SPECIAL In association with

NET ZERO AGENDA CUT COMPLEXITY

ISSUE Distributors in unique

position to influence
their value chains 30
US distributors aim to
help customers simplify
sourcing strategies 5

19-25 May 2023

MAKING SENSE OF CHEMICAL PRICES

ICIS TOP 100

CHEMICAL
DISTRIBUTORS
Volume 303 Number 18 19-25 May 2023

SPECIAL In association with

NET ZERO AGENDA CUT COMPLEXITY

ISSUE Distributors in unique

position to influence
their value chains 30
US distributors aim to
help customers simplify
sourcing strategies 5

19-25 May 2023

MAKING SENSE OF CHEMICAL PRICES

ICIS TOP 100

CHEMIC
CHEMICAL
DISTRIBUTORS Shutterstock

Shutterstock
Cover story
We present the 2023 ICIS
Top 100 Chemical
Distributors, based on 2022
sales revenues.
For full story see Special
Report

Shutterstock
Barentz seeks synergies to build a bridge from North to
IMCD

South America P38 Short-term turbulence, different

IMCD targets Asia, Americas for growth P34 business models needed for long-term prosperity P43

NEWS Pricing snapshot Plants & projects

11 ICIS news evening snapshots,
Briefing reported Wednesday 17 May 2023
6 Eurozone inflation rises on energy cost
Prices & markets
pressure.
Henkel opens adhesives tech centre 13 Ambitious Formula 1 carbon targets
need innovation
Focus 14 European distributors hope for
7 European chemical demand chills rebound.
distributors Podcast: Distributors more exposed to
economic pressures
TRENDS 15 PE, PP sellers turn to Africa market.
Weekly spot IPEX continues to fall
Market intelligence 17 Europe orthoxylene, phthalic anhydride
8 Engineering plastics market sees under pressure
reversal in 2023 19 New ethylene vinyl acetate in China;
9 Fast exit for Venator Materials from weak demand.
bankruptcy China base oils face oversupply
Pricing briefs Global plant status update
10 Europe PET sector triggers discord 20 Major plant disruptions, shutdowns
among participants. and restarts reported by ICIS,
US EPS continues to languish 11-17 May 2023
23 New projects and permanent plant
shutdowns, 8-14 May 2023
Chemical profile
124 Asia supply overhang is likely to define
the near-term outlook for key assessed
grades butyl-A and 2-EHA
125 A flurry of fair-weather enquiries could
put a stop to individual sellers’ recent
flexibility on European PET price
REGULARS
5 Commentary
122 What’s on
123 Conferences & events
SPECIAL REPORTS
25 ICIS Top 100 Chemical Distributors
We reveal the leaders of this important
element in the chemicals supply chain

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www.icis.com 19-25 May 2023 | ICIS Chemical Business | 3

London Calling!
Be a part of the conversation that is shaping
the future of base oils and lubricants.

28th ICIS World Base Oils

and Lubricants Conference
Park Plaza Westminster Bridge
See you there
6–8 February 2024
 COMMENTARY

Joseph Chang New York

The distributor evolution

Chemical distributors are developing more capabilities and pivoting faster than ever to
serve more complex supplier and customer needs. Look for big M&A ahead

Joseph Chang/ICIS
The Societe de Chimie Industrielle panel (from left) moderated by Mark Casiano from Odyssey Logistics
featured Terry Hill from Barentz, Jean-Paul Scheepens from IMCD and Frank Bergonzi from Azelis

The evolution of chemical distribution is accelerating to obvious choice.”

Have you seen the ICB web-
site? Get the latest stories at
icis.com/subscriber/icb
serve growing and ever more complex needs on both
the supplier and customer side.
Distributors have come a long way from being small
family-run businesses serving niche markets or conven-
ient outlets for producers with excess capacity, to an es-
sential partner for suppliers as an extension of their
sales organisations, as well as a one-stop shop for cus-
tomers seeking customised solutions from a broad
range of chemistries.
“Back in the day, suppliers that had excess capacity
gave some to distributors and didn’t really care where it
went. That’s changed tremendously over the years
where we’re now really an extension of their direct sell-
ing,” said Frank Bergonzi, CEO and president at Azelis
Americas. “We’re technically trained, have market ex-
pertise, and suppliers rely on us to get the market reach
they can’t get themselves.”
Bergonzi and other executives spoke on a panel at the
Societe de Chimie Industrielle in New York, moderated
by Mark Casiano, senior vice president, sales & customer
experience at Odyssey Logistics & Technology.
Reducing complexity, providing a view
Major consolidation in manufacturing has led to the
customer base becoming more complex, thus requir-
ing distributors to help reduce that complexity by better
serving individual customer needs, said Jean-Paul
Scheepens, president of IMCD US. “Finding ways to
help with that complexity, distribution partners are an
Distributors have helped modernise the chemical in-
dustry by providing value-added services such as lab
capabilities to help customers develop customised for-
mulations, as well as giving insight to suppliers on
where the growth opportunities might be.
“With the transparency a distributor can bring to a
manufacturer about the market – the types of applica-
tions [its products are being used for], and where the
opportunities are, it goes much further than just being a
middleman,” said Scheepens.
As distributors have gotten closer to the market,
manufacturers can now better forecast demand, said
Terry Hill, member of the supervisory board at Barentz.
“During times of pressure, there’s a tendency to rely
on your partners more. We see customers asking us
very different questions this cycle [in terms of invento-
ries], as well as from manufacturers trying to plan. We’re
the market insight for them,” said Hill.
Chemistry-agnostic
Distributors’ share of chemical sales have risen from
about 4-5% 40 years ago, to around 10-11% today, Hill
estimated. Distributors can bring unique capabilities to
customers, customising solutions based on all kinds of
chemistries, he pointed out.
“I remember talking to a researcher who said he real-
ly likes distributors coming in and helping them techni-
cally… ‘because when you come, you’re chemistry-ag-
Continued on P12 ii

www.icis.com 19-25 May 2023 | ICIS Chemical Business | 5

NEWS
News briefs
EUROPE
Arkema to acquire
German Polytec PT
French chemicals company Arke-
ma plans to acquire Polytec PT, a
Germany-based company that
develops thermal interface mate-
rials for batteries and engineering
adhesives for the electronics mar-
ket, it said on Wednesday 17 May.
The acquisition would strengthen
the product offering of Arkema’s
Bostik adhesives business to the
fast-growing batteries and elec-
tronics markets, it said. Polytec PT,
with annual sales of about €15m,
has a manufacturing site at Karls-
bad, northwest of Stuttgart.
Eurozone inflation rises on
energy cost pressure
Eurozone inflation edged up
slightly on persistent pressure
from energy costs in April, as the
rate for the wider EU showed a
soft decrease, according to the
latest data from the EU’s statisti-
cal agency Eurostat on Wednes-
day 17 May. Annual inflation in the
eurozone rose to 7.0%, up from
6.9% in March.
EU clears $4.6bn Solenis-
Diversey deal
The European Commission has
approved a proposed $4.6bn
deal to combine US-based firms
Solenis and Diversey. Specialty
chemicals producer Solenis is a
portfolio company of Platinum
Equity, which acquired the busi-
ness in 2021. Diversey, based in
Fort Mill, South Carolina, is a pro-
vider of hygiene, infection pre-
vention and cleaning solutions.
Solenis is the former Ashland
water chemicals business.
Europe ups 2023 GDP
forecast, risks intensify
The European Commission has
increased its forecast for annual
EU GDP growth in 2023 as Q1
economic data reduced reces-
sion fears, but inflation and finan-
cial sector stress have increased
downside risks to the economy.
The Commission upped its 2023
growth forecast to 1% from ex-
pectations of 0.8% in its winter
forecast in late 2022.
6 | ICIS Chemical Business | 19-25 May 2023
PET Baltija aims to triple
R-PET pellet capacity
Latvia’s PET Baltija is aiming to tri-
ple its recycled polyethylene tere-
phthalate (R-PET) food-grade pel-
let (FGP) capacity to around
36,000 tonnes/year with its new
plant, a spokesperson confirmed
to ICIS. PET Baltija, part of Eco
Baltia, announced plans for its
new R-PET recycling plant in
Olaine, Latvia, on Monday. Total
processing capacity at the new
facility after the implementation
of the project will be approxi-
mately 100,000 tonnes/year, the
spokesperson added.
Calibre Scientific acquires
supplier Chemos
Calibre Scientific has acquired
chemicals supplier Chemos, the
US-headquartered life sciences
firm announced on Tuesday 16
May. Chemos supplies ready-to-
use laboratory chemicals, rea-
gents and standards to analytical
laboratories and raw materials to
the chemicals, food, pharmaceuti-
cal and manufacturing industries.
AMERICAS
Henkel opens adhesives
tech centre in US
German adhesives, sealants and
functional coatings producer
Henkel this week opened a new
adhesives technologies centre at
Bridgewater, New Jersey. The
70,000 square-foot centre will
support customers from around
800 industry segments. It will
focus on innovation and sustain-
able adhesives solutions in mar-
kets such as hygiene, packaging
and labelling, tissue and towel,
flexible packaging, paper lamina-
tion, pressure sensitive tapes,
graphics, medical and labels, en-
gineered wood, and furniture and
construction markets.
3M partners with Svante
on carbon capture filters
US manufacturing and technolo-
gies group 3M and Canada’s
Svante have agreed to partner on
the development of direct air
capture products for carbon di-
oxide removal. Svante has devel-
oped a process for coating solid
For real-time news and analysis
from our global team of reporters,
visit: icis.com/about/news
sorbents onto laminate sheets
and stacking into high-perfor-
mance filters.
Brazil ethanol industry
follows Petrobras’ plans
To start making regional adjust-
ments while taking into consider-
ation domestic production and
the need for imports, Petrobras
will alternate the pricing ap-
proach for its products, including
the elimination of the import par-
ity price. Gasoline at Petrobras
refineries has reportedly been
unadjusted for 72 days and re-
mains 17% higher than the inter-
national market average.
Sasol to lift force majeure
on US linear alcohols
Sasol will lift the force majeure on
US linear alcohols and linear alco-
hol-based surfactants on 1 June,
the company confirmed in a cus-
tomer letter. Sasol will maintain a
sales control on some alcohol ho-
mologs until inventories are fully
restored. Sasol declared force
majeure on US Ziegler alcohols
and derivatives following a 15 Oc-
tober fire at its US Lake Charles,
Louisiana, plant.
ASIA
China’s industrial output
growth accelerates to 5.6%
China’s industrial outputs in-
creased at a faster pace of 5.6%
on year in April, the third consec-
utive acceleration in a row, data
from the National Bureau of Sta-
tistics (NBS) showed. Of the three
business categories, outputs in-
creased 6.5% for manufacturing,
4.8% for utilities and flat for min-
ing. Of the 41 industries covered
in the survey, 25 posted higher
outputs, led by car manufactur-
ing (44.6%), electric machinery
and products manufacturing
(17.3%), general equipment man-
ufacturing (13.5%).
Neste completes €1.6bn
Singapore refinery
Neste has completed the €1.6bn
expansion project at its Singapore
refinery which brings its total ca-
pacity to 2.6m tonnes/year, of
which up to 1m tonnes/year can
Click on the headline to read
the full story
be sustainable aviation fuel (SAF),
the Finland-based refiner said. The
start-up of the expanded capacity
was completed around mid-April
this year, the company said.”In ad-
dition to increased production ca-
pacity, the enhanced raw material
pre-treatment capacity onsite in-
creases Neste’s capability to pro-
cess more challenging waste and
residue raw materials,” it said.
Jiangsu Yanchang
Zhongran starts up PDH
Jiangsu Yanchang Zhongran has
started up its new propane dehy-
drogenation (PDH) plant on 13
May. The 600,000 tonne/year
PDH plant is located at Taixing in
Jiangsu, a province in east China.
The PDH plant has already
achieved on-spec propylene and
is ramping up production. Jiang-
su Yanchang Zhongran Chemical
is a joint venture between
Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum
Group and China Gas Holdings.
China’s SP Chemicals gets
nod for PDH project
China’s SP Chemicals (Taixing) will
be granted approval for a pro-
posed 800,000 tonne/year pro-
pane dehydrogenation (PDH) pro-
ject in Jiangsu province,
according to a local government
announcement. The project in-
volves an investment of around
yuan (CNY) 3.3bn ($473m), ac-
cording to Taixing ecology and
environment bureau. The compa-
ny has picked Lummus’ CATOFIN
technology for this unit. Timeline
for the project was not available.
Indonesia’s Pan Era
expands R-HDPE, R-LDPE
The Jakarta-headquartered Pan
Era Group will start commercial
production at its new recycled
low-density polyethylene (R-
LDPE) line in June. The new line,
which is in the company’s second
facility in Indonesia, will add
10,000 tonnes/year of R-LDPE
pellets to its existing 12,000
tonne/year plant. Pan Era has ap-
plied for the certification of its R-
LDPE materials by the Global Re-
cycled Standard (GRS), which it
estimates it should gain in July.
www.icis.com

