Fine chemicals: a future in Europe

There is a current trend in the EU ofproducers transferring fine chemicalsproduction to world regions wherecosts are lower, such as LatinAmerica or Asia. In these regionsinvestment costs in land andinfrastructure are less, and moresubsidies may be available. The timeneeded to gain approval or licensescan also be much shorter, and costsassociated with safety andenvironmental protection have alsotended to be lower. However, qualitylevels can still be maintained. It isargued that there should be a futurefor the fine chemicals sector inEurope, especially for strategicproducts or products with high addedvalue. There are also opportunities forcompanies to benefit from Europe’sR&D capability, where the profitabilitycomes from marketing and licensingtechnology rather than fromproduction itself. Promising areas ofresearch include organic catalystsand biocatalysts, raw materials thatare not derived from petroleum, andchemical reactions under extremeconditions.

Ingenieria Quimica, Nov 2004, (418), 83-86 (inSpanish)

More FCC price hikes

The rising cost of raw materials andenergy, together with R&D investmentcosts have been blamed for the risingcost of fluid catalytic cracking (FCC)catalysts. Engelhard is to increaseprices from 1 Mar 2005 by 7-9%.Albermarle increased prices by 9%worldwide on 21 Jan 2005. WR Gracereported an 8% hike on 12 Jan 2005.

Chemical Week, 9 Feb 2005, 167 (5)

COMPANYNEWS

Albemarle announces preliminary 4Q2004 unaudited results

Albemarle Corp reported net incomeof $19.6 M for 4Q ended Dec 2004(net income, excluding special items,of $18.4 M in 4Q 2003). Excludingspecial items, net income for the yearended Dec 2004 was $75.7 M as

compared to $66.8 M in the yearended Dec 2003. Inclusive of specialitems, primarily related to theacquisition of Akzo Nobel’s refinerycatalysts business, net income for2004 was $54.8 M ($71.9 M for 2003).Net sales for 4Q 2004 were $451.1 M($295.1 M in 4Q 2003). Net sales for2004 were $1.51 bn ($1.11 bn in2003). Polymer Additives segment netsales, which now excludes thepolyolefin catalysts business, were up24.7% for 4Q 2004. Catalysts segmentnet sales were $129.6 M, up $109.6M for 4Q 2004 as compared to 4Q2003, due primarily to the acquisitionof the refinery catalysts business fromAkzo Nobel. Fine Chemicals segmentnet sales were up 7.3% for 4Q 2004as compared to 4Q 2003, driven byimproved product mix in the FineChemistry Services and Intermediatesproduct area and improved demandand pricing in bromine andderivatives. R&D expenses were$12.505 M for 4Q 2004 ($4.278 M in4Q 2003) and $31.273 M for 2004($18.411 M in 2003).

Albemarle 4Q and 2004 financial results, 3 Feb 2005(Albemarle Corp, 330, South Fourth Street, PO Box1335, Richmond, VA 23210, USA. Tel: +1 804 7886000. Fax: +1 804 388 7686. Website:http://www.albemarle.com)

Avantium growth

Avantium, The Netherlands, hasexpanded its polymer processdevelopment facilities by theinstallation of new workflow in Delft.This should increase its output forcustomers tenfold or more andimprove the consistency of its data.The specialities are polyethylene(PE), polypropylene (PP), styrene (co)polymers, and oligomeric additives

European Chemical News, 28 Feb 2005, 82 (2136), 28

Axens forms agreement with Degussa

Axens North America has made adeal with Degussa Corp for theproduction of Axens’ hydrotreatingcatalysts and supports at Degussa’sfacility in Calvert City, KY. The facilitywill manufacture both HR 400 and HR500 series catalysts using Axens’Advanced Catalytic Engineeringtechnology and specially developedaluminas.

Sulphur, Jan/Feb 2005, (296), 8

Codexis makes novel enzymes byMolecular Breeding

Codexis is a Californian companywhich acquired the Molecular Breedingtechnology of Maxygen in 2002. It usesgene shuffling to produce micro-organisms which produce enzymes forcatalysing the production of finechemicals which are difficult to makeby conventional chemistry. Thecompany has partnerships with anumber of pharmaceutical andchemical companies.

European Chemical News, 7 Mar 2005, 82 (2137), 24-25

Codexis buys Jülich Fine Chemicals

The speciality enzymes businessJülich Fine Chemicals has beenacquired by Codexis. This is part of apush by Codexis into internationalmarkets, particularly Europe. Jülichsupplies to the chiral pharmaceuticalintermediates sector in Europe.Codexis expects Jülich to make apositive cash contribution in its firstfull year of operation.

Chemical Market Reporter, 28 Feb 2005 (Website:http://www.chemicalmarketreporter.com) & EuropeanChemical News, 28 Feb 2005, 82 (2136), 7 &Chemical Week, 23 Feb 2005, 167 (7), 13 & Chemicaland Engineering News, 28 Feb 2005, 83 (9), 13(Website: http://www.cen-online.org) & Press releasefrom: Codexis Inc, 220, Penobscot, Redwood City, CA94063, USA. Tel: +1 650 298 5300. Fax: +1 650 2985449. Website: http://www.codexis.com (22 Feb 2005)

Degussa’s catalyst centre offerscradle-to-grave manufacturing

Degussa AG has inaugurated a new$12.6 M catalyst development facilitythat accommodates R&D throughmanufacturing activities forhomogeneous, heterogeneous andbiological catalysts. The facility, whichis situated at Degussa’s Hanau-Wolfgang site near Frankfurt, includesa Biocatalysis Service Centre, theSynthesis and Catalysts businessunit, and a new internal start-upcompany called DegussaHomogeneous Catalysts. Projectsthat will be handled by the operationsrange from screening for the bestsubstance to catalyse a certainreaction, to creating themanufacturing process, to providingthat catalyst for commercial use.

Chemical Engineering Progress, Feb 2005, 101 (2), 13

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