0

0

Tweet

More

HB Fuller to Sell Central American Paint Biz to Pintuco

Hello and welcome to your late week international coatings industry update, brought to you by SpecialChem. I've been in the industry for over 28 years, and this is the busiest I've ever seen it. Used to be in the days of The Paint Show and ICE, I could coast on the newsletter and put my time into the show. Not so today with the ACS. This demands a full run. Here's the news.

H.B. Fuller Company announced that it has signed an agreement to sell its Central American paints business to Compania Global de Pinturas S.A., ("Pintuco"), a company of Grupo Mundial.

H.B. Fuller's Central American paints business has a leading market position in the region with strong brands, a broad offering of quality product lines and a local manufacturing presence. Sales are made through multiple distribution channels, including retail distributors and the company's network of retail stores located throughout Central America. Its brands are well recognized, and its products are widely used for residential and commercial applications, including architectural, marine and highway safety. We have more on this deal where we continue.

Arkema Coating Resins announced the sale of the Peninsula Polymers business, a national distributor of coatings raw materials headquartered in North Kansas City, Missouri, USA. The business has been purchased by an investment group led by the current management team; terms of the sale were not disclosed. Peninsula was acquired by Arkema as part of the purchase of the coating resins business of Cook Composites and Polymers in 2011. The company will continue to represent certain Arkema Coating Resins lines in North America.

"We are pleased to announce the sale has been closed, and that Peninsula Polymers will continue to distribute our products," said Richard D. Jenkins, Global Group President for Arkema Coating Resins. "We believe that the change of ownership will be smooth and seamless, and is in the best long term interest of our customers now being served by Peninsula Polymers."

In news from The Netherlands, DSM announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Kensey Nash under which DSM would acquire all the outstanding shares of common stock of Kensey Nash through a cash tender offer, followed by a merger with a subsidiary of DSM, for USD 38.50 in cash per share for total enterprise value of approximately USD 360 million. The transaction has been unanimously approved by both DSM's Supervisory Board and Kensey Nash's Board of Directors. The agreed price represents a premium of 33% to Kensey Nash's closing share price of USD 29.01 on May 2, 2012. Subject to customary conditions, the transaction is expected to close around the end of Q2 2012.

Kensey Nash is a USA-based, biomedical company, primarily focused on regenerative medicine utilizing its proprietary collagen and synthetic polymer technology. It manufactures and sells medical device parts in cardiology, orthopedic, sports medicine, spinal and general surgery. The company is headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania, USA with approximately 325 employees.

In marketing news, I guess you knew it was going to happen - as soon as someone had proved that they could sell high-end house paint, others would scurry along to fill the market. My question is however, what exactly are they selling at (in Pantone's case,) $240 per gallon? The last $30 per gallon stuff I used almost painted itself and wears like stainless steel plate. But that's just me.

This week, Sherwin-Williams marketing executives evoked the superlatives and top-drawer adjectives to describe the company's latest entry in an already crowded high-buck paint field. I respect these guys they must know something I don't The Emerald Interior and Exterior line of paints, introduced this week during a reception at Manhattan's Rockefeller Center, will be a high-end entrant in the mid-$60 per can range.

It's one of the few high-end entrants in recent years that didn't use the "paint-and-primer-in-one" angle. Instead, the company's pitch on the label is "beauty, washability, sustainability". Emerald Interior is GreenGuard Indoor Air Quality certified, emits minimal odor and features antimicrobial properties that inhibit the growth of mold and mildew on the paint film.

At the same time as it introduced Emerald paint, the company introduced ColorCast Eco Toners, a new tinting system that will not add to the VOC content of any coating when tinted. While current industry tint systems affect paint thickness and consistency, ColorCast Eco Toner colorants maintain the paint's full body after tinting, delivering thick, rich coats for maximum performance, according to the company.

"These products set an unprecedented standard in paint by driving product breakthroughs in quality and environmental responsibility," said Steve Revnew, VP Product Innovation, Sherwin-Williams.

