HENKEL ACQUIRES NATIONAL STARCH ADHESIVES BUSINESS
Henkel has recently acquired from AkzoNobel the adhesives and electronic materials businesses previously owned by National Starch. In
2007, these two business segments generated sales of €1.83 billion. The
purchase price was € 3. 7 billion. Following the integration, annual sales
of Henkel’s Adhesives Technologies business sector will increase to
approximately € 7. 5 billion. Henkel expects synergies from the acquisition of €240-260 million per year.
By acquiring the Adhesives and Electronic Materials businesses of
National Starch, Henkel substantially further strengthens its position
in the global adhesives markets, particularly in the industrial segment.
Within Henkel’s Adhesives Technologies business sector, the acquisition
will have a particular impact on the packaging and wood adhesives
businesses, as well as on the electronics business.
“Raw material cost inflation, energy costs and transportation costs are
creating significant financial challenges,” said Korach. “We’re combating them with price increases and
cost containment measures. We are
also embracing tools such as LEAN
management techniques and Six
Sigma to attack inefficiencies so that
we can improve throughput while
continually improving customer satisfaction. Despite these efforts, maintaining margins has been difficult.”
3M has instituted a number of
measures to increase efficiency and
partially offset its large raw material
cost increases. “In the end, we have
also been forced to increase prices,”
said William Loomis, business manager with 3M energy and advanced
materials division.
NEXT GENERATION TECHNOLOGY
Environmental regulations also play
a huge role. “VOC regulation has
impacted the solvent-based adhesives and sealants market the most,”
BAYER MATERIALSCIENCE
OPENS ADHESIVES LAB
Bayer MaterialScience recently
inaugurated its Coatings and
Adhesives Lab in Thane, India.
The objective of the lab is to
strengthen the company’s posi-
tion in the high potential poly-
urethanes coatings and adhesives
market in India.
said Hawkins. “There are more mois-ture-cure products on consumer
shelves today than there were several years ago due to the fact that
retailers in VOC-regulated areas
can’t sell the solvent-based products
to consumers. California is moving to
restrict VOCs even further, so it will
be interesting to see how the market
will change in the future. Our consumer silicone and acrylic sealants
and our water-based adhesives meet
the VOC requirements in the U.S.”
“Rather than fighting growing regulations domestically and abroad, such as
REACH, SCAQMD and CARB, we pay
close attention to the direction being
taken and acceptance of such measures,” said Korach. “We strive to not
only respond to such regulations, but
also to glean insights that allow us to
develop a strategy for the future,
which includes next generation technology. In this way, we are able to
anticipate new regulatory requirements and be ready with appropriate
and superior products and technology.”
“Many companies are actively
reformulating to meet these new
requirements,” said Loomis. “We have
seen greatly increased interest in
spherical fillers and in fluorosurfac-tants, both of which allow increases in
solids and reductions in VOC.”
Programs such as LEED, a third-party certification program and the
nationally accepted benchmark for the
design, construction and operation of
high performance green buildings, have
impacted the commercial construction
market. “Several key stakeholders from
architects, real estate professionals and
facility managers, to sate and local governments across the country, are adopting LEED and requiring LEED-certi-fied products,” said Hawkins. “Several
of our construction-grade sealants are
LEED certified.”
Tremco has developed “green” concrete technology for both sealants and
weatherproofing membranes that
allows construction schedules to be
expedited dramatically while providing
superior performance, according to
Korach. “Our Vulkem 45SSL expansion
joint sealant can be applied to fresh
concrete that is only 24 hours old or to
damp concrete following rainfall, providing exceptional adhesion and without concerns about ‘green cracking,’” he
added. “New hybrid sealant technology
is enabling us to provide moisture-cur-ing sealants with UV-resistance and
weatherability superior to traditional
polyurethane sealants and are nonstaining, non-gassing and paintable
while all at an attractive price.”
3M has introduced a high strength
glass bubble called iM30k, which combines the density reduction potential
of a hollow particle with the ability to
withstand very aggressive processing,
normally associated with solid particles. 3M has also increased capacity
and enhanced supply capabilities, particularly in Asia, by opening a new
glass bubble factory in Korea.
GE Sealants has recently launched
a number of new products. GE
RapidStrength AC sealant is used for
the construction of doors, windows,
window wall applications and for the
fabrication and shop glazing of cur-tainwall modules. This sealant is
designed specifically for the user who
wants an extremely quick cure in a
high production volume environment.
GE Caulk Smoother is a new solution to the problem of messy caulk
beads. According to the company, by
spraying the product on the caulk
bead, the user can achieve a smooth,
clean caulk bead that is easy to work
with and shape. CW
