Clariant Reconfirms Its Full Commitment To The Planned Merger Of Equals Between Huntsman And Clariant And Reiterates Its Strong Strategic Rationale 

MUTTENZ, Switzerland —September 19, 2017 — Clariant confirms that its Board has received a letter from White Tale Holdings, the Cayman Island-based vehicle created by hedge funds Corvex and 40 North. According to the letter, White Tale has increased its stake in Clariant above 15 percent. In addition, White Tale has stated that it maintains its opposition to the merger of equals between Huntsman and Clariant. 

Clariant does not agree with the statements made by White Tale in their open letter. To the contrary we are convinced that:

  • The proposed merger is a continuation of Clariant’s strategy of becoming a world leader in specialty chemicals.
The merger creates one of the largest global specialty chemicals groups, with an attractive, balanced and resilient portfolio across diverse industry segments and geographies, benefitting from a strong growth outlook and substantial exposure to attractive markets. Through proactive and consistent portfolio management, Huntsman’s portfolio has evolved and is evolving into a primarily specialty chemicals businesses and is, therefore, an excellent match for Clariant.
  • The terms of the proposed merger do not undervalue Clariant’s shares.
The exchange ratio has been agreed on the basis of the respective share prices prevailing at the time of the announcement, reflecting the historic equity value proportion and is in line with a similarly strong track record of total shareholder return of both companies over the last years. In addition, the fairness, from a financial point of view, to Clariant, of the exchange ratio was confirmed with the assistance of Clariant’s financial advisors.
  • The proposed merger offers substantial value creationto both sets of shareholders.
On top of the ambitious business plans of both companies over USD 3.5 billion of value will be created through cost synergies in excess of USD 400 million p.a. In addition to these cost synergies, tax synergies of USD 25 million and approximately USD 250 million additional organic revenues at approximately 20 percent EBITDA margin will be realized thanks to the complementary product portfolios. More so, significant further future potential will result from strengthening common R&D platforms and projects. This substantial value creation is unmatched by any other viable alternative.
  • Selling Plastics & Coatings today does not create value.
Whilst Clariant’s Plastics & Coatings Business Area has been earmarked for portfolio management since 2015, selling Plastic & Coatings as Clariant today would be value destructive in view of its significant cash contribution and cost coverage. Post consummation of the merger, the new company HuntsmanClariant will clearly have and use the greater flexibility of the enlarged Group to keep adjusting its portfolio to maximize value for its shareholders and build a leading specialty chemicals company.
  • Clariant has a strong record in cost management.
Clariant has established a competitive cost structure in line with its peers despite significant R&D spend which forms the foundation for sustainable future growth. Any further cost cutting exercise will impair the company’s ability to compete in the future. USD 300 million of stand-alone cost improvement as alleged by White Tale are neither sustainable nor in line with observed peer benchmarks.
  • In a merger of equals there is no ceding of operational control.
The new company will be jointly led by both management teams under Swiss Corporate Governance, domiciled and headquartered in Switzerland. Hariolf Kottmann will become Chairman, Peter Huntsman will become CEO and Patrick Jany will become CFO of the new company. They will work together to deliver on their joint strategic vision for the merged company.

The Board of Directors of Clariant after carefully and diligently considering various strategic options during the last years remains deeply convinced that this combination in the form agreed in May 2017 is a perfect transaction at the right time to create substantial immediate and long-term shareholder value. It will accelerate the companies’ respective paths towards creating a global specialty chemicals leader.

Clariant and Huntsman will continue to progress in defining the new company and will release a further merger update in the coming weeks.

Posted September 19, 2017

Source: Clariant

Style And Sustainability Can Make A Fashionable Impact

By Nick Smith, Global Head of Textile Coatings, Covestro

The world population is increasing by roughly 83 million people every year: that’s the number of people in Germany. With more people comes more consumers who need more clothing. This increase in numbers combined with the soaring demand for fast fashion, where customers expect a near constant stream of affordable products to their stores, or lose interest, is not good news for our planet. It seems unlikely that the global thirst for clothes is going to disappear, so the industry needs to think creatively about what it can do to reduce the environmental impact.