Europe distribution Tom Brown London
Demand chills distributors
Speakers at this week’s ICIS/Fecc round table acknowledge they have yet to benefit from a bounce back
The much-heralded rebound in
European chemicals demand is
yet to register above a murmur.
With demand tepid as destock-
ing weighs further on consump-
tion and manufacturing remains
bearish, conditions are becoming
increasingly chilly for distributors.
Unencumbered by the scale of
large capital assets operated by
chemicals producers and without
the burden of energy-intensive
goods production, chemicals dis-
tribution was not as hard-hit as
the wider industry by the energy
crisis that bedevilled Europe
through much of 2022.
Germany-based major Brenn-
tag reported a close to twofold in-
crease in post-tax profits in 2022,
while Netherlands-based IMCD
reported a 37% increase in gross
profit for the year. Momentum has
slowed into 2023, with Brenntag
reporting declining annual profits
for the first quarter and the rate of
growth reported by IMCD sub-
stantially diminishing.
While the energy crisis was felt
more keenly by producers, the
demand slowdown represents a
far more general malaise, and dis-
tributors are starting to feel the
pinch of low consumption and
heavy competition.
A divergent recovery
Recent purchasing managers’
index (PMI) data for eurozone in-
dustry has shown the sharpest
decoupling between service and
manufacturing sector fortunes
since the immediate aftermath of
the global financial crisis, with
travel and accommodation boom-
ing and production contracting.
Weak demand is resulting in in-
tensifying competition and lower
pricing for distributors, as players
seek to retain a share of what little
business there currently is.
“Product availability is much
better than the last two years, sup-
ply chains are stabilising and there
is a flow of goods coming from
www.icis.com
Business leaders speaking at this week’s ICIS/Fecc CEO round table
outside Europe again, which is
putting pressure on price levels,”
said Stephan Andreas, CEO at
Germany-based distributor Julius
Hoesch.
“That adds to weak demand
because customers are waiting
for the prices to drop to buy
again, so it’s quite a weak situa-
tion when it comes to quantities.
Margins are also under pressure
and we see strong competition in
the distribution market because
demand is so weak,” he added.
The current weakness in Eu-
rope, with first-quarter GDP
growth registered on Tuesday at
0.1%, is also leading the larger,
more globally-networked distri-
bution players to look elsewhere
for growth.
“I would say Europe as a region
should watch out very carefully
because I think investments will
go to Asia and to the US predomi-
nantly and that will over time
cause a decline in demand,” said
IMCD CEO Piet van der Slikke.
The current demand weakness
is perceptible across most key
chemicals end markets, he added.
“Behind construction chemi-
cals comes paints and coatings,
decorative paint, industrial
paints, the building industry. You
would normally see in the coat-
ings market a pick up in the sec-
ond quarter so the circumstanc-
es are not that great at this
moment,” he said.
Demand rebound elusive
The important thing is to be ready
to respond when conditions do
start to thaw, with many players
now projecting that a more re-
sounding uptick in demand may
not be apparent until late 2023 or
into next year.
“It is a question of being resil-
ient for the rest of the year, and
this is why we need lot of reactivi-
ty in our business model,” said
NOVASOL CEO Francois-Xavier
Coiffard, speaking at a European
Association of Chemical Distribu-
tors (Fecc)-ICIS distributor CEO
roundtable on Monday.
Fragmented market
The sector is also facing up to
the same regulatory pressures
around decarbonisation and
competitive pressure from digiti-
sation as the wider chemicals
sector but, with distribution re-
maining an extremely fragment-
ed space, many of the players
are SMEs.
For smaller players, newer
fields such as robotics and artifi-
cial intelligence offer substantial
promise but remain daunting.
“Digitisation is going to be very
important for the chemicals dis-
tribution business [in terms of]
capacity to differentiate and de-
liver and improved service,” said
Herlinde Wauteraets, CEO for Eu-
rope at Omya
“It will lead to more transpar-
19-25 May 2023 | ICIS Chemical Business | 7
NEWS FOCUS
ency, efficiency, more agile sup-
ply chains, and better customer
experience in general. It’s going
to be a game-changer and a
huge opportunity. However it
also comes at a cost. That is
maybe going to be a challenge
for smaller chemicals distribu-
tors,” she added.
Regulatory compliance on de-
carbonisation is also more com-
plicated for smaller players, but
the work being done in Europe
could provide competitive ad-
vantages in the future, according
to Neville Prior, chairman of Cor-
nelius Group.
“Distributors typically have a
large reach across the globe, and
could be talking with manufac-
turers in countries where the
whole idea of net zero is perhaps
less ingrained than in the EU, so
that is something, that if we’re
helping those companies it could
be a competitive advantage for
the distributor having those con-
versations,” he added.
The lower demand environ-
ment has allowed supply chains
to normalise after the disruption
of the pandemic but, like most
aspects of trade post-COVID,
there may not be a true normal
to return to.
Disruption has eased and trade
flows are smoother, allowing for
more international product to
move into Europe, but all it could
take is an uptick in demand for
those fracture lines to deepen
once more.
Peter Wilkes, a member of the
executive board at Biesterfeld,
expressed fears on the Fecc-ICIS
panel discussion that tepid de-
mand, destocking and competi-
tively-priced imports could see a
wave of production cuts and
shutdowns in Europe similar to
late 2022. Q
Additional reporting by
Will Beacham and Morgan
Condon
MARKET INTELLIGENCE
EP sees reversal in ‘23
The engineering plastics market is seeing a diametrically opposite picture in 2023
versus 2022 with ample supply and falling prices. Europe is full of Asian imports
Meeta Ramnani London
Low demand, ample supply, few trades, cheap feed-
stocks, and falling prices have characterised engineer-
ing plastics markets in April, a sharp contrast compared
to the same period a year earlier.
European polyacetal (POM) and polybutylene tereph-
thalate (PBT) markets are facing extremely low demand
and are oversupplied with domestic and Asian product.
Engineering plastics have been among the worst-hit
products in Europe by uncertain macroeconomics, in-
flation and increasing interest rates in Europe.
For producers, the good news is that prices of key
feedstocks butanediol (BDO) and methanol have fallen,
but the bad news is that the same trend is seen for POM
and PBT prices.
For buyers, the market is full of Asian imports, which
are 15-20% cheaper than European product, which is
intensifying pressure on European suppliers. Buyers re-
main in wait-and-watch mode for prices to come down.
Demand outlook
The slight uptick in PBT demand in April this year was
only due to some improvement in the automotive seg-
ment. Currently, players dealing with PBT are optimistic
about demand in May and June from automotive, but
overall expect Q2 to see subdued demand compared
with years described as ‘normal’.
For buyers, the market is full of Asian
imports, which are 15-20% cheaper than
European product
For POM, there have hardly been any trades this year,
as every supplier has enough product from 2022.
In terms of demand, 2022 was also not considered
normal. Consumption from the automotive sector was
slow, not just due to the global semiconductor shortage,
but also the shortage of cable components from Ukraine.
Europe engineering plastics
€/kg, contract FD NWE
5.5
5.0
4.5
4.0
3.5
3.0
Have you seen the ICB website?
Get the latest stories at 2.5
icis.com/subscriber/icb Q3 2021 Q4 2021 Q1 2022 Q2 2022
8 | ICIS Chemical Business | 19-25 May 2023
For real-time news and analysis
from our global team of reporters,
visit: icis.com/about/news
With the onset of the Russia-Ukraine war, April 2022
was also a year of market unbalance, but there was high
demand and low supply.
The high demand arose from electrical, industrial and
consumer industry applications.
For POM, 2022 was a year where demand from sec-
tors such as furniture and other small appliance applica-
tions remained stable.
The inflationary pressures that started from the third
quarter of 2022 have continued to impact demand, with
concerns abiding about consumption, which has not
improved. Market sentiment is extremely pessimistic
due to the cost of living crisis.
Difference in supply dynamics
Europe is currently seeing a high supply of both POM
and PBT, especially because of imports from Asia. De-
mand is soft, mostly due to a slowdown in the small ap-
pliance and furniture segments which has led to an im-
balance in the market.
The wait-and-watch mode of buyers is causing more
uncertainty about demand. In such an environment of
oversupply, European producers have started tailoring
production levels as per demand.
The cause of low supply in 2022 was more down to
logistical issues, with the market facing the impact of
stringent COVID-19 measures in China on imported ma-
terial, which caused delays and higher logistical costs.
A strain on supply for both POM and PBT with the
high cost of feedstock and raw materials remained a
major hurdle. The supply issues impacted both buyers
and sellers.
It is essential to note that this panic created additional
demand due to stocking for ‘safety reasons’. Due to lo-
gistical issues, many suppliers focused on keeping their
inventories high. This further increased prices and im-
pacted the whole supply chain.
Market dynamics in both April 2022 and April 2023 re-
mained unbalanced, but shifted from product shortages
and high demand to ample supply and low demand.
PBT, Unfilled POM, Natural Grade
Q3 2022 Q4 2022 Q1 2023
www.icis.com
 MARKET INTELLIGENCE

