Air Products Forms New Performance Materials Division
Air Products today announced the Formation of a new Performance Materials Division combining its technology and market leadership strengths in specialty surfactants, vinyl acetate-ethylene copolymer emulsions, specialty amines and curatives. This division will focus on furthering Air Products' efforts to meet customers' increasingly stringent needs for environmentally friendly products and solutions. By leveraging the company's vast skills in surface and material sciences, the Performance Materials Division will move into new higher growth markets while increasing its penetration into the adhesives, coatings, automotive and construction markets. Additionally, the division will provide technical, applications and product development support for other Air Products performance materials initiatives, such as those in its Electronics Division.
"The driving force behind the formation of the Performance Materials Division is to capitalize on Air Products' unique combination of gas and chemicals skills," said John McGlade, vice president and general manager, Performance Materials for Air Products. "We see significant untapped opportunities in performance and advanced materials that play to our strengths."
Air Products defines "performance materials" as having exceptional physical properties that create a significant change in the economics or performance of a customer's process or products.
"Our new focus is already paying off," McGlade added. "We're employing our Gemini surfactants in several new proprietary products in our electronics area. We also have our new EnviroGem(R) products. These specialty surfactants are based on a new step-out technology platform that makes them biodegradable as a result of their natural products-based formulations. They are enjoying excellent acceptance in the automotive, energy exploration and electronics markets where performance and environmentally friendly solutions are key market needs."
The Performance Materials Division initially will consist of the following three businesses:
-- Performance Products, uniting Air Products' Polyurethane Additives, Epoxy Additives, and Specialty Amines businesses. Air Products will leverage its strong manufacturing and technology positions in specialty amines chemistry to bring high-performance products and solutions to the automotive, construction and appliance markets. -- Performance Polymers, focusing on Airflex(R) VAE (vinyl acetate- ethylene copolymers) emulsions by building on Air Products Polymers, L.L.P.'s long-term investment in process technology and applications know-how. This investment paid off most recently for formulators of architectural coatings and paint with the introduction of the new unique Airflex EF811 emulsion. Coatings using VAEs have traditionally outperformed vinyl acrylic formulations in many key industry features, but until now, VAEs were more expensive than vinyl acrylic formulations. Air Products' unique molecular design for Airflex EF811 emulsion offers paint formulators environmentally friendly VAE technology that is cost-competitive with vinyl acrylics. The Airflex EF811 emulsions also provide customers with additional cost-savings in their formulation. This product is the first in a series of Airflex products poised for significant growth in the coatings industry. -- Performance Solutions, combining Air Products' existing Specialty Additives product lines with new high-performance additives and solutions. In addition to its existing Gemini surfactant product capabilities, the Performance Solutions area will provide an opportunity to enter new markets and provide technical support to strengthen Air Products' business in electronic chemicals and materials. The business will also leverage its novel technology and the company's gas and chemicals expertise in the surface and materials science area to establish a services business.
"These three areas presently represent a $1 billion business for Air Products, which has grown over the last 10 years at a rate of two times GDP (gross domestic product)," McGlade said. "With our new focus and direction, and our longstanding track record of delivering solutions that meet our customers' needs, we believe we can grow at rates even greater than our past performance."
The Performance Materials Division will remain part of Air Products' Chemicals Group, which also includes high-value intermediate industrial chemicals.
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