Solvay to split into two public companies

Belgium’s Solvay will split into two independent public companies in 2023 focussed on chemicals and the other on specialty materials and solutions, said the company.

Solvay reported record profits for 2021 in February, and had raised its dividend after reporting an 11th consecutive quarter of positive free cash flow generation. One company, known for now as EssentialCo, would comprise of Solvay’s current chemicals and specialty chemicals business, including soda ash, peroxides and silica. These generated about 4.1 billion euros (USD4.50 billion) in net sales in 2021.

A second company, temporarily known as SpecialtyCo, would include its materials business including specialty polymers, composites and solutions. These generated around 6 billion euros in net sales in 2021. “Notwithstanding the challenges of the current global environment, we are confident that pursuing this plan would enable us to create compelling value for shareholders over the long-term," CEO Ilham Kadri said in a statement.

The separation would be effected through a partial demerger of Solvay, with the specialty businesses spun off to SpecialtyCo. Solvay’s shareholders would retain their current shares of Solvay stock and receive shares in the new company on a pro rata basis. Both companies are expected to be listed on Euronext Brussels and Euronext Paris.

The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2023, subject to market and regulatory conditions. No financial details were provided. The group said the new company would have full financial flexibility to fund growth.

The names for each company, the composition of the boards and management teams, will be provided at a later date. Solvay’s financial advisers are Morgan Stanley and BNP Paribas and its legal advisers are Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Linklaters.

As per MRC, Solvay S.A. (Brussels, Belgium) announced that it is expanding its production capacity of high-performance polymer Solef polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) at its site in Tavaux, France. Building on its previously announced PVDF capacity increase at its site in Changshu, China, this new project will expand its capacity in Europe to 35,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr), creating the largest PVDF production site in the region. This investment will be completed by December 2023 and reinforces Solvay’s global leadership in this field, positioning it to capitalize on the growing demand for electric and hybrid vehicles.

Solvay is a science company whose technologies bring benefits to many aspects of daily life. With more than 24,100 employees in 64 countries, Solvay bonds people, ideas and elements to reinvent progress. The Group seeks to create sustainable shared value for all, notably through its Solvay One Planet plan crafted around three pillars: protecting the climate, preserving resources and fostering better life. The Group’s innovative solutions contribute to safer, cleaner, and more sustainable products found in homes, food and consumer goods, planes, cars, batteries, smart devices, health care applications, water and air purification systems
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Kristian Morch has decided to step down as CEO of Norway-based international chemical shipping and tank terminals company Odfjell, said the company.

Morch, who has led Odfjell since 2015, will continue in his current role until his successor is in place.

The Odfjell board has initiated a search for a new CEO, it said in a statement on Monday.

We remind, Odfjell is constructing a new tank bay at Odfjell Terminal Houston (OTH), continuing to expand and invest in its terminals platform to support ongoing regional growth in the chemical industry. Odfjell is investing in and expanding its terminals platform with the addition of a new, modern, automated tank bay. Bay 13 at Odfjell Terminals Houston (OTH) will increase capacity by approximately 9% to 413,400 cubic meters (cbm). The expansion project is consistent with OTH's strategy of positioning itself for healthy demand for storage capacity in the specialty/petrochemical industry in the US Gulf Coast region, where OTH has been operating at or near full capacity for years.

As MRC informed earlier, in July, 2020, Odfjell (Bergen, Norway) says a significant expansion of its European chemicals storage capacity had been completed at the port of Antwerp, Belgium.

Odfjell Terminals Houston (OTH), is owned by the Joint Venture Odfjell Terminals US which is owned 51% by Odfjell SE and 49% by Northleaf Capital Partners.
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Mary Rhinehart has taken over as interim CEO and president of US-based specialty chemicals producer Lubrizol, said the company.

Rhinehart will lead the search for a new CEO and continue to serve as Lubrizol’s board chair, the company said in a statement. She took over from Chris Brown, who became CEO and president in August last year, succeeding Eric Schnur, who had been CEO and president since 2017.

Rhinehart also serves as board chair of Johns Manville (JM), a global building and specialty products manufacturer, and was JM’s president and CEO from 2012 to 2020.

As per MRC, Lubrizol announced the next phase of its staged, multi-million dollar investment in thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) capacity and capabilities to serve the rapidly growing global Paint Protection Films (PPF) market. This comes on top of investments of over USD20 million over the last three years in capacity, application and testing capabilities, and market insights.