The fashion industry’s CO2 emissions are projected to increase by more than 60 percent to nearly 2.8 billion tonnes per year by 2030. At the same time it is predicted that the fashion industry will use 35-percent more land for cotton, forest for cellulosic fibers and grassland for livestock — altogether over 115 million hectares that could be used to grow crops for an increasing and more demanding population or to preserve forest. Cotton producing countries like China and India are already facing water shortages, so these nations face the dilemma of choosing between cotton production and securing clean drinking water.

To help combat this massive environmental impact the fashion industry needs to come with new ways of producing textile and textile-based materials. Furthermore, it needs to embrace life cycle thinking, in order to properly understand the impact of materials used, by considering the impacts at all stages of value creation, ideally from extraction of raw materials to end of life.

One example of where real changes can be brought about as far as materials are concerned is in the area of polyurethane (PU) synthetic materials. These versatile materials are staples for the footwear industry, with 7 billion pairs of fashion and sports shoes manufactured with PU synthetic upper materials. They are used extensively in bags, belts and accessories, as well as in garments, and are marked out by their almost endless design possibilities, durability, washability and light weight.

However, many brand owners have concerns about the manufacturing process of PU synthetics as it normally requires the use of the solvent dimethylformamide (DMF), a Substance of Very High Concern’ under the European Chemicals Regulation REACH because of its toxicity. An estimated 5 billion tonnes of DMF is used every year in the production of this type of materials, creating 12.3 billion liters of wastewater and 30,000 tonnes solid waste. Aside from creating concern about both worker health and environmental pollution, the process is energy- and resource-intensive too.

Covestro developed its INSQIN® technology — waterborne PU chemicals for textile materials — in order to eliminate the requirement of PU synthetics manufacturers to use DMF in their processes, and thus allowing the industry to address the concerns surrounding existing processes, and the market for such breakthrough technology is growing. It was also known that the technology enables a 50-percent reduction in energy use in the coating process and a 95-percent water reduction.

Underlining its commitment to life-cycle thinking and with curiosity to understand in more depth how INSQIN fares against conventional technologies when looked at from the life-cycle point of view, Covestro carried out an environmental life-cycle assessment (LCA) comparing the two materials from the cradle to the PU synthetic material factory gate, over a broad range of environmental impact categories.

The study confirmed that, also from the life-cycle perspective, INSQIN proves to be a more sustainable way to produce this kind of coated textiles than conventional technologies. The assessment showed that, from the cradle to material factory gate, the Global Warming Potential, also commonly known as carbon footprint, for 1,000 square meters of waterborne PU synthetic is 45 percent less than that of solvent-based PU synthetic. The impact of this reduction is so significant that if the entire textile industry switched to using Covestro’s waterborne PU technology, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions would be equivalent to taking every car off the road in Beijing, or in London, Hong Kong and Los Angeles combined. And while the technology has a significantly lower carbon footprint than solventborne equivalents, the detailed study revealed that 85 percent of the reduction in Global Warming Potential is due to the lower energy consumption of the dry textile coating process that is enabled by the waterborne PU, and that replaces conventional wet processing. In other words, most of the carbon footprint reduction is due to process change enabled by waterborne technology. Using INSQIN to coat textiles with PU also has the potential to reduce acidification in our waters and soil by 20 percent, compared to conventional technology.

When brands consider sustainability, the idea of life-cycle thinking — assessing the environmental impacts associated with all the stages of a product’s life from-cradle-to-grave — should take center stage. Even a small shift can result in massive changes. For every 20,000 pairs of shoes coated with waterborne PU technology, brand owners can save enough water to meet the daily requirements of 120 people in China.

Chemical innovation is just one way that we can bring about significant advances in the textiles industry. In the face of growing concern about the hidden cost of fashion and the consensus that environmental, social, and ethical improvements are necessary, the industry has a clear opportunity to think creatively and act differently.

