Solvay pursues strategic surfactant investments with acquisition of large-scale alkoxylation plant in the Netherlands

Solvay has agreed with Emery Oleochemicals and ERCA Group to buy their jointly-owned new alkoxylation facility, ERCA Emery Surfactant B.V., in the Moerdijk integrated industrial park in the Netherlands, strengthening its strategy of securing sustainable, large-scale surfactant assets worldwide.

As an on-pipe facility, commissioned in 2014, it will benefit from competitive and secure supply of the key raw material ethylene oxide (EO) via pipeline from the industrial park, which is located between the key regional transport and logistics hubs of Rotterdam and Antwerp, Belgium.

The acquisition comes ahead of the start-up of two other large-scale on-pipe alkoxylation units that Solvay’s Novecare Global Business Unit (GBU) is building in Singapore and in the United States, due in the third quarter. It is Novecare’s latest investment to expand its surfactant footprint, complementing the alkoxylation site in Italy and the new surfactant plant in Germany.

“The acquisition of this state-of-the-art facility on a strategically located industrial site will bolster our long-term competitive position in Europe,” said Emmanuel Butstraen, President of Solvay’s Novecare GBU. “This on-pipe unit complements Solvay’s regional footprint and secures our customers access to develop and grow their businesses in dynamic markets around the world.”

Alkoxylates, used as emulsifiers, detergents and wetting agents, form the chemical foundation for a wide range of Solvay Novecare’s specialty surfactants used in its agrochemicals, coatings, home & personal care, industrial and oil & gas markets.

The agreement is due to close by mid-April, pending customary approvals. Novecare expects to fully integrate the unit into its industrial network by the fourth quarter with production continuing throughout the process.

Solvay Novecare is a worldwide leader in specialty surfactants and a major player in polymers, amines, guar, and phosphorus derivatives. Solvay Novecare engineers and develops formulations that provide consumer products and state-of-the-art industrial applications with specific functional qualities designed to modify fluid behavior and deliver cleansing, dispersal, gelling, moisturizing, penetrating, softening or texturizing properties. These formulations are used in shampoos, detergents, paints and lubricants as well as in crop protection, mining and energy production and stimulation. Novecare, which boasts a worldwide network of 37 manufacturing sites and nine R&D centers, has become the preferred partner of its customers in rapidly growing economies and leverages an innovation platform based on sustainable solutions.

As an international chemical group, SOLVAY assists industries in finding and implementing ever more responsible and value-creating solutions. Solvay generates 90% of its net sales in activities where it is among the world's top three players. It serves many markets, varying from energy and the environment to automotive and aerospace or electricity and electronics, with one goal: to raise the performance of its clients and improve society's quality of life. The group is headquartered in Brussels, employs about 26,000 people in 52 countries and generated 10.2 billion euros in net sales in 2014. Solvay SA (SOLB.BE) is listed on EURONEXT in Brussels and Paris (Bloomberg: SOLB.BB - Reuters: SOLBT.BR).

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