As MRC wrote previously, in August 2015, S and L Specialty Polymers Co., a joint venture of Sekisui Chemicals (51%) and Lubrizol Advanced Materials (49%), started up its new chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) plant on the Hemaraj Eastern Industrial Estate in Map Ta Phut, Thailand. The plant, built at a cost of about USD 50-million, has the capacity to produce 30,000 t/y of CPVC. The venture plans to increase capacity to 40,000 t/y in 2016, and possibly to 60,000 t/y in the future.

Lubrizol and JM are part of US billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway group.
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Sabic has announced a new collaboration with Kraton to deliver certified renewable butadiene from its TRUCIRCLE portfolio for use in Kraton’s certified renewable styrenic block copolymers, said Hydracarbonprocessing.

This effort forms part of Sabic's 2025 strategy, which includes a sustainability development goal roadmap spanning the organization’s entire value chain and addressing 10 goals to help drive meaningful sustainable change.

Sabic's certified renewable butadiene is derived from animal-free and palm oil-free ‘second generation’ renewable feedstock, such as tall oil, a by-product from the wood pulping process in the paper industry. This feedstock is not in direct competition with human food and animal feed production sources. According to the cradle-to-gate lifecycle analysis, from sourcing the raw feedstock to producing the polymers, each kilogram of the company’s bio-based butadiene reduces CO2 emissions by an average of 4 kg compared to fossil-based virgin alternatives. Additionally, each ton of the butadiene also cuts fossil depletion by up to 80%.

Sabic certified renewable butadiene will be used in Kraton’s newly launched ISCC PLUS certified renewable CirKular+ ReNew Series to expand Kraton's existing suite of solutions designed to advance the circular economy. With up to 70% certified renewable content, the ReNew Series offers customers the opportunity to use the mass balance approach and adopt ISCC PLUS certification to produce renewable products. Kraton successfully produced CirKular+ ReNew Series Hydrogenated Styrenic Block Copolymers (HSBC) at the Berre plant earlier this year using SABIC’s renewable butadiene.

As per MRC, Sabicstarted up its new polypropylene (PP) compounding line in Genk, Belgium. The new line is an addition to the company’s existing production capacity for Sabic PP compounds at the Genk site, and will use raw materials from SABIC PP plants at Gelsenkirchen, Germany, and Geleen, The Netherlands.

As per MRC, SabicInnovative Plastics, a subsidiary of the largest Saudi petrochemical company - Sabic, on 27 September closed production at its polycarbonate (PC) plant in Mount Vernon (Mount Vernon, Indiana, USA) for planned preventive measures. Maintenance at this enterprise with a capacity of 245,000 tonnes of PC per year continued until 11 October.

Sabicis a diversified company manufacturing chemicals, industrial polymers, fertilizers and metals. It is the largest state-owned company in Saudi Arabia. SABIC is currently the world's second largest ethylene glycol producer, the third largest polyethylene producer, and the fourth largest polypropylene producer. Sabic cut its 2015 net profit by 7% to SR23.43 billion (Saudi reais), equivalent to USD6.24 billion, amid lower average selling prices and increased sales.
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US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said the US government is ready to join forces with the private sector, citing the nearly USD62 B in grant funding for industry partners under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law during a luncheon at the CERAWeek conference in Houston, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

“We’re ready to partner with the private sector through the USD62 billion that Congress just gave us in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Most of that funding is going out through competitive grants...and we’re eager to receive your best and most innovative ideas,” said Granholm.

Granholm also placed emphasis on clean fuels and the importance of deploying cleaner energy as soon as possible.

“I’m here to tell you that the Department of Energy, and the entire Biden administration, is ready to work with you to seize the opportunity of clean energy,” said Granholm. “That means we have to deploy clean technologies as fast as possible - but we’re under no illusion that every American will get an EV or a heat pump tomorrow or next month or next year.”

Granholm added that now is an opportune time for the industry to strive towards cleaner energy and improved energy security.

As MRC reported earlier, it is high time that the US forges a new energy policy based on facts and common sense. Before Tuesday’s decision to halt the import of Russian oil and gas, the Biden Administration has put more sanctions on US oil and gas than on Russian oil and gas. Public lands have been made off-limits for drilling.
MRC