii, the founder and director of Technocom LLC, says that the main advantages of the company’s products are quality and cost-effectiveness coupled with a delivery time of not more than two weeks, which compares favourably with South Asian suppliers. As of 2019, Ukrainian exports of this type to European destinations are no longer subject to custom duties, enhancing the cost-effectiveness and convenience of Technocom’s products, the company comments. As the latest step in its expansion strategy, Technocom LLC participated in this year’s K 2019 trade show.
More information: www.cabotcorp.com
More information: www.technocom-llc.com/en/
November 2019
Ukraine’s Technocom seeks new business in Europe
K
Additives for Polymers
9
Haunschild, senior VP of BASF’s global pigments business. ‘Following the expansion of capacity for bismuth vanadate [ADPO, April 2015, pp. 6–7] and Paliocrom effect pigments, the laboratory opening also shows that we regularly invest in the Besigheim site’, says Haunschild, emphasizing the importance of the new laboratory for the future of the site. The company announced an increase in production capacity for the aluminium-based Paliocrom effect pigments at its Ludwigshafen and Besigheim locations in June 2018, for an investment of c. E15 million. BASF has been manufacturing inorganic and organic pigments and dyes at Besigheim for more than 95 years. The site’s output serves the plastics, paints, coatings and ceramics industries. Elsewhere in Germany, BASF has recently brought additional capacity on-line at the neopentyl glycol (NPG) plant at its Ludwigshafen Verbund site. Production capacity for the polyalcohol has been expanded by 10 000 tonnes/year at the plant, taking the company’s total NPG capacity to 215 000 tonnes per year across its facilities in Ludwigshafen, Nanjing and Jilin in China, and Freeport in the USA. ‘The production expansion in Ludwigshafen underlines our clear commitment to continuously support the growth of our European customers’, comments Michael Britt, senior VP of acids and diols in BASF’s Intermediates division. The company is also currently expanding NPG capacity at its Nanjing site by a further 40 000 tonnes/year, which is scheduled to become available in 2020 [ibid., March 2018, p. 6]. NPG possesses high chemical and thermal stability and has many applications. Its main use is as a building block in the production of polyester and alkyd resins but it also has applications in plasticizers and lubricants, among other areas. More information: www.basf.com
Italmatch announces investment in FRX Polymers
I
talian performance additives company Italmatch Chemicals Group has formed a strategic partnership with FRX Polymers Inc by making an unspecified investment in the US-based manufacturer of Nofia® halogen-free, polymeric phosphonatebased flame retardants. According to Genoaheadquartered Italmatch, the investment further strengthens its position in its core, halogen-free, flame retardants business while bringing its global
8
Additives for Polymers
reach to bear to expand market access to Nofia products. Founded in 2007 [ADPO, November 2007, p. 5], FRX Polymers claims to have developed the world’s first halogenfree polymeric flame retardant additive. The company owns a comprehensive patent estate allowing it to apply its innovative technology to a wide range of applications, which currently include textiles, polyurethane foam and coatings, copper clad laminates, polycarbonate blends and alloys, and other thermoplastics. It has a workforce of 26 employees, and operates an application development centre in Chelmsford, MA, USA, and a full-scale polyphosphonate plant in Antwerp, Belgium [ibid., January 2014, p. 9]. Alongside Italmatch, the firm is backed by major venture capital investors, including BASF Ventures, Capricorn Venture Partners, Citic Capital, Evonik Venture Capital, Israel Cleantech, Mubadala, PMV, RobecoSam and Triton Systems. Commenting on the deal, both parties say that they expect the partnership to unlock technical synergies between their respective products, which will in turn accelerate the growth of the combined product lines. According to founding CEO Sergio Iorio, Italmatch is the largest global producer of phosphonate and of industrial phosphorus derivatives and is therefore confident that it can ‘support and accelerate the growth of FRX through technological support and synergies’. Established in 1997, Italmatch Chemicals focuses on the production and marketing of flame retardants and performance additives for plastics, water & process treatment, oil & gas, and industrial lubricants. Its flame retardants portfolio comprises phosphorus- and melamine-based additives and masterbatches sold under the Masteret, Phoslite and Melagard trade names. The group reported annual sales revenue of approximately E420 million in 2018. It employs about 1000 staff and operates seven manufacturing plants in Europe, five in Asia Pacific and six in the USA, as well as a number of sales and distribution subsidiaries. Since October 2018 the group has been majority owned by Bain Capital Private Equity [ibid., September 2018, p. 8]. More information: www.italmatch.com
