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Netherlands: BASF – pigments for plastics
FOCUS consumption. Benelux accounts for 14%, France for 12%, the United Kingdom for 10%, the remaining 2930% being shared out among the other EU countries. The Dudelange plant will be Ampacet’s seventh plant in Europe, alongside: Messancy (Belgium); Telgate and Busto Garolfo (Italy); Telford (UK); Warsaw (Poland); and Tver (Russia). Worldwide, Ampacet has about 20 masterbatch plants, with a combined capacity in excess of 400,000 tonnes/y. Press Release from: Ampacet Corp, 660 White Plains Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591, USA, website: http://www.ampacet.com (1 Dec 2011)
Netherlands: BASF – pigments for plastics BASF intends to retain its facility at Maastricht for making pigment preparations for the plastics industry. BASF inherited this business as part of the acquisition of Ciba in 2009. However, BASF has agreed to sell the Imex offset printing inks business, which is also based at the Maastricht site. This business is expected to generate sales revenues of around €60 M in 2012. The purchaser is Quantum Kapital (of St Gallen, Switzerland) and Quantum has agreed to take on all 57 employees and will continue making offset printing inks at Maastricht. The size of BASF’s remaining workforce at Maastricht will be whittled down from 92 to 73 by the end of 2013. Press Release from: BASF SE, D-67056 Ludwigshafen, Germany, website: http://www.basf.com (15 Mar 2012)
Russia: Taftneft – carbon black OAO Taftneft reported carbon black production at its Nizhnekamsk complex in the Tatarstan republic as 114,000 tonnes for full-year 2011. The complex is highly integrated, producing moulds, castings and truck tyres. In fact, tyre output was reported as just over 11 M tonnes in 2011. Original Source: European Rubber Journal, 1 Mar 2012, (Website: http://www.european-rubberjournal.com/) © Crain Communications Ltd 2012
Thailand, Vietnam & China: Asahi Kasei – plastic colorants & sulfur dyes As well as being renowned in the fields of mineral acids, surfactants,
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silicones and fine chemicals, Asahi Kasei (formerly known as Asahi Chemical) is a major supplier of sulfur dyes for cotton, rayon, silk, wool, artificial leather and natural leather. It recently announced plans to build a new global manufacturing base in Vietnam for all its activities related to colorants. The new base will be located in the MinhHung industrial zone, just north of HoChiMinh City. The first units to be built there will be for making chemical intermediates used in dyes manufacture and these units should come on-stream before the end of 2012. When they are up and running successfully, Asahi Chemical will shut down its Shanghai (China) facilities that were established in 1997, originally as a joint venture with Shanghai Huaxu Chemicals Co. Asahi’s plant for making fine chemicals at Liyang in Jiangsu province (China) will be unaffected by this move. The next stage of the Vietnamese venture will entail transferring production from dyes processing and finishing facilities at Asahi’s Osaka and Fukui complexes in Japan. Meanwhile, Asahi Kasei’s activities in Thailand have been fully restored to normal, following partial plant shutdowns as a result of the October 2011 floods. Asahi manufactures plastic colorants and compounds at its chemical complex on the Banlain Industrial Estate in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya (80 km north of Bangkok). In the global chloralkali industry, Asahi Kasei is best known as a supplier of Aciplex ion-exchange membranes. In fact, Asahi Kasei became the world’s first producer of chlorine and caustic soda to employ membrane ion-exchange technology in 1975. This type of process continues to displace mercury-cell technology, which entails the use of mercury and asbestos as raw materials as well as offering lower energy efficiency. About 40% of the world’s membrane process chloralkali capacity is now based on Asahi Kasei’s technology. Asahi Kasei also remains a significant regional supplier of caustic soda and chlorine, but it recently withdrew from the 50:50 joint venture with Daiso Chemical, selling its shareholding to Daiso, effective 1 April 2012. The Asahi/Daiso joint venture had been operating the
chloralkali plant at Mizushima in Kurashiki (Okayama prefecture) since August 1970. Original Source: Japan Chemical Web, 15 Dec 2011, (Website: http://www.japanchemicalweb.jp) © The Chemical Daily Co Ltd 2011. Press Release from: Asahi Kasei, 3-3-23 Nakanoshima, Kita-ku, Osaka 5308205, Japan, website: http://www.asahi-kasei.co.jp (7 Mar 2012)
COMPANIES Evonik sells colorants business to Arsenal Capital Partners Evonik Industries (headquartered in Essen, Germany) has agreed to sell its global colorants business to Arsenal Capital Partners (a private equity firm, based in New York). The transaction should be completed by the end of April 2012. The value of the transaction has not been disclosed. Evonik’s colorants business employs more than 300 people at production sites, laboratories and sales offices located in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Malaysia, the Netherlands and the US. The main products are Colortrend colorant systems for decorative coatings and Chroma-Chem colorants for applications in industrial maintenance, marine paints and wood coatings. In 2011, the business generated sales revenues of around €130 M. Last June, Evonik ceased manufacturing the Polytrend line of liquid colorants for plastics and two of its former executives involved with Polytrend joined PolyOne “to ensure a smooth transition for customers.” (See ‘Focus on Pigments’, Oct 2011, 7). The RAG Foundation (formerly Ruhrkohle) owns 75% of Evonik, while CVC Capital Partners owns 25%. For some time, the joint owners have been discussing prospects for floating Evonik on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, via an initial public offering (IPO) of shares, valuing the company at around €15 bn. The flotation was postponed again last September, because of uncertainty in the financial markets, but it may still take place before the end of June 2012. Press Release from: Evonik Industries AG, Rellinghauser Strasse 1-11, 45128 Essen, Germany, website: http://www.evonik.com (6 Mar 2012)
