By ELEANOR VAN SAVAGE
Nov. 28, 2000 (Chemical Market Reporter)—Solutia Inc.'s bequest business group has entered into an agreement with Wujin Fine Chemicals, in Jiangsu Province, China, to form a joint venture to manufacture and market phosphonate products in China. Wujin is the largest water treatment chemical manufacturer in China.
Under the agreement, the partnership, Solutia Xiafeng Fine Chemical Company, Ltd., will be 51 percent owned by Solutia and will have an annual business base of about RMB60 million ($7 million), with most of those sales concentrated in the water treatment market.
Wujin will manufacture the products that are sold through the joint venture at Changzhou Hi-Tech Park in Changzhou Province, China. Solutia will provide applications expertise for the products that will be used for water treatment and a broad range of industrial applications in China. These applications include detergents and cleaners, pigment dispersion, metal finishing and peroxide stabilization, among others.
The joint venture will focus on developing new markets and sales opportunities for the phosphonate product lines already operated by the two parent companies, according to Solutia.
Besides supplying the Chinese market with water treatment products, Wujin also supplies international water treatment companies with raw materials. In addition to phosphonates, Wujin's product line also includes polymers, biocides and formulation products.
"We are extremely excited about the opportunity to introduce the bequest family of products into the People's Republic of China. We and our partners at Wujin believe that the PRC will prove to be an attractive, high-growth market for Solutia's outstanding phosphonate technology," says Jacques Verspeek, vice chairman of the joint venture and worldwide business director for the bequest business group.
bequest also recently launched a new line of biodegradable products based on inulin technology developed by Sensus BV of the Netherlands. These products will target industrial applications that currently rely on polyacrylates.
Copyright Schnell Publishing Company Nov 20, 2000
