Arkema: a major supplier in the paint and coating industry in 2011

Arkema plans to assume ownership of Total’s coatings resins and photocure resins activity¹ mid-2011. On completion of the acquisition, Arkema will have a unique and comprehensive portfolio of coatings materials and technologies. The current acquisition is the latest in a series of acquisitions over four years that will make Arkema a leading supplier serving paint and coating producers around the world. Arkema will present this new positioning through its comprehensive offering focused on innovation and sustainability to the main market players at the European Coatings Show held in Nuremberg from March 29 to 31 2011.

A wide range of solutions and technologies

By end 2011, Arkema’s revenue from paint and coating applications will have risen to 18%, up from 3% of its overall sales in 2006. Between these two dates, Arkema will have significantly enhanced its product range for the paint and coating market through major acquisitions: in 2007 Arkema acquired Coatex, a manufacturer of rheology additives, in 2010 Arkema acquired the acrylics and the waterborne resins assets from The Dow Chemical Company in the United States, and in December 2010 Arkema announced the purchase of the coatings resins (water- and solvent-based, powders, rheology additives) and photocure resins from Total.

These product ranges complement Arkema’s product portfolio for paint and coating applications, which includes Kynar® PVDF, oxygenated solvents and amines, Fascat® catalysts, as well as Rilsan® and Orgasol® polyamide fine powders.

« In the last 5 years, our development investments combined with our targeted acquisitions have confirmed our commitment to the coating and paint market. 2011 will be a pivotal year for Arkema: we will become one of the major suppliers to this market thanks to one of the most comprehensive international product and technology offerings. We will then be in a position to fulfill the specific technological requirements of our customers, wherever they are based in the world », stated Thierry Le Hénaff, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Arkema.

A worldwide presence

With a global reach in most of its product lines, Arkema is committed to further expansion in order to assist its customers on every continent. In 2011 Arkema will bring on stream a new Kynar® PVDF plant and a rheology additives plant (Coatex) at its Changshu site in China, while the construction of a water-based resin plant for start-up at end 2012 has also been announced on the same site. Arkema will continue to boost its presence around the world, in particular in South America. With an enhanced portfolio, 40 plants around the world, and 10 technical and application centers, Arkema in 2011 has all the necessary assets to serve the global coating and paint market.

Increasingly effective and environmentally sound solutions

As initiator of many recent innovations in the paint sector (Kynar® Aquatec, SNAPTM, UCARFlex Latex™, Alpamine®, CoapurTM from Coatex …), Arkema aims to capitalize on the innovation synergies between its existing research centers and the research centers acquired as part of the transaction with Total. Arkema confirms its commitment to developing new formulations from sustainable materials and to assisting its customers in finding increasingly environmentally sound, effective and durable solutions with low VOC emissions.

A comprehensive range of materials and technologies with leadership positions

N°2 in waterborne resins in the United States

The acquisition in 2010 of certain acrylics assets from Dow Chemical in North America has pushed Arkema up to second place among suppliers of aqueous resins in the United States.

Arkema’s Emulsion Systems business unit supplies waterborne resins produced from various monomers (acrylic, vinyl acetate, methyl methacrylate) for architectural and industrial coatings, construction, road paints, sealants and adhesives.

Headquartered in the United States, Arkema Emulsion Systems operates three production sites in North America: Saint-Charles (Louisiana), Alsip (Illinois) and Torrance (California), and an R&D site (Cary, North Carolina), and by 2012 will have its first plant in Asia on the Changshu site (China).

Rheology additives from Coatex for high performance waterborne paints

Used in acrylic paints and coatings in particular, Coatex’s rheology additives control the rheological behavior of matter. These can be dispersants that ensure even distribution of fillers in paint, or thickeners that help adapt the paint to its application method. Moreover, Coatex’s additives play a part in the gradual substitution of solvent-based paints by water-based paints, for both decorative and industrial uses.

