AkzoNobel acquiring China decorative paints business from Sherwin-Williams

MOSCOW (MRC) -- AkzoNobel has reached an agreement with US-based Sherwin-Williams to acquire its Chinese decorative paints business for an undisclosed fee, the Dutch paints and coatings major said.

The deal is expected to be completed in the second half of 2023 and includes the Huarun brand, it said in a statement.

The business has an annual revenue of about €100m and employs around 300 people. "Acquiring the Chinese Decorative Paints business from Sherwin-Williams will help us to deliver our growth ambitions in tier three to tier five geographical areas in China,” said AkzoNobel CEO, Greg Poux-Guillaume.

The intended acquisition follows on from a series of recent acquisitions by AkzoNobel across paints and coatings over the last years, including Titan Paints in Spain and Portugal, New Nautical Coatings in the US, Grupo Orbis in Latin America and, most recently, Lankwitzer Lackfabrik in Germany.

We remind, AkzoNobel has completed the acquisition of the wheel liquid coatings business of Lankwitzer Lackfabrik GmbH, a deal which strengthens the company’s performance coatings portfolio. The acquired business will complement AkzoNobel’s existing powder coatings offering and expand the range of innovative products the company supplies.

mrchub.com

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Dr. Thomas Koini studied engineering management at the University of Linz, where he gained his doctorate in engineering science, said the company.

He joined WACKER as a management trainee in 1996, starting out as a laboratory manager in Technical Marketing at the WACKER SILICONES division. Following various managerial positions within WACKER SILICONES, both in Germany and internationally, Koini took charge of WACKER’s silicone business in Greater China. He was appointed senior vice president of Sales & Distribution in 2014, before becoming head of the Performance Solutions business unit in 2018.

We remind, WACKER Group is concentrating its biotechnology research activities in Munich. The company is investing a double-digit million-euro sum in the construction of a Biotechnology Center, which is scheduled to be operational in 2024.

WACKER SILICONES is one of the largest silicone manufacturers worldwide with over 2,800 highly specialized and innovative products. The division’s portfolio ranges from silicone fluids, emulsions, resins, elastomers and sealants to silanes, silane-terminated polymers and pyrogenic silica.

mrchub.com

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Wanhua Chemical released the first quarter report of 2023, which showed that the operating income in the first quarter of 2023 increased by 0.37% over the same period of last year, said Everchem.

Net income totaled USD592 mln, up 54% sequentially and down 25% year over year.

The net cash flow generated by operating activities during the reporting period was CNY4,116 bn and the total assets were CNY 237,793 bn.

We remind, Wanhua Chemical also plans to increase the capacity of its polycarbonate (PC) plant in Yantai in Shandong province by 140,000 tons per year to 340,000 tons per year. The expansion will be carried out by reengineering the existing 200 ktpa PC production project at the site. The company is currently seeking environmental approval for the plan. The timing of the project is not disclosed.

Wanhua Chemical is mainly engaged in polyurethane business, petrochemical business and fine chemicals and new materials business.

mrchub.com

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Jubilant Ingrevia has commissioned its new global scale acetic anhydride plant, at its manufacturing facility at Bharuch, Gujarat. This plant adds around 60,000 MT of capacity, whereby scaling Jubilant Ingrevia Limited’s overall annual acetic anhydride capacity to 210,000 MT, said Pharmabiz.

This enhanced capacity will also help the company to increase its global presence in various geographies and achieve leadership position in the global merchant markets. In the domestic market it further strengthens and consolidates Jubilant Ingrevia’s position as a market leader.

For several decades now, Jubilant Ingrevia has been regarded as a ‘partner of choice’ globally for supplying acetic anhydride for various end-usages. This facility augmentation will further strengthen the relationship that Jubilant Ingrevia enjoys with its global clients.

With this additional capacity, Jubilant Ingrevia also provides opportunity to its global customers to further expand their downstream products across end-user industries viz. pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, food, vitamins, wood acetylation, electronics, dyes industry etc.

Rajesh Srivastava, CEO & managing director, Jubilant Ingrevia said, “We are pleased with the commissioning of our new global scale acetic anhydride plant. We are happy to see that our efforts to become a reliable supplier of acetic anhydride for international customers, is now showing significant results. This has led us to the decision to add a new plant with global scale capacity and hence achieve leadership in acetic anhydride’s global merchant market..

With our well-established global distribution network, this additional capacity of acetic anhydride will further ensure sufficient feedstock availability for our various global customers for their end products, as well as help them achieve their desired growth across global markets, he added.

We remind, Jubilant Ingrevia Ltd has announced a contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) contract for around Rup 270-crore in its speciality chemicals business. Through the contract, the company will supply two GMP intermediates for one of the patented drugs of the innovator pharmaceutical customer. Commercial supplies of both products will start from FY 2023 onwards.

mrchub.com

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (PetChem) is focusing on expanding its specialties portfolio after posting a strong performance in 2022 amid geopolitical conflicts, market volatilities and general industry challenges, said the company.

The group said its landmark acquisition of Sweden-based Perstorp Group resulted in further diversification of the group’s product offerings, specifically for its specialty chemicals portfolio. “The company launched BRB Group’s new lube oil additives manufacturing facility in the Netherlands to serve as a global lube oil additives and chemicals hub for PetChem.

“In addition, two projects achieved the status of Final Investment Decision (FID), namely the development of a melamine plant in Gurun, Kedah, and the expansion of the 2-ethylhexanoic acid (2-EHA) plant in Gebeng, Pahang,” it said in a statement today, in conjunction with PetChem’s 25th annual general meeting.

PetChem closed 2022 with record revenue of RM29 billion and profit after tax of RM6.3 billion. Managing director and CEO Yusri Mohamed Yusof said the addition of Perstorp Group marks a major milestone, which will see over 130 new product offerings, seven manufacturing sites globally and more than 1,500 new members coming into the PetChem family.

“We have also established a new specialty chemicals division to manage and steer critical strategic priorities supporting the group’s long-term aspirations within this space,” he said.

PetChem also said it has enhanced its commitment towards sustainability in 2022 and surpassed its short-term target to reduce its Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) by 2024.

Through various efforts, such as process optimisation and catalyst upgrades, the group has achieved a cumulative reduction of more than 108,000 tCO2e so far, it said. In addition, Perstorp’s strength in sustainable solutions will accelerate PetChem’s value creation and its sustainability journey.

In 2022, PetChem recorded a production volume of 10.4 million tonnes per annum (tpa), and a sales volume of 8.3 million tpa while continuing with its track record on safety.

We remind, Petronas has signed two Project Development Agreements with ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Malaysia Inc. (ExxonMobil) to jointly pursue Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) activation projects in Malaysia.
Under the agreements, both parties will define next steps, including the maturation of technical scopes for the CCS value chain, evaluation of the identified fields for CO2 storage utilisation, development of appropriate commercial framework and establishment of advocacy plan support on regulations and policy development in enabling CCS projects.

mrchub.com