The Emerald exterior paint will sell in the $70-a-gallon range.

The new Emerald Interior and Exterior acrylic latex paints and ColorCast Eco Toners will be available in Sherwin-Williams stores in the USA on July 1, 2012.

In moving to raw materials, the pigments division of Huntsman Corporation this week launched its Altiris infrared reflecting pigment at the 2012 American Coatings Show in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Altiris pigment gives coatings and polymer products in any color the power to reflect solar energy. In a world that needs low carbon solutions to cool buildings, vehicles and ships, The company says that Huntsman's Altiris pigment presents a significant opportunity to deliver energy efficiency combined with custom color branding in the widest color choice available.

President of Huntsman Pigments, Simon Turner said, "Buildings, vehicles and ships that incorporate Altiris pigment in their coatings can better reflect the sun's energy, helping to keep interiors cooler. This helps reduce energy needed to power air-conditioning systems, costs and greenhouse gas emissions. It's a great new innovation from Huntsman that gets to the heart of our brand promise - enriching lives through innovation."

Dr. Rob Portsmouth, Business Development Director at Huntsman said, "Our Altiris pigment delivers a unique set of benefits: Superior tailored reflectance; from a single additive and in any color customers need. This combination was not available before Huntsman's Altiris pigment."

Altiris pigment can dramatically increase solar reflection by more than 100 percent in some color ranges and even in black. It can also help increase a product's lifespan as coatings that stay cooler suffer less from heat cycling stresses, which helps prevent delamination and peeling.

In a recap of our big deal of the week, H.B. Fuller announced that it has signed an agreement to sell its Central American paints business to Colombia's Compania Global de Pinturas S.A., way better known as Pintuco.

H.B. Fuller's Central American paints business has a leading market position in the region with strong brands, a broad offering of quality product lines and a local manufacturing presence. Sales are made through multiple distribution channels, including retail distributors and the company's network of retail stores located throughout Central America. Its brands are well recognized, and its products are widely used for residential and commercial applications, including architectural, marine and highway safety.

"This business has a strong market position and excellent leadership," said Jim Owens, President and CEO of H.B. Fuller. "Our strategic vision is to be the best adhesives company in the world, and the paints business is not, therefore, core to our strategic plan. Our divestiture enables this excellent business to be part of a company with a strategic position in the paint industry."

The Central American paints business began operations in Costa Rica in 1949 and has been a member of the H.B. Fuller portfolio since 1967. The business being sold includes nearly 800 employees who work across Central America and production plants and laboratories in Costa Rica, Honduras and Panama.

Based in Medellin, Colombia, Pintuco is a leading company in the paints industry in the Andean region, with a presence in Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Panama and the Caribbean. Its parent, Grupo Mundial, operates 53 companies in 12 countries and exports products to 25 countries. Group sales for 2011 were $1.073 billion. Grupo Mundial was founded in 1921 and has six company divisions: Paints, Chemicals, General Wholesaler, Water Pipes, Inks and Packaging.

The transaction's closing is subject to certain conditions, including the notification of government and regulatory authorities and should be completed within 60 days. The purchase price to be paid for the business is $120 million. In 2011, the business to be sold had revenue of $113.5 million and generated EBITDA of $13.3 million, before allocation of corporate expenses. The Central American paints business will be accounted for as a discontinued operation in H.B. Fuller's current 2012 fiscal year.

H.B. Fuller expects the deal to close within 60 days after regulatory approval.

Late last year H.B. Fuller spent $394 million to buy Forbo Bonding Systems from Switzerland-based Forbo Group. Last month the company announced it was closing six manufacturing facilities as part of the Forbo deal.

In auto coatings news, Hyundai Motor Co. said late Tuesday that the paint shop of its No. 1 plant in China was on fire earlier in the day and the company is looking into the fire's cause and how much damage occurred.

"We will use the paint shop in No. 3 plant for the painting work for vehicles produced in the No. 1 plant," a company spokesman said by telephone. "As the No. 1 plant has a one-month inventory of vehicles, there won't be an immediate impact on sales [in China]."