Coatex’s main site is at Genay, near Lyon (France), although this Arkema subsidiary also runs plants and storage facilities in Europe, the United States and Asia. As of mid-2011, Coatex will also have a production plant on Arkema’s Changshu site in China.

Kynar® fluoropolymer based coatings: unrivaled durability

Arkema’s high performance and high added value PVDF fluoropolymers are used in superior durability applications. Kynar® exhibits outstanding properties such as resistance to weathering, UVs (over 25 to 30 years), chemical attack, and pollution. The reputation of this technical polymer as a binder for paint is based on 40 years of development and experience. Advocated by paint manufacturing customers, this high-end product is also valued by architects as it provides unrivaled durability for coatings. To address high demand for Kynar® in Asia, a new plant was brought on stream in March 2011 on the Changshu site, complementing the existing Pierre Bénite (France) and Calvert City (Kentucky) sites.

Recently, Arkema developed a genuine breakthrough technology, Kynar Aquatec®, the first aqueous (solvent-free) PVDF/acrylic emulsion. Kynar Aquatec® can be applied on a large number of materials (wood, concrete, bitumen etc.) as a coating for external walls and reflective roofs, which allows more energy-efficient air-conditioning in zones exposed to strong sunshine.

A wide range of catalysts

Fascat® tin catalysts are an organometallics range specifically developed for the crosslinking of epoxy, urethane, polyester and acrylic coatings, adhesives, and alkyd resins. The main application of Fascat® is the coating of automotive metal parts by electrodeposition, in which Fascat® acts as a catalyst curing urethane resins. Allied to Arkema’s ability to develop new catalysts, the performance of this range provides a perfect solution to the expectations of coating applicators. Fascat® catalysts are manufactured in the Unites States, but are sold all around the world.

A large scope of amines and oxygenated solvents to improve the properties of solvent-based and water-based paints

These products are used as synthesis intermediates, neutralisation agents, specialty monomers, catalysts for resins, and formulation additives. In paints and inks, Alpamine® amines are used in particular as additives to disperse pigments and hardeners. Hexasol® oxygenated solvents are used in last-generation water-based paints to improve key properties such as « open application time » to extend the duration of film formation. In solvent-based formulations, they are used as diluents or in the synthesis of intermediates and resins. These products are manufactured at the La Chambre site in France, which boasts integrated development teams to help develop new amines and oxygenated solvents to fulfil market needs.

Polyamide 11 and 12 fine powders, a unique product range used as additives

Orgasol® polyamide 12 and Rilsan® polyamide 11 powders are texturising surface additives for various applications, including coil coating and industrial coatings, to which they impart key properties such as resistance to abrasion, scratches and wear. They provide the coatings with soft touch, flexibility and smooth appearance resulting from particularly fine particle size and excellent dispersion. Orgasol® powders are highly sought after for can coating, parquet flooring and tiles. Rilsan® powders are 100% bio-sourced, and can also be used as ultra heat- and corrosion-proof thermoplastic coating. This high performance coating may be found on dishwasher baskets and in pipes for saline environments. These powders are manufactured on two sites in France and a further site in the United States, with a research center in France.

Planned acquisition by Arkema of Total’s Photocure and Coatings Resins

The businesses concerned by the project comprise the coatings resins (paints, adhesives, etc.) of Cray Valley (Europe, Asia, South Africa) and Cook Composite Polymers (United States), as well as the photocure resins of Sartomer (Europe, United States, Asia). These make up a coherent group of specialty products used in the high value-added paints and industrial coatings markets. With growing sales of approximately €850M, and almost 1750 employees on some twenty sites around the world, these activities would enhance Arkema’s current position on these markets (emulsions, rheology additives, fluorinated polymers and copolymers, etc.).

¹ Plan subject to the legal information and consultation process involving trade unions and to the approval of antitrust authorities in the countries concerned.

Reader enquiries

Arkema
420, rue d'Estienne d'Orves
92705 COLOMBES CEDEX
France

+33 (0)1 49 00 80 80

www.arkema.com