Expert Statement: Christopher Erbslöh, C.H. Erbslöh
How to Build or Maintain Critical Mass in the Chemical Distribution Industry
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Expert Statement: Peter Stockmeier, Stockmeier Group
How to Build or Maintain Critical Mass in the Chemical Distribution Industry
Expert Statement: Thomas Dassler, Häffner
How to Build or Maintain Critical Mass in the Chemical Distribution Industry
Expert Statement: Thomas Sul and Natale Capri, DKSH
How to Build or Maintain Critical Mass in the Chemical Distribution Industry
Expert Statement: Frank Schneider, IMCD
How to Build or Maintain Critical Mass in the Chemical Distribution Industry
Expert Statement: Thorsten Harke, Harke Group
How to Build or Maintain Critical Mass in the Chemical Distribution Industry
Expert Statement: Neville Prior, Cornelius Group
How to Build or Maintain Critical Mass in the Chemical Distribution Industry
Expert Statement: Dennis Verhaert, Azelis
How to Build or Maintain Critical Mass in the Chemical Distribution Industry
Expert Statement: Felix Thalmann, Büfa Group
How to Build or Maintain Critical Mass in the Chemical Distribution Industry
M&A Activity Will Continue, No Doubt!
Analysis of the mergers & acquisitions activity in chemical distribution under the impression of the pandemic situation and how it might develop going forward.
Hempel Acquires Farrow & Ball
Danish coatings company Hempel has agreed to buy Farrow & Ball, a UK luxury decorative paints company, from US-based private equity owners Ares Management. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Moderna to Produce Covid Vaccine in Korea?
After German Covid-19 vaccine maufacturer BioNTech announced earlier this week that it plans to expand into Asia with a new plant in Singapore, news has emerged that US rival Moderna will set up a production base in South Korea. The company has not yet confirmed a story by the Korea Times that quotes Korean government officials as sources.
Mexican Glyphosate Case Hangs over Bayer
A Mexican court has reversed a ruling that favored Bayer in a legal challenge brought by the German pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals group against Mexico’s plan to ban glyphosate. In a statement, the country’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources said the Collegiate Court had revoked the provisional suspension of plans to prohibit use of the chemical, of which Bayer is a leading producer.
Novavax Again Delays Filing for Vaccine Approval
US biotech Novavax has again delayed filing for approval of its protein-based Covid-19 vaccine at least until July this year, citing issues related to an assay needed to show that its manufacturing process is consistent across different sites. CEO Stanley Erck said the company now aims to submit data to regulators in the UK, US and EU in the third quarter of 2021 rather than in the second quarter as previously planned. The vaccine is currently in a rolling review with the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
The Age of Sustainability
In a nutshell, reaching sustainability has become a key aspect for chemical companies and adjacent businesses along the product chain with a high entry hurdle for everyone.
Croda Reviews PTIC businesses
Croda International has announced it is undertaking a strategic review of its Performance Technologies and Industrial Chemicals (PTIC) businesses. The primary aim, said the UK specialty chemicals company, will be to establish what type of ownership structure best serves the businesses going forward and create a stronger platform for its future growth.
Element Solutions Buys UK Electro-chemicals Firm
US specialty chemicals company Element Solutions has paid about $60 million in cash to buy H.K Wentworth (HKW), a UK-based producer of electro-chemicals for the electronics, LED, automotive and industrial manufacturing industries.
BASF Invests in Enzymes in Austria
BASF is investing in its enzymes business at the Novartis Kundl/Schaftenau Campus in Austria. The German chemical giant said the agreement with the Swiss group – for which financial details were not disclosed – will enable it to develop a world-scale operation for bacterial enzymes and biotechnology products.
Chemical and Consumer Firms Join PLF Task Force
Unilever, Croda, Scott Bader, Crown Paints and Afton Chemical are among the first companies to join a task force convened by the UK’s Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) to introduce a circular economy for polymers in liquid formulations (PLFs) and improve their waste management.
Lonza Continues Biologics Investment Spree
In two major new investments at its sites in Visp, Switzerland, and Portsmouth New Hampshire, USA, Swiss CDMO Lonza said it will spend 850 million Swiss francs to expand mammalian drug substance manufacturing facilities. With the two projects, it plans to add 550 jobs, 300 in Switzerland, 250 in the US.
