8Additives for Polymers February 2012

Ampacet relocates European headquarters, adds production capacity and innovation centre

In Europe, masterbatch specialist Ampacet is opening a new headquarters for its Europe,

Middle East and Africa (EMEA) operations at Dudelange in the south of Luxembourg. The site will also house additional masterbatch produc-tion capacity and a new European Innovation Centre to assist customers.

The company is investing some E25 million in moving its European HQ from its existing location in Windhof in western Luxembourg, which it has occupied since 1995, and establishing a new, state-of-the-art masterbatch plant in Dudelange’s Riedchen industrial zone. The installa-tion of the new production facility will initially expand Ampacet’s EMEA capacity for white and black master-batches by 60% compared to its current installed capacity for these product lines in Europe. In addition, the new site offers the possibility for further expansion, up to double the initial installed capacity, the company reports. Ampacet is moving into an existing building previously occupied by Husky Injection Molding Systems but which has lain empty since the restructuring of that company in 2009. As a result of the establishment of the new plant, Ampacet Europe will increase the number of personnel employed in Luxembourg from 75 at present to 125 when the project is fully complete. The recruitment of the additional staff is reported to be already underway.

Ampacet Europe favours Luxembourg for the location of its headquarters and the new plant for a number of reasons. Firstly, the country is well-positioned to provide access to the European market and its 500 million plus consumers, with around 40% of the European Union’s wealth con-centrated in a 500-kilometre area around Luxembourg. It has also established a reputation as a favoured location for a wide range of international companies with diverse busi-ness models from a variety of sectors, and, as a member of the Euro zone, it profits from the advantages of a huge single market with a single currency eliminating transac-tion costs and uncertainty caused by exchange rate fluctua-tions. In addition, Luxembourg’s government has built a business-driven environment and developed state-of-the-art infrastructures and has recently expressed its desire to sup-port the development of companies in sectors offering

high potential return on investment. Moreover, the unified European masterbatch industry is the largest in the world both in terms of production and demand. Within Europe, the Benelux region has the largest concentration of produc-tion, accounting for 23% of the total being manufactured in Europe. It has a particularly dominant position in the white masterbatch market, and is also the largest producing region for colour and additive masterbatches, Ampacet reports. Due to the presence of several large-scale plastic converters in the region and significant polymer compounding activity, Benelux is also the third largest consumer of masterbatches in Europe – behind Germany and Italy – accounting for 14% of the total European demand.

Ampacet Europe was established in 1986 and operates six existing plants in the region, the largest being in Belgium. There are two in Italy and one each in the UK, Poland and Russia. It also has a network of technical sales specialists throughout Western, Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, the Middle East and African markets. In 2010, Ampacet Europe realized a turnover of more than E330 million.

Contact:Ampacet Corp, Tarrytown, NY, USA. Tel: +1 914 631 6600,

Web: www.ampacet.com

Rockwood plans advanced technology iron oxide pigment plant in the USA

The Color Pigments and Services business of Rockwood Holdings Inc is to build an

advanced technology production facility in Augusta, GA for the synthesis of iron oxide pigments. This US$115 million investment will result in the first new iron oxide pigment pro-duction plant in the USA in nearly 35 years, the company says.

Construction of the facility is expected to take place over the next 18 months, with commissioning targeted for the first half of 2013. The investment is expected to create 80 to 100 jobs at the new facility. Following the completion of the Augusta plant, Rockwood reveals that it will close its St Louis, MO, manufacturing facility and part of its Beltsville, MD, facility. The company says it expects the new produc-tion plant to provide ‘a consistent supply of the highest quality colour pigments to North American customers’, to

STRATEGIES

February 2012 Additives for Polymers9

strengthen customer service, and to reduce lead time and improve product development potential within the region.

