- Email: [email protected]
Calgon Carbon looks to buy Mitsubishi Chemical stake in Calgon Mitsubishi JV
NEWS/IN BRIEF forecast at US$13 644 million and cross flow membranes at US$1890 million. McIlvaine believes that the stimulus funding for infrastructure projects will boost filter media sales for water and wastewater treatment, but that longer term, the growth will come from developing countries. McIlvaine points out that the Chinese share of the liquid macrofiltration media market is low, but that sales of new macrofiltration equipment are high. As the equipment inventory expands, so the media market will grow with it. For further information on the following McIlvaine reports: Fabric Filter and Elements: World Markets; Air Filtration and Purification; RO/UF/MF World Markets; Cartridge Filter: World Markets; and Liquid Filtration and Media: World Markets, visit www.mcilvainecompany.com
GLV completes Christ Water Technology acquisition
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LV Inc has closed the acquisition of Christ Water Technology AG (CWT) through its indirect subsidiary Eimco Water Technologies GmbH. 80.5% of the shares of CWT were tendered by CWT shareholders into GLV’s voluntary takeover bid during the tender period which ended on 17 November 2009, for a cash consideration of C$85 million. GLV continues to purchase shares of CWT on the secondary market at a maximum price equal to the tender offer price. As of 27 November 2009 GLV owned 83.1% of CWT’s voting shares. The process of combining Christ Water Technology with GLV’s Water Treatment Group (Eimco Water Technologies) will start early in December 2009. GLV’s management estimates that restructuring costs of between C$20 million– C$30 million will be incurred over the next two years to combine the two organizations and bring Christ Water Technology’s profitability and operating efficiency in line with GLV’s current internal working guidelines. GLV management estimates that the process of combining Christ Water Technology with Eimco Water Technologies will provide GLV with additional revenues of approximately C$275 million during the first full fiscal year following the transaction. The acquisition is expected to have a positive impact on GLV’s earnings per share as of fiscal 2011. For further information, visit www.glv.com and www.christwater.com
December 2009
Larox China celebrates official opening of filter factory
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arox has inaugurated the company’s brand new production plant in Suzhou, China. The factory is located in Suzhou Industrial Park in Jiangsu province near Shanghai. “This is a very good location close to many customers, suppliers and skilled labour, with well developed logistic facilities,” said Su Xugui, managing director of Larox China. Thirty new employees have been recruited to the China office to support the existing 15 Larox China employees and the global Larox team. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Topi Karppanen, president and CEO of Larox Corp, said: “China is a very important market for us, and we want to service our Chinese customers in the best possible way. Larox has been represented for many years in China by its local agent Filterox, but opening a subsidiary demonstrates that Larox really has a longterm commitment in China. Our presence in China enables us [to] respond better to customers’ needs, monitor better market developments and emerge with new applications.” “China is facing increasing pressure to improve its industry’s energy efficiency. There are ambitious targets and programs aimed at reducing energy consumption and emissions. This drives demand for efficient filtration technology. Larox is very well positioned to offer competitive solutions to help our customers reduce costs, consume less energy and improve process performance in many ways,” added Karppanen. For further information, visit www.larox.com
Calgon Carbon looks to buy Mitsubishi Chemical stake in Calgon Mitsubishi JV
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algon Carbon Corp has entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Mitsubishi Chemical Corp about buying Mitsubishi Chemical’s 51% equity interest in Calgon Mitsubishi Chemical Corp.
