Ciba forms Middle Eastern antioxidant joint venture

Ciba forms Middle Eastern antioxidant joint venture

STRATEGIES and general manager, Geon Performance Polymers. The Battelle plasticizer technology, which was developed with early stage funding from the...

75KB Sizes 1 Downloads 139 Views

STRATEGIES

and general manager, Geon Performance Polymers. The Battelle plasticizer technology, which was developed with early stage funding from the Ohio Soybean Council as part of its strategic thrust to create new industrial markets for soybeans, shows great promise as a path to commercially viable renewable plasticizers, Rosenau adds. PolyOne, which has speciality plasticizer manufacturing operations in Orangeville, Ontario and St Remi, Quebec, Canada, says it is committed to expanding its position in specialized compounding and formulation technologies that enhance the overall sustainability of its customers and the global community. Contact: PolyOne Corp, Avon Lake, OH, USA. Tel: +1 440 930 1000, Web: www.polyone.com

COMPANY STRATEGIES Ciba forms Middle Eastern antioxidant joint venture

S

wiss additives major Ciba Inc has signed a joint venture agreement with Astra Polymers of Saudi Arabia to blend and sell customer-specific antioxidant blends to customers in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. At the same time, the joint venture partners signed a letter of intent to study the feasibility of building an antioxidant plant in Saudi Arabia in order to bring supply closer to customers in the region.

The joint venture company, in which Ciba holds the majority stake, will be called Ciba-Astra Additives Co Ltd and will be based in Saudi Arabia. Ciba says that the new company will strengthen its position in the Middle East and, together with its existing presence in Bahrain, will provide it with a strong local base from which to serve plastics customers throughout the region. The plastics industry in the Middle East is currently experiencing ‘unprecedented growth’, according to Ciba’s CEO Brendan Cummins. Ciba established a regional hub with offices and warehousing in Bahrain in 2004.

4

Additives for Polymers

Commenting for Astra Polymers, managing director Mohammad N. Al-Utaibi says that the joint venture builds on the company’s long-standing relationship with Ciba [ADPO, July 2003]. Ciba-Astra Additives will bring state-of-the-art technology to Saudi Arabia to meet ‘the increasing technical requirements of the polymer industry in the region’, he adds. ‘This joint move with Ciba demonstrates our commitment to the fast-growing polymer industry in Saudi Arabia and the region’, Al-Utaibi says. ISO 9001:2000-certified Astra Polymers is part of the Astra Industrial group which produces highquality masterbatch (black, white and colour) and dust-free additive systems. According to Ciba, Astra Polymers has an extensive network and excellent reputation throughout the Middle East region. Contact: Ciba Inc, Basel, Switzerland. Tel: +41 61 636 6100, Web: www.ciba.com Or contact: Astra Polymers, Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia. Tel: +966 3 812 1232, Web: www.astra-polymers.com

Altana acquires USBP’s effect pigment business

G

ermany speciality chemical group Altana AG has signed a contract to acquire the effect pigment business of United States Bronze Powders Inc (USBP) of Flemington, NJ, USA, for an undisclosed sum. Subject to obtaining the necessary antitrust approvals, the USBP business will be integrated into the Eckart Effect Pigments division, a manufacturer of metallic and pearlescent pigments which was itself acquired by Altana in 2005 [ADPO, September 2005].

The purchased business mainly comprises the production of copper pigments, bronze pigments and stainless steel pigments, as well as press-ready metallic printing inks. In 2007, USBP achieved sales of approximately US$8 million in this business area. It generated about 60% of its sales of these pigments in the NAFTA region, and about 15% in each of Asia and Europe. Under the agreement with USBP, no manufacturing site and no employees are included in the acquisition. Production for this business will be transferred to Eckart’s US affiliate Eckart America in Painesville,

October 2008