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Chemtura to sell oleochemicals business to PMC Group NA
STRATEGIES
which it is made. In other words, ‘the energy savings made possible by the use of silica tyre technology far outweigh the impact of its manufacture’, as Peter Browning, global silica business director of Rhodia Silcea explains. According to the company, the availability of Zeosil Premium now opens up ‘new perspectives for sustainable mobility’. Rhodia Silcea is currently constructing a worldscale plant in Qingdao, China, that will focus on producing highly dispersible silica for the rapidly growing energy-efficient tyre market. Scheduled for completion in July 2009, it will be built using a modular design to enable easy expansion. The formation in February of a new wholly owned subsidiary – Rhodia Silica Qingdao Chengyang (RSQC) – to manage the commissioning and subsequent operation of the facility marks the official start of construction of the plant.
In addition, the masterbatch business will focus on clearly defined market segments: packaging, construction, household products, sport and leisure, automotive applications and fibres. As a supplier focusing on specialities, BASF Color Solutions says it will develop tailor-made solutions for the plastics processing industry in these market segments. These solutions consist predominantly of colour masterbatches in solid, liquid or powder preparations enhanced with additives for special properties, such as UV light stabilizers. The solutions also include tailor-made logistics concepts developed in cooperation with customers, ensuring quick and reliable delivery, the company says. BASF Color Solutions also continues to invest in production facilities and IT systems, the main purpose being to achieve greater flexibility in production and further improve the reliability of delivery from all locations, it says.
Contact: Rhodia Silcea, Lyon, France. Tel: +33 4 3791 8090, Web: www.rhodiasilcea.com
Contact: BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. Tel: +49 621 60 0, Web: www.basf.com/masterbatch
COMPANY STRATEGIES
Chemtura to sell oleochemicals business to PMC Group NA
BASF reorganizes European masterbatch business
L
udwigshafen-based BASF SE is reorganizing its masterbatch business in Europe, which in future will operate under the name BASF Color Solutions. The changes affect the company’s existing five European masterbatch subsidiaries located in Cologne (Germany), Apeldoorn (The Netherlands), Clermont (France), Kuurne (Belgium) and Cervelló (Spain).
The reorganized business will feature a unified, pan-European structure with more-intensive exchange of technical expertise between the five locations, the company says. ‘By working together more closely at all our locations, we can provide our customers with a quick, locally based service while optimizing our production costs’, says Tobias Faupel, head of BASF Color Solutions. The changes to the corporate status of the subsidiaries will be completed by March 2008.
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Additives for Polymers
P
lastics additives major Chemtura Corp has agreed to sell its global oleochemicals business to New Jersey-based PMC Group NA Inc for an undisclosed amount, subject to financing and other conditions. Included in the transaction is Chemtura’s facility in Memphis, TN, the business’s primary manufacturing location. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2008.
The Memphis facility has about 260 employees, all of whom will be given the opportunity to transfer to PMC. The operation produces oleochemicals and derivatives, including fatty acids, fatty esters, glycerin approved for pharmaceutical applications, glycerol esters, amides, bisamides, stearates and triglycerides. The plant is the only North American producer of primary amides for the plastics additives market. In total, the oleochemicals business had 2007 sales of approximately US$175 million serving the plastics, rubber, personal care, household
April 2008
STRATEGIES
products, lubricants, and industrial and consumer products markets. According to Chemtura chairman and CEO Robert L. Wood, the sale is ‘another step in improving our polymer additives business by strategically divesting product lines to better focus on the products and businesses where we have our greatest strengths and leading market positions’. PMC is committed to this business and its growth, which will be an advantage to both customers and employees, Wood adds. Chemtura will use the proceeds from the sale primarily for debt reduction. Established in 1994, PMC Group is a privately held global manufacturer of speciality chemicals and plastics, headquartered in Mount Laurel, NJ, and with manufacturing facilities in the USA, Canada, France and India. Commenting on the Chemtura transaction, founder Dr P.M. Chakrabarti describes it as an ‘exciting step in the growth story of PMC’. ‘We believe that the future of chemicals and materials based on renewable feedstocks, coupled with a strong focus on understanding customers’ needs, will create a sustainable platform for new and exciting products’, he says. Contact: Chemtura Corp, Middlebury, CT, USA. Tel: +1 203 573 2000, Web: www.chemtura.com Or contact: PMC Group North America, Inc, Mount Laurel, NJ, USA. Tel: +1 856 533 1866, Web: pmc-group.com
Dover increases antioxidant capacity
O
hio-based Dover Chemical Corp reports that it has completed a new production facility for its Doverphos S-9228 free-flowing solid phosphite antioxidant. The new plant began production in late 2007 and is included in the company’s ISO 9001 certificate.
