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Meghmani Finechem into chlorotoluene

Indian chlor-alkali producer Meghmani Finechem is to spend €21.6 million to expand into the chlorotoluene value chain at its site in Dahej, Gujarat. Due to be commissioned by Q4 2024, this will be the first plant in India to be back-integrated into toluene chlorination, and will produce pharmaceutical and agrochemical intermediates.

Mitsui Chemicals to buy Meiji Seika agro business

Mitsui Chemicals Agro, the agrochemicals subsidiary of Mitsui Chemicals, has agreed to acquire the agrochemicals business of its Japanese compatriot Meiji Seika Pharma. No financial details were disclosed, other than that the impact on total sales is expected to be minor.

The acquired business is based in Tokyo with a manufacturing subsidiary in Iwate and six branch offices, employing 110. It will be fully integrated into Mitsui Chemicals Agro. The company offers various formulations, including:

* Probenazole, the world’s first systemic acquired resistance type fungicide

Permira to exit CABB?

According to unconfirmed reports, private equity firm Permira is considering exiting from its ownership in CABB after seven years and an auction may begin next year. The German-headquarters fine and speciality chemicals producer could raise about $1.2 billion, it is estimated.

Permira, which has about €44 billion in committed capital around the world, originally acquired CABB from Bridgepoint in 2014. Four years later, it bought Evonik Jayhawk Fine Chemicals, adding a US presence to the company.

Univar works with Solvay in Brazil

Univar Solutions has reached an agreement to serve as Solvay’s first distribution partner for the agrochemical market in Brazil. This covers agrochemical defensives, adjuvants and fertilisers. It is the first time Solvay has named a distributor for this market in the country.

New Halex plant for WeylChem

The WeylChem Group has announced that it is building the largest potassium-fluoride (KF)-based plant for halogen exchange (Halex) reactions in the Western world, at its Allessa site in Fechenheim Industrial Park in Frankfurt. This is the largest investment in Allessa since it was incorporated into WeylChem eight years ago. The project will take two years to complete.

AlzChem completes nitrile expansion

AlzChem, the only supplier of speciality nitriles outside China, has completed a €12 million expansion that took 15 months and will increase capacity by 50%. This is particularly targeted at the pharmaceutical and agrochemical markets and is expected to lead to additional sales of €10-20 million/year, depending on the product mix.

Oxygen shortage forces stop at Hikal

Indian fine chemical and API firm Hikal has halted production of an unnamed product from its Crop Protection division at Taloja, near Mumbai, due to the current non-availability of industrial oxygen.

The company said that it anticipates an impact on sales of the product in question. It has kept customers informed and will work with them to make up for the shortfall in delivery in the coming quarters. Production will be ramped back up when industrial oxygen is available again.

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