Currently, market sentiment has worsened as sellers

are finding it extremely difficult to sell product. Buyers
are mostly in wait-and-watch mode before purchasing
any material. In 2022, trade was booming and demand
was for higher volumes.
Asia imports
In 2022, obtaining imports from Asia was difficult for
many months. Imports were impacted by the imple-
mentation of stringent COVID-19 containment meas-
ures in China, including a lockdown in Shanghai.
There were longer lead times and delays in obtaining
material, and overall logistics became an even bigger
hurdle. Container freight rates on the Asia to Europe
route remained elevated.
The European market now remains oversupplied
with Asian material, with the arbitrage window with
Asia wide open and little expectation that imports will
decrease.
Market dynamics in April 2022 and April
2023 were unbalanced, but shifted from
product shortages and high demand to
ample supply and low demand
Low shipping costs from northeast Asia to Europe
are providing higher incentive to bring product into
the region.
The Asian market was expected to pick up by April,
but domestic demand remains low and prices in Asia
have fallen because supply is more than required. For
European sellers, it is increasingly difficult to remain
competitive, especially for low volumes.
Many European POM buyers have switched to cheap-
er Asian material. In terms of lead times, there were
some trades in April where getting product from Asia
was faster than from Europe due to the strikes in France
and Germany.
Production outlook
Contract negotiations in 2022 were based completely
on supply issues and high production costs. High costs
for both raw material and feedstocks was one of the
main reasons for the shortages. The price increases
were linked to higher costs for feedstocks, including
BDO and methanol.
Increased production costs (including high natural
gas costs) in Europe in light of the Russia-Ukraine con-
flict also impacted negotiations.
This year, the price of PBT’s key feedstock BDO fell in
April, which reduced margin pressures for producers.
POM’s key feedstock methanol also saw falling prices.
Natural gas costs did increase in Q3, but have been low
since the beginning of 2023.
Overall, producing engineering plastics in 2023 is
significantly cheaper compared to 2022.
Overall, the key concern in the market remains de-
mand. Until consumption improves there cannot be im-
provement in the market fundamentals.
Think Tank
Al Greenwood Houston
Fast exit for Venator from bankruptcy
Venator Materials has reached a re-
structuring support agreement with
the creditors that hold the majority
of the company’s debt, which could
allow the company to emerge from
US Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
in a couple of months.
Under a timeline proposed in the
agreement, Venator would need the
court to confirm its bankruptcy plan
in the next 60 days from its 14 May
bankruptcy filing. After the court
confirms the plan, Venator could
emerge from bankruptcy protection
within the next five days.
Under the restructuring agree-
ment, nearly all of the company’s
funded debt will be equitised into
stock owned by the creditors, signifi-
cantly reducing its debt burden.
Venator expects to continue to
operate normally while it is under
bankruptcy protection. It will con-
tinue to pay wages and offer benefits
to its employees and it will pay all of
its trade partners. It will retain it
plants and management.
Earlier in the decade, demand for
Venator’s titanium dioxide (TiO2) and
other products surged as customers
built up stockpiles to account for
market and supply chain issues, said
Kurt Ogden, CFO, in an affidavit filed
with the bankruptcy court.
Demand fell after these issues
passed, Ogden said.
Inflation further reduced demand
for Venator’s products.
Venator Materials stock price
$
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
At the same time, the war be-
tween Russia and Ukraine caused a
sharp increase in the company’s
costs for production, feedstock and
shipping, Ogden said.
Venator was particularly exposed
as most of its plants are in Europe.
To top things off, Venator had op-
erational issues. Operations in Pori,
Finland, have operated at a loss
since a fire in 2017.
Venator is the latest example of a
chemical company reaching a re-
structuring agreement with its credi-
tors as part of a pre-packaged
bankruptcy filing.
Under the restructuring
agreement, nearly all of the
company’s funded debt will
be equitised into stock
owned by creditors
The process significantly short-
ens the formal bankruptcy process.
Prior to Venator, Butadiene (BD)
producer TPC Group was the most
recent company to pursue such a
bankruptcy strategy. The whole
process lasted less than seven
months.
Hexion also reached a restructur-
ing support agreement with its cred-
itors right before it filed for
bankruptcy protection in 2019. It was
in and out of bankruptcy in less than
a year.

Engineering plastics inventories are full in Europe, but

0.0
production levels are low. May Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May
2022 2023
If there is a sudden uptick in demand, there will be a
short period of tightness. Q

www.icis.com 19-25 May 2023 | ICIS Chemical Business | 9

PRICE & MARKET TRENDS
Pricing briefs
EUROPE
PET sector triggers discord
among participants
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
in Europe is undergoing a trans-
formative period, as demand con-
cerns heighten. Sellers, buyers,
even traders, are experiencing
tension due to low demand, with
nobody in the driving seat. “The
market is pretty stressed all over.
It’s not just in Europe. Our demand
is weak in most regions,” a buyer
said. Participants had expected to
see improved sales volumes in
May, but for many, these hopes
have been postponed to June
Europe BDO May contracts
settle at a decrease
Butanediol (BDO) contracts in Eu-
rope for May have settled at a
€100/tonne decrease from April.
The decrease was due to persis-
tent pressure from imported mate-
rial, as well as ongoing low de-
mand levels. The decrease in April
was also because of these reasons.
There is no issue with availability at
the moment for market players,
particularly when considering the
needs of the market, as material
can be acquired from within Eu-
rope or overseas when needed.
Europe LDPE spot dips
below C4 LLDPE
European spot prices for low-den-
sity polyethylene (LDPE) have
dropped below those for C4 (bu-
tene-based) linear low-density pol-
yethylene (LLDPE) for the first time
in more than three years. The unu-
sual pricing gap between the two
is particularly driven by weak de-
mand and hefty competition over
prices in the normally-higher-val-
ued polymer, LDPE. LDPE dropped
to €1,130-1,200/tonne FD NWE, on
Friday, 12 May, while C4 LLDPE was
at €1,150-1,200/tonne FD NWE.
Europe jet kerosene spot
prices soften after bounce
Europe jet kerosene spot prices
have maintained a softer trend
week on week. Cargo prices
began the week at $728/tonne,
before ticking up to $752/tonne
on 10 May. On 12 May, at the end
of the week, prices closed at
10 | ICIS Chemical Business | 19-25 May 2023
$727/tonne and were below the
two-year low seen just over a
week ago.
Europe ACN declines on
prolonged lack of demand
The spot price midpoint for Euro-
pean acrylonitrile (ACN) tumbled
in the week ending Friday 12 May,
due to downward pressure
brought about by a prolonged
lack of demand. Ample availabili-
ty continues to collide with lack-
lustre downstream buying inter-
est. A few players noted better
than expected enquiries for June
and July volumes.
Europe butac price range
widens
The price range for butyl acetate
(butac) in Europe widened in the
week ending 12 May. The price
range went from €1,370-1,450/
tonne FD NWE to €1,350-1,450/
tonne. Demand has improved
slightly in comparison to a few
months ago, but it has merely
picked up from a very low level
and is not a case of significantly
healthy buying interest.
Europe toluene spot prices
stable to firm
European bulk weekly toluene
spot prices increased for some
and were stable for others in the
week ending 12 May. Toluene bulk
spot prices for the week ending
12 May increased at the low end
and remain unchanged at the
high end compared with the
week ending 5 May, as Eurobob
gasoline prices increased at the
low end and decreased at the
high end, while spot premiums
were unchanged at the low end
and increased at the high end.
Europe etac price range
narrows
The price range for ethyl acetate
(etac) in Europe narrowed in the
week ending 12 May, to highlight a
softening at the high end. Etac
prices were assessed at €1,080-
1,180/tonne FD NWE, down from
€1,080-1,200/tonne FD NWE. Spot
buying interest remains muted
because buyers’ requirements are
low and many are covered by con-
For up-to-date information on more
than 120 global commodities, visit:
icis.com/about/price-reports
tract. There is talk that many sup-
pliers have reduced run rates and
lowered output.
AMERICAS
US EPS continues to
languish
US expandable polystyrene de-
mand continues to languish, fall-
ing short of earlier seasonal pro-
jections. Higher interest rates and
inflation have dampened building
and construction demand, the
main end-use outlet for EPS. RV
demand is expected to continue
to fall through the first half of 2023
as consumers are squeezed by in-
flation, higher interest rates and a
slowing economy. US EPS prices
as assessed by ICIS are 121-124
cents/lb delivered US for block.
US epoxy resins facing
bearish backdrop in May
US epoxy resins is facing a bear-
ish backdrop in May, with the
market more muted than usual as
underlying demand struggles to
grow. Domestics are flexible on
price as they are keen to move
volume, but some discussions
may come down to how compet-
itive they are willing to be with
imports. US April epoxy resin
standard liquid contract prices as
assessed by ICIS are $1.98-2.30/
lb delivered N America in bulk.
Stepan seeks July increase
on US polyester polyols
Stepan is seeking an increase of 4
cents/lb on its STEPANPOL and
TERATE rigid polyester polyols ef-
fective 1 July due to rising costs for
feedstock diethylene glycol. Poly-
ester polyol demand has slowed
in recent months on widespread
recession concerns, reduced new
construction activity and higher
interest rates. US polyester polyol
prices as assessed by ICIS are 164-
194 cents/lb for polyols polyether
flexible foam slabstock delivered
US in bulk.
ASIA
SE Asia PET export market
falls amid softer feedstock
The spot bottle-grade polyethyl-
ene terephthalate (PET) market in
southeast Asia softened in the
Click on the headlines to
read the full story
week ended 12 May, tracking sof-
tening feedstock costs. The price
of bottle-grade PET spot cargoes
softened by $10/tonne on both
the high and low ends, and was at
$1,070-1,240/tonne FOB (free on
board) southeast Asia (SEA) in the
week ended 12 May, down from
$1,080-1,250/tonne FOB SEA in
the week ended 5 May, ICIS data
showed.
FPCC to export spot base
oils to southeast Asia
Taiwan’s Formosa Petrochemical
Corporation (FPCC) is expected
to export a small volume of
Group II base oils spot cargoes to
southeast Asia in June, versus
zero in April-May, according to a
major importer in China. The vol-
ume will be less than 5,000
tonnes, priced on the basis of
ICIS assessment, the source
added. FPCC is turning to the
southeast Asian market because
mainland Chinese importers
have shown thin interest in June
arrivals in view of negative import
margins recently for FPCC’s high
viscosity Group II materials.
China’s Sinopec decreases
benzene list prices
China’s Sinopec has decreased its
domestic benzene list prices by
yuan (CNY) 100/tonne, a company
source said on 16 May. Its benzene
prices were adjusted to CNY6,800/
tonne EXW (ex-works) nationwide.
The new list price has an import
parity of $854/tonne CFR (cost &
freight) China, L/C (letter of credit)
at sight, or around $866/tonne
CFR China, L/C 90 days.
PE gas pipe market softens
on weak demand
The Chinese black polyethylene
(PE) pipe grade 100 spot market
softened in the week ended 10
May on the back of poor demand.
Prices for black PE pipe grade
100 spot cargoes, designated for
gas applications, were at $1,100-
1,180/tonne CFR (cost and freight)
China in the week ended 10 May.
In comparison, prices were at
$1,110-1,190/tonne CFR China in
the week ended 3 May, ICIS data
shows.
www.icis.com
 PRICE & MARKET TRENDS

