F O C US
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PIGMENTS
printing plates, resins and pigments to the graphic arts and packaging sectors. It has more than 65 subsidiaries in 30 countries and operates an extensive distribution network in a further 50 countries. CVC’s declared target for Xsys is a 33% increase in operating profit over the next two years.
Moly-White to sell its anti-corrosion pigments in Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland and the Benelux region. Grolman has also extended its cooperation with Thomas Swan (of the UK): it is now selling Swan’s polyamides and polyurethanes, as well as its organic pigments, in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.
Farbe und Lack, Jun 2005, 111 (6), 16 (in German)
Farbe und Lack, Aug 2005, 111 (8), 19 (in German)
Czech Government to relinquish majority control of Spolchemie The Usti-nad-Labem site in the Czech Republic, close to the border with Germany, has been an important site for manufacturing organic pigments and dyes since 1905. The chemicals complex here is now operated by Spolchemie (formerly Spolana), which is about to be denationalised. The State-owned Ceska Financni currently has a 53.72% shareholding in Spolchemie. It will transfer a block of shares representing 39% of the equity to Via Chem before the end of September 2005. Via Chem was set up in 2002 as a wholly-owned of Euro Capital Alliance (of Canada), with the objective of modernising Spolchemie and other chemical enterprises in Central and Eastern Europe. Spolchemie reported a loss of CEK 184 M on sales of CEK 2.7 bn in 2004, but Via Chem is confident that the business can be turned around. Probably, this will entail cutbacks in the workforce, which currently numbers more than 1000 employees. As well as organic colorants, Spolchemie is an important chloralkali producer, with some of its chlorine being used captively to make epichlorhydrin and allyl chloride. The company also produces potassium permanganate and hydrofluoric acid. It is one of the largest suppliers of synthetic resins in Central and Eastern Europe, though its operations have suffered in recent years, following a disastrous fire at the Ustinad-Labem resin manufacturing facilities in November 2002. Hospodarske Noviny, 14 Jun 2005, 49 (116), 18 (in Czech)
Grolman to sell for Moly-White & Thomas Swan The Grolman group (based in Dusseldorf) has been appointed by
SEPTEMBER 2005
Holliday celebrates 120 years in ultramarine Holliday Pigments is celebrating its 120 years’ anniversary this year. The company is the global leader in ultramarine pigments, with a market share in excess of 50%. Marking the anniversary, tributes to Holliday’s reputation for quality control, care for the environment, approachability and good relations with customers and with distributors have been flowing in from several of its European distributors, including: ColArt (with offices in the UK, France and China); Grolman (of Germany); Rode & Rode (of Denmark); and Wilh Willumsen (of Norway). Farbe und Lack, Jun 2005, 111 (6), 21 (in German) & Press Release from: Holliday Pigments, Hull, UK, Tel: +44 (0)161 829 0740, Website: http://www.holliday-pigments.com (14 Jun 2005)
Huber buys Alu-Chem’s alumina trihydrate assets J M Huber Corp has acquired the entire alumina trihydrate (ATH) business and assets of AluChem Inc (of Cincinnati, OH). Equipment and other AluChem resources will be moved to existing Huber ATH manufacturing sites at Quincy (Illinois), Fairmount and Kennesaw (Georgia). Huber’s ATH business is an integral unit within Huber Engineered Materials (HEM, based in Atlanta, GA), which also produces kaolin and calcium carbonate pigments. Commenting on the acquisition, Mr Don Rubright (President of HEM) said: “The higher production volumes resulting from the acquisition of AluChem’s ATH business will enable HEM to make better use of its current operations and significantly improve performance.” Huber (with headquarters in Edison, NJ) is one of the world’s largest family-
owned businesses, with sales in excess of $1 bn. Asian Chemical News, 13 Jun 2005, 11 (494), 7
PAI Partners pays $1.4 bn to acquire Hansen food colorants & other ingredients Following approval by various antitrust authorities, PAI Partners SAS (of France) has completed the acquisition of Chr Hansen, the Danish-based multinational. Hansen is the world’s leading supplier of natural food colorants. It is also a major manufacturer and distributor of various other food ingredients, including flavours, dairy enzymes and bio-cultures. The value of the transaction was DKR 8.2 bn (equivalent to nearly $1.4 bn) and this will translate to a post-tax benefit of DKR 4.2 bn for the holding company, Chr Hansen Holding A/S (of Hørsholm, Denmark). Much of this benefit will be paid out to shareholders as an extraordinary dividend. The Executive Vice Presidents Lars Frederiksen, Leif Nørgaard, Peter Olesen and Hans Thorkilgaard will continue in post as the corporate management team under PAI’s ownership. Meanwhile, Chr Hansen Holding A/S becomes a pure pharmaceutical company, specialising in allergy treatments via its only remaining operating subsidiary, ALK Abello A/S. Mr Jens Bager (currently President and CEO of ALK Abello) will take over from Mr Erik Sørensen as President and CEO of Chr Hansen Holding A/S, effective 15 August 2005. Press Release from: Chr Hansen Holding, Hørsholm, Denmark, Website: http://www.chr-hansen.com (29 Jul 2005) & Official Journal of the European Communities C Information and Notices, 21 Jun 2005, 48 (C149), 18
SICPA buys Wacker’s liquid crystal pigments business Effective 1 July 2005, the SICPA group (of Prilly, near Lausanne) acquired the liquid crystal pigment business of Wacker Chemie GmbH. The acquisition included knowhow for liquid crystal applications in security printing, engraving, decoration and sundry industrial applications, patents and rights to use the brandnames Helicone and Polarshift. SICPA can now further develop new optical effect
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