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Cussons to switch soap jobs to Thailand
FOCUS care benefits in terms of overall appearance, texture and tone. Meadowlactone is an amphoteric compound whose isomeric structures can change between oil and water solubility as a function of pH. SPC, Soap Perfumery and Cosmetics, Dec 2004, 77 (12), 37
APPLICATIONS Household cleaning Household detergents Imparting surface-modifying characteristics is one of the ways that home and fabric care companies are trying to retain their competitive advantage. Controlled delivery of fragrance and active ingredients is another flourishing research area, especially for heavy-duty laundry detergents. And while companies seek ways to improve top products sold in developed countries, they are also adapting cleaning chemistries to cheaper products sold in the developing world. The process that Procter & Gamble’s global fabric and home care business uses to develop products depends increasingly on cooperation with outside partners. At Clorox, the idea for a surfaceprotecting product resulted from Clorox’s ability to understand consumer needs. At Henkel the focus on surface modification is most evident in the automatic dishwasher detergent (ADW) sector. BASF is also developing hydrophobically modified polyacrylates for ADW that provide surface modification. The US detergents market had a volume of $3.3 bn in the year ending 28 Nov 2004. Two Procter & Gamble brands (Tide and Gain) accounted for 50% of the market. Speciality chemicals companies are scanning their product ranges for products that can help detergent manufacturers succeed in developing countries. Chemical and Engineering News, 24 Jan 2005, 83 (4), 15-20 (Website: http://www.cen-online.org)
New products in the toilet With cleaning products in N America and Europe showing slow growth, suppliers are turning to product 4
ON
S U R FA C TA N T S
innovation to generate sales growth. Both Clorox and S C Johnson have recently launched disposable germkilling brushes. These products mean consumers no longer have to pour a cleaner into the toilet, and producers say they are more sanitary. Clorox’s ToiletWand posted sales of $1.5 M in Dec 2004 alone. Chemical Week, 26 Jan 2005, 167 (3) (Website: http://www.chemicalweek.com)
Personal care products Uniqema targets personal care Uniqema is to focus on specialities in 2005. Its growth strategy will target markets that offer prospects for above-average growth. These include personal care products and synthetic lubricants. The firm is expecting growth at double GDP rates for personal care products, particularly skin care ingredients used in antiageing products. Basic oleochemicals have encountered challenging market conditions. Basic fatty acids and glycerine account for 25% of Uniqema’s gross margin. Glycerine prices have fallen due to increased production of biodiesel, which has glycerine as a by-product. Uniqema had sales of £465 M for Jan-Sep 2004. Chemical Market Reporter, 3 Jan 2005 (Website: http://www.chemicalmarketreporter.com)
Cussons to switch soap jobs to Thailand PZ Cussons, the maker of Imperial Leather, is to close its Nottingham, UK, factory with the loss of 160 jobs as customers shun old-fashioned bars of soap in favour of liquid varieties. The factory, which has been making soap since 1955, will shut in 2007 and production will be switched to Thailand. Soap bars produced in Nottingham now account for only 17% of the group’s UK sales, down from more than half of sales in 1995. Bars of soap are becoming less popular in the UK and it is more cost effective for Cussons to move to Thailand, where it is investing in a new state-ofthe-art factory. Demand for soap bars in Asia is rising. The Far East now accounts for two-thirds of the world market for soap bars, and PZ Cussons already has production centres in Thailand and Indonesia.
The news of the closure came as PZ Cussons, which began trading in Sierra Leone in 1879, announced it was withdrawing from Russia and China. The group has been hit by the weakening of the rouble, which has made the investment needed to promote its brands expensive, and a new distribution network has failed to improve sales. It has also failed to succeed in China, blaming competitive pressures. A £3 M loss in Russia and losses in China caused the company to report a 4% drop in pre-tax profits for the six months to the end of Nov 2004. It has also been hit by the weak US dollar, as more than half of its business is in currencies linked to the dollar. Rising oil costs have also affected the company. The Independent, 9 Feb 2005 (Website: http://www.independent.co.uk)
PATENTS P&G creates method for enhancing suds volume Procter & Gamble has earned Patent No US 6,825,157 B2 for a process improving suds volume and suds duration. The process uses a liquid detergent composition that has polymeric suds enhancers. HAPPI, Household & Personal Products Industry, Jan 2005, 42 (1), 32
Detergent composition patented by Daikin Industries Daikin Industries Ltd of Osaka, Japan has obtained Patent No US 6,831,048 B21 for a cleaning composition having at least one of fluoride salts and hydrogen difluoride salts, an organic solvent with a hetero atom or atoms, water and optionally one or more surfactants or corrosion inhibitors. HAPPI, Household & Personal Products Industry, Jan 2005, 42 (1), 32
