NEWS
‘ Europe ’ s most innovative oleochemistry plant ’ opens
Oleon has opened what it claims to be “ Europe ’ s most innovative plant for the production of sustainable oleochemicals ” at Oelegem , Belgium . Built a cost of € 17.4 million , including € 13.3 million in European subsidies , this will operate using only enzymes of natural origin and has 3,000 tonnes / year of capacity . It is connected by canal to Antwerp ’ s port .
Oleon developed the enzymatic esterification technology in partnership with with seven other companies , research organisations and academics , within the EU ’ s ‘ Incite ’ research programme . The process , the company says , drastically reduces the working temperature during the process , while also increasing product quality . It also reduces CO 2 emissions from production by more than 40 % and waste production by 60 %.
Subsequently , Oleon officially opened its first production plant in Conroe , Texas . Built at an initial cost of over $ 50 million for blending and warehousing of oleochemicals for industries including lubricants , oil and gas , and crop protection in North America . An esterification unit will follow next year
Separately , the Kerfoot Group has announced that it will fully transition to the Oleon brand by Q1 2024 . The two are sister companies within the Avril Group , an international agro-industrial group based in France . UK-based Kerfoot specialises in natural and organic oils and custom blends for sectors including food , personal care , pharmaceuticals , animal care and general industry .
Replique spun out
Replique , a digital manufacturing start-up , has closed a late seed round led by digital technology investor STS Ventures and supported by ‘ angel ’ investors Chameleon and R3 . The company claims to offer “ the first fully encrypted 3D printing platform that makes spare part management and the production of small series more sustainable ”.
Replique is the fifth company to be spun out of Chemovator , BASF ’ s business incubator , since this was launched in 2018 “ to develop scalable and investable business models ” from ideas originating within BASF . It will continue to work with BASF as a customer and BASF 3D Printing Solutions as a material supplier .
In May , Chemovator opened itself up to external early-stage start-ups . It particularly supports business models in the areas of sustainability and process , research and service optimisation , and next-generation materials in fields such as fire protection , stabilisers for plastics , sustainable packaging and crop protection .
Azelis buys two and expands
In the space of a few weeks , distributor Azelis has acquired Sirius International , a distributor of speciality chemicals in the Benelux market , and Gillco Ingredients , a speciality ingredients provider in the US . Terms were not disclosed in either case .
Led by founder and CEO Leo Verboeket , Sirus is active in environmentally friendly chemicals for the detergent , personal care and water treatment markets in Europe . Azelis said this complements its lateral value chain in home care and industrial cleaning .
San Marcos , California-based Gillco dates back to 1982 and supplies flavours and fragrances to the US food and nutrition markets , including bakery , culinary , beverage , dairy and nutraceuticals . All of its 40 employees are expected to transfer , including owner Bill Gillies . The deal should be completed within Q2 .
Azelis Americas is also opening three new application laboratories in at its site in Princeton , New Jersey . These will cover the personal care , home care and industrial cleaning , and lubricants and metalworking fluids markets . Each lab is customised and equipped for developing formulations , solving technical problems and providing technical assistance .
8 SPECIALITY CHEMICALS MAGAZINE ESTABLISHED 1981