News bulletin – chemical distribution

NEWS BULLETIN

CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTION

OMYA DIGS DEEP

Omya has acquired Prima Inter-Chem, a distributor of ingredients and specialty chemicals in Malaysia and Indonesia, boosting its presence in the food, pharma, animal feed and industrial markets and establishing a platform for growth in the region.

“The acquisition of Prima is another success of our strategy of acquiring complementary businesses,” Omya states. “Prima and Omya share the same values and a business approach of helping customers and principals expand their market reach, both locally and internationally. With this acquisition, we are expanding Omya’s presence, particularly in food and pharma ingredients in Asia Pacific, and our existing capabilities will be strengthened by the exceptional knowledge, experience and expertise that Prima brings to our organisation.”

Omya has also reached an agreement to acquire Hall Technologies, a specialty chemical distributor headquartered in St Louis, Missouri with operations throughout the Midwest and southern US. The acquisition, which is expected to close before the end of April, is designed to enhance Omya’s distribution network in North America.

“We are very excited to welcome Hall Technologies to the Omya Group,” says Rainer Siedler, CEO Americas at Omya. “Under Jeff Laurent’s leadership, Hall has built a leading position in the Midwest specialty chemical distribution market. We look forward to welcoming the Hall Technologies team into the Omya family.” Laurent adds: “We look forward to being part of the Omya Group. We strongly believe that, by leveraging our combined businesses, we will continue to grow and offer superior value to our supplier network and customer base.” www.omya.com

ACQUISITIONS BOOST AZELIS

Azelis has reported 2021 revenues of €2.83bn, up 27.2 per cent on the 2020 figure; more than half of that gain represented organic growth, the company says, although the 12 acquisitions it completed in the year represent more than €530m in annualised revenue. Adjusted EBITDA rose 41.3 per cent over 2020 to reach €267.9m and net profit was up 38.3 per cent at €98.2m.

“I am pleased to report record-setting achievements in 2021,” says Dr Hans Joachim Müller, CEO. “This performance is all the more noteworthy given the ongoing industry challenges. In 2021, we secured multiple mandates with new and existing suppliers, underscoring our demonstrated ability to grow our principals’ business. We established a leading franchise in the flavours and fragrance market with the acquisition of Vigon in the US and Quimdis in France. We accelerated our growth strategy in Asia-Pacific by acquiring eight companies in the region.

“I am confident that we are on track to continue delivering on our annual objectives,” Müller adds. “However, the developments in Russia and Ukraine have raised uncertainty around the world. We are monitoring the situation and our priority is the safety of our colleagues in the region. Whilst our direct

revenue exposure is very low, we currently have limited visibility on the wider trade repercussions that may ultimately impact the Group.”

More recently, Azelis has acquired Whitfield Chemical Group Ltd, parent of WhitChem, a UK distributor of industrial chemicals in the CASE and rubber and plastics additives sectors. WhitChem’s long-standing relationships with blue-chip principals and product portfolio will strengthen Azelis’ lateral value chain in the UK, while its wide customer base and strong local technical sales team further expands the product offering and customer reach, Azelis says.

“We’re thrilled to welcome WhitChem into Azelis,” says Anna Bertona, CEO/president of Azelis EMEA. “Their exemplary expertise, strong relationships and a diverse customer base complement the organic growth of Azelis, while at the same time providing a valuable addition for our lateral value chain for this growing market. Over the years, they have proven to be an important technical sales extension for their principals, having grown their market share significantly, and they continue to show strong growth prospects.” www.azelis.com

KRAHN NAME EXPANDS

Krahn Chemie has renamed its Greek subsidiary Interative SA as Krahn Hellas, continuing the process of presenting a uniform brand across Europe. Interactive was founded in Athens in 1990 and was acquired by Krahn in 2020; it specialises in the distribution of lubricant additives and scientific instruments to the oil, pharma and chemical sectors in Greece, Cyprus and Israel.

“The Krahn brand is synonymous with first-class specialty chemical distribution in numerous countries across Europe. We are pleased that we will now also establish our distribution, services and support in Greece, Israel and Cyprus under this proven name,” says Dr Rolf Kuropka, managing director of the Krahn Group and chairman of Krahn Hellas. Yannis Protopapas, founder of Interactive SA, remains managing director. There are also no changes in other contacts and the company’s address. www.krahn.eu

BARENTZ BUYS BIG

Barentz International has agreed to acquire Paris-based Unipex, a leading distributor of life science ingredients and specialty chemicals in France, the Benelux countries and Africa. The acquisition will strengthen Barentz’s presence in France and provide a gateway to southern Europe and North Africa, while also further extending its European network of logistics centres and application laboratories.

“Unipex has a very strong position in the heart of the European life science ingredients market, with the focus on France,” says Hidde van der Wal, CEO of Barentz. “Their value proposition as ‘The Smart Distributor of Specialties’, operating on the edge between welfare and performance, perfectly matches Barentz’ brand positioning: ‘always creating better solutions’. These solutions enable sustained success for our customers, principals and all other stakeholders.”

Barentz has also acquired Distribuciones Industriales Variadas (Divsa), Central America’s leading value-add distributor of life science ingredients and specialty chemicals. With locations across Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Panama, Divsa represents the ideal fit to bridge Barentz’s well-established presence in North and South America, the company states. The team will continue to be led by Mario Mena, Divsa’s president and founder, and the headquarters will remain in Guatemala City.

“We are thrilled to welcome Mario and his team to the Barentz organisation and immediately establish a market leading presence in the Central American region,” says van der Wal. “Divsa has an impressive track record of delivering results for its key stakeholders and we are excited to leverage our combined capabilities to create better solutions that enable sustained success for our customers, principals and employees across Latin America.” www.barentz.com

BM, BASF INTO AFRICA

Bodo Möller Chemie Group and BASF are expanding their long-standing partners, extending it to include the sale and distribution of resins and performance additives in the Maghreb and largely francophone countries in north-west Africa. The deal will be serviced from Bodo Möller’s recently inaugurated office and warehouse in Casablanca, Morocco.

The main focus of the new collaboration will be in the area of paints, inks and coatings. It also confirms Bodo Möller’s partnership with BASF and its position as one of the leading chemical distributor investors in Africa. “The close and long-standing partnership with BASF is based on a joint value concept of offering sustainable solutions to our customers as well as an in-depth understanding of the needs of this market,” says Frank Haug, chairman of the Bodo Möller Chemie Group. “The African continent offers an enormous potential, but also requires a high level of customisation. Our application know-how and BASF’s technical support and product quality constitute an ideal foundation to sustainably develop the business in Africa.”

“Providing logistic support and warehousing locally plus competent technical support in the region is the winning combination for our customers in Maghreb and beyond,” adds Volker Oehl, business development director for CASE at Bodo Möller Chemie. bm-chemie.com