Contact | 
Print version | 
PDF version | 
Send article | 
RSS feed
Wacker sells technology for manufacturing exhaust-gas catalytic converter to Süd-Chemie
04 Feb 2005 -
Effective February 2, Wacker-Chemie GmbH has divested its proprietary technology for manufacturing diesel catalytic converters to Süd-Chemie AG. The divestment includes all the technical expertise, the coating systems and the associated testing facilities. Both parties have agreed not to disclose the financial details of the transaction.
By divesting these development activities, WACKER has taken a further strategic step to focus on its core competencies in chemistry. WACKER's CEO Dr. Peter-Alexander Wacker emphasized: "We've developed catalytic converters that clean diesel exhaust gases very efficiently and are mechanically very robust. However, diesel exhaust-gas treatment does not belong to our core business portfolio and is an area that we no longer wish to pursue following our strategic realignment. So, we've decided to transfer the results of this successful development to a partner who can fully exploit the promising potentials of this technology for its own core business."
Süd-Chemie will use the technology to enhance its activities in diesel engine exhaust-gas cleaning. It will cooperate with vehicle manufacturers to develop marketable products. Over the next few years, stricter exhaust-gas standards will come into force, which means strong volume growth for diesel catalytic converters in both trucks and cars.
The diesel catalytic converter system combines "selective catalytic reduction" (SCR) with novel metal honeycomb substrates. New coating technologies had to be developed to coat these metal substrates homogeneously - an essential requirement if they are to work properly.
Top