Pfizer/BioNTech Ask FDA for Full Vaccine Approval
Pfizer and BioNTech have applied to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for full approval of their Covid-19 vaccine in adolescents aged 12 to 15. If successful, the American-German duo’s shot now called Comirnaty would be the first in the US to obtain this status. It also was the first to win an emergency use authorization (EUA), in December 2020
W. R. Grace Wins PP Projects
US catalyst and technology company W. R. Grace has won two separate contracts to supply its Unipol PP process.
Azelis Boosts US Life Sciences with Vigon Buy
Azelis has entered into an agreement to buy US-based Vigon International, expanding its footprint in the life sciences sector. Financial details of the transaction expected to close in the second quarter of 2021 were not disclosed.
US Comes out for Covid Vaccine Patent Waiver
The long simmering discussion over whether manufacturers of Covid-19 vaccines should waive their intellectual property (IP) rights in hope of giving more people access to a shot and whether this would indeed end the pandemic faster reached the boiling point on May 5 when the US unexpectedly joined a group of developing nations pushing for such a move.
Exelixis Acquires Antibody Technology from GamaMabs
US biotech Exelixis has acquired GamaMabs Pharma’s anti-Müllerian hormone receptor 2 (AMHR2) technology. Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) targeting AMHR2 could provide clinical efficacy in gynecological, colorectal and other forms of cancer.
Arkema Closes Sale of PMMA Business to Trinseo
Arkema has completed the sale of its PMMA business to US plastics and rubber producer Trinseo, a deal announced in December 2020. The French chemical company said the divestment is “fully in line” with its ambition to become a pure specialty materials player by 2024, with the three complementary segments of Adhesive Solutions, Advanced Materials and Coating Solutions.
Moderna to Double US Vacccine Production Site
US Covid-19 vaccine manufacturer Moderna said it is planning to make major renovations at its Norwood, Massachusetts, mRNA production site with the aim of more than doubling its size by late 2021 or early 2022. The plans call for transforming the facility from a production and lab space to an industrial technology center by acquiring another building located on the same campus.
Total and Gevo Advance Renewable Isoamylene Work
Total’s specialty chemical additives subsidiary Total Cray Valley and US renewables company Gevo have completed the first phase of their Joint Development Agreement (JDA) to upgrade fusel oils into renewable isoamylene.
LyondellBasell Wins China Projects
LyondellBasell has won another contract to supply its technology in China. Under a deal agreed with Shandong Yulong Petrochemical, the US-managed chemical group will supply its Lupotech T high-pressure PE process for two new lines to produce 200,000 t/y LDPE and 300,000 t/y LDPE/ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) at Shandong Yulong Petrochemical’s facility in Longkou, Yantai, Shandong province.
EU Bodies Ratify UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement
With a positive vote of both the European Parliament and the Council at the end of April, the EU has ratified the Trade and Cooperation Agreement establishing the terms for future cooperation with the UK. To minimize disruption, the agreement has been provisionally applied since the beginning of 2021.
K+S Closes Americas Salt Sale to Stone Canyon
German potash and salt producer K+S has completed the sale of its Americas salt business to US-based global industrial holding company Stone Canyon Industries Holdings. Burkhard Lohr, chairman of the board of executive directors at K+S, said the transaction is a major step toward reducing the company’s debt.
Hexion Completes Phenolic Resins Sale
Hexion has completed the sale of its phenolic specialty resin, hexamine and European-based forest products resins businesses to private equity investors Investindustrial and Black Diamond Capital Management for about $425 million. The deal, which took effect after all approvals, was announced in September 2020.
Avantor Lifts Capacity for Single-Use Technologies
Avantor, US based supplier of products and services to the life sciences, advanced technologies and applied materials industries, has announced it will increase global capacity for high-quality single-use technologies used in the production of biologics and vaccines.
Repsol Joins Ecoplanta Waste-to-Chemicals Project
Spanish energy group Repsol is joining the Ecoplanta project that will build a waste-to-chemicals plant in Tarragona.
Eastman Acquires Spain’s 3F Feed & Food
US specialty materials company Eastman Chemical has acquired 3F Feed & Food, a Spanish company specializing in the development of additives for animal feed and human food. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. The newly acquired business will become part of Eastman’s Additives & Functional Products segment.