MAY 2012
Netherlands: BASF – pigments for plastics BASF intends to retain its facility at Maastricht for making pigment preparations for the plastics industry. BASF inherited this business as part of the acquisition of Ciba in 2009. However, BASF has agreed to sell the Imex offset printing inks business, which is also based at the Maastricht site. This business is expected to generate sales revenues of around €60 M in 2012. The purchaser is Quantum Kapital (of St Gallen, Switzerland) and Quantum has agreed to take on all 57 employees and will continue making offset printing inks at Maastricht. The size of BASF’s remaining workforce at Maastricht will be whittled down from 92 to 73 by the end of 2013. Press Release from: BASF SE, D-67056 Ludwigshafen, Germany, website: http://www.basf.com (15 Mar 2012)
Russia: Taftneft – carbon black OAO Taftneft reported carbon black production at its Nizhnekamsk complex in the Tatarstan republic as 114,000 tonnes for full-year 2011. The complex is highly integrated, producing moulds, castings and truck tyres. In fact, tyre output was reported as just over 11 M tonnes in 2011. Original Source: European Rubber Journal, 1 Mar 2012, (Website: http://www.european-rubberjournal.com/) © Crain Communications Ltd 2012
Thailand, Vietnam & China: Asahi Kasei – plastic colorants & sulfur dyes As well as being renowned in the fields of mineral acids, surfactants,
6
ON
PIGMENTS
silicones and fine chemicals, Asahi Kasei (formerly known as Asahi Chemical) is a major supplier of sulfur dyes for cotton, rayon, silk, wool, artificial leather and natural leather. It recently announced plans to build a new global manufacturing base in Vietnam for all its activities related to colorants. The new base will be located in the MinhHung industrial zone, just north of HoChiMinh City. The first units to be built there will be for making chemical intermediates used in dyes manufacture and these units should come on-stream before the end of 2012. When they are up and running successfully, Asahi Chemical will shut down its Shanghai (China) facilities that were established in 1997, originally as a joint venture with Shanghai Huaxu Chemicals Co. Asahi’s plant for making fine chemicals at Liyang in Jiangsu province (China) will be unaffected by this move. The next stage of the Vietnamese venture will entail transferring production from dyes processing and finishing facilities at Asahi’s Osaka and Fukui complexes in Japan. Meanwhile, Asahi Kasei’s activities in Thailand have been fully restored to normal, following partial plant shutdowns as a result of the October 2011 floods. Asahi manufactures plastic colorants and compounds at its chemical complex on the Banlain Industrial Estate in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya (80 km north of Bangkok). In the global chloralkali industry, Asahi Kasei is best known as a supplier of Aciplex ion-exchange membranes. In fact, Asahi Kasei became the world’s first producer of chlorine and caustic soda to employ membrane ion-exchange technology in 1975. This type of process continues to displace mercury-cell technology, which entails the use of mercury and asbestos as raw materials as well as offering lower energy efficiency. About 40% of the world’s membrane process chloralkali capacity is now based on Asahi Kasei’s technology. Asahi Kasei also remains a significant regional supplier of caustic soda and chlorine, but it recently withdrew from the 50:50 joint venture with Daiso Chemical, selling its shareholding to Daiso, effective 1 April 2012. The Asahi/Daiso joint venture had been operating the
chloralkali plant at Mizushima in Kurashiki (Okayama prefecture) since August 1970. Original Source: Japan Chemical Web, 15 Dec 2011, (Website: http://www.japanchemicalweb.jp) © The Chemical Daily Co Ltd 2011. Press Release from: Asahi Kasei, 3-3-23 Nakanoshima, Kita-ku, Osaka 5308205, Japan, website: http://www.asahi-kasei.co.jp (7 Mar 2012)
COMPANIES Evonik sells colorants business to Arsenal Capital Partners Evonik Industries (headquartered in Essen, Germany) has agreed to sell its global colorants business to Arsenal Capital Partners (a private equity firm, based in New York). The transaction should be completed by the end of April 2012. The value of the transaction has not been disclosed. Evonik’s colorants business employs more than 300 people at production sites, laboratories and sales offices located in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Malaysia, the Netherlands and the US. The main products are Colortrend colorant systems for decorative coatings and Chroma-Chem colorants for applications in industrial maintenance, marine paints and wood coatings. In 2011, the business generated sales revenues of around €130 M. Last June, Evonik ceased manufacturing the Polytrend line of liquid colorants for plastics and two of its former executives involved with Polytrend joined PolyOne “to ensure a smooth transition for customers.” (See ‘Focus on Pigments’, Oct 2011, 7). The RAG Foundation (formerly Ruhrkohle) owns 75% of Evonik, while CVC Capital Partners owns 25%. For some time, the joint owners have been discussing prospects for floating Evonik on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, via an initial public offering (IPO) of shares, valuing the company at around €15 bn. The flotation was postponed again last September, because of uncertainty in the financial markets, but it may still take place before the end of June 2012. Press Release from: Evonik Industries AG, Rellinghauser Strasse 1-11, 45128 Essen, Germany, website: http://www.evonik.com (6 Mar 2012)
MAY 2012