Fabric softener method patented by Ciba Ciba Specialty Chemicals has been granted Patent No US 6,831,055 B1 for a method of using a softener composition that provides hydrophilicity to textile fibre materials. HAPPI, Household & Personal Products Industry, Jan 2005, 42 (1), 32
MARCH 2005
APPLICATIONS Household cleaning Household detergents Imparting surface-modifying characteristics is one of the ways that home and fabric care companies are trying to retain their competitive advantage. Controlled delivery of fragrance and active ingredients is another flourishing research area, especially for heavy-duty laundry detergents. And while companies seek ways to improve top products sold in developed countries, they are also adapting cleaning chemistries to cheaper products sold in the developing world. The process that Procter & Gamble’s global fabric and home care business uses to develop products depends increasingly on cooperation with outside partners. At Clorox, the idea for a surfaceprotecting product resulted from Clorox’s ability to understand consumer needs. At Henkel the focus on surface modification is most evident in the automatic dishwasher detergent (ADW) sector. BASF is also developing hydrophobically modified polyacrylates for ADW that provide surface modification. The US detergents market had a volume of $3.3 bn in the year ending 28 Nov 2004. Two Procter & Gamble brands (Tide and Gain) accounted for 50% of the market. Speciality chemicals companies are scanning their product ranges for products that can help detergent manufacturers succeed in developing countries. Chemical and Engineering News, 24 Jan 2005, 83 (4), 15-20 (Website: http://www.cen-online.org)
New products in the toilet With cleaning products in N America and Europe showing slow growth, suppliers are turning to product 4
ON
S U R FA C TA N T S
innovation to generate sales growth. Both Clorox and S C Johnson have recently launched disposable germkilling brushes. These products mean consumers no longer have to pour a cleaner into the toilet, and producers say they are more sanitary. Clorox’s ToiletWand posted sales of $1.5 M in Dec 2004 alone. Chemical Week, 26 Jan 2005, 167 (3) (Website: http://www.chemicalweek.com)
Personal care products Uniqema targets personal care Uniqema is to focus on specialities in 2005. Its growth strategy will target markets that offer prospects for above-average growth. These include personal care products and synthetic lubricants. The firm is expecting growth at double GDP rates for personal care products, particularly skin care ingredients used in antiageing products. Basic oleochemicals have encountered challenging market conditions. Basic fatty acids and glycerine account for 25% of Uniqema’s gross margin. Glycerine prices have fallen due to increased production of biodiesel, which has glycerine as a by-product. Uniqema had sales of £465 M for Jan-Sep 2004. Chemical Market Reporter, 3 Jan 2005 (Website: http://www.chemicalmarketreporter.com)
Cussons to switch soap jobs to Thailand PZ Cussons, the maker of Imperial Leather, is to close its Nottingham, UK, factory with the loss of 160 jobs as customers shun old-fashioned bars of soap in favour of liquid varieties. The factory, which has been making soap since 1955, will shut in 2007 and production will be switched to Thailand. Soap bars produced in Nottingham now account for only 17% of the group’s UK sales, down from more than half of sales in 1995. Bars of soap are becoming less popular in the UK and it is more cost effective for Cussons to move to Thailand, where it is investing in a new state-ofthe-art factory. Demand for soap bars in Asia is rising. The Far East now accounts for two-thirds of the world market for soap bars, and PZ Cussons already has production centres in Thailand and Indonesia.
The news of the closure came as PZ Cussons, which began trading in Sierra Leone in 1879, announced it was withdrawing from Russia and China. The group has been hit by the weakening of the rouble, which has made the investment needed to promote its brands expensive, and a new distribution network has failed to improve sales. It has also failed to succeed in China, blaming competitive pressures. A £3 M loss in Russia and losses in China caused the company to report a 4% drop in pre-tax profits for the six months to the end of Nov 2004. It has also been hit by the weak US dollar, as more than half of its business is in currencies linked to the dollar. Rising oil costs have also affected the company. The Independent, 9 Feb 2005 (Website: http://www.independent.co.uk)
PATENTS P&G creates method for enhancing suds volume Procter & Gamble has earned Patent No US 6,825,157 B2 for a process improving suds volume and suds duration. The process uses a liquid detergent composition that has polymeric suds enhancers. HAPPI, Household & Personal Products Industry, Jan 2005, 42 (1), 32
Detergent composition patented by Daikin Industries Daikin Industries Ltd of Osaka, Japan has obtained Patent No US 6,831,048 B21 for a cleaning composition having at least one of fluoride salts and hydrogen difluoride salts, an organic solvent with a hetero atom or atoms, water and optionally one or more surfactants or corrosion inhibitors. HAPPI, Household & Personal Products Industry, Jan 2005, 42 (1), 32
Fabric softener method patented by Ciba Ciba Specialty Chemicals has been granted Patent No US 6,831,055 B1 for a method of using a softener composition that provides hydrophilicity to textile fibre materials. HAPPI, Household & Personal Products Industry, Jan 2005, 42 (1), 32
MARCH 2005