Polish chemical group Qemetica has entered into an agreement with American company PPG to acquire its silicas products business for around PLN 1.2 billion (USD 310 million) in line with the company’s broader growth strategy for 2024-2029. 

As part of the deal, Qemetica will acquire certain assets and an operating subsidiary of PPG, which includes two factories (in the US and the Netherlands) and the right to conduct manufacturing and R&D activities in two additional US locations. The transaction is expected to finalise in the fourth quarter of 2024 after the customary closing conditions are met. BNP Paribas, Bain & Company, Greenberg Traurig, as well as KPMG, Gide, ERM and AON supported Qemetica in the preparation and execution of this transaction.

"In preparing for growth through acquisition, we defined the criteria for entering into discussions with potential sellers. We were looking for a business in which we could add value, invest and grow, based in the US, with a 100 percent or controlling stake, extending our value chain. This transaction, meeting all the mentioned criteria, means that after finalising and fully integrating the new business, we will be closer to achieving our strategic goals: to develop sources of growth other than soda ash, to achieve geographic and product diversification and to significantly expand our global footprint with revenues from new markets," said Kamil Majczak, CEO of Qemetica.

With this new acquisition, Qemetica, which already operates in seven business areas, namely production of soda ash, evaporated salt, agricultural solutions, polyurethane foams, silicates and glass, as well as rail transport services, will add one more business to its portfolio, the production and sale of precipitated silica, which is an essential raw material for the production of green tyres, batteries and fillers. Apart from increasing Qemetica group's revenue and EBITDA, the new business will also diversify the group's product range and geographical operations.

With nine production plants in Poland and Germany and distribution companies in the crop protection business in several European countries, Qemetica employs around 3,500 people. The new business will add 400 more staff to its workforce.

"Incorporating the acquired entity will allow us to diversify our product range and expand into new geographic markets. It will also be a step towards a more even distribution of revenue and profit sources within the Group. The precipitated silica business will become the second largest, and the share of revenue generated in North America will exceed 10 percent, while the share of revenue from Poland will drop below 40 percent. This is an important step in building a global chemical group with Polish roots," said Marcin Puziak, CFO of Qemetica.

Ecolomondo Corporation, a leading Canadian innovator in sustainable scrap tyre recycling technology, has announced that its new milling line at Hawkesbury facility has achieved a major milestone during recent testing by reaching a throughput of approximately 2,700 lbs per hour of recovered carbon black (rCB). This result surpasses the company’s projected target of 2,200 lbs per hour.

When the new milling line is completely operational, it should be able to process 2,200 pounds of rCB per hour and provide a particle size distribution of 96 percent between 10 and 15 microns. It is anticipated that the plant would process more than 1.5 million scrap tyres annually, recovering 1,350 MT of process gas while producing 4,500 MT of recovered carbon black, 5,400 MT of oil and 2,250 MT of steel.

The company expects the commercial production of rCB to start by the end of May 2025. After being contacted, offtake clients told the company that they were eagerly expecting a larger supply of steel, oil and rCB, said the company. Depending on end-product market pricing, the company's yearly income from the sale of these sustainable goods plus tipping fees of USD 145 per metric tonne is expected to reach USD 12.1 million, with an estimated EBITDA of 45 to 50 percent, added the company statement.

Jean-François Labbé, Interim CEO, Ecolomondo Corporation, said, “This is a major achievement that brings the Hawkesbury facility closer to full production and commercialisation.”

Global speciality chemicals company Orion S.A. has launched a new bio-circular carbon black called ECOLAR 50 POWDER to provide coatings manufacturers with a new solution for more sustainable coatings.

ECOLAR 50 POWDER, which is entirely based on bio-circular feedstock, has coloristic qualities that are on par with those of ordinary speciality carbon blacks and includes 100 percent biogenic raw material according to 14C analysis. The coloristic qualities of ECOLAR 50 POWDER, a low to medium colour furnace black, offer moderate tinting strength and medium jetness in mass tone applications. ECOLAR 50 POWDER offers equivalent coloristic performance for full-tone and tinting applications, as well as comparable wetting and dispersion characteristics to conventionally manufactured low-colour furnace blacks.

ECOLAR 50 POWDER outperformed other common specialist carbon blacks in achieving medium jetness in a solvent-borne alkyd/melamine stoving enamel system. It created a similar neutral undertone as well. When tested in a water-borne 1K PU coating system, ECOLAR 50 POWDER created a more neutral undertone and jetness that was on par with other regular speciality carbon blacks.

Tilo Lindner, Vice President Global Marketing – Speciality Carbon Black, Orion, said, “We’re leading the way in advancing carbon black to meet increasing industry demands for sustainable products. ECOLAR 50 POWDER enables coatings formulators to develop truly sustainable products in all kinds of coatings applications.”

LD Carbon has inaugurated Korea’s first and largest waste tyre pyrolysis plant in Dangjin, South Korea.

Located in the Dangjin Hapdeok General Industrial Complex, the plant is expected to begin full-scale operation next month. The plant is spread over 29,800 square metres and features two factory buildings and five silos. The plant has an annual capacity to process 50 kilotonnes per annum (ktpa) of tyre chips derived from end-of-life tyres (ELTs).

At the location, LD Carbon uses a two-step pyrolysis process, first turning ELTs into solid char and pyrolysis oil. After that, the business uses a secondary pyrolysis process to further compress the char and create recovered carbon black (rCB). It is anticipated that the Dangjin facility would generate 20 ktpa of rCB and 24 ktpa of pyrolysis oil, which is a substantial increase above the combined output of 7 ktpa at its current pilot plant in Gimcheon. When compared to traditional carbon black, the rCB generated by the technique is said to lower carbon emissions by up to 32 ktpa.

The company is planning to build plants overseas and intends to join the Asian market soon. It has also struck a 10-year offtake deal with SK Incheon Petrochem for its pyrolysis oil.

Speciality chemicals company LANXESS India organised its first exclusive Solutions Day event in Mumbai today to showcase its diversified and sustainable product portfolio to customers and other key stakeholders.

The event was organised to promote the idea of ‘One LANXESS’, where its business units – namely Advanced Industrial Intermediates, Flavors & Fragrances, Inorganic Pigments, Liquid Purification Technologies, Lubricant Additives Business, Material Protection Products, Polymer Additives, Rhein Chemie and Saltigo – displayed their distinctive products and solutions at the event. It provided an opportunity to highlight the cross-business synergies that characterise LANXESS' integrated approach and to present the company's cutting-edge solutions designed for a variety of industrial applications.

Three main business sectors, namely Advanced Industrial Intermediates, Speciality Additives and Consumer Protection Products, are currently the emphasis of LANXESS's strategy shift from a polymers to speciality chemicals company. In order to improve the value provided to clients, the event sought to promote cooperation and creativity across these various business divisions. In order to promote knowledge exchange, discover possible areas for collaboration and capitalise on the capabilities of each business unit to propel overall development and success, the day included interactive workshops, technical presentations and networking opportunities.

Namitesh Roy Choudhury, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, LANXESS India, said “Our goal with Solutions Day is to strengthen our existing partnerships and explore future collaborations that support sustainable industry growth. Through this event, we want to highlight LANXESS’ integrated offerings to all our stakeholders and address the global industrial challenges through the combined power of sustainable chemistry, innovation and responsible business.”