29 August 2014
ABOUT ICL, ISRAEL CHEMICALS LIMITED
Details
Albemarle® Corporation (NYSE: ALB) and
announced today that the two companies have entered into
an agreement to establish a manufacturing joint venture
for the production of
* ICL's FR-122P polymeric flame retardant and
* Albemarle's GreenCrest™ polymeric flame retardant.
These flame retardants are designed to replace
hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD).
HBCD has been the leading flame retardant used in
expanded (EPS) and extruded (XPS) polystyrene foam applications,
but is being phased out in the European Union (EU),
Japan and other countries.
The joint venture and its partners will own and operate
* a 2,400 MT per year Netherlands plant,
which is currently operating, and
* a 10,000 MT per year Israel plant, which is scheduled to
come on line in the 4th quarter of 2014.
Both plants are located at ICL sites as
previously announced by ICL.
The joint venture will enable additional capacity
to be brought to the market to meet the growth needed
for the EU and the rest of the world following
the phase out of HBCD from these markets.
The transaction is subject to certain closing conditions,
including regulatory approvals,
and is expected to close in 2015.
Albemarle and ICL will continue to provide
independent marketing, sales and technical service
to their customers in Europe and around the world
to ensure a smooth transition as EPS and XPS producers shift
from HBCD to the polymeric flame retardant
before the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and
Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) sunset date
for HBCD in August 2015.
Troy De Soto,
Albemarle's vice president, Fire Safety Solutions.
"The joint venture will allow Albemarle to
continue providing its GreenCrest branded product
to customers while joining forces
with a proven manufacturing partner in ICL,"
"The combined experience and know-how related to
bromine and bromine derivatives of Albemarle and ICL
will ensure a reliable, high quality alternative offering to
HBCD in the EPS/XPS segment.
In addition, Albemarle brings its financial backing and
GreenCrest product manufacturing experience to the venture."
Ilan Elkan,
ICL Industrial Products' vice president, Flame Retardants
"We are delighted to partner with Albemarle in increasing
the availability of our polymeric flame retardant offerings
to the EPS and XPS industries.
Our production of these innovative, sustainable polymeric products
at ICL sites in Israel and the Netherlands
will help to meet the growing market demand
for next generation flame retardants.
These polymeric flame retardants meet
the highest regulatory demands, while better enabling
the industry's transition from HBCD
within the timeframe established by EU regulators.
We have invested heavily to introduce our
polymeric flame retardant products, and
we welcome the manufacturing venture with Albemarle
to ensure that our respective customers
have an innovative solution to
produce their downstream products and
meet all fire safety standards.
Our joint production of polymeric flame retardants further
demonstrates the industry's overall commitment
to offering environmentally-friendly fire safety products and
solutions that meet increasingly stringent regulatory standards."
ICL IP's investment in
its polymeric flame retardant production capacities followed
extensive testing and evaluation processes conducted
by potential customers during the past several years.
Polymeric Flame Retardants Brochures
* ICL began to commercially produce and market
its FR-122P polymeric flame retardant product in 2013.
* Albemarle began commercial qualifications of
its GreenCrest sustainable polymeric product in 2013 and
started commercial supply in April 2014
from the Netherlands plant. Positive customer feedback
has confirmed that the GreenCrest product
is suitable for commercial uses in
EPS and XPS applications.
WWW.CHEMWINFO.COM BY KHUN PHICHAI
