Evonik lays foundation for two
new innovation centers in Essen
Evonik Industries has announced plans
to build new research facilities for the
paints and coatings industry and the cosmetics industry. The company is investing approximately € 31 million in the
Ruhr, Germany area.
Klaus Engel, chairman of the executive
board of Evonik Industries, has laid the
foundation stones for two research and
development centers at the Essen site: one
for new, environmentally friendly additives and special binders for the paints and
coatings industry, and one for innovative
and sustainable products for the cosmetics
industry. In total, the group is set to invest
approximately € 31 million in the two
building complexes. The innovation center for the paints and coatings industry is
to be completed at the end of 2012.
“Both the paints and coatings and the
cosmetics industry are strong market seg-
ments. The coatings and additives, and
consumer specialties business units of
Evonik in Essen support both these in-
dustries with a wealth of experience and
innovative prowess,” Engel said. “We
want to be in a position to offer our cus-
tomers future-ready solutions. We do this
by relying on high creativity and innova-
tive expertise. The two innovation centers
will not only offer us scope for research
and development, they shall also
strengthen our competitiveness and our
position in the market. We therefore want
to send out clear signals for sustainable
growth and customer-oriented action.”
The paints and coatings industry is an
important market for the coatings and ad-
ditives business unit, one in which Evonik
is a major manufacturer of binders, pig-
ments, crosslinking agents, color pastes,
matting agents and additives. The total
costs of the building is approximately
€ 14. 4 million.
Berkshire Hathaway completes
acquisition of Lubrizol
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and The Lubrizol
Corporation have completed the acquisi-
tion of Lubrizol for $135 per share in an
all-cash transaction. The transaction, having been approved by Lubrizol shareholders
and having met all U.S. and non-U.S. regu-latory filing requirements, is valued at approximately $9.7 billion, including
approximately $0.7 billion in net debt.
“Lubrizol is a great addition to the
Berkshire Hathaway family of compa-
nies,” said Warren Buffett, Berkshire
Hathaway chief executive officer. “We ex-
pect to see continued strong performance
from the company as it executes its
growth strategies.”
James Hambrick, Lubrizol chairman,
president and chief executive officer, said,
“As part of Berkshire Hathaway, we have
real and significant opportunities to con-
tinue creating customer value by provid-
ing complex and innovative chemistries,
formulations and solutions for some of
the most demanding performance appli-
cations in the world.”
Hambrick also noted that the culture
and corporate philosophy established by
Lubrizol’s founders remains intact. With
the closing of this transaction, Lubrizol is
now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Berk-
shire Hathaway. Lubrizol’s international
headquarters remain located in Wickliffe,
Ohio and the company continues to be led
by Hambrick.
Daikin to establish production
facility for ZEFFLE
fluoropolymer coatings
Daikin Industries, Ltd. has established a
new production facility for the manufacture of ZEFFLE fluoropolymer coatings at
the Changshu Factory of its subsidiary
Daikin Fluorochemicals (China) Co. Ltd.,
a company that manufactures and sells
fluorochemical products in China. Mass
production is scheduled to start June 2013
at a planned capital investment of approximately 1.2 billion yen. This new
production facility combines with the Yo-dogawa Plant in Japan (Settsu, Osaka Prefecture) and Daikin Fluoro Coatings
(Shanghai) Co. Ltd. in China to make
three production sites for the manufacture
of fluoropolymer coatings. Upon completion, production capacity will approximately triple to meet the expected rise in
demand. ZEFFLE fluoropolymer coatings
excel in the areas of anti-fouling and
weather-resistance, which are special characteristics of fluorine compounds.
DSM sells its amino coating
resins business to INEOS
Melamines
Royal DSM N.V. has sold its amino resins
business to INEOS Melamines, a subsidiary
of Switzerland-based INEOS Industries.
DSM said the divestment is a logical step
after it closed at the end of 2009 its production facility in the Netherlands. Ever
since a supply agreement with INEOS
Melamines for manufacturing melamine
and benzoguanamine amino resins has been
in place. As of September 1, 2011, INEOS
began to market these amino resins directly.
INEOS Melamines is one of the leading
global producers of amino resins. For a limited period of time INEOS is allowed to use
the DSM brand name Uramex for the
amino products involved.
Dow Performance Monomers
expands capacity
The performance monomers business of
The Dow Chemical Company announced
a 10 percent increase in capacity for the
production of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA)
at its Freeport, Texas facility. This results
from a successful debottlenecking initiative
that addresses Dow’s need to increase
GMA capacity for its strategic customers.
Key drivers for this effort include improving
process and mechanical reliability.
“Through the GMA debottlenecking
initiative, Dow made significant process
and reliability improvements, which delivered a considerable increase in plant capacity in less than a year,” said David
Mongrue, global business manufacturing
director for Performance Monomers.
