Coatings World - October 2013

Black and White Pigments

Black and white pigments are key components for paint and coatings formulations. Here is look at the latest prod- ucts and company news for some of the top suppliers of these key raw materials.

Titanium Dioxide

U.S.-based chemical company, Huntsman Corp. has recently announced plans to buy Rockwood Holding’s paint pigments and performance additives business for $1.1 billion.

Rockwood’s Performance Additives and TiO2 business includes the manufacture and supply of sulphate process TiO2, synthetic iron-oxide and other organic pigments, timber treatment products and specialty automotive materials.

The acquisition will make Huntsman the second-largest global producer of TiO2 and inorganic color pigments.

Huntsman said that acquisition will generate cost savings of $130 million annually by the end of 2015 and would take the combined pigments business public within two years of the deal’s closing.

“This acquisition provides a unique opportunity to unlock
value within our pigments business and builds on the strong
improvements we have made to its competitiveness,” Peter
Huntsman, president and CEO of Huntsman commented in a
recent press release. “With this combination we will be better
positioned to serve customers through a broader product range
including color pigments, functional additives and specialty
TiO2 pigments. We will become the second largest global pro-
ducer of TiO2 and inorganic color pigments.”
“The transaction announced today is the next step in our
long-term value creation strategy for our Pigments business,” he
added. “We anticipate TiO2 demand will continue to recover in
the coming quarters, and during this time we will be focused on
strengthening our world class pigments business and capturing
approximately $130 million in expected annual cost savings, to
be fully achieved by the end of 2015. We plan to further unlock
value through a public offering of our new combined pigments
business, which we expect to pursue within two years of com-
pleting this acquisition.”
DuPont Titanium Technologies recently increased
prices on all its TiO2 products sold in North America,
Europe, Middle East, Africa, Latin America and the
Asia Pacific regions effective October 1 or as contracts
allow, as follows:

$100 per metric ton (USD) for DuPont Ti-Pure titanium dioxide (TiO2) grades sold in the Asia Pacific and Latin America regions; $100 per metric ton (USD) for DuPont Ti-Pure titanium dioxide (TiO2) grades sold in the dollar markets or EUR € 75 per metric ton in Eurozone markets in Europe, Middle East and Africa region; Five cents per pound (USD) for DuPont Ti-Pure titanium dioxide (TiO2) grades sold in the North America region with the exception of DuPont RPS Vantage titanium dioxide products sold into paper and paperboard applications, which will be managed separately.