supply of its Spaceloft A2
product for incorporation
within BASF’s aerogel enhanced Slentex wall system for
the building materials market. In turn,
BASF will make a low double-digit million investment in the construction of
Aspen’s new manufacturing plant and
BASF will become a base load customer for Aspen’s capacity expansion. In
addition, BASF will provide technical
support to Aspen targeting manufacturing productivity, product cost and
profit margins.
Initially, the supply agreement will
support BASF’s efforts to drive growth
in the global building materials market
of its Slentex wall system incorporating Aspen’s patented technology. BASF
may also directly sell or incorporate
Spaceloft A2 into other systems for applications in certain building, transportation, consumer and industrial markets
worldwide. The agreement will run
through 2027.
“We chose to partner with Aspen be-
cause of their superior aerogel technol-
ogy platform, which we can enhance as
partners in various ways,” said Raimar
Jahn, president of BASF’s Performance
Materials division. “The new agreements
will accelerate adoption of aerogel tech-
nology as an eco-efficient insulation ma-
terial globally.”
The Joint Development Agreement
establishes a framework to develop new
aerogel products and technologies. The
agreement will give BASF targeted ac-
cess to Aspen’s world leading technology
platform while Aspen will gain access to
BASF’s technical expertise, sales channels
and financial resources. The partnership
will both further Aspen’s market diversi-
fication and growth strategy and support
BASF’s objective to provide innovative
solutions to meet current and future cus-
tomer needs.
“BASF has played an important role
in our development as a company and
this next phase of our relationship will
support us technically, commercially
and financially and will accelerate our
diversification into the building mate-
rials market,” said Don Young, presi-
dent and CEO of Aspen. “As our track
record in the energy infrastructure and
subsea markets has demonstrated, our
preferred model is to partner with in-
dustry leaders to benefit from their
technical, commercial, and financial
resources. BASF is a world class com-
pany dedicated to promoting energy
efficiency by delivering next generation
products to the global marketplace. For
these reasons, BASF is a perfect partner
for Aspen Aerogels.”
The origin of the partnership dates to
2010 when BASF Venture Capital made
an equity investment in Aspen and the
two companies began to explore technology development and commercialization opportunities within the building
materials market. This work led to the
development of Aspen’s Spaceloft A2 insulation product.
Sartomer Americas Opens
Discovery Center in Exton, PA
To promote an environment of continuous innovation, Sartomer Americas,
a business unit of Arkema Inc., has
opened a new center named the
Discovery Hub. The facility, located
in the company’s Exton, Pennsylvania
office, will enhance collaboration with
customers and enable stronger teamwork to address current and future
chemical formulation challenges.
The main section of the Discovery
Hub is equipped with sleek furniture
and three computer stations, which create an ideal space for casual meetings
and collaboration. A glass-enclosed
conference room offers more privacy
and the ability to host larger gatherings. Vivid graphics on the wall help
communicate the many innovative solutions that Sartomer has developed for
its customers over the years.
“We are excited to be able to offer this new space to host customers, prospective customers, and other
guests,” said Kenny Messer, president
of Sartomer Americas. “We hope that
when guests see this room, they will be
reminded of the high-performance, innovative solutions that Sartomer continues to provide.”
Evonik to Prepare for
Reopening of Mid-
Molecular Polyester Plant in
Mobile, Alabama
Evonik Corporation will begin preparations for reopening its specialty polyesters production plant located in Mobile,
Ala. The revitalization of the plant is
scheduled to be completed in 2018 and
will have an annual production capacity
of several thousand metric tons. The investment will create new jobs in Mobile,
where the group currently has more than
800 employees. Specialty polyesters are
focused in the reactive hot melt adhesive
market and in the pre-coated metal market as a binder for paints, coil coatings
and increasingly, in food can coatings.
Dr. Dietmar Wewers, global head of
the Coating & Adhesive Resins Business
Line at Evonik, said, “As an innovative supplier of high-quality specialty
polyesters we strive to provide a global
manufacturing footprint for our polyester platform to support projected market
growth.”
Demand in the specialty polyester
market is driven by the trend towards
bisphenol A-free can coating resins.
Specialty polyesters are also highly desired in the automotive market, supporting the increased use of adhesives for
mixed material bonding and lightweight
fuel efficient designs.
Andreas Kripzak, vice president,
Coating & Adhesive Resins Americas,
added, “As the solutions partner for the
coatings, adhesives and packaging indus-
try, we will reinvest in the United States
to become a local, reliable supplier fully
committed to our customers’ needs and
growth.”
Evonik is one of the world’s leading
suppliers of polyesters for pre-coated
metals and reactive hot melts. The com-
pany has production facilities at its
sites in Marl and Witten, Germany and
Shanghai, China. Polyesters from the
DYNAPOL brand serve as binders for
paints. In addition to coil coatings, they
are also increasingly used for food can
coatings as well as in flexible packag-
ing. Polyesters from the DYNACOLL
brand are used in reactive hot melt ap-
plications. CW
