NEWS
IN BRIEF
APC buys i-Chem APC Group has acquired i-Chem Solution, a Malaysian specialist in industrial water treatment and wastewater treatment. Terms were not disclosed. i-Chem will be integrated into APC’ s Water Management segment, to create“ a single-source provider of end-to-end water solutions, combining chemicals, equipment, engineering and services”.
DyStar has Chinese owner Following the resolution of a shareholders’ dispute and approval by the receivers, pigments and colours firm DyStar is now under the full ownership of China’ s Zhejiang Longsheng Group. KIRI Industries’ previous stake has now been sold and the directors appointed by it have resigned.
APG expansion for BASF BASF is to add a new plant for alkyl polyglucosides( APGs), which are biobased, mild, nonionic secondary surfactants, at the Bangpakong site in Thailand. This will add to its APG capabilities at Düsseldorf, Cincinnati and Jinshan, China, with a further line due onstream at Cincinnati in 2026. No capacity details were disclosed.
Two in LAB collaboration Moeve and Honeywell are to scale up production technologies for biobased linear alkylbenzene( LAB) using Moeve’ s NextLab-R technology, the first LAB produced at industrial scale using renewable raw materials. This will be made available through Honeywell’ s licensing platform. LAB is the raw material for making linear alkylbenzene sulfonate, a surfactant widely used in making detergents.
Stepan sells two sites
Surfactants specialist Stepan has sold its manufacturing assets in Lake Providence, Louisiana, to an unnamed buyer. This followed shortly on from the completion of the sale of its subsidiary Stepan Philippines Quaternaries, including assets in the Philippines, to Masurf and a tolling agreement for continued service to Southeast Asian customers. Terms were not disclosed in either case.
The company said that the sales reflect its“ ongoing efforts to optimise its manufacturing footprint and focus on core growth opportunities”. Its share price had fallen by 27.66 % from the start of the year to the date of the announcement of the US sale and Q3 sales came in slightly below projections.
Subsequently Stepan Agricultural Solutions established a new agriculture laboratory at the Parque Tecnológico de Piracicaba, Brazil, which it described as one of the world’ s largest agricultural innovation hubs. This, the company said, will be part of its global network of agricultural laboratories and will support its clients and internal teams alike by:
• Developing formulations for chemical and biological crop protection products, adjuvants and speciality fertilisers
• Performance testing of product concepts to ensure established efficacy and safety parameters are met
• Collaborating with crossfunctional teams to drive new product development and vet product concepts
PolyPeptide allies with Lupin
Peptides giant PolyPeptide has formed a strategic alliance with Lupin Manufacturing Solutions that will“ set a framework for long-term cooperation, including integrated procurement and supply planning for select raw materials”.
PolyPeptide said that this alliance will broaden its sourcing options for key materials, including metabolites, and establish a more robust and flexible supply chain for peptide manufacturing as demand continues to boom. No financial details were disclosed.
This followed on shortly after the signing of a collaboration agreement with CDMO Lifecore Biomedical. This will combine PolyPeptide’ s capabilities in manufacturing and development with Lifecore’ s in formulation, fill-finish and packaging to offer“ an integrated, end-to-end solution”, including a“ seamless transition” between drug substance and drug product to US-based manufacturers of peptide drugs.
10 SPECIALITY CHEMICALS MAGAZINE ESTABLISHED 1981