Kemira has announced plans to invest a “low double-digit millions of euros” sum to build a reactivation plant for activated carbon at its Helsingborg site in Sweden. Due to be operational in 2H 2027, this will supply the Nordic drinking water and wastewater markets and is part of a long-term strategy to double the water treatment business. It follows the acquisition of Norit’s UK reactivation business, Purton Carbons.

Aaron Lee of Nu-Insight looks at what a sales professional needs in order to exceed in the chemical industry

Our industry, characterised by its diversity and complexity, presents unique challenges and opportunities for sales professionals. From the bustling automotive industry, the evolving renewable energy sector to buoyant innovation in pharmaceutical manufacturing, understanding how to effectively navigate these waters is crucial for achieving superior sales performance.

Dr Marko Lange, co-lead of the Chemical Industry business unit, and Sergey Nozhenko (above), chemical industry product specialist, at SAP detail the critical role intelligent capabilities can play in helping companies meet ESG targets and mandates

Posco Future M has conducted the initial shipment of products from its 30,000 tonnes/year nickel-cobalt-aluminium (NCA) cathode material plant in Pohang, South Korea. This was built to supply Samsung SDI with materials for electric vehicle (EV) batteries, following a $2.9 billion supply agreement in January 2023.

At CPHI in Milan in October, eight Indian CDMOs announced that they have formed a trade group to raise the profile of India’s drug services sector and make it a destination of choice. “We are trying to advocate the idea that, like IT services, pharma services could be a big industry in India,” said Aragen CEO Manni Kantipudi (pictured), who leads the group.

CatSci has opened a second oligonucleotides laboratory, which it will use “to introduce novel workflows for the rapid production of vast numbers of oligos at a scale optimised for rapid screening”. The company is also transforming its largest laboratory space into a centre of excellence for oligonucleotide development by remodelling it to create efficient working spaces for existing and new capabilities.

AlzChem plans to “significantly increase” its nitroguanidine capacity, with a new production plant that will almost double the €76 million expansion it announced in the spring. It will also renew and expand its existing facilities for the precursor, guanidine nitrate, in what CEO Andreas Niedermaier called “the largest investment in our company’s history in Germany to date”.