Dover says that the new facility uses the same process and yields the same quality and specification product as its existing pilot plant facility. Investment in a larger facility was necessary to accommodate growing global demand for the
April 2008
high-performance phosphite, which has found wide acceptance in food contact and potable water applications, the company says. In addition to its investment in Doverphos S9228, Dover has increased capacity for its Doverphos HiPure TNPP (trisnonylphenol phosphite) liquid heat stabilizer line. Doverphos HiPure has very low levels of residual nonylphenol and is said to offer superior performance advantages. Contact: Dover Chemical Corp, Dover, OH, USA. Tel: +1 330 365 3632, Web: www.doverchem.com
Evonik boosts plasticizer alcohol capacity
G
ermany’s Evonik Industries AG is expanding oxo alcohol production capacity at its Marl site by 60 000 tonnes per year. The plasticizer alcohol 2-propyl heptanol (2-PH) will also be produced there for the first time. The 2-PH facility is scheduled to come on stream in the second half of 2009, the company says.
According to Dr Klaus Engel, member of Evonik’s Executive Board with responsibility for the Chemicals Business Area, the investment optimizes the company’s production network in C4 chemicals, an area in which it already enjoys ‘a leading position worldwide’ and has ‘expertise going back several years’. With the global demand for plasticizers growing, the new 2-PH plant will complement Evonik’s existing isononanol (INA) business. According to the company, it already has an annual INA capacity of 340 000 tonnes at the Marl site, which makes the facility the world’s largest single production plant for this plasticizer alcohol, and Evonik the largest producer of C9/C10 plasticizer alcohols. The site also has 220 000 tonnes/year capacity for the PVC plasticizer Vestinol™ 9 (di-isononyl phthalate; DINP). Contact: Evonik Industries AG, Essen, Germany. Tel: +49 201 177 3333, Web: www.evonik.com
Additives for Polymers
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which it is made. In other words, ‘the energy savings made possible by the use of silica tyre technology far outweigh the impact of its manufacture’, as Peter Browning, global silica business director of Rhodia Silcea explains. According to the company, the availability of Zeosil Premium now opens up ‘new perspectives for sustainable mobility’. Rhodia Silcea is currently constructing a worldscale plant in Qingdao, China, that will focus on producing highly dispersible silica for the rapidly growing energy-efficient tyre market. Scheduled for completion in July 2009, it will be built using a modular design to enable easy expansion. The formation in February of a new wholly owned subsidiary – Rhodia Silica Qingdao Chengyang (RSQC) – to manage the commissioning and subsequent operation of the facility marks the official start of construction of the plant.
In addition, the masterbatch business will focus on clearly defined market segments: packaging, construction, household products, sport and leisure, automotive applications and fibres. As a supplier focusing on specialities, BASF Color Solutions says it will develop tailor-made solutions for the plastics processing industry in these market segments. These solutions consist predominantly of colour masterbatches in solid, liquid or powder preparations enhanced with additives for special properties, such as UV light stabilizers. The solutions also include tailor-made logistics concepts developed in cooperation with customers, ensuring quick and reliable delivery, the company says. BASF Color Solutions also continues to invest in production facilities and IT systems, the main purpose being to achieve greater flexibility in production and further improve the reliability of delivery from all locations, it says.
Contact: Rhodia Silcea, Lyon, France. Tel: +33 4 3791 8090, Web: www.rhodiasilcea.com
Contact: BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. Tel: +49 621 60 0, Web: www.basf.com/masterbatch
COMPANY STRATEGIES
Chemtura to sell oleochemicals business to PMC Group NA
BASF reorganizes European masterbatch business
L
udwigshafen-based BASF SE is reorganizing its masterbatch business in Europe, which in future will operate under the name BASF Color Solutions. The changes affect the company’s existing five European masterbatch subsidiaries located in Cologne (Germany), Apeldoorn (The Netherlands), Clermont (France), Kuurne (Belgium) and Cervelló (Spain).
