Mergers & Acquisitions

• Hempel has completed the acquisition of the Cap Couleurs Group’s store network in Southeast France, supporting its strategy to double Hempel by 2025.
• Perstorp has been acquired by PETRONAS Chemicals Group Berhad (PCG), Malaysian integrated chemicals provider and part of PETRONAS Group.

• Barentz International, a global life science ingredients distributor, has acquired Viachem, Ltd., a specialty distributor of life science ingredients and specialty chemicals.
• Accessa, provider of high-quality coating, chemical, and equipment solutions, has acquired Clark Deco in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Clark Deco has been selling high-quality coatings and related supplies to the greater western Pennsylvania and northeastern Ohio markets, and beyond, since the 1950s.
• DKSH announced its acquisition of Terra Firma, a distributor of specialty chemicals in North America. Terra Firma represents premier suppliers in its core segments of CASE (coatings, adhesives, sealants, and elastomers), plastics, and construction, as well as in agrochemicals, health and nutrition, and personal care.

Strategic Partnerships 

• JNS SmithChem LLC has been awarded additional territory to distribute Lorama Group products, especially for the CASE (Coatings, Adhesives, Sealants and Elastomers) market.
• Engineered Polymer Solutions and Ravago Chemicals North America have announced an expansion of their long-standing strategic partnership, following the integration with Specialty Polymers, Inc. EPS and Specialty Polymers are integrating under the EPS brand.

• HMG Paints Ltd. has announced a new distribution partnership with fellow family run business Rabart Decorators Merchants. The partnership will see Rabart distribute the HMG range across South Wales and the Southwest of England.
• LANXESS Corporation announced that its urethane systems business unit has partnered with Azelis Americas to distribute its polyurethane dispersions in the United States.

• Vencorex has announced EMCO-Inortech has been appointed the Canadian distributor for the following products: HDI and IPDI monomers, and Tolonate™ and Easaqua™ aliphatic polyisocyanates.
• Palmer Holland, a North American specialty chemical and fine ingredient distributor, has announced its new distribution agreement with Zeochem. Palmer Holland will be a channel partner in the United States and Canada for Zeochem’s Purmol line of molecular sieves.

Companies on the Move

• Arkema, together with a consortium of companies, is exploring and advancing the recyclability of post-consumer PET (from bottles and other plastic items) to regain monomers for reuse as raw materials for more sustainable polyester powder resins for the coating market. The project, entitled Suschempol, is led by the Spanish Superior Council of Science Research (CSIC) and was founded by the Spanish “Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación” and the “Agencia Estatal de Investigación” as part of “NextGenerationEU” Initiative.

• Dutch startup RheoCube has opened its first U.S. office in Boston, Massachusetts. Having established a strong customer base across Europe, RheoCube is boosting its presence in the U.S. market to further support clients and accelerate the commercial expansion in the United States.
• PPG announced the opening and continued support of the PPG STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) Studio, an interactive space at the Museum of Discovery in Little Rock, Arkansas, designed for hands-on, interactive exploration of science and technology.
• AkzoNobel’s new logistics hub, which is set to become the company’s largest warehousing base in China, is on course to be completed by the middle of 2023. Located at the company’s decorative paints site in Songjiang, Shanghai, the new facility will use intelligent digital technologies and advanced security management to customize storage and operation modes for different product categories.
• Evonik's coating additives business line is increasing capacities of two additive product groups for architectural paints: TEGO^® Phobe hydrophobing agents and TEGO Viscoplus polyurethane thickeners.
• BASF Coatings has inaugurated a new research center for electrophoretic dip coating at its headquarters in Münster-Hiltrup, Germany. In addition, the research center has two ultra-filtration and filtration stands with which the quality and stability of new e-coats can be tested under the customers' conditions before the tank is filled for the first time.
• GCU Consultants Sdn Bhd, an Aurecon Malaysia Group company, has been appointed by Jotun Paints Malaysia Sdn Bhd to design and project manage its Southeast Asia research and development (R&D) facility in Selangor, Malaysia. Slated for completion in 2025, the development will bring together staff from Jotun’s regional offices and R&D facilities across Malaysia.
• Chicago-headquartered specialty chemical company Hallstar purchased the LANXESS' ester manufacturing facility in Greensboro, North Carolina. As part of the acquisition, Hallstar is gaining new product lines of brominated flame retardants and phthalate-free plasticizers, including benzoate and citrate esters.

Company Recognition

• Two startups in India have won Paint the Future awards and the chance to continue working together with AkzoNobel to accelerate their solutions. The winners are HyperReality Technologies, located in Bengaluru, India, specializing in collaborative platforms for inspiration and visualization of a space in the metaverse, and Fluid AI, located in Mumbai, India, specializing in multi-channel, conversational, immersive, and interactive AI platforms to guide consumers during their painting journey.

• Sheboygan Paint Company’s MachCure, patent-pending, catalyst technology has been nominated for the Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin contest, sponsored by Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce. This catalyst can be added to a wide variety of industrial coatings, making them more environmentally friendly.