In Brief UÊ Larox has completed the registration of its new subsidiary in India. Larox India Private Ltd will be responsible for Larox’s aftermarket services and filter sales development in India. The Indian subsidiary is located in Bangalore and is expected to be fully operational next year. www.larox.com UÊ Fiberweb has announced a price increase of up to 10% for many of its US filtration and engineered products from 1 January 2010. The price rise is due to the increased volatility in raw materials, energy and transportation prices. Any orders placed and scheduled for delivery between now and 1 January 2010 will be honoured at current prices. www.fiberweb.com UÊ Millipore Corp has been named “Corporate Citizen of the Year” by the New England Clean Energy Council. Millipore’s commitment to reducing its global carbon footprint was recognized as an outstanding achievement by the New England Clean Energy Council. In 2008, Millipore announced a multiyear environmental effort aimed at reducing the company’s global carbon footprint by 20% over five years. www.millipore.com UÊ Donaldson Co’s Western Filter has donated US$13 000 to California’s College of the Canyons Foundation, which when combined with matching funds from the Foundation for California Community Colleges will establish a permanent scholarship endowment for students pursuing careers in manufacturing technology at the College of the Canyons. The newly formed Donaldson Western Filter Joe Novotny Scholarship Endowment – named in memory of Joe Novotny, former general manager of Western Filter – will provide annual scholarships of US$1000 to students enrolled in manufacturing technology courses and programs at the college. “We anticipate that these funds will help students receive the necessary training to prepare them for manufacturing careers in the local community,” said Sheila Peyraud, general manager, Aerospace and Defense at Donaldson. www.donaldson.com and www.canyons.edu
Filtration Industry Analyst
3
DIVIDENDS/NEWS
Dividends UÊ Esco Technologies Inc’s board of directors has voted to start paying a quarterly cash dividend at an annual rate of US$0.32 per share. The first quarterly dividend of US$0.08 per share will be paid on 19 January 2010 to stockholders of record on 4 January 2010. Vic Richey, Esco Technologies chairman and CEO, said that the initiation of the cash dividend reflects the confidence that the board and management have in the company’s long-term growth opportunities and financial strength. “We are pleased to return a portion of our profits to our shareholders, while at the same time, maintaining our emphasis on investing in new products that will support our growth, meeting our anticipated capital requirements, and paying down our remaining debt,” explained Richey. In the year to 30 September 2009, Esco Technologies achieved sales of US$619.1 million and net earnings of US$49.4 million, versus sales of US$613.6 million and net earnings of US$46.7 million a year earlier. www.escotechnologies.com UÊ Donaldson Co Inc’s regular cash dividend of US$0.115 per share is payable on 18 December 2009 to shareholders of record on 4 December 2009. This is Donaldson’s 217th consecutive quarterly cash dividend paid over 54 years. www.donaldson.com UÊ 3M, the parent company of Cuno Filtration, will pay a fourth quarter 2009 dividend of US$0.51 per share of the company’s common stock on 12 December 2009. This cash dividend is the 373rd consecutive quarterly dividend paid by 3M, the parent company of Cuno Filtration. www.3M.com UÊ / iÊ AMCOL International Corp board has approved a quarterly dividend of US$0.18 per share for the fourth quarter of 2009, which is payable on 7 January 2010. AMCOL’s Oilfield Services segment provides filtration and other related services to oil and gas production and exploration customers. www.amcol.com UÊ Nalco has announced a quarterly cash dividend of US$0.035 per share payable on 4 January 2010, to shareholders of record on 16 December 2009. www.nalco.com 4
Filtration Industry Analyst
Calgon Mitsubishi Chemical, a joint venture between Calgon Carbon and Mitsubishi Chemical, has been engaged in the manufacture, reactivation, sale and research and development of activated carbon in Japan since 2002. Calgon Mitsubishi Chemical had sales of approximately ¥8.7 billion in 2008. John Stanik, Calgon Carbon’s president and CEO said: “We are pleased to pursue the opportunity to significantly increase our presence in Japan which is the single largest market for activated carbon excluding the United States. Additionally, this acquisition would provide significant depth, experience and resources to our Asian regional organization.”
be sold under the AO Smith brand name through the company’s current water heater distribution channels. Founded in 1999, Tianlong employs more than 900 people at two facilities in Shanghai. The company supplies reverse osmosis appliances, reverse osmosis elements, water softeners, industrial and commercial water treatment equipment, filters, and components. Tianlong markets its products under multiple brand names in China, including Chanitex, Pucakon, Datangweiyi, Lingtangniao, Zhichenghe, and Yongxianglai in the residential market and the FS and SunMoonLake brands in the commercial market. Tianlong exports to more than 30 countries worldwide.