ICIS News weekly price snapshot

Reported in ICIS News evening snapshots, Wednesday 17 May 2023
US benzene, toluene, MX US ethylene, propylene
$/gal Benzene Toluene MX Cents/lb Ethylene Propylene
5.0 80

70
4.5
60
4.0
50
3.5
40
3.0
30

2.5 20

2.0 10
22 Feb 8 Mar 22 Mar 5 Apr 19 Apr 3 May 17 May 22 Feb 8 Mar 22 Mar 5 Apr 19 Apr 3 May 17 May
2023 2023 2023 2023 2023 2023 2023 2023 2023 2023 2023 2023 2023 2023

Europe benzene, styrene, naphtha Asia ethylene, propylene, styrene

$/tonne Naphtha Benzene Styrene $/tonne Ethylene (CFR NE Asia) Propylene (CFR NE Asia)
1,500 1,200 Styrene monomer (CFR China)

1,100
1,250

1,000
1,000
900

750
800

500 700
22 Feb 8 Mar 22 Mar 5 Apr 19 Apr 3 May 17 May 22 Feb 8 Mar 22 Mar 5 Apr 19 Apr 3 May 17 May
2023 2023 2023 2023 2023 2023 2023 2023 2023 2023 2023 2023 2023 2023

ICIS general methodology

ICIS continuously develops, reviews and revises its methodologies in consultation with industry participants. Product specifications and trading terms and
conditions used aim to reflect typical working practices prevalent in the industry. ICIS publishes market prices based on information continuously gath-
ered from market participants about: spot transactions, spot bid and offer levels, contract price negotiations, prices of related commodities, and relevant
freight costs. For the entire general methodology, visit: www.icis.com/about/methodology/general

Regional snapshot data: 17 May 2023

Product Price ($/tonne) Change on week
Naphtha 591.00 -12.00
Benzene 1,015.00 30.00
Styrene 940.00 -107.50

EUROPE

ASIA
AMERICAS

Product Price Change on week Product Price ($/tonne) Change on week

Ethane (cents/gal) 20.875 1.25 Naphtha 577.00 -32.00
Toluene ($/gal) 3.525 0.125 Benzene 848.50 -25.00
Benzene ($/gal) 3.565 0.195 Toluene 835.00 10.00
MX ($/gal) 3.525 -0.075 Ethylene 855.00 -15.00
Ethylene (cents/lb) 17.3125 -0.1875 Propylene 855.00 -25.00
Propylene (cents/lb) 35.50 2.50 Styrene 985.00 -47.50

www.icis.com 19-25 May 2023 | ICIS Chemical Business | 11

COMMENTARY
ii Continued from P5
nostic – you’re problem solvers. If
I talk to one manufacturer, the
solution is always going to be
their chemistry’,” Hill recalled.
“Technical expertise is one of
the things that have changed in
my career – from distributors not
having anything other than QC
(quality control) labs, to having
application labs and all these ser-
vices. That’s been an evolution,
where the customers don’t have
to do it [on their own] anymore
and neither do the manufactur-
ers,” he added.
“A key for the customer is our
ability to innovate and formulate…
We can provide solutions, not just
based on a manufacturer’s prod-
uct but multiple manufacturers’
products,” said Bergonzi.
Distributors are in a sweet spot
as manufacturers view them
more as strategic partners, while
on the other side, customers are
essentially outsourcing procure-
ment and supply chain functions
to distributors, Hill pointed out.
“I’ve seen both sides of the
fence growing. We see more and
more manufacturers using dis-
tributors as their channel to mar-
ket, and customers themselves
are also opening up greater
spend to distributors,” said Hill.
Supply chain stress
Frank Bergonzi
CEO, Azelis Americas
“Back in the day,
suppliers that had excess
capacity gave some to
distributors and didn’t
really care where it went.
That’s changed
tremendously over the
years where we’re now
really an extension of
their direct selling”
12 | ICIS Chemical Business | 19-25 May 2023
Terry Hill
Member of the supervisory board, Barentz
“I’ve seen both sides of the fence
growing. We see more and more
manufacturers using distributors as
their channel to market, and customers
themselves are also opening up
greater spend to distributors”
The value proposition of distribu-
tors shines bright in times of sup-
ply chain disruptions, as was
seen throughout much of 2021
and 2022.
Customers can often rely on
distributors to take care of the
supply chain for them, as lead
times for delivery can be as short
as 24-48 hours, said Hill.
“Also, our ability to pivot from
one chemistry or one supply
chain to another has been key,”
he said. “There are some chemis-
tries that are not made anywhere
else but China or in another
place, but there are functional
equivalents. We’ve seen that start
to change where people say, ‘I’ve
got to have a second source – not
that chemistry but a functional
equivalent.”
M&A outlook
The executives see consolidation
in distribution continuing strong
despite economic and financing
challenges. Private equity will
play a sizeable role, providing
funds for distributors to make tar-
geted acquisitions.
“There’s high fragmentation…
so I don’t see it slowing down,”
said Bergonzi.
In North America, the level of
fragmentation in distribution is
around 60% of the market in the
bottom tier, with Europe higher at
about 70% and Asia even higher
at around 80%, noted Hill.
“Our companies have all
grown tremendously in the last
3-4 years, organically and
through acquisitions. We have
acquired some of the smaller and
mid-sized regionals, but I also
think in the next 3-5 years we’ll
see the big guys start coming to-
gether as well,” said Hill.
“That will be driven a lot by pri-
vate equity and the financial
world because there is no one in
our business that has enough
market share on a global basis,
that regulators would look at it,”
he added.
Market challenges
Meanwhile, distributors are deal-
ing with difficult market condi-
tions. “We’ve all heard from cus-
tomers and suppliers that there’s
destocking happening in the sup-
ply chain. The question on every-
body’s minds is: How long can this
last? One supplier said it quite well
that it went from just-in-case or-
dering from customers, back to
just-in-time,” said Scheepens.
This is a stark reversal from the
order patterns during the height
of the supply chain disruptions in
2021 and early 2022 when cus-
tomers stocked up aggressively
amid scarce supply.
“Now that supply has loosened
up, it has flipped, and every-
body’s very conservative with in-
ventories and working capital,”
said Scheepens.
“A lot of people are pushing
back orders until they absolutely
need them,” said Bergonzi. “In the
last couple of years, they wanted
to get it before the next price in-
crease. Now it’s completely
changed… We keep thinking it’s
going to turn around, but the in-
dustrial side has been pretty
tough this year.”
North America opportunities
Looking beyond near-term chal-
lenges, there’s a growing oppor-
tunity for distributors to serve an
emerging revival in the manufac-
turing base in North America. In-
dustries that disappeared such as
electronics and pharmaceuticals
are now coming back, Hill point-
ed out.
“The US transitioned in the early
1990s to the 2000s from a manu-
facturing to a consumer-based
economy. I don’t think we’re going
all the way back, but you see that
starting to change,” said Hill.
“When you think about the US,
Canada and Mexico, we’re very
bullish. There’s a lot of manufac-
turing coming back and a lot of
things happening because we
have low-cost energy. What we
also see is friction between the US
and China governments.”
The unreliability of some sup-
ply chains exhibited during the
pandemic leading to port con-
gestion and other logistics con-
straints, is also driving the reshor-
ing trend, said Scheepens.
Carbon footprint
A growing area of focus is help-
ing customers meet their sustain-
ability goals, which will also re-
quire greater collaboration with
suppliers.
“We do see our customers ask-
ing more and more about life
cycle analysis (LCA) and carbon
footprint. We are an extension of
our suppliers’ commercial organi-
sations, so we have a big role to
play in our industry in helping
suppliers figure out where the
pockets of opportunities are, and
how we can be more sustainable
together,” said Scheepens.
Distributors are also challeng-
ing suppliers to give more direc-
tion on which sustainable prod-
ucts can replace others, and how
that might impact the bottom
line, said Bergonzi. Q
Jean-Paul Scheepens
President, IMCD US
“We do see our
customers asking more
and more about life cycle
analysis (LCA) and
carbon footprint. We are
an extension of our
suppliers’ commercial
organisations, so we
have a big role to play”
www.icis.com

