Skip to main content

UK REACH deadline extended

The UK government has extended the deadline for chemicals companies to register their products with the new ‘UK REACH’ system from up to two years to up to six, depending on tonnage and hazard. The new system will come into force on 1 January, following the Brexit transition period.

Merck announces ADC/HPAPI expansion

Merck KGaA is to spend €59 million to expand HPAPI and ADC manufacturing capabilities and capacity at its facility near Madison, Wisconsin. Completion is expected by mid-2022 and should add approximately 50 full-time jobs from 2021.

The investment will allow large-scale manufacturing of highly potent oncology compounds, the company said. The 6,500 m2 building will be one of the largest dedicated HPAPI facilities specifically designed to handle single-digit nanogram OEL materials.

DuPont exits trichlorosilane

As intimated in May, DuPont has sold a business making trichlorosilane (TCS), the primary raw material used in producing the ultra-pure polysilicon. This is based at Midland, Michigan, and was part of Dow before their merger. DuPont viewed it as no longer viewed as core. The price is said to be about $725 million.

IMCD buys in South Africa and Brazil

Global chemical distributor IMCD has made two further acquisitions to expand its presence in South African distributor Siyeza Fine Chem and VitaQualy of Brazil. Terms were not disclosed in either case.

Johannesburg-based Sizeya was founded in is active in pharmaceutical, veterinary, food and personal care speciality chemical ingredients. It employs 27 people, who will remain with the firm and generated a revenue of €11.7 million in 2019. The deal will close at the end of 2020, subject to customary regulatory review.

Unilever to go further green

Consumer products giant Unilever has announced plans to source all of the carbon-based materials in its cleaning and laundry products from renewable or recycled sources, thus throwing down the gauntlet to chemical suppliers.  According to Unilever, this will cut the carbon footprint of its product formulations by up to 20%, since the chemicals it uses in cleaning and account for 46% – of that footprint. The company’s most famous brands include Persil, Omo, Domestos, Cif and Sunlight.

SK Capital buys more of Venator

New York-based SK Capital Partners has acquired most of Huntsman’s stake in TiO2 pigments and performance additives producer Venator Materials, which Huntsman span off in 2017. In all, it has bought a 40% stake or 42.5 million shares for about $100 million, including a 30-month option to buy the remaining 9.5 million at $2.15/share.

Seqens opens HPAPI unit

President Emmanuel Macron (above) and Bruno Lemaire, Minister of the Economy, Finance & Recovery, were both present on 28 August, when pharmaceutical CDMO Seqens unveiled a new HPAPI unit at its site in Villeneuve-La-Garenne, France. The total investment in the UPP30 project, as it is called, was about €30 million.

Subscribe to Current issue