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Clariant and Huntsman to merge; creates a $13bn chemicals giant


Clariant and Huntsman, two giants of the global speciality chemicals sector, have reached a definitive agreement to combine in an all-stock “merger of equals”. The combined company will


be called HuntsmanClariant and will have sales of $13.2bn on a pro-forma 2016 basis. Adjusted EBITDA is around $2.3bn on the same basis and the combined enterprise value amounts to $20bn at the time of the announcement. Clariant shareholders will hold 52% of the firm, Hunts- man shareholders 48%. The deal is due to complete by the end of this year. Huntsman President and


CEO Peter Huntsman will be CEO of the merged enterprise, with Clariant’s current CEO Hariolf Kottmann as chairman. The global headquarters will be at Clariant’s Muttenz,


Toshiba adds two


Toshiba is to add two new models to the EC-SXII series of all-electric machines it makes at its factory in China: the EC280SXII and the EC350SXII, which feature clamping forces of 270 and 340 tonnes respectively. The EC-SXII series features various packages for optical parts, such as LED headlight lenses, in-car lighting and displays. ❙ www.toshiba.com


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Switzerland, location; the operational headquarters at The Woodlands in Texas, US, where Huntsman is based. Both Clariant and Hunts-


man are active in plastics addi- tives. Clariant’s product line includes an extensive range of polymer colourants and waxes, as well as flame retardants and stabilisers for PVC and


polyolefins. Huntsman’s Performance Products division supplies polyetheramine additives for modification of engineering plastics and composite resin systems, as well as a broad range of polyurethane additives. Huntsman announced at the end of last year that its Pigments & Additives unit,


which supplies TiO2 and functional additives, fillers and extenders for use in master- batch, compounds, compos- ites, elastomers and PVC profiles and films, would be spun-off through an IPO under the new name of Venator. That process will go ahead as planned this summer, the company said at the time of the merger announcement. The two companies said


Clariant’s plastics additives business includes colorants and flame retardants


that the combined firm “will benefit from each other’s strengths”, enjoying “a significantly improved growth profile in highly attractive end markets and geographies”. About $3.5bn of value is expected to be generated from an estimated $400m annual cost synergies achieved by operational cost savings and improving procurement. ❙ www.huntsman.com ❙ www.clariant.com


BD to invest at Nebraska site


Becton, Dickinson & Company (BD), the medical technology group, will invest $60m to upgrade its facility at Colum- bus-East, Nebraska, US, into a plastic moulding manufactur- ing centre of excellence by 2021. The company will continue to manufacture pre-fillable glass syringe lines at the site while the transfor- mation process goes on. In all, the investment will add 6,400 m² to the site, turning it into BD’s flagship plastic moulding facility and


INJECTION WORLD | May/June 2017


“one of the largest and most sophisticated plastic moulding plants in the world”. This also means a considerable shift to in-house production from outsourced providers. BD is one of the world’s largest users of plastic moulded products, accounting for about 700 billion units/year. The company will also spend $7m to retain and retrain employees for the different skill sets needed for plastic moulding manufactur- ing or help to transfer them to


other sites. Local and state officials are working with it to develop the necessary training programmes. Columbus-East is one of


four BD sites in Nebraska employing some 2,500, the others being at Broken Bow and Holdrege. In September, BD announced a $100m invest- ment at Holdrege to expand insulin syringe capacity, which followed a further $60m invested across the state in eight months. ❙ www.bd.com


www.injectionworld.com


PHOTO: CLARIANT


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