Global
F1 carbon targets need innovation
Ambitious F1 motorsport carbon targets are only possible with more innovation and D&I
Katherine Sale London
Formula 1 racing has set itself am-
bitious carbon neutrality targets
that can only be achieved with
more sustainability and innova-
tion as well as diversity and inclu-
sion (D&I) in the workforce, an in-
dustry executive said.
Claire Williams, former deputy
team principle at Williams Rac-
ing, added that D&I principles
transcend both the chemical in-
dustry and Formula 1 motorsport.
She was speaking at the ICIS
World Base Oils and Lubricants
Conference, held in the UK earlier
in May.
Carbon ambitions
The Formula 1 industry is aiming
to use 100% sustainable fuels by
2026 and achieve carbon neu-
trality by 2030.
“They’ve set themselves some
ambitious targets,” said Williams.
Sustainability in Formula 1
would cover more than targets
for the fuel and engines of the ve-
hicles, and a holistic approach to
the industry’s operations is need-
ed, especially as Formula 1 looks
to expand its global reach, with
new races in the US, she added.
“The sport has to really
change and look at itself to look
at all those areas because if it
doesn’t have a sustainable fu-
ture, it doesn’t have a future,”
said Williams.
Sustainability was a key theme
throughout the ICIS World Base
Oils conference, including hybrid
engines and the impact on lubri-
cants, given the changes in oper-
ating conditions.
More transparency and trace-
ability along the base oils and lu-
bricants value chain is needed to
achieve the target of carbon neu-
trality. There has been rapid pro-
gress in, for example, calculating
carbon footprints in the lubricant
industry, but more is needed.
“Formula 1 has always been
one of those hotbeds of innova-
tion,” said Williams, highlighting
www.icis.com
Shutterstock
Claire Williams spoke at the
ICIS World Base Oils and
Lubricants Conference in
London
that progress made in the sec-
tor trickles down to impact the
consumer.
“Industries such as aerospace,
defence, obviously automotive
and motorsport as well, health-
care in hospitals – they’re using
the technologies, the knowledge
base, the skills and the expertise
we use, leverage and learn from
the Formula 1 side,” she said.
Formula 1 was also a pioneer in
the pursuit for electric engines,
introducing hybrid engines in
2014.
“Electrification was one of the
key areas of that level of innova-
tion. That’s where so many of the
teams now and the sport are fo-
cusing on,” added Williams.
Electrification had been an
area of uncertainty for the base
oils and lubricants sector, accord-
ing to Ian Field, founder of Ian
Field Consulting and chairman of
the ICIS Technical programme,
who highlighted there has been a
shift in sentiment in the industry.
“The lifetime use of lubricants
for electric vehicles (EVs) gives us
hope for the future,” said Field,
who stressed hybrid engines
offer a space for growth, as well
as developments like the ‘stop-
start’ functionality, which has in-
creased the stopping of the en-
gine tenfold.
Williams highlighted the vital
role the lubricants industry plays
in the successful performance of
a Formula 1 car, particularly
around the optimisation of the
engine.
“So many failures in Formula 1
are down to engine issues. There-
fore, if you don’t have the right lu-
bricant in your engine, you are in
trouble. It can be a game chang-
er,” she said.
In 2022, Williams Advanced
Engineering (WAE), a company
providing services to the auto-
motive industry, entered a five-
year technical partnership with
lubricants producer Castrol to
co-develop high performance
EV fluids.
The agreement includes the
supply of EV thermal fluids for
WAE’s electrification and motor-
sport activities, including Formu-
la E, a championship for EVs.
Inclusive workforces
A key success in Williams’ career
was increasing the female repre-
sentation in the team to the high-
est of any in the paddock, up
from 7% to 17.6% in five years.
This was achieved through ac-
tive recruitment, unconscious
bias training for staff, mentor
programmes and a change in
culture.
“That’s quite considerable
change, but it doesn’t come just
organically,” said Williams.
The COVID-19 pandemic exac-
erbated the inequity of women in
the workforce, with more of the
so-called ‘shecession’, a down-
turn where job and income losses
affect women more than men,
reversing many of the equality
gains achieved since 2017.
“We have to get the critical
mass at the grass roots level,”
she said.
Women entering science,
technology, engineering, and
19-25 May 2023 | ICIS Chemical Business | 13
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
mathematics (STEM) subjects at
degree level are still significantly
outweighed by male counter-
parts, impacting the diversity of
talent to both Formula 1 and
chemicals.
“Girls have got to start focus-
ing on the STEM subjects in
school. If you haven’t got that
pipeline, then it’s going to take a
generation to transform things,”
said Williams.
The pipeline all the way to lead-
ership role was key to Williams to
transform the sport, with no fe-
male team principals since she
left in 2020, and her expectation
that it will take a generation to see
a female Formula 1 driver.
According to Williams, diversi-
ty in the workplace goes much
further than gender – accessibili-
ty is also a key aspect. This Wil-
liams knows well as her father,
Frank Williams, was a wheelchair
user since 1986.
“Accessibility in the workplace
is one of the biggest factors,” she
added, highlighting how difficult
it can be to simply gain access to
a workplace that is suited for
wheelchair users.
The ability and desire to adapt
to attract a more inclusive work-
force will be key to the future of
both the chemical industry and
Formula 1, highlighted for the lat-
ter by the huge success of the
Netflix series Drive to Survive and
the recent conquering of the US
market.
“So many work environments
just aren’t set up for women.
They’re set up for men, and
women have to work within
them and adapt accordingly,”
said Williams.
“I think Formula 1 needs to
make those changes to see more
women be able to reach the glass
ceiling and smash right through
it,” she concluded. Q
The next ICIS World Base
Oils and Lubricants confer-
ence, will take place on 6-8
February 2024 at Park Plaza
Westminster, London UK.
PRICE & MARKET TRENDS
Europe
Distributors hope for rebound
Companies are looking for an upturn from difficult conditions towards the end of the year
Morgan Condon London
While no immediate rebound is
expected for the European chemi-
cals industry in the second quar-
ter, distributors anticipate an up-
turn towards the end of the year.
Speaking at a roundtable host-
ed by the European Association
of Chemical Distributors (Fecc)
and ICIS on Monday, executives
shared varying levels of optimism
about what the coming months
hold for the industry.
Lars Wallstein, IMCD managing
director for Germany, stated con-
ditions were subjective depend-
ing on the sector, and that expo-
sure to the right segments, such
as pharmaceuticals and medical
plastics, still provided good busi-
ness conditions.
The construction sector con-
tinues to face significant chal-
lenges in the wake of hefty infla-
tion and resulting hikes to interest
rates imposed to combat this.
“Sometimes I am surprised
that people are surprised that
construction is not doing well this
Podcast
Distributors more exposed to economic pressures
Catch up with news and analysis of chemical and hydrogen markets from our team of editorial experts
Podcast Vicky Ellis London
PE and PP in
Africa, Europe
John Richardson, ICIS senior
consultant joins Ben Lake,
Africa editor, and Vicky Ellis,
senior editor for Europe, to
discuss possible areas of op-
timism, and to find out why
Europe is struggling in what
should be boom time for its
markets. Podcast edited by
Meeta Ramnani
Click here to listen to the
podcast
14 | ICIS Chemical Business | 19-25 May 2023
year, but this was on the cards for
a long time,” said Wallstein.
A return in demand, will also
bring about producers trying to
ramp up capacity, which will
cause kinks and shortages in the
supply chain, which distributors
must keep in mind ahead of time.
Wallstein said that although a
return to form was unlikely before
the summer, a recovery after-
wards would be relatively smooth
as shipping reliability has re-
turned to normal following the
pressure in the aftermath of the
pandemic.
Novasol Chemicals CEO Fran-
cois-Xavier Coiffard was more
optimistic for Europe, citing the
potential for growth in Turkey de-
spite significantly higher levels of
inflation.
He stated that although some
industries like construction will re-
main weak, segments such as per-
sonal care and pharmaceuticals
would still provide opportunity.
“I am quite optimistic but we
have to be extremely accurate
where to invest, where to dedi-
Podcast Will Beacham Barcelona
Distributors no longer so insulated
Chemical distributors are ben-
efitting less from their tradi-
tional resilience to economic
cycles as converging crises hit
downstream demand.
Q Chemical distributors im-
pacted by multiple macro-
economic challenges
Q Few signs of hoped-for up-
turn in China
Q Sourcing from cheaper re-
gions can help improve
competitive position
Q Distributors historically
grow 1-1.5% more than
For up-to-date information on more
than 120 global commodities, visit:
icis.com/about/price-reports
cate your team for the right re-
turn on investment at the right
time,” said Coiffard.
“It is a question of being resil-
ient for the rest of the year, and
this is why we need lot of reactivity
in our business model,” he added.
Impact of China
Patrice Elie, commerical director
for Equilex, was more reserved,
highlighting the global influence
of China and what impact this
would have on Europe.
“Looking forward, we don’t see
immediate upturn clearly. We think
it will come towards the end of the
year or next year,” he advised.
“Today China is exporting
quite a lot, as their domestic mar-
ket is nowhere. Once domestic
activity is pumping new demand
and production there will be
more opening for the rest of the
world and potentially new supply
going to Asia again.” he added.
China’s importance was also ac-
knowledged by Brenntag chief op-
erating officer Michael Friede, who
stated that once the country’s
chemical producer market
Q Distributors need to play full
part in net zero agenda
In this Think Tank podcast, Will
Beacham interviews director
general of the European
Association of Chemical
Distributors (Fecc) Dorothee
Arns, managing partner at ELCH
consultants Wolfgang Falter,
and Paul Hodges, chairman of
New Normal Consulting.
Click here to listen to the
podcast
economy stops being service-driv-
en, this would have a ripple effect
to other Asian economies.
Friede advised that while he
had concerns about instabilities
in Latin American countries,
there was a sequential improve-
ment in demand from Europe,
which showed signs of resilience.
Again, looking downstream re-
mains crucial for distributors, with
underutilised assets in Europe and
shutdowns of key commodities
such as ammonia in the wake of
energy price spikes. Friede said
that availability of local capacity is
unlikely to change.
“From the specialty side – I
have been in this industry for 25
years – we have been under cost
and efficiency pressure since day
one. As far as I can remember the
industry has always been able to
adapt,” said Friede.
“I am confident in Europe pro-
ducers – especially in specialties
– to adapt… It will be a bumpy
ride but thinking of sustainable
value propositions, that can be
corrected.” Q
Podcast Jake Stones London
Hydrogen
Insights
Hydrogen editor Jake Stones
talks with Dr Graham Cooley,
former ITM CEO and chairman
of H2 Green and NanoSUN,
about developments in the
hydrogen market since 2020
and why there is a gap be-
tween announced projects
and the decision to take final
investment decision (FID).
Click here to listen to the
podcast
www.icis.com
 IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Africa

PE, PP sellers turn to Africa market

At present, prices in Africa enjoy a healthy premium over those in China and southeast Asia

Ben Lake London
Demand for global polymers is
slowly deflating as many players
had been waiting for a post-Lunar
New Year boom that never came.
With global exporters desperate-
ly searching for destinations for
their ever-increasing polyethyl-
ene (PE) and polypropylene (PP)
volumes, Africa has proved an at-
tractive destination despite its
structural economic problems.
At present, prices in Africa enjoy
a healthy premium over those in
China and southeast Asia, even
though they have been falling.
East Africa is a good example,
but it is actually the lowest priced
region in Africa due to cheaper
shipping and greater competi-
tion between sellers.
Prices are similar to those in
Turkey, but African demand is no-
ticeably better than Turkish de-
mand and prices remain de-
pressed in both regions.
Rising freight costs between
Asia and Africa may wipe out any
arbitrage advantage in the short
term. Global export market op-
portunities are proving to be
short-lived due to constantly
shifting economic conditions.
“We do see some demand
[from Africa]… What I feel is,
compared to other regions, there
is still an inquiry,” a Middle East
seller said.
Although African demand is
suffering due to skyrocketing in-
flation, rising interest rates and a
chronic lack of foreign exchange,
the region is proving to be the
best out of a number of poor op-
tions for some.
At this point in a tough global
market, consistent demand might
prove more attractive than a sud-
den short burst of buying interest.
Africa vs China PP will come at a time when the
continent enters its seasonal low
$/tonne, spot period.
1,600
Flat Yarn (Raffia), “We see more and more offers
1,500 CFR Main Ports
Homopolymer Raffia, coming out of China. Demand [is]
1,400 CFR E Africa still relatively slow. Expect prices
1,300
to soften further,” a PP trader said.
Middle Eastern players, who
1,200
for most of Q1 were the only sell-
1,100 ers taking an interest in Africa, are
1,000 now facing discounted prices
900 from Asian sellers.
“[There are] many offers from
800
May 2022 May 2023 Asia,” including from South
Korea, China re-exports and
Competition comes quick prime Chinese PPH (polypropyl-
The difficulty in a poor global ene homopolymer) grades, an
market is that large export vol- East African trader said.
umes are soon dispatched to re- Asian origin offers sit well
gions with higher demand and below Middle East prices, but this
intense competition can soon di- gap is likely to close in the near
minish any price advantage. future, as buyers – with little stock
Players in Africa expect com- pressure and poor downstream
petition for market share to heat demand – can take their time to
up in the coming months, but it make purchases. Q

