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NEWS BULLETIN
CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTION
NAGASE COMBINES IN SPECIALTIES
Nagase America is to integrate its NY Division and subsidiary Fitz Chem, which it acquired in 2017, into a new company, Nagase Specialty Materials NA (NSM), as from 1 September. The integration is intended to strengthen Nagase’s position in North America through demonstrated leadership in the provision of specialty materials and solutions, continued excellence in distribution, and a strengthened focus on business development. The new company will be headquartered in Itasca, Illinois and will be headed by Takuya Tonomura as CEO with Mark Miller as president/CEO and Laura Mack as CFO. “Joining these two established Nagase organisations represents an exciting combination of mission, talent and infrastructure that will result in greater efficiencies and technology access for our customers,” says Tonomura. Mark Miller adds: “I’m excited to lead our NSM organisation in North America, which
HCB MONTHLY | JULY 2020
provides a unique value proposition to its customers, suppliers and business partners as a hybrid. This new business structure will offer continued representation of the finest chemical and material suppliers combined with access to our complementary manufactured Nagase technologies in our markets, all within the context of NA geographic expansion.” The news came soon after Fitz Chem was appointed by Stahl Polymers to distribute its aziridine and carbodiimide crosslinkers across the US. “We believe in working together with partners like Fitz Chem who know the local markets and share our values and knowledge of polymers,” says Raymond Bakker, global business director at Stahl Polymers. “With their many years of relevant experience, we know that they will be able to convert the increasing demand of aziridines and to an even higher extent carbodiimide crosslinkers in the US.” nagaseamerica.com
AZELIS STRENGTHENS IN MEXICO, SCANDINAVIA
Azelis subsidiary Megafarma, which it acquired earlier this year, has recently won two significant distribution deals, expanding the group’s presence in Mexico. It is now responsible for distributing BASF Monomers’ polyurethane raw materials and Invista’s Dytek® speciality amine portfolio. “We have a longstanding relationship with BASF,” says Dan Gruber, managing director for new business development at Azelis Americas CASE. “In the US and Canada we have demonstrated organic growth via our dedicated and technically trained sales force, and our application labs have been instrumental in our joint success. We are very excited about this expansion into the Mexican market as it allows us to deliver the same value and growth that we have provided BASF Polyurethanes in the US and Canada.” Speaking about the Invista deal, Martin Hernandez Gutiérrez, director general of Megafarma, says: “Now that we are part of the Azelis family, this agreement is an example of our commitment to expand into the CASE sector and become a leading distributor with unsurpassed quality, logistics and technical support for our customers and principals.” Azelis, meanwhile, has also signed a new distribution agreement with Stepan to cover its surfactants in Scandinavia, expanding on an existing deal in other European countries. “Azelis has proven to be an excellent partner to us over the past few years,” says Philippe Nastasi, European sales director for Stepan Company. “Their market presence, customer intimacy and technical knowledge are exactly what we were looking for, and the innovative work they have done in their technical development labs will bring extra value to our local customer base. We’re very much looking forward to this new collaboration in Scandinavia.” www.azelis.com BIG WINS FOR BM
Bodo Möller Chemie has extended its relationship with Songwon Industrial to distribute its comprehensive range of
