South Korean paint and chemicals firm KCC has agreed to acquire the minority stake of SJL Partners Momentive Performance Materials and assume full ownership. This is subject to customary closing conditions and no price has been disclosed. Based in New York state, Momentive is a major supplier of silicone and speciality products for applications including personal care.
During its 2023 results presentation, Evonik announced that it will establish a new organisational structure by the end of 2026. Under ‘Evonik Tailor Made’ it will eliminate administrative activities that do not directly support its businesses and bundle key tasks in the new structure.
Perstorp has officially inaugurated its ISCC Plus-certified Penta chemicals plant in at Sayakha in Gujarat state, India. Covering 115,000 m2 and employing 120, this will add 40,000 tonnes/year of pentaerythritol and 26,000 tonnes/year of calcium formate, while reducing lead times in Asia by about 50%. The product mix will include the renewable grade Voxtar, which is based on a traceable mass-balance concept and is chemically identical to Penta, which Perstorp already produces in Sweden, Germany and the US.
DSM-Firmenich has begun a process to carve-out and separate out the Animal Nutrition & Health (ANH) business because of the different dynamics it faces to the Perfumery & Beauty, Taste, Texture & Health and Health, Nutrition & Care businesses. The process should be completed in the course of 2025. The company said that it believes that a separation would allow it “to strengthen its position as a world-leader in nutrition, health, and beauty”.
Evonik has manufactured the first product from its industrial-scale biosurfactants facility at Slovenská Lupca in Slovakia. This has thereby become the first plant anywhere in the world to produce sustainable rhamnolipid biosurfactants.
Slovenská Lupca produces rhamnolipids via a proprietary fermentation process that uses European corn sugar as the main raw material. They are fully biodegradable, with a low toxicological and ecotoxicological profile, as well as being entirely biobased.
German speciality chemicals group Altana has agreed to acquire the Silberline Group subject to customary closing conditions. Terms are not being disclosed. The business will henceforth form part of Altana’s Eckart division. Based in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania, Silberline employs over 450 people and had sales of about $80 million in 2022. It makes effect pigments for applications ranging from automotive coatings and printing inks to plastics, protective coatings and packaged consumer goods.
Japan’s Kao Corporation has introduced a new ‘dynamic cell production system’ for efficient, high-mix, low-volume manufacturing at its global cosmetics facility in Odawara. Test operations finished at the end of 2023, and operations will begin in stages shortly.