Commenting on the investment plans, Andrew M. Ross, president of Rockwood Performance Additives, says that Rockwood is the only global iron oxide supplier with production capabilities in North America. ‘We are making this investment in a new production facility in the USA to deploy significant recent advancements in our proven iron oxide pigment technology’. The invest-ment is further evidence of the company’s commitment to strengthen regional manufacturing capability to sup-port its customers, he maintains. According to Seifi Ghasemi, chairman and chief executive of Rockwood Holdings, the construction of the new facility enables the company to improve product quality and reduce depend-ence on imported raw material for the production of this product line, as well as allowing consolidation of its US operations. In addition, it reflects Rockwood’s confidence ‘in the future growth of the US economy’, he says.

Rockwood’s Color Pigments and Services Division is one of the largest worldwide suppliers of coloured pig-ments for construction, coatings, plastics and special-ity applications. Its manufacturing sites and customer service centres are located in the USA, the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Australia and China, with additional sales offices located in Singapore and Hong Kong.

Contact:Rockwood Holdings, Inc, Princeton, NJ, USA.

Tel: +1 609 514 0300, Web: www.rockwoodspecialties.com

Or contact: Rockwood Pigments NA, Inc, 7101 Muirkirk

Road, Beltsville, MD 20705-1333, USA. Tel: +1 301 210 3400,

Web: www.rockwoodpigments.com

FINANCIALS

Lanxess achieves ‘best-ever’ third quarter with 26% sales rise

Leverkusen-based Lanxess posted a record third quarter in 2011 due to ongoing strong

demand, especially for its synthetic rubbers and high-tech plastics. Sales increased strongly by 26.5% year-on-year, from E1.85 billion in 3Q 2010 to E2.34 billion, with the company reporting significant sales gains in all regions.

EBITDA before exceptionals rose 27.5% year-on-year to E311 million in the third quarter of 2011 from E244 million for the same period a year earlier. This result already contains an inventory devaluation of roughly E20 million in the Performance Polymers segment, Lanxess reports. The EBITDA margin before exceptionals rose to 13.3% in 3Q 2011 from 13.2% the previous year and net income increased 30.5% year-on-year to E154 million (E118 million in 3Q 2010).

Lanxess increased selling prices in all segments by an aver-age of 22.6% in 3Q 2011 in order to fully pass on higher raw material costs. Volumes were stable, edging up 1.1%, and portfolio effects were also positive from recent acquisi-tions (+8.4%), more than offsetting negative currency effects of -5.6% due to the weak US dollar. Net debt at the end of 3Q 2011 was practically unchanged at roughly E1.4 billion in comparison to the second quarter. Operating cash-flow fell 21% year-on-year to E163 million in the third quarter due to higher working capital, the company reports.

For the first nine months of the year, net income rose 41.9% to E501 million and EBITDA before exceptionals increased 30.3% to E972 million on the back of sales of E6.65 billion, up 25.8% on the same period in 2010.

Considering the sales performance by region, the Europe (excluding Germany), Middle East and Africa region remained the largest in the third quarter, with 28% of overall group sales. Sales increased by 30% year-on-year to E656 million, with Switzerland, France, Hungary, Spain and Turkey the strongest contributors. Sales in Germany rose 20% year-on-year to E407 mil-lion in 3Q 2011 and represented 18% of group sales. The company’s rubber activities benefited especially from strong demand for winter tyres.

The Asia-Pacific region increased 3Q sales by 27% year-on-year to E519 million in 2011 and represented 22% of total sales. China, India and South Korea were the strongest performers, Lanxess reports. Sales in North America grew by 23% year-on-year to E401 million (17% of total) in 3Q 2011, while in Latin America sales increased by 30% year-on-year for the quarter to E353 million (15% of total), with Brazil once again the key driver in the region. Sales in the five BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) rose 35% year-on-year to E588 million. According to Lanxess, these key markets now represent 25% of group sales.

Sales of the Performance Chemicals segment rose 1.6% year-on-year to E523 million in 3Q 2011, with all business units able to pass on higher raw material costs via increased selling prices (+7.6%). There was also a positive

FINANCIALS