The reorganized business will feature a unified, pan-European structure with more-intensive exchange of technical expertise between the five locations, the company says. ‘By working together more closely at all our locations, we can provide our customers with a quick, locally based service while optimizing our production costs’, says Tobias Faupel, head of BASF Color Solutions. The changes to the corporate status of the subsidiaries will be completed by March 2008.
4
Additives for Polymers
P
lastics additives major Chemtura Corp has agreed to sell its global oleochemicals business to New Jersey-based PMC Group NA Inc for an undisclosed amount, subject to financing and other conditions. Included in the transaction is Chemtura’s facility in Memphis, TN, the business’s primary manufacturing location. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2008.
The Memphis facility has about 260 employees, all of whom will be given the opportunity to transfer to PMC. The operation produces oleochemicals and derivatives, including fatty acids, fatty esters, glycerin approved for pharmaceutical applications, glycerol esters, amides, bisamides, stearates and triglycerides. The plant is the only North American producer of primary amides for the plastics additives market. In total, the oleochemicals business had 2007 sales of approximately US$175 million serving the plastics, rubber, personal care, household
April 2008
STRATEGIES
products, lubricants, and industrial and consumer products markets. According to Chemtura chairman and CEO Robert L. Wood, the sale is ‘another step in improving our polymer additives business by strategically divesting product lines to better focus on the products and businesses where we have our greatest strengths and leading market positions’. PMC is committed to this business and its growth, which will be an advantage to both customers and employees, Wood adds. Chemtura will use the proceeds from the sale primarily for debt reduction. Established in 1994, PMC Group is a privately held global manufacturer of speciality chemicals and plastics, headquartered in Mount Laurel, NJ, and with manufacturing facilities in the USA, Canada, France and India. Commenting on the Chemtura transaction, founder Dr P.M. Chakrabarti describes it as an ‘exciting step in the growth story of PMC’. ‘We believe that the future of chemicals and materials based on renewable feedstocks, coupled with a strong focus on understanding customers’ needs, will create a sustainable platform for new and exciting products’, he says. Contact: Chemtura Corp, Middlebury, CT, USA. Tel: +1 203 573 2000, Web: www.chemtura.com Or contact: PMC Group North America, Inc, Mount Laurel, NJ, USA. Tel: +1 856 533 1866, Web: pmc-group.com
Dover increases antioxidant capacity
O
hio-based Dover Chemical Corp reports that it has completed a new production facility for its Doverphos S-9228 free-flowing solid phosphite antioxidant. The new plant began production in late 2007 and is included in the company’s ISO 9001 certificate.
Dover says that the new facility uses the same process and yields the same quality and specification product as its existing pilot plant facility. Investment in a larger facility was necessary to accommodate growing global demand for the
April 2008
high-performance phosphite, which has found wide acceptance in food contact and potable water applications, the company says. In addition to its investment in Doverphos S9228, Dover has increased capacity for its Doverphos HiPure TNPP (trisnonylphenol phosphite) liquid heat stabilizer line. Doverphos HiPure has very low levels of residual nonylphenol and is said to offer superior performance advantages. Contact: Dover Chemical Corp, Dover, OH, USA. Tel: +1 330 365 3632, Web: www.doverchem.com
Evonik boosts plasticizer alcohol capacity
G
ermany’s Evonik Industries AG is expanding oxo alcohol production capacity at its Marl site by 60 000 tonnes per year. The plasticizer alcohol 2-propyl heptanol (2-PH) will also be produced there for the first time. The 2-PH facility is scheduled to come on stream in the second half of 2009, the company says.
According to Dr Klaus Engel, member of Evonik’s Executive Board with responsibility for the Chemicals Business Area, the investment optimizes the company’s production network in C4 chemicals, an area in which it already enjoys ‘a leading position worldwide’ and has ‘expertise going back several years’. With the global demand for plasticizers growing, the new 2-PH plant will complement Evonik’s existing isononanol (INA) business. According to the company, it already has an annual INA capacity of 340 000 tonnes at the Marl site, which makes the facility the world’s largest single production plant for this plasticizer alcohol, and Evonik the largest producer of C9/C10 plasticizer alcohols. The site also has 220 000 tonnes/year capacity for the PVC plasticizer Vestinol™ 9 (di-isononyl phthalate; DINP). Contact: Evonik Industries AG, Essen, Germany. Tel: +49 201 177 3333, Web: www.evonik.com
Additives for Polymers
5