Global
Weekly spot IPEX continues fall
Yashas Mudumbai London
The global spot ICIS Petrochemi-
cal Index (IPEX) fell by 1.8% in the
week to 12 May on the back of
drops across all regions.
Northwest Europe posted the
largest index decline, down by
2.6%, due to softer polyvinyl chlo-
ride (PVC) and butadiene (BD)
spot values. In northeast Asia, the
index was down by 2%, driven by
lower BD, benzene and propylene
(C3) spot prices. The US Gulf
index decreased by just 0.3% on
the back of lower styrene and pa-
raxylene (PX) pricing.
In the week to 12 May, crude oil
values were lower on worries
over demand, due to continued
recession and inflation fears.
There were also concerns over
the failure to agree on raising the
US debt ceiling, which is also
weighing on crude.
ICIS Weekly Petrochemical Index
Northwest European benzene
spot values posted the largest in-
crease globally but spot activity
was thin, on the back of crude
volatility and buyer uncertainty.
In the US Gulf, methanol spot
prices ticked higher despite trad-
ing being limited in the market
overall. In the same region, ethyl-
ene spot prices rose early last
Click on the graph to
see the ICIS Weekly
Petrochemical Index
(IPEX) historical trend
week but buying interest was thin.
PVC spot prices in northwest
Europe dropped sharply due to
depressed demand, import pres-
sure and softer upstream ethyl-
ene contract costs.
There was downward pressure
on the import spot BD market in
Asia, with buying appetite re-
maining curbed. In northwest Eu-
rope, market sentiment for BD
was more bearish on the back of
Asia prices falling and spot activi-
ty is still limited.
The weekly IPEX complements
the existing monthly IPEX by offer-
ing a view of chemical price
movements based on weekly spot
prices. We have used the same
basket of price points and weight-
ings found in the monthly IPEX. Q

www.icis.com 19-25 May 2023 | ICIS Chemical Business | 15

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DISCOVER MORE

Europe
Europe OX, PA under pressure
High production costs and poor demand continue to dog markets as shut downs persist
Anne-Sophie Briant-Vaghela
and Miguel Rodriguez
Fernandez London
The production of orthoxylene
(OX) and derivative phthalic an-
hydride (PA) in Europe appears
uncertain as poor demand and
cost pressures have forced some
producers to have shut down
since January, with the majority
surviving on bare margins.
CEPSA, the Algeciras, Spain-
based producer was producing
intermittently last year and in-
definitely shut down in January
this year because it was unprof-
itable.
Due to the poor demand, there
has been little scope for produc-
ers to pass on the higher costs.
Margins have been eroding since
Q2 last year with producers
forced to meet buyers where
possible to compensate.
Economy hits OX and PA
An increase in inflation, partly
brought about by the war in
Ukraine and strong demand due
to logistical hurdles caused by
the pandemic has seen costs
soar throughout the petrochemi-
cal chain.
This has resulted in stricter
monetary policy and a hike in
global interest hikes which has
hurt borrowers.
New construction projects
have been shelved or scaled back
due to the increase in financial
costs, and the PA market has
come under pressure as a result
of this slowdown which began in
Q4 last year.
Just two weeks ago, most play-
ers thought that demand had
bottomed, but a recent cancella-
tion of orders in the plasticizer
and unsaturated polyester resin
(UPR) markets signal a further de-
cline this month.
The result could be that Q2,
which is normally the strongest
quarter of the year, could turn out
to be one of the weakest.
www.icis.com
New passenger car registrations in the EU
“We are back to Q4 demand
levels,” said one UPR producer.
“I see demand declining still as
we receive more requests to
postpone or cancellations from
our customers,” said a plasticizer
producer who described this as a
“disaster” for the industry.
“Even if demand picks up in
September and October, then
you’re already at the end of the
year and this means 2023 is
going to be a disaster,” it added.
Automotive, another key sec-
tor for OX derivatives, is perform-
ing better but European car sales
have yet to return to pre-pan-
demic levels.
Triple threat for producers
High gas prices are not normally
a problem for PA producers as
some material is produced in an
exothermic reaction.
However, not all are able to
make use of the energy pro-
duced in the reaction, and high
gas prices are a problem for
those unable to sell or utilise the
steam produced.
Although this affects down-
stream integration and impacts
only a few, a larger number of
producers who run on OX also
face another structural impedi-
ment. Those that produce PA
from naphthalene have benefit-
ted from a greater cost advan-
tage this year as it is much cheap-
er than OX.
Another issue PA producers
face is having to adapt to is the
flow of OX supply. Although
some source their OX regularly
from Asia to compensate for the
interruption of Russian inflows,
not all have been able or willing to
use the cheaper imports.
Those using European OX are
suffering from high raw material
costs and losing out in competi-
tiveness to those who are able to
cut costs by using Asian OX.
OX output
Ever since energy prices skyrock-
eted in H2 2021, European OX
producers have struggled with
19-25 May 2023 | ICIS Chemical Business | 17
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
uncompetitive production costs.
This has not only hurt profit
margins at OX producers, but it
has also hit economics for co-
product paraxylene (PX) and its
downstream derivatives, particu-
larly purified terephthalic acid
(PTA) and dimethyl terephthalate
(DMT) sectors.
In fact, Oxxynova was the only
DMT producer in Europe until
last year – but it indefinitely shut
down its German plant in De-
cember 2022 due to high utility
costs.
The decision led to the tempo-
rary closure of Shell’s PX and OX
units in Wesselling, Germany,
from December to June 2023, ac-
cording to sources, as both com-
panies were key commercial
partners.
It is unclear if Shell will restart
operations next month and it
has refused to comment on the
matter.
European PTA and polyesters
producers also face competi-
tion from cheaper imports from
Asia which has reduced their
market share and driven operat-
ing rates down.
“If we cannot compete in costs
with Asia, that will force us to cut
the amount of orders we place to
European PX suppliers.
Indirectly, that will have an im-
pact on OX production too,” said
one PX buyer.
Some PA producers have
talked about a growing disparity
between production costs for Eu-
ropean producers because some
now rely on cheaper OX imports
from Asia.
Although this has not been ex-
plored by others, this option is
thought less sustainable for
some.
OX is the second largest of the
three commercial isomers of xy-
lene. It is used almost entirely in
the manufacture of PA which is
converted to plasticizers, alkyd
and polyester resins, and polyes-
ter polyols. Q
Supplier Carbon Footprints
Discover the CO2 emissions across
your chemical supply chain
Visualise ground-breaking, comprehensive and reliable
carbon footprint data for chemicals by region, plant
and supplier to help measure and manage
Scope 3 emissions.

Asia
New EVA in China; weak demand
Destocking continues in China in the wake of slow demand for finished goods since March
Helen Lee New Delhi
Asia’s ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA)
prices in May reversed gains in
2023, as the sentiment of buyers
across Asia stayed conservative
ahead of looming new capacity.
The months of May and June
mark the onset of the off-peak
production season in the down-
stream footwear industry in
China and India respectively,
hence dampening demand for
the 18% vinyl acetate (VA) content
foaming grade.
As producers offered volume
discounts for June shipments
amid mounting inventory pres-
sure, the market correction accel-
erated to levels last seen around
December 2022 for the 14-20%
vinyl acetate (VA) content grade.
Prices of the 14-20% VA con-
tent EVA into the key south Asia
market of India were assessed at
$1,400-1,505/tonne CFR (cost &
freight) South Asia, down by $95-
160/tonne during the week
ended 16 May, ICIS data showed.
In China, traders and convert-
ers in the footwear industry were
focussing on destocking activities
in the wake of a slower-than-antic-
Asia
China base oils face oversupply
Whitney Shi Singapore
With Group II base oils plants
gradually restarting from previ-
ous maintenance shutdowns,
China’s base oils market is ex-
pected to see oversupply in May
and, as a result, persistently low
buying interest in imports.
Domestic downstream lubri-
cant producers’ buying interest in
both domestic and imported
base oils has been waning since
mid-April, according to ICIS.
Prices of domestic and import-
ed Group II base oils have been
falling since the first half of April.
www.icis.com
Downstream operating rates are falling*
China Jan-23
footwear/foaming 10-20%
sector
(VA content 14-20%)
hotmelt adhesives 70-80% Above 80% Above 80% Above 90% 80-90% 90%
sector
(VA content 22-30%)
photovoltaic (PV) 40-50% 40-60%
sector
(VA content 28-33%)
India Jan-23
Organised footwear/ 90%
foaming sector
(VA content 14-20%)
Unorganised 60-70% 60-70%
footwear/foaming
sector
(VA content 14-20%)
*Operating rate projections were based on market sources
ipated demand for finished goods
since March. In the near term, EVA
producers were inclined to push
for volumes instead of prices.
On the supply side, China’s Fu-
jian Gulei Petrochemical is slated
to commence EVA output on
around 17 May. Separately, Hyun-
dai Chemical resumed EVA out-
put ahead of schedule. Some
EVA producers shifted their out-
put and sales focus to higher VA
content grades in view of the rel-
Average prices of the three grades
had decreased by CNY125-725/
tonne from mid-April.
ICIS learned from major lubri-
cant producers that their overall
demand for base oils in the first
quarter of 2023 was significantly
higher than that of the fourth
quarter of 2022. In particular, Feb-
ruary and March buying interest
was very strong, largely because
post-coronavirus recovery in tour-
ism and vehicle markets increased
demand for vehicle-use lubricant
and subsequently boosted buying
interest in Group II and III base oils.
Lubricant producers’ buying
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
Feb-23 Mar-23 Apr-23 May-23 Jun-23 Jul-23
30-40% 70-80% 50-60% 40-50% Around 40% Around 30%
80-90%
50-80% 50-80% 60-70% 40-50% 40-50%
Feb-23 Mar-23 Apr-23 May-23 Jun-23 Jul-23
80-90% 100% 80-90% 85-90% 80-85% 70%
70-80% 70-80% 80% 60-70% 50-60%
atively higher yields. growth targets for 2023.
Formosa Plastics Corp plans to But sustained corrections in the
pivot its Mailiao, Taiwan-based price of a key solar module com-
plant to produce a higher ratio of ponent – polysilicon – due to new
EVA with VA content of 28% for capacities in China subsequently
applications in the PV industry led converters in the solar module
during a shutdown in late June. industry to adopt a cautious
EVA with 28-33% VA content stance, hence curbing demand
enjoyed relatively stable demand for EVA with 28-33% VA content.
from China’s solar cell encapsu- Some converters in the solar
lant film sector earlier this year, cell encapsulant film sector were
amid healthy product orders driv- correspondingly saddled with
en by the country’s solar power sufficient inventory into June. Q
China base oils
CNY/tonne,Group II,
spot ex-terminal China East
11,000
N150 import
interest in base oils, however, N150 local
10,500 N500 inland
started to wane in April. With
crude oil prices plunging in the 10,000
second half of April, lubricant
9,500
producers preferred a wait-and-
see attitude and further reduced 9,000
procurement as they expected
base oils prices to fall further. 8,500
On the supply side, a number
8,000
of Group II base oils plants were Oct 2022 May 2023
taken offline for routine mainte-
nance from early March, and two sumed production around mid-
other Group II base oils units have May, increasing domestic supply.
been shut since the fourth quar- This, together with shrinking
ter of 2022. However, these units downstream demand, explained
gradually restarted from late why prices of domestic Group II
April, and most of them have re- base oils tumbled. Q
19-25 May 2023 | ICIS Chemical Business | 19
PRICE & MARKET TRENDS For up-to-date information on more
than 120 global commodities, visit:
icis.com/about/price-reports

