NEWS
IN BRIEF
Sumitomo buys AUECC Sumitomo Chemical is to acquire Taiwanese producer of semiconductor process chemicals Asia Union Electronic Chemical Corporation( AUECC). This will give it additional manufacturing bases in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and Nevada, complementing its existing site in Texas, which came onstream in 2022.
Altana secures funding Altana has obtained a credit line of up to € 300 million from the European Investment Bank to finance sustainable R & D projects from 2025 to 2028. The company will focus on“ developing innovative solutions with the aim of making everyday products better and more sustainable”, by means including reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and volatile organic compounds.
Merck opens megasite Merck KGaA has inaugurated its 150,000 m 2 Semiconductor Solutions‘ megasite’ in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, after investing a total of € 500 million. It will begin production this year. This is Merck’ s largest semiconductor materials campus worldwide. It focuses on thin films, formulation materials and speciality gases for multiple highprecision technologies.
ESIM Chemicals files for insolvency
Austrian crop protection and pharmaceutical chemicals manufacturer ESIM Chemicals has filed for insolvency at the Regional Court of Linz, potentially impacting 289 employees and nearly 190 creditors. Different reports put its liabilities at just under € 110 million, € 118 million or over € 147 million in the event of liquidation.
In its filing, the firm pointed to multiple economic and structural challenges, including:
• Rising costs in energy prices and wages
• Increasing competition from Asia, where overcapacity has led to reduced prices
• The loss of major customer contracts in Q2 and Q3 2025
• High fixed costs and a high debt load to current revenue levels
• A lack of new projects and long-term planning security beyond 2028
Managing director Frank Wegener said the management had“ worked intensively in recent weeks to find solutions to stabilise operations and enable a self-directed restructuring”. These efforts did not succeed and the company has appointed advisers to evaluate its next steps.
However, the firm currently intends to continue operations under a restructuring plan. This includes maintaining full production in two of the three existing plants at the former DSM site in Linz( pictured), where ESIM was originally established in 2015.“ Our goal is to secure the Linz location and protect employment through a sustainable investor solution,” ESIM said.
The company name came from the two businesses it originally united: Exclusive Synthesis( ES), which offered custom manufacturing services, mainly for agrochemical active ingredients, and Industrial Materials( IM), which made intermediates for applications including crop protection, food and animal feed, personal care and polymers.
US-based investment firm Sun European Partners acquired the company from French investment firm Ardian in 2018 and sold the IM business to Vertellus, now Aurorium. However, the ESIM name was retained and rebranded as‘ Excellent Solutions In Motion’.
Electrolyte exit Mitsubishi Chemical is to transfer the lithium-ion battery electrolyte manufacturing assets of its US and UK subsidiaries to Green E Origin, a Luxembourg-based specialist in the field. This should be completed by the end of Q1. Mitsubishi said it wished to“ transform to an upgraded business model in the European and American markets, and respond to mid to long-term growth of [ the ] market”.
8 SPECIALITY CHEMICALS MAGAZINE ESTABLISHED 1981