Lanxess Acquires
Asian Biocide Specialist PCTS
Lanxess is strengthening its product portfolio for biocides to serve the megatrend
urbanization. The German specialty
chemicals group has acquired Singapore-based PCTS Specialty Chemicals Pte. Ltd.
for an undisclosed amount. The transaction closes with immediate effect.
Through the acquisition, Lanxess is
now one of the leading suppliers of biocides for paints and coatings in the rapid-ly-growing Asia-Pacific region, according
to the company. It will gain access to a
complementary portfolio of biocides and
will benefit from PCTS’ highly-recog-nized product expertise and know-how
in paints and coatings.
PCTS specializes in biocides for environmentally friendly water-based paints
that meet stringent health and safety, as
well as environmental standards. Biocides
prevent the deterioration and discoloring
of the paints caused by microorganisms.
PCTS employs approximatley 20
people at modern production and laboratory facilities close to Lanxess Singapore
headquarters. PCTS recorded sales in the
single-digit million euro range in 2012,
with 60 percent of it being generated in
China. The company was majority owned
by NIPSEA Technologies Pte Ltd.
“This transaction underlines Lanxess’
standing as a key supplier of high-tech so-
lutions for the megatrend urbanization,”
said Rainier van Roessel, Member of the
Lanxess Board of Management. “It also
strengthens our company’s asset base in
the booming Asian market.”
PCTS will be integrated into the
Lanxess business unit Material Protection
Products (MPP), which belongs to the
company’s Performance Chemicals seg-
ment. The PCTS facility will also become
the new Asia-Pacific headquarters of
MPP. The business unit is already one of
the world’s leading suppliers of biocides.
It acquired the U.S.-based biocide compa-
ny Verichem Inc. and the material protec-
tion activities of Switzerland’s Syngenta
in 2011.
Sun Chemical Performance
Pigments Honors
Employees with Sales
Awards
Sun Chemical Performance Pigments recognized five sales and account managers for
their outstanding sales and support contributions at the company’s biannual Performance
Printing Sales Awards ceremony.
The awards honor those employees,
whose sales efforts and results go above and
beyond standard expectations, delivering the
best of the best service to their customers.
Each award includes monetary prize.
Recipients of the Bill Breagy Award
for superior sales performance included:
John Fox, key account manager, Snejana
Obrenovitch, sales manager plastics, and
Matt Monroe, key account manager.
Roberto Alcantara, a sales manager
in Latin America, received the President’s
Award for excellence in salesmanship, and
Peter Rulten, business development manager for coatings, received the Art Finn Award
for outstanding technical support.
BASF Launches New
Website for Construction
Industry
BASF has launched a new global construction website with a focus on sustainability ( www.construction.basf.com),
offering quick and easy access to essential
information for the industry stakeholders. The website presents the company’s
products and solutions in terms of challenges faced by the construction industry
such as increasing durability, improving
resource efficiency and climate protection. It also serves as a central platform
to exchange ideas by sharing authentic
stories from a variety of stakeholders.
“Sustainability is a crucial issue for
the construction industry and chemistry
plays an important role in designing innovations for sustainable construction,”
said Dr. Tilman Krauch, president of
BASF’s Construction Chemicals division
and head of BASF’s Global Construction
Steering Committee. “The website is a
window to what we do especially in the
area of sustainability. It is designed to inform, connect and equip our construction
partners with easy-to-access information,
knowledge and ideas,” explained Krauch.
The construction industry is one of
BASF’s key customer industries, accounting for up to 10 percent of total Group
sales. In accordance with the “We create
chemistry” strategy, BASF is focusing its
business even more strongly on customers’
needs and driving sustainable solutions.
Nubiola USA Names
Maroon Distributor of the
Year for 2012
Nubiola USA has awarded Maroon with
the Nubiola USA Distributor of the Year
for 2012. Maroon has achieved outstanding sales growth for Nubiola Ultramarines
and Inorganic Pigments. Larry Lane –
Nubiola director of sales and marketing
and Mike McKenna – Maroon VP corporate operations accepted the award.
Argex Selects Valleyfield
as the Site for its First TiO2
Production Plant
Argex Titanium Inc. has signed a binding
memorandum of understanding (MOU)
with Valleyfield Enterprises for a long-term lease of at least 235,000 square
feet of existing building space located at
1300 Gérard-Cadieux Blvd in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield in Quebec, Canada. This
location will house the company’s first
industrial scale titanium dioxide (TiO2)
production facility. The MOU and long-term lease are conditional upon certain
conditions being met or waived by Argex.
Located in the Perron Industrial and
Harbour Front Park, the site can accommodate additional TiO2 production modules
and offers significant expansion potential.
This location will enable Argex to save
time and avoid the large capital expenditures associated with greenfield plant
construction and benefit from the existing