Posted September 19, 2017

Reifenhäuser Digital Established For Its Extrusion Lines And Services

TROISDORF, Germany — September 14, 2017 — Reifenhäuser has founded its new business unit Reifenhäuser Digital with effect from July 1, 2017, thereby paving the way to the focused digitalization of its extrusion lines and services. The new unit will act as an internal incubator for all other business units within the Reifenhäuser Group. It will be managed by Dr. Benedikt Brenken, Head of Business Development and Thomas Fett, Head of Technical Development.

Bernd Reifenhäuser, CEO of the Reifenhäuser Group, commented: “Digitalization offers us the greatest potential for innovation that we have seen in plastics extrusion for a long time. So founding our own business unit with its own resources and the possibility of establishing new ways of working was a logical next step for us. Digital transformation isn’t something that can be accomplished in passing. Within Reifenhäuser Digital, we are currently focusing hard on generating real customer benefits from new opportunities such as smart data, machine learning and anomaly detection, and on bringing digital products to the market in a swift and targeted manner. Our goal is to develop intelligent production both for and with our customers.”

Reifenhäuser Digital is working closely with internal and external customers and suppliers, as well as outside experts, to design and develop digital solutions. Contact details for potential business partners, as well as more information on the unit’s goals and components can be found on its website at www.reifenhauser-digital.com.

Posted September 14, 2017

Source: Reifenhäuser

Lectra Appoints Olivier du Chesnay CFO

PARIS — September 19, 2017 — Lectra is pleased to announce the appointment of Olivier du Chesnay to the role of CFO.

Deputy Chief Financial Officer of Lectra since May 2013, du Chesnay was already supervising management control, statutory consolidation and audit, headquarters’ accounting, cash flow, credit management and change risk management, as well as more recently sales administration.

“Over the past four years, Olivier du Chesnay has successfully led many projects to improve our processes, while at the same time coordinating the Group’s financial management with rigor, efficiency and leadership,” stated Daniel Harari, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Lectra. “He will support the company to achieve the financial objectives articulated in Lectra’s new strategic roadmap.”

“I am confident about the growth prospects for the company, which are empowered by sustained investments in innovation. This commitment will reinforce Lectra’s leadership and customer value proposition, by facilitating the implementation of Industry 4.0 principles for its customers,” underlined du Chesnay. “I am delighted to support the Group through this new strategy, one which will open a new page in Lectra’s history.”

Prior to joining Lectra, du Chesnay acquired 15 years’ experience in financial positions at the heart of major groups Saint-Gobain, Accenture, Sperian Protection and Honeywell Safety Products, where he was Financial Director for the EMEA and India division from 2010 to 2013. Du Chesnay is a graduate of the EDHEC business school and the London School of Economics.

Posted September 19, 2017

Source: Lectra

W. L. Gore & Associates Introduces High-Visibility Models Of Gore® FR Apparel For Oil And Gas Workers

ELKTON, Md. — September 19, 2017 — W. L. Gore & Associates Inc., has introduced high-visibility orange and high-visibility yellow options to its new line of GORE® FR Apparel products — performance FR outerwear garments that offer an ideal balance of protection, comfort, and durability for oil & gas workers in physically demanding and extreme environmental conditions. The new high-visibility yellow and high-visibility orange garments meet or exceed ANSI 107-15 Type R, Class 2 and CSA Z96-15, Class 2, Level 2. The full jacket and bib ensemble in hi-vis yellow or orange achieves ANSI 107-15 Type R, Class 3 and CSA Z96-15, Class 3, Level 2.

“Adding high-visibility offerings to the Gore FR Apparel portfolio brings an additional element of safety to what is already a best-in-class line of protective outerwear,” said Sean McDearmon, Sales leader for Gore FR Apparel. “Our products continue to ensure worker safety and comfort by enhancing visibility, increasing range of motion, minimizing bulk, and reducing the effects of moisture build-up across a wide range of environmental conditions and varying work rates.”

Made with GORE-TEX® PYRAD® fabric, this waterproof, windproof, breathable line of products provides an optimum combination of protection against flash-fire, petroleum, oil-based hazards, and hot liquids/steam without sacrificing comfort in a lightweight, low-bulk form.