For further information, visit www.calgoncarbon.com
For further information, visit www.aosmith.com
AO Smith seals Chinese water treatment acquisition
H&V expands European meltblown filter media production
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O Smith Corp has completed its acquisition of Hong Kong-based Tianlong Holding Co Ltd’s water treatment business (see Filtration Industry Analyst, October 2009). AO Smith now holds 80% of the newly formed AO Smith (Shanghai) Water Treatment Products Co Ltd, which is considered a wholly owned foreign enterprise under Chinese law. AO Smith (Shanghai) Water Treatment Products Co Ltd will supply reverse osmosis water purification products to the Chinese residential and commercial markets as well as export markets throughout the world. “This is an important strategic action that we believe will benefit AO Smith and its shareholders,” said AO Smith chairman and CEO Paul Jones. “This puts AO Smith squarely in the rapidly growing global water treatment industry.” “We are very excited about working closely with our new partner and the Tianlong team,” added Jones. “Tianlong brings extensive experience and knowledge of the market to this new venture along with a strong customer base. We expect this rapidly growing business to generate sales of more than US$75 million in 2010 with operating margins in the upper teens, excluding purchase accounting charges.” AO Smith expects the acquisition to add US$0.10–US$0.15 to its 2010 earnings per share. In 2010, AO Smith will introduce a line of water purification products in China to
ollingsworth & Vose (H&V) is planning to install an additional meltblown production line at its facility in Hatzfeld, Germany. This investment is an expansion of the company’s meltblown media technology platform operating in Hatzfeld, Germany and Floyd, Virginia, USA. Hollingsworth & Vose expects the new meltblown production line to be operational in mid 2010. The expansion announcement comes just weeks after Hollingsworth & Vose said it was installing a carbon composite filter media manufacturing line in the US (see Filtration Industry Analyst, November 2009). Hollingsworth & Vose sees a growing demand for its meltblown filter media composites used in air filtration, automotive air and fuel filters, specialty liquid applications, as well as facemasks and respirators. Mike Clark, vice president & general manager of Hollingsworth & Vose’s High Efficiency & Specialty Filtration Business Unit, said: “We see a growing market need in all segments of our air and liquid filtration markets. As a market leader, Hollingsworth & Vose is investing in meltblown capacity to support the growth of our existing customers and to expand the availability of breakthrough composite technologies such as our recently introduced NanoWave technology platform”. For further information, visit www.hollingsworth-vose.com
December 2009
GLV completes Christ Water Technology acquisition
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LV Inc has closed the acquisition of Christ Water Technology AG (CWT) through its indirect subsidiary Eimco Water Technologies GmbH. 80.5% of the shares of CWT were tendered by CWT shareholders into GLV’s voluntary takeover bid during the tender period which ended on 17 November 2009, for a cash consideration of C$85 million. GLV continues to purchase shares of CWT on the secondary market at a maximum price equal to the tender offer price. As of 27 November 2009 GLV owned 83.1% of CWT’s voting shares. The process of combining Christ Water Technology with GLV’s Water Treatment Group (Eimco Water Technologies) will start early in December 2009. GLV’s management estimates that restructuring costs of between C$20 million– C$30 million will be incurred over the next two years to combine the two organizations and bring Christ Water Technology’s profitability and operating efficiency in line with GLV’s current internal working guidelines. GLV management estimates that the process of combining Christ Water Technology with Eimco Water Technologies will provide GLV with additional revenues of approximately C$275 million during the first full fiscal year following the transaction. The acquisition is expected to have a positive impact on GLV’s earnings per share as of fiscal 2011. For further information, visit www.glv.com and www.christwater.com
December 2009
Larox China celebrates official opening of filter factory
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arox has inaugurated the company’s brand new production plant in Suzhou, China. The factory is located in Suzhou Industrial Park in Jiangsu province near Shanghai. “This is a very good location close to many customers, suppliers and skilled labour, with well developed logistic facilities,” said Su Xugui, managing director of Larox China. Thirty new employees have been recruited to the China office to support the existing 15 Larox China employees and the global Larox team. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Topi Karppanen, president and CEO of Larox Corp, said: “China is a very important market for us, and we want to service our Chinese customers in the best possible way. Larox has been represented for many years in China by its local agent Filterox, but opening a subsidiary demonstrates that Larox really has a longterm commitment in China. Our presence in China enables us [to] respond better to customers’ needs, monitor better market developments and emerge with new applications.” “China is facing increasing pressure to improve its industry’s energy efficiency. There are ambitious targets and programs aimed at reducing energy consumption and emissions. This drives demand for efficient filtration technology. Larox is very well positioned to offer competitive solutions to help our customers reduce costs, consume less energy and improve process performance in many ways,” added Karppanen. For further information, visit www.larox.com
Calgon Carbon looks to buy Mitsubishi Chemical stake in Calgon Mitsubishi JV
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algon Carbon Corp has entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Mitsubishi Chemical Corp about buying Mitsubishi Chemical’s 51% equity interest in Calgon Mitsubishi Chemical Corp.
