News bulletin – chemical distribution

NEWS BULLETIN

CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTION

AZELIS INCREASES REACH

Azelis has continued its expansion drive, having recently announced two acquisitions. In South Korea, it has agreed to acquire Coseal, a specialist in the distribution, repackaging and blending of agricultural and horticultural surfactants.

“Like Azelis, Coseal has strong technical expertise and strives to continually provide tailor-made formulations to customers. This has been critical in building Coseal’s long-lasting and collaborative relationships,” says Laurent Nataf, CEO/president of Azelis Asia Pacific. “Azelis in South Korea has been largely focused on personal care, so we’re very excited to enter the agricultural/horticultural market with such a reputable partner by our side.”

Azelis entered the South Korean market in 2018 with the acquisition of personal care specialist SammiChem, now known as Sammi Azelis, and expanded earlier this year with the acquisition of food distributor MH.

Azelis has also acquired Quimdis, a leading French distributor of ingredients for nutraceuticals, flavours & fragrances, animal nutrition, personal care, pharma and food. “Following our recent acquisition of Vigon in North America and now Quimdis, Azelis is well positioned to develop, structure and implement a global strategy for flavour & fragrance market with the aim to become a market leader,” says Hans Joachim Müller, president/CEO of Azelis. “Quimdis will be our EMEA pillar of that strategy and a crucial part of creating a global flavour & fragrance platform. Quimdis and Azelis will combine its relationships with top tier principals, with the aim of extending mandates in existing and new countries for a number of attractive product groups.”

Jean-François Quarré, founder and CEO of Quimdis, adds: We are delighted about the opportunity to continue to grow our business under Azelis’ ownership. As well as benefitting from Azelis’ global principal relationships, Quimdis will have access to Azelis’ digital marketing and technical capabilities which will allow us to develop and promote innovative and sustainable solutions for the life science industry. Becoming part of the Azelis family provides many synergistic opportunities that will help secure our future.” www.azelis.com

BEST FOR BIESTERFELD

The Biesterfeld Group generated total revenues of €1.03bn last year, down on the 2019 figure as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, and an operating profit of €42.8m, which surpassed its targets. All four operating divisions made a positive contribution and the group succeeded in expanding its market shares and adding new partners and products to its portfolio to enable ongoing strategic developments over the long term.

“2020 was a challenging year for everyone,” says CEO Thomas Arnold. “But thanks to our 900 employees around the world, we managed to master it beautifully. Everyone actively adapted to the situation with utmost flexibility and they gave their best to Biesterfeld, as well as to our customers and suppliers.”

The first quarter of 2021 was also successful across the group, Biesterfeld says. Generally high demand for raw materials on a global level and the shortage of resources in a number of markets – particularly plastics and rubbers – contributed to revenues and earnings. www.biesterfeld.com

BUILDING FOR BODO

Bodo Möller Chemie is expanding its presence in the Iberian peninsula, following on from the opening of the Bodo Moeller Chemie Spain office in Madrid this past December. “There is demand in the markets of Spain and Portugal, above all for polyurethane-based products used in the CASE industry,” says Vincent Muller, managing director of the new unit. “The enormous professional expertise regarding the use and selection of the right materials plus the precise and dependable logistics network of Bodo Möller Chemie give local customers a lot of security.”

Frank Haug, chairman of the board, explains further: “We are working very hard in the new locations throughout the world to steadily expand existing trade cooperations and be able to establish new partnerships. With the products and services that we sell and distribute, we are capable of opening up a new market in a very short time. In the Iberian Peninsula, we are opening up the interesting market of Spain and Portugal for us and our industrial partners such as Henkel and Merck.”

Bodo Möller Chemie has also expanded its relationships with Merck, recently being appointed to take over the distribution of Merck Surface Solutions’ portfolio for plastic, printing and coating applications in several European countries, building on a similar deal covering Scandinavia. The new arrangement covers Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, France and the Benelux countries.

“The further expanded collaboration with Merck as manufacturer of innovative products, especially here for effect pigments, pleases us a great deal. With it, we keep setting the course to become the complete know-how and product provider and can offer Distribution 2.0 to our customers,” says Florian Krückl, vice-president of global business management, CASE & Textile Effects, at the Bodo Möller Chemie Group. bm-chemie.com

OMYA BAGS CANADIAN DEAL

Michelman, a global developer and producer of environmentally friendly materials for industry, has appointed Omya as exclusive distributor of its surface modifiers and wax emulsion products to the paints and coatings markets in Canada. “We’ve partnered with Omya, partly due to their commitment to implementing sustainability throughout all areas of their

company,” says Eric Vrabel, sales director at Michelman. “Our purpose is Innovating a Sustainable Future and Omya provides products from responsibly sourced materials to meet current and future generations’ needs. Omya has the expertise to help customers excel in the diverse range of markets they serve with sustainable and responsible solutions. Furthermore, this agreement will enable us to enhance our presence in this region.”

“Michelman’s products align with our industrial minerals and specialty chemicals distribution to effectively deliver customer solutions. Michelman is a leader in wax emulsion technology and together we look forward to success providing value to our customers,” says Mark Fungfook, Omya’s product manager, construction for the US and Canada. www.omya.com

RECOGNITION FOR HALL

Hall Technologies has become an authorised distributor for Connecticut-based StanChem Polymers and will be making its products available across Hall’s core customers in the southern states of the US from Colorado to Florida. StanChem specialises in R&D, manufacturing and marketing of emulsion polymers, adhesives and specialty coatings for a variety of applications.

“Their chemists and technicians have a strong focus on supporting customer’s technical needs through their R&D and analytical laboratories. This makes them an exceptional supplier partner for Hall Technologies, who shares this focus,” Hall Technologies states.

In July, Hall Technologies successfully passed its three-yearly audit under the Responsible Distribution verification scheme, the National Association of Chemical Distributors’ (NACD) third-party programme through which its members can demonstrate their commitment to continuous performance improvement in every phase of chemical storage, handling, transport and disposal. The audit “required a large amount of time and commitment,” notes Jeff Laurent, president of Hall Technologies. “We are grateful for the efforts of our operations group and for the guidance provided by NACD.” halltechinc.com

GOOD START FOR DKSH

DKSH has reported net sales of CFr 5.49bn for the first half of 2021, a 2.8 per cent increase over last year. Operating profit was up 18.1 per cent at CFr 131.5m.

“Despite pandemic-related uncertainties and the current restrictions in Asia Pacific, our EBIT and Free Cash Flow exceeded 2020 and 2019 levels thanks to our resilient business model and the disciplined execution of our strategy,” says CEO Stefan P Butz. “Visibility on the evolution of the pandemic remains limited, but we will continue to build a better company and expect a solid second half.”

Particularly strong performance came from DKSH’s Performance Materials business unit, where net sales were up by 18.2 per cent and operating profit by 39.2 per cent. “The main drivers were strong organic growth across all four Business Lines and most key markets as well as the expansion of the key client portfolio,” the company states. “The experienced DKSH team delivered high-quality services to clients and customers by overcoming challenges in distribution channels and supply shortages.” www.dksh.com