Leveraging the same platform as Gore-Tex Fabric and utilizing Gore’s proprietary Pyrad Fabric Technology, Gore FR Apparel complies to ASTM F2733-09 and ASTM F1891-12.

Gore will be featuring the new line of Gore FR Apparel products with Gore-Tex Pyrad Fabric at the Canadian Society of Safety Engineers Conference in Halifax, CN from September 17-20, Booth #83/84 and the National Safety Council Congress in Indianapolis, Ind., on September 25-27, Booth #8450.

Posted September 19, 2017

Source:W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.

Kate Hudson’s Fabletics Expands Into Footwear

LOS ANGELES — September 19, 2017 —Fabletics is excited to announce its first-ever footwear collection, reinforcing its commitment to create a lifestyle brand that inspires all women to stay active. With the addition of the new capsule footwear collection, Fabletics will now offer members curated, head-to-toe looks that work for her lifestyle and budget.

“We are thrilled to expand the Fabletics brand into another new category with the launch of footwear, which is being introduced in direct response to feedback from our members,” said Adam Goldenberg, co-CEO & co-founder of TechStyle Fashion Group. “Our goal at Fabletics is to bring women everything they need to live an active lifestyle, and with our new footwear collection, they can easily outfit themselves in fully styled head-to-toe looks.”

Fabletics active-lifestyle collections combine fashion and performance, and are known for their unique prints and vibrant colors. The new footwear collection will complement the existing assortment of workout clothes, giving all women the opportunity to remain active and stylish on the go. Fabletics will introduce 11 styles comprised of training shoes, slip-ons, booties, lifestyle sneakers and high tops for women. The collection is stylistically diverse, and combines technology features – such as lightweight materials, flexible constructions for maximum comfort, memory foam soles and breathable mesh – with fashion elements like faux suede finishes, zipper details and reflective accents.

While anyone can shop Fabletics, through its Flexible VIP Membership program, Fabletics’ goal is to listen and give back to its over one million members by providing high-quality activewear at an unrivaled value. This first capsule footwear collection, which will be exclusive to VIP members, is a direct response to members’ requests and, like all Fabletics styles, will provide super wearable features with a fashion perspective. Other membership benefits also include exclusive access to members-only collections, up to 50% off every purchase and exciting community perks—including free workout videos with world-renowned trainers, exclusive content and offers from carefully curated health and wellness experts and much more.

Starting at $39.95, Fabletics footwear assortment will be available globally in eight countries (US, Australia, Canada, Germany, Spain, France, UK, and the Netherlands) exclusively on Fabletics.com on September 19 in addition to its current activewear and accessory product offering.

Posted September 19, 2017

Source:Fabletics

A New Dimension For The Furniture Industry: BASF And Sonae Arauco Win AVK Innovation Award 2017 For 3D Moldable Wood Fiber Composites

PORTO/LUDWIGSHAFEN, Germany — September 19, 2017 — At the International Composites Congress in Stuttgart, BASF and Sonae Arauco were jointly honored with the AVK (German Federation of Reinforced Plastics) Innovation Award 2017 for a new development in 3-D moldable wood fiber components. The two companies ranked first in the category “Innovative products/components or applications” for providing the furniture industry with a storage stable composite that can be processed by hot molding.

In contrast to standard thermoset boards, the new wood-based composite is able to be post-molded and its surface can be structured in short cycles on standard furniture molding equipment.

The novel wood composites are based on BASF’s new binder technology, acForm. Its application is using Sonae Arauco wood refining technology which is adjusted to be used without any productivity restrictions.  Due to the specific binder-fiber composition the composite allows all three spatial axes to be formed at the same time.

“Our new composites greatly facilitate the thermo-molding and thermo-embossing processes, because several production steps, including veneer gluing and layering, are no longer necessary,” said Dr. Thorsten Habeck, Head of BASF’s marketing unit Dispersions for Fiber Bonding Europe, Middle East & Africa. “This allows much shorter cycle times than separate layering and a significant productivity increase.”

