SI Group has announced its plans to cease manufacturing operations at its alkylphenol manufacturing facility at Jurong Island, Singapore, in 2H 2025. It will continue supplying alkylphenols from its other sites in Europe and the Americas.

The facility opened in 2006 to supply alkylphenols to the Asia-Pacific market and produce antioxidants. The company blamed “substantial changes in the antioxidant value chain in the region in recent years, paired with high costs in Singapore”.

Karsten Smet, CEO of ACI Group, looks at ways the pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries can adapt to changing times

Evonik has officially opened its new “double-digit million-euro” production plant for cosmetic emollients at Steinau, Germany. This will use an enzymatic esterification process from the company’s biotechnology platform to convert vegetable oils. “This investment helps us lower our footprint, while supporting the beauty industry in its transformation – meeting the demand for more responsible, eco-friendly solutions,” said Johann-Caspar Gammelin, president of the Nutrition & Care division.

Italian CDMO and API producer Olon Group has acquired its compatriot HuvePharma Italia, which makes APIs and advanced intermediates via chemical synthesis, from the Huvepharma EOOD group. This is part of Olon’s strategy of growth, consolidation and expansion, both internally and through acquisitions

Technikraft, a maker of chemicals for the automotive, household and industrial cleaning, handcare and cycling sectors, has acquired a majority stake in its UK compatriot Delta Fluid Technology, which supplies label metal-working fluids. Terms were not disclosed.

Delta, which was established in 2012, has turnover of around £5 million and employs 13 people. It will continue to operate from its existing plant at Sherburn-in-Elmet under managing director Pat Flanagan. Co-founder Andrew Fletcher will remain with the company as a consultant and director.

Lubrizol has opened its Beauty Research Institute in Shanghai. The company said that this will “serve as a strategic hub to further grow in vivo beauty testing capabilities, applying decision science to enable next-generation beauty ingredients, empower innovation collaboration and enhance speed to market” for its customers in the region.

France’s SNF Group has opened a regional technical centre at its site at Gandhidham, in Gujarat state, India. This will carry out core flooding, compatibility study and chemical enhanced oil recovery screening, focusing on high-performance anionic polymers for oil and gas applications. It will serve as the firm’s R&D hub for India, while also facilitating joint projects with oil operators. The firm had invested heavily in polacrylamides at the site earlier in the year.