Nouryon's new global strategy will continue to increase the Chinese market

Recently, Nouryon celebrated its second anniversary as an independent company. In the past two years, Nouryon has made significant progress in improving efficiency and increasing profitability, while also continuing to invest and support customer development. Nouryon announced that it will adopt a new global strategy to further accelerate development, aimed at exceeding customer expectations, winning competition, and increasing the share of specialty chemicals in its product portfolio.

According to reports, the new strategy focuses on the following four industry sectors: agriculture, construction and infrastructure, cleaning products, and personal care. The new strategy will strengthen the development of emerging markets including China, Southeast Asia and India. The plan includes: adding new business areas and product applications through mergers and acquisitions and cooperation, further expanding the scope of sustainable products, and maximizing the capacity utilization and flexibility of the production base.

Charlie Shaver, Chairman and CEO of Nouryon, said: "In the past two years, we have achieved remarkable results. We have established a new organizational structure that allows business, operations and functional departments to focus on their areas of expertise. This new structure and continuous efforts to improve efficiency allow us to increase our profitability even in today’s challenging business environment. The new company strategy will focus on the most attractive growth areas, and we will also work on The transformation from a raw material supplier to a solution supplier lays the foundation for the next phase of growth."

 In the past two years, Nouryon has announced more than 20 capacity expansion projects worldwide. In China, Nouryon has carried out multiple capacity expansions at its Ningbo production base. For example, in 2019, it announced the completion of the doubling of the capacity of dicumyl peroxide (DCP). The DCP plant is the largest of its kind in the world. The output is as high as 38,000 tons; in the same year, the production capacity of dialkyl peroxide (brand Perkadox 14) in Ningbo base increased by 25%; in 2019 Nouryon also announced the increase of registered capital in Shandong Boxing production base and the introduction of the world's most advanced surface chemicals technology. Nouryon invested 90 million euros to build an organic peroxide plant in Tianjin, as well as a TBHP/TBA (tert-butyl hydroperoxide/tert-Butyl Alcohol) production plant with a capacity of 35,000 tons built at the Ningbo base. It will be completed in 2021.

Nouryon has also taken steps to further optimize its product portfolio, including the acquisition of Zhejiang Freed Chemicals, a leading metal alkyl producer in China, and the global acquisition of Carboxymethyl Cellulose (CMC) from JM Huber Corporation. Business, and the divestiture of the Elotex business of redispersible polymer powder products. At the same time, the company also launched more than 20 new products with obvious sustainability advantages.

 "China is recognized as a strong market, and we believe in the development potential of the Chinese market." Nouryon's senior vice president in charge of China and emerging markets added Sobers Sethi. "Under the guidance of Nouryon’s new strategy, we will continue to consolidate our solid foundation in China. Our focus will be on strategic capital investment and operational excellence tailored to customer needs, and further promote industry innovation and localization. And sustainable development."

 It is understood that Nouryon is a global leader in Specialty Chemicals, and the company's history can be traced back 400 years. Nouryon's global sales in 2019 were 5.082 billion euros, basically the same as in 2018. Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) in 2019 was 1.128 billion euros, an increase of 5% over 2018. Since the 1990s, the company has invested in production facilities in China. Currently, Nouryon has 8 production bases in China and more than 1,300 employees, supporting three major businesses: high-performance solutions, technical solutions and industrial chemicals.