In addition, the composites can be used to produce highly structured or curved components. This opens up new design options for application fields like door and furniture fronts, wall or ceiling linings, room dividers, partition walls in open-plan offices or structured flooring.

acForm also sets new standards in terms of work place health and safety, meeting the most stringent regulations because formaldehyde is not added to the binder system.

The production of 3D moldable composites is using Sonae Arauco’s continuous wood refining technology, ensuring consistency of materials and improved environmentally-friendly  products. “The composites are “ready to be converted” materials ensuring higher productivity and lower costs for customers versus current conventional embedded processes such as plywood, deep rooted panels, bended HDF, allowing exhaustive applications in all segments of the furniture and construction market”, says Adelaide Alves, Manager Product Development Sonae Arauco.

The AVK Innovation Award acknowledges innovations in the field of fiber reinforced plastics (FRPs)/composites in four different categories. The award promotes the development of new products/components and applications using FRPs as well as new procedures and processes for manufacturing FRP based products.

Posted September 19, 2017

Source: BASF

Reifenhäuser Holding Reconfigures Its Management Board

TROISDORF, Germany — September 12, 2017 — Dr. Bernd Kunze and Karsten Kratz have been appointed to the management board of Reifenhäuser Holding with effect from July 1, 2017. As Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Dr. Kunze will take charge of all technological issues within the group, and in this role, will share responsibility for the digital transformation of the business. As CFO, Kratz will be responsible for the IT and Compliance divisions, in addition to the group’s financial operations and strategy. Both new members of the board have already spent many years managing business units and performing commercial management roles within the Reifenhäuser Group.

Bernd Reifenhäuser, chair of the Management Board, commented: “As partners, we are delighted that we can consolidate the Management Board of the Reifenhäuser Group with two managers from our own ranks, who have many years’ experience of the Group and in whom we have full confidence. I am personally looking forward to working even more closely with my colleagues to ensure the Group’s continued success in the future.”

After more than 30 years in the family-owned business, Klaus Reifenhäuser is retiring and therefore stepping down from the Management Board. He will continue to oversee the fortunes of the business in his role as partner. The Management Board is now made up as follows: Bernd Reifenhäuser, CEO; Ulrich Reifenhäuser, Sales; Dr. Bernd Kunze, Technology and Strategy; and Karsten Kratz, Finance).

Posted September 19, 2017

Source: Reifenhäuser

Closing The Textile Loop: Sympatex To Present The First Upcycling Product Of The “Wear2wear” Corporate Partnership At A+A 2017

MUNICH/UNTERFÖHRING — September 19, 2017 — Turning old into new — according to these lines, five competent partners formed the European wear2wear industrial partnership. As a supplier of the 100-percent climate-neutral, recyclable, PTFE-free and PFC-free membrane within this association, Sympatex is going to present the first end product, which has been manufactured at highly modern production plants from used functional textiles, at the international safety, security and health at work trade fair A+A in Düsseldorf (hall 11 booth A22) from 17 to 20 October 2017. To close the resource cycle, these textiles can be completely recycled at the end of their life cycles. Thus, waste is prevented and new textiles are manufactured instead. Sympatex invites its customers as well as interested garment manufacturers and authorities to close the textile loop with the help of wear2wear. Individual solutions are jointly developed in the so-called “Sympathy Lab”.

Agenda 2020: closing the loop meets climate neutrality

Sympatex fosters its “agenda 2020” with wear2wear which the Munich company announced at ISPO in February 2017. Part of this strategy is to offer completely pollution-free, recycled and again recyclable functional textiles by 2020. “We have launched an open platform with our wear2wear cooperation which is able to completely close the polyester cycle for textiles — from the collection to the new textile.”, explains Dr. Rüdiger Fox, CEO of Sympatex Technologies GmbH. “It is available for all other partners who are committed to a closed materials cycle in the textile industry — and with each additional member, we are getting closer to soon realize a sustainable clothing industry.”

