6 JUNE 2013

F O C U S O N P O W D E R C O A T I N G S

which sales would have been flat.Severe downturn in demand incoatings, electronics and printingmarket, mainly in Europe,seriously impacted theperformance of Clariant’spigments and additives business.Dutch company AkzoNobelposted a net loss of $2.9 bn afterrecording a one-time charge of$2.8 bn, largely for therestructuring of its poorlyperforming decorative paintsbusiness. With an efficiencyprogramme that allowed forreductions in costs, Solvay hadmanaged to meet its financialtargets for the year, reporting onlya slight decline in earnings.Lonza posted a solid increase insales, but largely due to its 2011acquisition of Arch Chemicals.Syngenta experienced briskgrowth on the back of a relativelystrong demand for agrochemicals.DSM’s pharmaceutical servicesbusiness is not faring well, butthe company expects a flourishingnutrition business to bolsterpretax profits in 2013. A tablepresents 2012 financial results ofselect European chemicalcompanies.

Original Source: Chemical and EngineeringNews, 25 Feb 2013, 91 (8), 8 (Website:http://www.cen-online.org) © AmericanChemical Society 2013

Big deals tapered off in 2012

A new report from consulting firmPricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)indicates that chemical deal-making activity in 2012 topped2011 by a good margin, with 132transactions announced in 2012versus 114 in the previous year.However, industry observers saythe overall selling and buyingclimate was somewhat cloudy.The aggregate value of dealsworth $50 M or moreconsiderably declined to less than$65 bn in 2012 against $82 bn inthe previous year. While interestin deal-making was strong, clientswere prompted to take a wait-and-see stance on high-pricedacquisitions owing to uncertaintyabout the bigger economy. The

largest deal made in 2012 wasthe $4.9 bn sale of DuPontPerformance Coatings to privateequity firm Carlyle Group. This ismuch smaller than the $8.8 bnacquisition of Lubrizol byBerkshire Hathaway and DuPont’s$6.8 bn purchase of Danisco in2011. Two trends were apparentin the acquisition market in 2012:businesses were targetted mainlyfor strategic reasons and not forincreasing sales; and continuationof moves by larger, diversifiedchemical companies to increaseholdings in speciality chemicals.Other relevant market data andrelated information are furtherdiscussed. A table presentsmerger and acquisition dealsmade in speciality materials, suchas coatings, in 2012. Two bargraphs present the number oftransactions made in the chemicalindustry and total deal value (inbillion US dollars) between 1Q-3Q2010 and 1Q-3Q 2012.

Original Source: Chemical and EngineeringNews, 25 Feb 2013, 91 (8), 20-21 (Website:http://www.cen-online.org) © AmericanChemical Society 2013

South Africa’s paint industryrecovers from painful recession

The value of the paint andcoatings industry in South Africais anticipated to increase to$712.47 M in 2016, from $560.0M in 2009, according to marketanalyst Frost & Sullivan. SouthAfrica’s overall paint and coatingsmarket is expected to grow by acompound rate of 3.5%/y from2009-2016, despite the adverseeffect of the global recession tothe country’s construction andautomotive manufacturing sectors.The automotive sector had agood year in 2012, which shouldhave a positive impact on thepaint and coatings industry. Year-to-date, the market is up 9.8% on2011, slightly lower than the highof 11.6% in Jul 2012. Among thecountry’s big players are Plasconand Dulux (owned by AkzoNobel)and Prominent Paints (owned byPPG). Plascon was named PaintCompany of the Year at the third

annual DIY Trade News IndustryAwards 2012 recently held inJohannesburg. Plascon wasmerged with Kansai in 2012.Kansai Plascon’s priorities includegreen paints. Plascon haslaunched Professional Evolution,an environmentally friendly paintseries for interior, commercial andresidential use. It also introducedin Nov 2012 its Nuroof Coolpaint, a paint that reflects infraredlight from roof surfaces, thusreducing energy use.

Original Source: PPCJ, Polymers, Paint,Colour Journal, Mar 2013, 203 (4582),43,45 (Website:http://www.polymerspaintcolourjournal.com/)© Quartz Business Media Ltd 2013

Arkema ensures supplies ofpolyamide 11 raw materials inIndia

Despite concerns resulting fromthe Kem One affair in recentweeks, Arkema continues topursue growth. The French grouphas signed an agreement withIndian group Jayant Agro-Organics (which specializes inmaking castor oil andcompounds) to acquire a 25%stake in its subsidiary IhesduAgrochem. The deal should befinalized in 3Q 2013 andrepresents an investment ofseveral million Euros. IhseduAgrochem has been makingcastor oil for 60 years. It has asingle factory in Palanpur, Gujaratprovince and is one of Arkema’sleading suppliers of castor oil.Arkema consumes 20% ofworldwide castor oil production(650 tonnes/y), making it theworld’s largest consumer. It willuse the oil to produce itsbiosourced polyamide 11monomer in Saint-Menet, France.Arkema also makes this producton 3 other sites (Serquigny,France; Changshu, China; andBirdsboro, US). Biosourcedpolyamides are of strategicimportance to Arkema not onlybecause it is one of the worldmarket leaders but also becausepolyamides are used in rapidlygrowing markets (such as