DuPont announces filing for Performance Chemicals spinoff

MOSCOW (MRC) -- DuPont announced today that the new public company created following completion of the pending separation of its Performance Chemicals segment will be named The Chemours Company ("Chemours"), said
the company in its press release.

In addition, DuPont disclosed Chemours' executive leadership team and announced the filing of the initial Form 10 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). DuPont today also will file a Form 8-K/A with an update related to the company's redesign initiative.

"Today's announcements continue our solid progress to complete the separation of Performance Chemicals and create two strong, publicly traded companies with distinct value creation strategies," said DuPont Chair and Chief Executive Officer Ellen Kullman. "DuPont and Chemours will each be global leaders, well positioned to pursue their respective objectives and strategies."

Following its separation from DuPont, Chemours will be a new, publicly traded global leader in titanium dioxide, fluoroproducts and chemical solutions. The name reflects a focus on the science of chemistry and the heritage of the du Pont family origins in Nemours, France.

As announced earlier this year, DuPont Executive Vice President Mark P. Vergnano will become President and Chief Executive Officer of Chemours. Mark E. Newman will serve as senior vice president and chief financial officer. BC Chong and Thierry F.J. Vanlancker will continue to lead the Titanium Technologies and the Fluoroproducts businesses, respectively.

DuPont is an American chemical company that was founded in July, 1802. The company manufactures a wide range of chemical products, leading extensive innovative research in this field. The company is the inventor of many unique plastics and other materials, including neoprene, nylon, Teflon, Kevlar, Mylar, Tyvek, etc. DuPont was the developer and main producer of Freon used in the production of refrigeration equipment.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ethylene maker Sidi Krir Petrochemicals Company (SIDPEC) has become the first Egyptian firm to obtain the ISO 50001 certification for industrial energy consumption management, said EMPS.

The company’s application of the energy management system helped, with low cost and simple measures, in saving 10% of the energy consumed in production.

The company’s success in obtaining the certificate was the byproduct of technical support SIDPEC received from a local project aiming at enhancing the industrial use of energy, said ESO chairman, Hassan Abdel Meguid.

SIDPEC’s CEO Ahmed Helmy said his company’s application of the energy management system helped, with low cost and simple measures, in saving ten percent of the energy consumed in production.

As MRC wrote before, the Egyptian Ethylene and Derivatives Company (ETHYDCO), a newly-established subsidiary of Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals Company (Sidpec), has received five offers for setting up a polyethylene plant. The company has sought an amount of US$ 1.25 billion in loans for the project, out of which the Government has already approved a bridge loan of US$ 240 million for construction of the new plant.

SIDPEC is an Egyptian ethylene producer and a main provider of the substance to the Egyptian Petrochemicals Company.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF’s Coatings division has started up a new Netzsch LMZ25 beadmill at its site in Deeside, UK, reported BASF on its site.

The modern mill will be used to manufacture intermediate pigment pastes in the PVC plastisol production process. The beadmill replaces a Cox triple-roll mill that was more than 50 years old.

The new mill has a closed grinding system, which prevents volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from escaping into the environment. A modern automatic process control system allows the mill to be run without an operator in attendance. "Our company is one of the top three in the coil coatings business. The new technology will help us do our work with even higher quality and efficiency," said Jan Baumgartner, head of BASF’s Industrial Coatings Europe business unit, at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The Deeside production site of BASF’s Coatings division mainly manufactures products for the coil coatings market. One of the major end users for the precoated steel and aluminum panels is the construction industry. These panels are also used for household appliances and in the automotive sector.

As MRC informed previously, in November 2014, BASF and Hemmelrath Technologies, a company that is specialized in modular facility concepts for the production of paint and coatings, have decided to cooperate in order to develop future-oriented concepts of pigment technology.

BASF’s Coatings division develops, produces and markets innovative automotive coatings, automotive refinishes and industrial coatings as well as decorative paints. The company operate sites in Europe, North America and South America as well as Asia Pacific. In 2013, the Coatings division achieved global sales of EUR2.9 billion.

BASF is the world’s leading chemical company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. BASF had sales of about EUR74 billion in 2013 and over 112,000 employees as of the end of the year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, has signed an agreement to divest its Water Treatment business operating in Argentina, Brazil and Colombia to Ecolab Inc., as per the company's press release.

The transaction is subject to certain conditions precedent, as well as regulatory approvals. The Water Treatment business of Clariant in Latin America provides chemicals and services to a wide range of industries, including textile, food and beverage, chemical, pulp & paper, and personal & home care.

The divestment to Ecolab does not include Clariant’s Water Treatment activities related to the oil and gas industry in the Latin America region. This segment has been integrated into the Oil & Mining Business within the Natural Resources Business Area. Clariant has been providing products and services for the oil & gas sector for more than 30 years in Latin America, with production plants and laboratories to develop solutions to attend to present and future customer demands.

"The divestment of the Latin American Water Treatment business is a result of our continuous active portfolio management, based on Clariant‘s profitable growth strategy", said Michael Pronin, Region Head Latin America. "Our company will continue providing Water Treatment solutions to the oil & gas segment, as part of the package of services we offer to this important industry in our region".

As MRC reported earlier, in July 2014, Clariant closed the sale of its water treatment business in Africa to AECI, domiciled in South Africa. The total value of the divestment amounts to CHF 34 million in cash at closing. The transaction was subject to certain precedent conditions.

Ecolab is the global leader in water, hygiene and energy technologies and services.

Clariant AG is a Swiss chemical company and a world leader in the production of specialty chemicals for the textile, printing, mining and metallurgical industries. It is engaged in processing crude oil products in pigments, plastics and paints.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Huntsman Corp., the world’s second-biggest maker of titanium dioxide pigment, is planning to close one of its European plants amid weak demand for the white colorant used in paints and plastics, said Bloomberg.

Huntsman probably doesn’t need all seven of its European plants that make titanium dioxide, known by its chemical formula TiO2, Chief Financial Officer Kimo Esplin said today in a conference webcast. The Salt Lake City-based chemical maker may spend 100 million euros (USD124 million) to close 100,000 tons of annual pigment production, he said.

Huntsman in October acquired TiO2 assets from Rockwood Holdings Inc. (ROC) with plans to separate and sell shares in the pigments business next year. The company said last week it will eliminate about 900 jobs in the unit. Pigment will be a break-even business in the fourth quarter amid weak European demand and globally lower prices, Esplin said.

"We are the guys that have the ability to take out capacity more than anyone else,” Esplin said. “We have 100,000 tons of excess capacity."

Huntsman can recover the cost of closing a European TiO2 plant in two to three years, he said.
MRC