mineral processing, paint, adhesives, paper, construction, water
treatment, and cosmetics.
“The Araçariguama site is ide-
ally placed to fulfill the expectations of
both our existing and our future cus-
tomers,” said Alain Mari, chairman of
Coatex. “This is a first major step that will
allow Arkema and its subsidiary Coatex
to draw on the strong growth of Brazil
and Latin America without delay.”
The deal is expected to be closed in the
second half of 2012.
Brenntag Specialties dedicates
new laboratory
Brenntag Specialties, Inc. (BSI), a specialty
chemical distributor to the construction
market, has dedicated a new construction
applications laboratory in Phoenix, Arizona. Barbara Penunuri, technical manager
for the construction market will oversee this
new facility, building on BSI’s technical support capability in this focus market.
“Our goal is to assist customers by developing formulation solutions that help
them respond to changing market demands,” said Lewis Clark, vice president,
new business development. “Additionally,
BSI will promote unique materials from
strategic market suppliers. We have established exclusive, national suppliers for this
market, and feel the combination of product knowledge, application experience and
committed resources puts BSI in an excellent position to service the market needs.”
Primary construction applications laboratory capabilities include: materials recommendations, application assistance,
formulation advice, process advice, starting point formulas, comparative analysis,
and key parameter testing.
Elementis to acquire Watercryl
Quimica
Elementis plc announced that it has
agreed, through its wholly owned subsidiary Elementis Holdings Limited, to
purchase Watercryl Quimica Ltda, a
Brazilian coatings additives company, for
a cash consideration of $24 million.
Watercryl was established in 1993 and is
a leading supplier of additives to the Brazilian coatings industry, with manufacturing
and technical facilities based in Palmital,
São Paulo. The acquisition of Watercryl will
significantly increase the company’s presence in Latin America and provide a platform for its specialty products business to
accelerate growth in the region.
For the 12 months ended 31 May 2012
Watercryl reported, on an unaudited basis,
sales of $9.3 million and EBITDA of $2.3
million. Further growth will be driven by
combining the market positions, technical
capabilities and product portfolios of the
two businesses, to expand sales of Watercryl
products beyond Brazil and to accelerate the
growth of Elementis products in Brazil.
The transaction is expected to close
during the second half of 2012.
Bluestar Silicones opens
manufacturing and R&D
Bluestar Silicones, a global integrated silicones manufacturer, held a grand opening
for its new plant and R&D center in York,
South Carolina. The multi-million-dollar
investment is the centerpiece of Bluestar
Silicones’ strategic growth plan, which positions the company as a premier supplier
in the silicones industry. More than 100
local, state and federal officials, dignitaries, and customers attended the celebration, which included a ribbon-cutting
ceremony, plant tours and a reception.
“The opening of our new manufactur-
ing and R&D facility is a major step for-
ward in the execution of our strategic
plan for North America,” said J. Christo-
pher York, president of Bluestar Silicones
North America. “It is an exciting time for
our company and the customers we serve
as Bluestar Silicones evolves into a top
tier supplier.”
Bluestar Silicones is aggressively fo-
cused on becoming a significant player in
the silicones industry and plans to double
sales over the next five years, the company
reports. As part of its global expansion
plans, the company has relocated its two
U.S. manufacturing facilities in Ventura,
California and Rock Hill, South Carolina
to the 226,000-sq-ft building which is sit-
uated on 21. 5 acres. The move to York
reaffirms the company’s commitment to
the North American markets and supports
its global five-year strategic growth plan.
The company now produces its extensive range of silicone technologies at the
York facility, including liquid silicone rubbers (LSRs), high consistency rubbers
(HCRs), room-temperature vulcanized silicones (RTVs), fluids, dispersions, specialty
fluids, resins and antifoam, marketed
under its Silbione, Silcolease, Silcolapse,
Lyndcoat, and Bluesil trade names.
Evonik begins construction of
production plants in China
Evonik Industries will begin construction
of production plants for the manufacture
of isophorone and isophorone diamine in
the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park
(SCIP), China. The group is investing
more than €100 million in the plants,
which are scheduled to come on stream in
the first quarter of 2014, after completion
of a roughly two-year construction phase.
The groundbreaking will be a mile-
stone for Evonik. “This integrated pro-
duction platform shall reinforce our
presence in an important market and en-
able us to supply the growing needs of our
customers in China and the entire Asia Pa-
cific region,” said Dahai Yu, member of
the executive board of Evonik Industries.
“This investment shall also consolidate
our position as a worldwide leading man-
ufacturer of the isophorone chemistry.”
Products from the new facilities will
primarily serve markets in China and Asia
Pacific, with an annual capacity of 50kt.
In addition Evonik is installing a new
Technical Service Center at its Xinzhuang
site in Shanghai. The facility will include
laboratories for applied technology with
aims to develop isophorone product ap-
plications and provide technology service
for customers throughout in the region.
Isophorone and isophorone diamine,
isophorone diisocyanate and their derivatives are important components for the
production of industrial flooring, artificial
leather and paints and coatings. They are
also used in the growth area of high-performance composite materials, e.g. for
wind turbines, and in chemical synthesis.
Evonik currently manufactures isophorone chemistry products in Herne and
Marl, Germany; Antwertp, Belgium; and
Mobile, Alabama. The group distributes
products of the isophorone chemistry
worldwide under the trademarks of Vesta-min, Vestanat, Vestagon and Vestasol. CW
