By Felicia Willis, Associate Editor, Pulp & Paper International magazine
Many chemical suppliers that provide for the pulp and paper industry have followed this trend, blaming the weakening of the mature end markets and the poor economy. Some suppliers remain optimistic about forecast, however. They say that demand growth in parts of Asia and other emerging regions as well as the stable global tissue market will help to neutralize the downward trend.
Scores of suppliers have restructured in order to reduce yield, thereby saving more money. Ciba Specialty Chemicals, which BASF is in the process of acquiring, is said to be evaluating options for its lackluster paper chemical and publication ink businesses. The company has updated its approach to the paper chemical market around three segments: paper coatings; papermaking effects; and specialties, including specialty effects and new technology platforms within the paper market.
BASF, with the merger with Ciba in the works, has announced reform of its performance products business segment. The company's post-merger plans consist of establishing a new paper chemicals division, which will form part of BASF's performance products segment. The division is said to initially consist of BASF's paper chemicals, binders, and kaolin minerals businesses, and will be coupled at a later date by Ciba's products for paper manufacturing.
Imerys Pigments for Paper, a unit of Imerys, is planning to close its ground calcium carbonate facility at Salisbury, UK, due to rising production costs and the ever slowing demand. Further, Imerys plans include the restructure of its kaolin operations at Sandersville, GA, which will result in a capacity reduction and 50 employees being made redundant. Imerys cites the economic slowdown, overcapacity in the graphic papers market, and multiple mill and paper machine shutdowns.
Eka Chemicals plans to reduce sodium chlorate production at Mo i Rana, Norway, and to partly close its chlorate production in Columbus, MO. The company mentioned a global decrease in demand for sodium chlorate used in pulp bleaching, as well as higher energy costs.
Ashland has recently completed its acquisition of Hercules. The new combined company will remain headquartered in Covington, KY. The company will feature five units, including water technologies, performance materials, aqualon functional ingredients, consumer markets and distribution.
Clariant is said to be in the midst of slashing 5% of its workforce due to the economy as well. These job cuts are in addition to the 2,200-employee reduction that is currently in the works. Similarly, Nalco is completing a streamlining that it has abolished 400 jobs since October 2008. The company has since formed a water and process services division that combines its industrial and institutional services with its paper services divisions. Likewise, Dow Chemical has indicated they are eliminating roughly 5,000 full-time jobs worldwide.
Finally, Kemira is in the process of opening an R&D center in the coming months at the Atlanta campus of Georgia Tech that will serve the pulp and paper, water treatment, and oil and mining industries. The investment into R&D is part of Kemira's plan to consolidate 17 R&D centers into five.
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