Cabot and HYC inaugurate fumed silica plant in China
T
he joint venture between Cabot Corp and Inner Mongolia Hengyecheng Silicone (HYC) [ADPO,
November 2019
STRATEGIES
February 2017, pp. 9–10] has officially opened its new fumed silica manufacturing facility, located in Wuhai, Inner Mongolia, China. Ground-breaking for the state-of-the-art plant took place in June 2017 and construction was completed ahead of schedule this year, Cabot reports. The Wuhai site’s output will serve the rapidly growing fumed silica market in China, boosted by increased demand in construction, automotive and infrastructure development as the country’s urban population continues to expand. Cabot holds an 80% equity interest in the new facility and brings advanced fumed silica production technology and a strong leadership position to the project. HYC owns the remaining share and will provide a long-term reliable source of feedstock for the plant, operating in a closed-loop fashion with Cabot, thus maximizing byproduct streams and eliminating waste. With the opening of the facility, 8000 tonnes/year of fumed silica capacity has been added to Cabot’s global network, making the company one of the largest providers of these materials in the Chinese market. This strategic expansion of its fumed silica manufacturing capabilities will allow the company to better reach customers in a part of China where it expects to see significant growth and development in the coming years, comments Jay Doubman, president, Performance Additives at Cabot. ‘We look forward to pioneering innovative new solutions in fumed silicas by pairing our new world-class Wuhai manufacturing facility with the technical expertise at our Asia Technology Center in Shanghai to help our customers drive towards a more-sustainable future’, he says. The Wuhai plant joins Cabot’s existing network of manufacturing sites in China – at Jiangxi, Shanghai, Tianjin and Xingtai – as well as its Asia Technology Center in Shanghai. The company reports that it has operated in China for more than 30 years. Elsewhere, Cabot has received a gold level rating from EcoVadis, an independent assessor of sustainability performance, for the fourth consecutive year. The company reports that it was ranked in the top 1% within the chemical manufacturer group and the top 5% of suppliers assessed by EcoVadis in all categories. In addition, it exceeded industry benchmarks in each performance area and improved on its 2018 score by five points. The EcoVadis assessment included the sustainability impacts of Cabot’s materials.
iev-based masterbatches and polymer additives manufacturer Technocom LLC has recently opened a trade office in Slovenia as it seeks to expand its presence in Europe. The company is Ukraine’s foremost masterbatch producer and one of the leading producers in Eastern Europe’s masterbatch market. Established in 1994, Technocom celebrated its 25th anniversary this September. Its production plant is located in Irpin, near Kiev, where it manufactures Technofin®-branded, polyolefin-based white, black and colour masterbatches; Additech® modifying additives; and Credolen® calcium carbonate fillers. All products are REACH-registered. They serve applications in the packaging, construction and agriculture sectors, among others. The company’s current manufacturing capacity is 15 000 tonnes per year, having increased production volumes by 25% over the past two years in response to increasing demand for its products from both domestic and European Union customers, after commencing an export programme in 2016, it reports. Initial interest was from companies in Poland, Hungary, Italy and Germany. Trading arm Technocom Compounds doo was set up in Slovenia in 2018, marketing the company’s products in south-eastern European countries including Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Slovenia, Serbia and Croatia. The move has made it easier to reach EU customers, the company reports. It transfers small batches of its products to the Slovenian city of Celje for European shipments, while orders over 20 tonnes will be shipped directly from Ukraine to the customer. Petrenko Sergii, the founder and director of Technocom LLC, says that the main advantages of the company’s products are quality and cost-effectiveness coupled with a delivery time of not more than two weeks, which compares favourably with South Asian suppliers. As of 2019, Ukrainian exports of this type to European destinations are no longer subject to custom duties, enhancing the cost-effectiveness and convenience of Technocom’s products, the company comments. As the latest step in its expansion strategy, Technocom LLC participated in this year’s K 2019 trade show.
More information: www.cabotcorp.com
More information: www.technocom-llc.com/en/
November 2019
Ukraine’s Technocom seeks new business in Europe
K
Additives for Polymers
9