Cognis finalizes sales of paper chemicals business

17-May-2001

specialty chemicals supplier Cognis has now completed the divestment of its paper chemicals business. In October 1999, Cognis sold its paper activities to Nopco Paper Technology in the European and Asian markets with the exception of Japan, Korea and China where San Nopco Ltd. keeps rights in the sub-market-segment of paper coatings. The contract with Nopco Paper Technology contained an option for the sale of a Cognis production facility in Les Fonts de Terrassa in Spain, which has now been realized in April 2001.

Cognis had already parted from its other paper chemicals activities some time earlier. Cognis' parent company Henkel already sold its production sites in USA as early as 1997 and the Leeds site was spun off as an independent company in May 2000 within the context of a management buyout. "For Cognis, the paper chemicals business then was mainly a regional one. Our strategic goal is to expand the core businesses in which we can play a strong global role," comments Dr. Jochen Heidrich, Executive Vice President of Cognis, explaining the background to these decisions. For NOPCO Paper Technology, on the other hand, acquiring the Cognis activities has considerably strengthened its position as a leading supplier in this specialty sector. Both companies are equally interested in maintaining their good commercial relationship in the future.

As a result of the sale of the production facilities in Les Fonts de Terrassa, the remaining Cognis production activities at this site will have to be relocated to the Castellbisbal site of Cognis Iberia. The restructuring mainly affects the production of leather auxiliaries and can be completed without any major investment at this site toward the end of the second quarter of 2001. NOPCO Paper Technology concentrated the Cognis paper auxiliaries business from Castellbisbal and from other European production plants in Spain, Norway and Germany at the Les Fonts de Terrassa site last year and will complete this consolidation process by the middle of 2001.

https://www.chemeurope.com/en/news/3192/cognis-finalizes-sales-of-paper-chemicals-business.html