In Brief UÊ Larox has completed the registration of its new subsidiary in India. Larox India Private Ltd will be responsible for Larox’s aftermarket services and filter sales development in India. The Indian subsidiary is located in Bangalore and is expected to be fully operational next year. www.larox.com UÊ Fiberweb has announced a price increase of up to 10% for many of its US filtration and engineered products from 1 January 2010. The price rise is due to the increased volatility in raw materials, energy and transportation prices. Any orders placed and scheduled for delivery between now and 1 January 2010 will be honoured at current prices. www.fiberweb.com UÊ Millipore Corp has been named “Corporate Citizen of the Year” by the New England Clean Energy Council. Millipore’s commitment to reducing its global carbon footprint was recognized as an outstanding achievement by the New England Clean Energy Council. In 2008, Millipore announced a multiyear environmental effort aimed at reducing the company’s global carbon footprint by 20% over five years. www.millipore.com UÊ Donaldson Co’s Western Filter has donated US$13 000 to California’s College of the Canyons Foundation, which when combined with matching funds from the Foundation for California Community Colleges will establish a permanent scholarship endowment for students pursuing careers in manufacturing technology at the College of the Canyons. The newly formed Donaldson Western Filter Joe Novotny Scholarship Endowment – named in memory of Joe Novotny, former general manager of Western Filter – will provide annual scholarships of US$1000 to students enrolled in manufacturing technology courses and programs at the college. “We anticipate that these funds will help students receive the necessary training to prepare them for manufacturing careers in the local community,” said Sheila Peyraud, general manager, Aerospace and Defense at Donaldson. www.donaldson.com and www.canyons.edu
Filtration Industry Analyst
3
DIVIDENDS/NEWS
Dividends UÊ Esco Technologies Inc’s board of directors has voted to start paying a quarterly cash dividend at an annual rate of US$0.32 per share. The first quarterly dividend of US$0.08 per share will be paid on 19 January 2010 to stockholders of record on 4 January 2010. Vic Richey, Esco Technologies chairman and CEO, said that the initiation of the cash dividend reflects the confidence that the board and management have in the company’s long-term growth opportunities and financial strength. “We are pleased to return a portion of our profits to our shareholders, while at the same time, maintaining our emphasis on investing in new products that will support our growth, meeting our anticipated capital requirements, and paying down our remaining debt,” explained Richey. In the year to 30 September 2009, Esco Technologies achieved sales of US$619.1 million and net earnings of US$49.4 million, versus sales of US$613.6 million and net earnings of US$46.7 million a year earlier. www.escotechnologies.com UÊ Donaldson Co Inc’s regular cash dividend of US$0.115 per share is payable on 18 December 2009 to shareholders of record on 4 December 2009. This is Donaldson’s 217th consecutive quarterly cash dividend paid over 54 years. www.donaldson.com UÊ 3M, the parent company of Cuno Filtration, will pay a fourth quarter 2009 dividend of US$0.51 per share of the company’s common stock on 12 December 2009. This cash dividend is the 373rd consecutive quarterly dividend paid by 3M, the parent company of Cuno Filtration. www.3M.com UÊ / iÊ AMCOL International Corp board has approved a quarterly dividend of US$0.18 per share for the fourth quarter of 2009, which is payable on 7 January 2010. AMCOL’s Oilfield Services segment provides filtration and other related services to oil and gas production and exploration customers. www.amcol.com UÊ Nalco has announced a quarterly cash dividend of US$0.035 per share payable on 4 January 2010, to shareholders of record on 16 December 2009. www.nalco.com 4
Filtration Industry Analyst
Calgon Mitsubishi Chemical, a joint venture between Calgon Carbon and Mitsubishi Chemical, has been engaged in the manufacture, reactivation, sale and research and development of activated carbon in Japan since 2002. Calgon Mitsubishi Chemical had sales of approximately ¥8.7 billion in 2008. John Stanik, Calgon Carbon’s president and CEO said: “We are pleased to pursue the opportunity to significantly increase our presence in Japan which is the single largest market for activated carbon excluding the United States. Additionally, this acquisition would provide significant depth, experience and resources to our Asian regional organization.”
