Key business developments
Functional Chemicals
- Volume development was positive throughout the year
- Capacity for sodium hydrosulfide increased in LeMoyne (US) to meet growing customer demand. Capacity expanded for organic peroxides production in Los Reyes (Mexico)
- Investing over €10 million in Sweden to expand capacity for chelated micronutrients, primarily high performance iron chelates
- Launched Itaconix partnership to develop bio-based chelates for use in cleaning markets
- Boosted production capacity by 40% for dicumyl peroxide (DCP) at our Ningbo site (China) and announced plans to further increase capacity by another 50% by Q3 2018
- Plans being considered to build a world class EHEC cellulosic ethers plant to meet growing demand in the paints, and building and construction markets
- Increased supply of initiators to the PVC industry to meet strong customer demand
- Began relocation of Tianjin (China) organic peroxides site to Nangang industrial park
- Developed a novel technology platform for producing ethylene amines and their derivatives from ethylene oxide
Chemical platforms
Polymer Chemistry and Ethylene Oxide Network
Some of our customers
- Evonik
- Fenzi
- FMC Corporation
- Formosa
- Henkel
- Procter & Gamble
- SABIC
- Yara
Top raw materials
- Ethylene
- Acid chlorides, chloroformates
- Polymer emulsions
- Ammonia, hydrogen cyanide
- Sulfur
Key cost drivers
- Ethylene
- Energy
- Sulfur
- Cellulose
Key brands
Revenue
in € millions
Geo-mix revenue by destination
in %
Industrial Chemicals
- Strong volume growth in salt and chlorine, despite bi-annual turnaround of Rotterdam plant
- Broke ground on a world-scale plant for MCA in Gujarat, India, as part of a joint arrangement with chemical company Atul
- Our Sal Vesta joint arrangement in Spain opened up new markets for us in the Mediterranean following the opening of a new packaging facility, located in Súria
- Led an initiative in the Netherlands with DSM, Google and Philips to enable and source green power from the Bouwdokken wind park, and teamed up with a bio-steam facility in Delfzijl which will reduce annual CO2 emissions by around 100,000 tons
- Also in Delfzijl, we began investigating the possibility of producing green hydrogen, based on renewable energy
- Construction of new membrane technology plant in Germany completed for the production of potassium hydroxide, chlorine and hydrogen (in a joint arrangement with Evonik)
- Received the 2017 European Responsible Care® Award for our partnership approach to developing new value chains that enable substantial carbon footprint reductions
Chemical platform
Salt-Chlorine chain
Some of our customers
- Covestro
- Huntsman
- Shin-Etsu
Top raw materials
- Energy
- Acetic acid
- Salt
Key cost drivers
- Energy
- Methanol
Key brands
Revenue
in € millions
Geo-mix revenue by destination
in %
Pulp and Performance Chemicals
- Volumes grew substantially in our core markets throughout 2017
- More than €20 million invested in Sweden to expand capacity for the Expancel product line, with completion due by the end of 2018
- Completed the expansion of the Chemical Island at Fibria’s Três Lagoas facility in Brazil – now the world’s largest single pulp mill. The expansion included the installation of a second chlorine dioxide plant and increased space for chemical storage and logistics
- Six new product applications launched and commercialized within product brands for Levasil (colloidal silica), Expancel (expandable microspheres) and Kromasil. They will spur growth in the fluid catalytic cracking, food packaging and pharmaceutical markets
- Our new integrated supply chain strategy has resulted in cost productivity improvements and capacity increases catering for additional volume for growth from existing assets
- Termination of the remaining toll manufacturing for the divested Paper Chemicals business
- Considerable efforts to improve safety and safety behavior resulted in a continuous reduction of incidents, with a record low incident rate in 2017
Chemical platform
Bleaching Chemicals and Performance Chemicals
Some of our customers
- Cabot
- Diam
- Domtar
- Fibria
- Fujimi
- Sanofi
- SCA
- Suzano
Top raw materials
- Energy
- Salt
- Sodium silicate
Key cost drivers
- Energy
- Logistics
Key brands
Revenue
in € millions
Geo-mix revenue by destination
in %
Surface Chemistry
- Positive growth achieved despite unplanned supply chain interruptions, especially in Q3 due to Hurricane Harvey in the US
- Strong volume growth in Asia, while we also capitalized on regulatory changes in high growth markets
- Strong progress in the cleaning, personal care and lubes and fuels segments; Nonyl Phenol ethoxylates were successfully replaced in the asphalt and cleaning segments
- In the cleaning segment, we were recognized by the US Environmental Protection Agency as Safer Choice Partner of the Year
- Completed an expansion at our Boxing site in China, significantly increasing our regional product portfolio and reconfirming the company’s commitment to Asia
Chemical platform
Surfactants, Polymers
Some of our customers
- Altana
- Baker Hughes
- Lubrizol
- Monsanto
- Procter & Gamble
- Ferrexpo Poltava
Top raw materials
- Animal fats
- Ethylene oxide
- Vegetable oils
Key cost drivers
- Natural oils and fat
- Ethylene
- Oil and gas
Key brands
Revenue
in € millions
Geo-mix revenue by destination
in %
Carbon footprint
The carbon footprint of a product is the total amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused during a defined period, of the product lifecycle. It is expressed in terms of the amount of carbon dioxide equivalents CO2(e) emitted.