Another element of this sustainability strategy is to neutralise the overall ecological balance of the clothing cycle as far as possible. Sympatex already offers the first membrane worldwide which is manufactured in a completely climate-neutral way. The manufacture of a Sympatex copolymer already produces approx. Fifty times less CO2 compared to e.g. a similar PTFE membrane. In order to eliminate any contribution to global warming, Sympatex has now also been compensating the remaining CO2 amount of its entire annual membrane production since this year by participating in certified international climate protection projects. The functional specialist also supports its customers and market partners to completely shift to climate-neutral clothing: the CO2 emission of each individual running meter textile can be precisely identified as part of the ecological footprint by means of the Sympatex eco calculator. Sympatex customers can also completely compensate the inevitable CO2 emissions when taking part in climate protection projects. And Sympatex considers the entire process chain from raw materials production up to the supply to the customers (“cradle to customer gate”).

Innovative shoe technology Moisture-Tech® by Sympatex

Furthermore, Moisture-Tech® by Sympatex gains ever more popularity. The highly functional shoe technology ensures an optimum micro climate and is in particular suitable for safety and fire boots. Moisture is quickly wicked away from the foot and cannot reenter the inner lining due to the outward suction effect by using the extremely absorbent material. The advantage: high wear comfort and dry feet for maximum performance in all weathers. Thus, the high-performance lining technology is especially suitable for police, fire and custom staff. As of recently, the French police are using it in motor cycle boots from Paraboot. In the field of safety and fire boots, Honeywell, Baltes, Rock Fall, Maxguard and Völkl, amongst others, already use Moisture-Tech by Sympatex. And the Italian new customer Diadora is also convinced by the new technology. The safety shoe manufacturer uses Moisture-Tech by Sympatex now directly in the first common model series which will be presented at A+A for the first time.

Posted September 19, 2017

Source: Sympatex

Microban Names Texchem UK Limited European Odor Control And Anti-Microbial Textile Product Distributor

ROCHDALE, England — September 19, 2017 — Microban® International Ltd. has appointed leading textile chemical manufacturer Texchem as a United Kingdom distributor. Texchem will distribute Microban’s entire range of odor control and anti-microbial solutions, including the AEGIS® product line, to apparel, furnishings, home textile, technical textile and healthcare retailers and brands in the United Kingdom and to their manufacturers.

This partnership will ensure the seamless integration of Microban’s full portfolio of innovative odor control and anti-microbial technologies into the global supply chains of U.K. brands and retailers through technical excellence, field support, global regulatory assistance, service and education.

As one of the most well-respected names in textile chemicals, Texchem excels in forming key relationships with manufacturers and major apparel, furnishings, home textile, technical textile and healthcare brands in their territory,” said Lisa Owen, vice president, global textiles division, Microban International. “By combining the strengths of these two industry leaders, we believe the Microban/Texchem partnership will lead the way for odor control innovations in the critical U.K. market.”

The appointment of Texchem is the latest step in Microban’s ongoing efforts to expand the company’s sales presence in European markets and develop close ties with more production facilities across the globe. It will also allow Microban to provide enhanced customer service through more regional support and faster turnaround times. “As a leader in our industry, it’s critical that we work with companies who share our commitment to high-tech innovation and excellent customer service,” said Wayne Aaron, managing director of Texchem UK Ltd. “We were attracted to Microban based not only on the breadth, range and efficacy of their textile odor control solutions, but also by their global reputation and brand strength and research and development capabilities. We believe this partnership offers an excellent synergy to successfully promote and sell high value odor control and anti-microbial solutions in the UK textile market and beyond.

With high-profile brand partners, such including Calvin Klein®, Fila®, Teva®, Reebok®, Puma®, Terramar® Sports®, New Balance®, Spanx®, Billerbeck® , Under Armour®/All Star Sports, Hook&Tackle®, Curad® and 5.11 Tactical®, Microban’s Portfolio of Textile Odor Control Technologies includes: AEGIS®, AEGIS EXCSilverShield®ALIBUR®, Scentry®,  and ZPTech®. The company has recently introduced a complete brand refresh, including a new b-to-b website, revamped marketing collateral, introduced new brandmarks, and an expanded global sales team. It has also updated its consumer-facing website TheCleanerHome.com. and has just launched its “Live On” campaign.

Posted September 19, 2017

Source: Microban® International

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