be sold under the AO Smith brand name through the company’s current water heater distribution channels. Founded in 1999, Tianlong employs more than 900 people at two facilities in Shanghai. The company supplies reverse osmosis appliances, reverse osmosis elements, water softeners, industrial and commercial water treatment equipment, filters, and components. Tianlong markets its products under multiple brand names in China, including Chanitex, Pucakon, Datangweiyi, Lingtangniao, Zhichenghe, and Yongxianglai in the residential market and the FS and SunMoonLake brands in the commercial market. Tianlong exports to more than 30 countries worldwide.
For further information, visit www.calgoncarbon.com
For further information, visit www.aosmith.com
AO Smith seals Chinese water treatment acquisition
H&V expands European meltblown filter media production
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O Smith Corp has completed its acquisition of Hong Kong-based Tianlong Holding Co Ltd’s water treatment business (see Filtration Industry Analyst, October 2009). AO Smith now holds 80% of the newly formed AO Smith (Shanghai) Water Treatment Products Co Ltd, which is considered a wholly owned foreign enterprise under Chinese law. AO Smith (Shanghai) Water Treatment Products Co Ltd will supply reverse osmosis water purification products to the Chinese residential and commercial markets as well as export markets throughout the world. “This is an important strategic action that we believe will benefit AO Smith and its shareholders,” said AO Smith chairman and CEO Paul Jones. “This puts AO Smith squarely in the rapidly growing global water treatment industry.” “We are very excited about working closely with our new partner and the Tianlong team,” added Jones. “Tianlong brings extensive experience and knowledge of the market to this new venture along with a strong customer base. We expect this rapidly growing business to generate sales of more than US$75 million in 2010 with operating margins in the upper teens, excluding purchase accounting charges.” AO Smith expects the acquisition to add US$0.10–US$0.15 to its 2010 earnings per share. In 2010, AO Smith will introduce a line of water purification products in China to
ollingsworth & Vose (H&V) is planning to install an additional meltblown production line at its facility in Hatzfeld, Germany. This investment is an expansion of the company’s meltblown media technology platform operating in Hatzfeld, Germany and Floyd, Virginia, USA. Hollingsworth & Vose expects the new meltblown production line to be operational in mid 2010. The expansion announcement comes just weeks after Hollingsworth & Vose said it was installing a carbon composite filter media manufacturing line in the US (see Filtration Industry Analyst, November 2009). Hollingsworth & Vose sees a growing demand for its meltblown filter media composites used in air filtration, automotive air and fuel filters, specialty liquid applications, as well as facemasks and respirators. Mike Clark, vice president & general manager of Hollingsworth & Vose’s High Efficiency & Specialty Filtration Business Unit, said: “We see a growing market need in all segments of our air and liquid filtration markets. As a market leader, Hollingsworth & Vose is investing in meltblown capacity to support the growth of our existing customers and to expand the availability of breakthrough composite technologies such as our recently introduced NanoWave technology platform”. For further information, visit www.hollingsworth-vose.com
December 2009