There were no casualties involving the fire, he said.

The No. 1 plant currently produces 1,300 units a day of the Accent subcompact, the Tucson sport-utility vehicle, the Elantra compact and the Sonata midsize sedan, the company said.

On top of No. 1 and No. 2 plants that have an annual capacity of 300,000 units respectively, Hyundai Motor plans to put the No. 3 plant into a full operation from July. The No. 3 plant's initial capacity is 300,000 units but it is scheduled to expand to 400,000 units to meet a rising local demand.

In financial news, Asian Paints , India's largest paint company by market cap has reported a higher than expected growth of 34.4% year-on-year in its consolidated net profit at Rs 250 crore for the fourth quarter of 2012.

Consolidated net sales increased 29.5% to Rs 2,539 crore in the January-March quarter of 2012 as against Rs 1,961 crore in a year ago period.

The board of directors has recommended payment of final dividend of Rs 30.50 per equity share of the face value of Rs 10 each for the financial year ended March 31, 2012.

For the entire 2011-12 financial year, the company's consolidated net profit rose by 17.26% to Rs 988.7 crore from Rs 843.2 crore in the previous fiscal year.

In the USA, Momentive Performance Materials this week reported its consolidated results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2012. The company reported net sales of $593 million compared to $660 million in the three-month period ended March 31, 2011 a decrease of 10%. The decline was primarily due to a decrease in volume and price, as well as a shift in product mix.

It posted an operating loss of $5 million versus operating income of $73 million in the three-month period ended April 3, 2011. First quarter 2012 operating loss reflected raw material inflation, lower volumes from softer global demand and product mix shift due to declines in certain higher-margin products.

"While we experienced lower volumes and Adjusted EBITDA in the first quarter of 2012 compared to the prior year, our sequential quarterly improvement demonstrates the beginning of a rebound from the lows of the fourth quarter," said Craig O. Morrison, Chairman, President and CEO. "Our first quarter 2012 results reflected a shift in product mix as we continued to experience softer demand for higher-margin products in the Asia Pacific region, as well as declines in our quartz earnings."

"In response," Morrison continued, "we have further enhanced our focus on reducing our cost structure, including steadily achieving savings from the shared services agreement with Momentive Specialty Chemicals Inc. (MSC). In the first quarter of 2012, we achieved $7 million in savings under the shared services agreement with MSC and we have realized approximately $47 million in synergy savings on a run-rate basis since the program began in late 2010. Beyond the cost saving initiatives with MSC, plans are in process for additional restructuring programs to further enhance our cost structure and better serve our customers."

In other news, how does chemistry influence coatings manufacturers? How can BASF help coating manufacturers to be more successful while focusing on more sustainable products? Visitors to the 2012 American Coatings Conference and Show (ACS), May 7-10, in Indianapolis, Indiana, can explore how BASF chemistry can enhance formulations in the coatings industry... more about this news

Dyadic International, Inc. announced that Abengoa Bioenergy New Technologies, Inc. has agreed to pay Dyadic $5.5 mn for expansion of its rights under the non-exclusive license agreement. The license agreement originally provided Abengoa with the right to use Dyadic's C1 platform technology to develop, manufacture and sell enzymes for use in second generation biorefining processes... more about this news

Ultraviolet-cure (UV-cure) coating technology continues to gain traction in the coatings industry due to its many competitive advantages - low energy costs, no pot life issues, reduced environmental impact and a fast cure time, among others. Formulators are looking to capitalize on this technology and optimize its performance... more about this news

And finally, INX Digital International continues to make tremendous progress helping conventional printers evolve to digital printing. The next step takes place at drupa 2012 where the focus of attention is on integration. As part of its Visual Communication Technologies emphasis, SAKATA INX Group - including INX Digital and INX International Ink Co. - will have plenty of hardware on display from May 3-16... more about this news

SpecialChem4Coatings Members Reactions

> Be the first to react about this document

Rate and React about this Document