Global plant status update

Click on the maps to view major plant disruptions, shutdowns and restarts reported by ICIS for the week
from 11-17 May 2023

ICIS Americas weekly plant status updates

 
   

  

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20 | ICIS Chemical Business | 19-25 May 2023 www.icis.com

 PRICE & MARKET TRENDS

Click on the maps to see a weekly sum-

mary of all new plant disruptions, shut-
downs and restarts which appear on the
ICIS Live Supply Disruption Tracker

ICIS Asia weekly plant status updates

 
   

  

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www.icis.com 19-25 May 2023 | ICIS Chemical Business | 21

Turn Ambition
into Action
Enable informed and effective
data driven decisions that contribute
to sustainable growth

FIND OUT NOW

 PLANTS & PROJECTS

New projects and permanent plant shutdowns

Reported by ICIS News, 8-14 May 2023
New projects
Company Location Product Capacity* Process Contractor Cost Start-up Status
Air Products La Porte, Texas, carbon monoxide 70m cubic feet – – – 2024 P
US (mcf)/day
Texas City, US carbon monoxide 70m cubic feet – – – 2026 P
(mcf)/day
St Louis, membrane (x) – – $10m – P
Missouri, US
Alujain Corp Yanbu, Saudi propylene 600,000 Lummus – $2bn – P
Arabia Technology’s
Catofin propane
dehydrogenation
(PDH) technology
Arcadia eFuels Vordingborg, sustainable aviation 100m litres Sasol and Topsoe. – – – P
Denmark fuel (SAF) E-fuels based

Celanese Clear Lake, acetic acid 1.3m – – – Q3 2023 C

Texas, US
Dow and X-energy Texas, US small modular reactor – – – – by 2030 P
(SMR) nuclear project
Fujian Gulei Zhangzhou, ethylene vinyl acetate 300,000 – – – May 2023 C
Petrochemical Fujian, China (EVA)
HIF Global Matagorda sustainable aviation – Johnson Matthey – – – P
County, Texas, fuel (SAF) eFining process
US technology
Hindustan Mumbai, India refinery 850,000 KBR’s ROSE KBR – – P
Petroleum Corp solvent
Ltd (HPCL) deasphalting
(SDA) technology
Northvolt Hambury, battery cell – – – – 2026 P
Germany
PetroChina Tarim, Xinjiang, ethylene 1.2m phase II – – – P
Dushanzi China
Petrochemical
high-density 900,000 – – – – P
polyethylene (HDPE)/
linear low density
polyethylene (LLDPE)
low linear density 300,000 – – – – P
polyethylene (LDPE)/
ethylene vinyl acetate
(EVA)
polypropylene (PP) 450,000 – – – – P
butadiene (BD) 120,000 – – – – P
methyl tertiary butyl 80,000/40,000 – – – – P
ether (MTBE)/Butene-1
polybutadiene rubber 100,000 – – – – P
(PBR)
aromatics 250,000 – – – – P
UPM Saxony-Anhalt, biorefinery 220,000 convert woody €750m end 2023 U
Biochemicals Germany biomass
Verdeco Greenville, South recycled polyethylene 40,800 – – – Jun 2023 U
Carolina, US terephthalate (R-PET)
Volkswagen St Thomas, battery cell – – – – – P
Ontario, Canada
Zhuhai Long Pasir Gudang, isopropanol (IPA) 50,000 – – – – D
Success Malaysia

Notes: *Capacity: figures given in tonnes/year; tonnes/day are converted by multiplying by 330. (x) = expansion; T = total capacity including expansion.
Start-up: Dates given are for planned start-up. H1 = 1st half year; H2 = 2nd half year; Q1 = 1st quarter; Q2 = 2nd quarter; Q3 = 3rd quarter; Q4 = 4th quarter.
Status: S = study; P = planned; A = approval; E = engineering; U = under construction; C = completed; D = delayed; CAN = cancelled.

www.icis.com 19-25 May 2023 | ICIS Chemical Business | 23

 SPECIAL REPORT
TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS

ICIS TOP 100

CHEMICAL
DISTRIBUTORS

Shutterstock

Welcome to the 14th annual Top 100 Chemical Distributors. Look inside to find out
who the leaders are of this important element in the chemical industry supply chain
29 Fecc: Europe distributors 38 Barentz CEO seeks
CONTENTS face up to challenges synergies through M&A as it
THE RANKING
26 Join the net zero race! 47 ICIS Top 100 main listing
30 Distributors drive net zero builds a distribution bridge
27 RDC: We are small, but mighty! carbon and sustainability from North America to 56 Asia Pacific leaders
27 NACD: Rail reform, security agenda South America 70 North America leaders
key to success 34 IMCD targets Asia, 40 Competition heats up in
77 Middle East & Africa leaders
28 Associquim: Brazil Americas for growth Europe
distributors continue to 36 Univar sees growth boost 43 Short-term turbulence, 84 Latin America leaders
demonstrate value with Apollo brighter long-term? 100 Europe leaders

www.icis.com 19-25 May 2023 | ICIS Chemical Business | 25

SPECIAL REPORT Sign up to receive free ICIS
updates by email, tailored to the
TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS markets you are interested in.
Visit icis.com/keep-in-touch

Join the net zero race!

Chemical distributors have a huge opportunity to help supply chains measure and
control their CO2 footprint as the race to net zero carbon gathers pace
Will Beacham Barcelona
Welcome to the ICIS Top 100 Chemical Dis-
tributors, a list of the world’s largest chemical
distributors ranked by 2022 sales.
Chemical distributors occupy a unique po-
sition sandwiched in the middle of their sup-
ply chains between upstream suppliers and
downstream customers. This gives them a
major opportunity to influence entire value
chains as the race towards net zero carbon
emissions gets underway.
Distributors such as Brenntag (see page
30) are now able to measure, in detail, the
emission footprint of some of the products
they sell. This allows them to provide a portfo-
lio of products with similar physical character-
istics, but very different carbon footprints.
Leading chemical producers such as BASF
are also aiming to measure the emissions for
their entire product portfolios.
A major stumbling block with life cycle
analyses and concepts such as the mass bal-
ance approach is the lack of agreed interna-
tional standards, such as exist for accounting.
There is a huge opportunity for trade groups,
regulators and business leaders in chemical
production and distribution to unite on this.
New commercial conversations are now
taking place where carbon content is a new
and important topic, in addition to the usual
discussions about price, availability and per-
formance.
Digitalization and artificial intelligence are
other hot topics right now among the chemi-
cal distribution community. At its core these
new technologies should enable more effec-
tive communication with customers and sup-
pliers. There are also potential applications in
the circular economy through product pass-
ports and more effective exchange of data
along supply chains. This requires a leap of
faith for companies which guard commercial-
ly-sensitive data very carefully.
Quest for a demand bounce back
The distribution sector is now unusually ex-
posed to poor levels of demand. Being con-
nected to a much broader range of end use
markets and customers than producers has
insulated them in the past, as has the phe-
nomena of customers switching to smaller
quantities and buying from distributors rather
than direct from producers. The multiple eco-
nomic and geopolitical crises of the last few
years are now seeing them, unfortunately, suf-
fer in tandem with chemical producers. ■

Connected intelligence to
support decision making
In volatile marketplaces where everything can
change in an instant, it’s essential to stay on
top of developments the minute they arise.

With ICIS News, you can keep your finger on

the pulse of breaking news, to know what’s
going to happen the second it does and be
able to prepare for what comes next.

Stay ahead of market changes

26 | ICIS Chemical Business | Day Month Year www.icis.com


RDC – we are small, but mighty!
Responsible Distribution Canada coordinates with a network of dedicated industry
volunteers to provide advocacy and education for its members and affiliates
Catherine Wieckowska RDC
I am often asked how we accomplish so much
at Responsible Distribution Canada (RDC),
with such a small team. How do we keep con-
tent relevant and fair, while representing com-
panies from $10m in sales to over $7bn in rev-
enue? How do we advocate and represent the
voice of our diverse membership with a team
of less than 10?
The short answer is – we have a tremen-
dous network of volunteers that contribute
immensely to the success of the association.
We are very fortunate to have a board of direc-
tors made up of 10 chemical distribution lead-
ers, six strong committee chairs and 160 vol-
unteers that populate each of the standing
committees and regional chapters.
In a recent strategic planning session with
the RDC Board and Chairs, a very ambitious
plan was developed inclusive of growth, sus-
tainability, and focused advocacy.
Growth is a challenging goal, especially in a
market impacted by consolidation. However,
Rail reform, security key to success
The National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD) calls on lawmakers to
address rail service and safety, and support the long-term reauthorisation of CFATS
Eric Byer NACD
As businesses continue to recover from un-
precedented challenges, chemical distribu-
tors doing business in the US are monitoring
the development of two critical issues that are
central to our economic and national defense
– rail reform and chemical safety.
The chemical industry is one of the largest
customers of freight rail in both volume and
revenue, and we rely on a strong rail system to
deliver products that are essential to Ameri-
cans’ everyday lives. But it’s no secret that rail
service in the US has been inadequate and
unreliable for years. From a nearly averted rail
strike late last year to recent train derailments,
these challenges have directed the public eye
to the underlying issues that have led to a re-
duced workforce and a serious deterioration
in service.
It’s clear that we cannot take a passive ap-
proach to rail safety any longer. Recent bipar-
www.icis.com
we are looking at new ways to approach
growth and have already taken steps with our
Responsible Distribution (RD) Safe Food For
Canadians Annex.
By creating a management system for food
and ingredient organisations, we open the
door to new companies that may not have a
credible health and safety management pro-
gram in place.
Further to that, we are looking at ways to
improve and increase our educational offer-
Catherine Wieckowska
President, Responsible Distribution Canada
“We may be a small organisation,
but we have an army
of passionate
volunteers, industry
leaders, and RD
advocates behind
us. We are small,
but we are mighty”
tisan bills introduced in Congress address rail
safety in measured, yet effective, ways and
NACD will continue to call on Congress to find
common ground on provisions that address
freight rail operational challenges and en-
hance safety measures.
On the national security front, the Chemical
Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) pro-
gram brings stability to the chemical industry
Eric Byer
President and CEO, NACD
“NACD will continue to call on
Congress to find common
ground on provisions
that address freight
rail operational
challenges and
enhance safety
measures”
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
ings. The Chemical Supply Chain Manage-
ment course has trained and accredited many
regulatory professionals in Canada and now
we are looking to extend this offering for op-
erations personnel.
RDC recently launched a new standing
committee designed to tackle ESG needs of
the Canadian chemical supply chain. The sus-
tainability committee is working closely with
association and industry partners to ensure
we develop an RD Code of Practice addition
that considers the practices already estab-
lished by members, while challenging the sta-
tus quo to make improvements for a more
sustainable future.
These are just a few of the initiatives that we
are prioritising in the coming years. So how do
we remain future-proof and continue to add
value to our 45 member companies and 60 af-
filiate companies? We listen, we examine, and
we make no excuses. We may be a small or-
ganisation, but we have an army of passionate
volunteers, industry leaders, and RD advocates
behind us. We are small, but we are mighty. Q
by giving the US Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) the authority to manage our
nation’s high-risk chemical facilities. This pro-
gram, however, is set to expire in July with no
Congressional action under way to reauthor-
ise it. That’s why NACD is urging Congress to
support the long-term reauthorisation of
CFATS to preserve key safeguards that pre-
vent potential acts of terrorism at these im-
portant sites.
It will be critical for lawmakers and the ad-
ministration to support policies that reinvigor-
ate the economy and help businesses get
back on track, instead of implementing oner-
ous regulations that create additional strain
on businesses. The chemical industry will
continue to play a role in our economic and
national security, and our nation’s competitive
edge in an ever-evolving global marketplace
will rely on policies that address high-priority
issues such as rail reform and protection of
chemical facilities. Q
19-25 May 2023 | ICIS Chemical Business | 27
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TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS markets you are interested in.
Visit icis.com/keep-in-touch

Demonstrating value
Companies put in a strong performance, despite global supply chain challenges.
With a new government, 2023 will be a year of expectation as well as uncertainty
Rubens Medrano Associquim
The effects of the China lockdown and the
Ukraine-Russia war remained in the supply
chain during the first half of 2022 and beyond,
posing major challenges for operations.
Despite these obstacles, the Brazilian
chemical distribution industry showed a
strong performance, with an increase in sales.
Companies made use of all their experience
and knowledge, managing to keep the Brazil-
ian market supplied with products for con-
sumer industries from various industrial seg-
ments to operate at normal capacity.
This is a key strength of the distribution sec-
tor. Once again, we managed to overcome
adversity, reaffirming that the Brazilian distri-
bution segment is mature and resilient.
With the change in government, including
new members in the legislature, 2023 is a year
of expectation and uncertainty – expectation cess), also focusing now on ESG principles,
that the new government will meet our re- which reaffirms our commitment to employ-
quests, but also uncertainty if the measures ees, community and partners.
recommended for a friendly business envi- Distributors have now reached a level of
ronment will be implemented so that we have quality and excellence in line with global stand-
sustainable growth and are able to generate ards. Distributors add value to products by ren-
new jobs and investment. dering key services and making use of analyti-
Companies continue to follow the princi- cal laboratories to enhance performance.
ples of PRODIR (Responsible Distribution Pro- It is also important to underscore the re-
spectability acquired in the market as a relia-
Rubens Medrano ble raw materials supplier for an entire range
President, Associquim of customers, regardless of their scale, wheth-
er small, mid-sized, or large companies.
“Once again, we
Investments made in digitalisation and IT
managed to overcome me equipment are important for distributors to
adversity, reaffirming
g demonstrate the importance and efficiency of
that the Brazilian our industry in the production chain.
distribution segmentt Associquim continues to make every effort
to support and represent its members both
is mature and resilient”
nt”
domestically and throughout the world. Q

180 market experts

reporting from around the world –
stay informed with ICIS News
As we face ever-changing market developments across the world, staying on
top of the latest news has never been more important. ICIS News allows you to:

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28 | ICIS Chemical Business | 19-25 May 2023 www.icis.com


Europe distributors
tackle challenges
Fecc can help its members prepare for future issues emerging from Russia’s war with
Ukraine, the net zero carbon agenda and a complex web of EU regulations
Dorothee Arns Director general,
European Association of Chemical
Distributors (Fecc)
The past 12 months since the last “ICIS Top
100 Distributors” publication appeared have
been once again as busy as they were chal-
lenging for distributors. This kind of “busy and
challenging” combination seems to have
meanwhile also become part of the so-called
“new normal”.
Apart from the Coronanirus pandemic,
which obviously is somewhat under control
right now, a variety of other crises have re-
mained unsolved.
For example we still have Russia’s war in
Ukraine which has reinforced high energy
prices, inflation and sluggish demand.
Fortunately, European distributors could
also once again benefit from their agility to
adapt quickly to ever-changing framework
conditions – an integral part of their business
DNA – to keep all commitments towards their
value-chain partners.
Supply chain excellence
At the same time it is a good opportunity to
demonstrate the sector´s value-added in
terms of supply chain excellence to actively
contribute to the success of all business
partners.
In this context the huge know-how across
all value chains and solid networks in all parts
of the world proved to be instrumental to en-
hance the distributors´ service offers, for ex-
ample by maintaining additional inventories,
supporting diversification in all aspects and
by extending their service offers in every pos-
sible way to support their value-chain part-
ners in navigating the ongoing crises.
At least the supply chain disruptions
caused by logistic hiccups and the unavaila-
bility of (raw) materials and semi-finished
products as observed in the past few years
have eased up a bit in recent times.
What entered into the overall picture in-
stead – with significant impact on the chemi-
cal value chain – are more and more geopoliti-
www.icis.com
cal tensions world-wide and the hampered
competitiveness of European producers in
comparison to their counterparts in other re-
gions of the world, especially in the US. The
latter is due to ever-increasing energy prices
in Europe, which are also a driver for inflation
and reduced demand.
Hopes are high that the European Union
will be able to fix this issue and bring energy
supply security back to where it was before
Russia started the war in Ukraine.
This should happen well before the next
winter arrives in Europe, and politicians are
certainly working hard on it. It goes without
saying that it cannot be a sustainable solution
for Europe´s economies if energy-intense in-
dustries have to idle part of their production
capacities due to structural competitive dis-
advantages in their global markets as wit-
nessed last winter.
This makes Europe even more dependent
on other regions instead of more autono-
mous, which actually is one of the EU´s strate-
gic targets.
Additionally, the overall ecological footprint
will get worse rather than better.
Speaking of the ecological footprint: in the
past months we have also seen a big batch of
new European regulations being communi-
cated, almost all of them linked to the Euro-
pean Green Deal.
As European distributors we take our envi-
ronmental responsibility very seriously and,
Dorothee Arns
Diector general, Fecc
“The underlying
question shall be:
can we reach the
same ambitious
environmental
targets with less
complexity, less
costs and less
bureaucracy?”
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
hence, whole-heartedly support the Europe-
an Green Deal. However, pragmatic solutions
are needed to make it work in practice as
quickly as possible, while at the same time en-
suring that the European chemical value
chain can continue to thrive in the fierce glob-
al competition.
The underlying question shall be: can we
reach the same ambitious environmental tar-
gets with less complexity, less costs and less
bureaucracy?
Some innovative measures the EU took
during the pandemic to contain the virus
spread as quickly as possible clearly under-
lined that this is feasible without compromis-
ing health, safety and the environment. Now,
the same approach is needed once again, just
for a different mega-challenge.
Bureaucratic effort
What we are seeing at this very moment, how-
ever, tends to go exactly in the opposite direc-
tion in the form of very comprehensive, com-
plex, partially even overlapping regulations.
These trigger a high bureaucratic effort and a
lot of documentation obligations that small-
to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will
struggle to master by themselves on top of
their usual business in these very disrupted
times.
As a matter of course, associations like
Fecc are there to help their members navi-
gate the complexities and will do everything
they can to provide “first aid kits” to find a
much easier access to the respective topic,
conduct impact analyses and compile easy-
to-understand guidance material to facilitate
compliance.
Fecc´s vision in this respect is to enable our
members to prepare as early as possible for
what is coming up. This way, our members
can become front-runners and enjoy first-
mover advantages in the race to net zero and
for other sustainability targets, which more
and more stakeholders are requesting from
their partners. Against this background we are
all working together for a better, more sustain-
able Europe. Q
19-25 May 2023 | ICIS Chemical Business | 29
SPECIAL REPORT
TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS
Distributors drive
net zero agenda
New ways of measuring Scope 3 emissions more precisely will allow customers to be
offered products with more accurate carbon content; suppliers now under pressure
Will Beacham Barcelona
Chemical distributors – positioned right in the
middle of supply chains – are in a unique posi-
tion to drive the net zero carbon and sustain-
ability agenda for entire value chains.
New technologies which allow companies
to measure scope 3 carbon emissions can
help distributors open new conversations
with customers where products can be of-
fered with different levels of environmental
footprint.
Consumer, brand owner and regulatory
pressure mean that customer industries are
becoming much more concerned about the
carbon emissions for the products they sell.
This has become a new element in purchas-
ing decisions on top of the usual discussions
about price, performance and availability.
Distributors can also put pressure on their
suppliers, or principals, by letting them know
that products with lower emissions burdens
will sell better and possibly with a price pre-
mium. In fact distributors can also become
more selective about the suppliers they
choose to work with, choosing producers
Christian Kohlpaintner
CEO, Brenntag
“We can differentiate because we
have that data now and this means
we can have tailor-made offerings
for our customers”
30 | ICIS Chemical Business | 19-25 May 2023
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markets you are interested in.
Visit icis.com/keep-in-touch
which are putting maximum effort into creat-
ing a portfolio with less environmental bur-
den, and with Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions
properly evaluated.
In a macro-economic situation which
seems to offer, at best, tepid GDP and chemi-
cals demand growth, this is one area where
distributors and producers alike can drive rev-
enue and profitability as well as tackling the
climate emergency.
Germany’s Brenntag is the world’s largest
distributor and has become very active in
finding new ways to measure the Scope 3
emissions of the materials it sources so that it
can now offer identical products with differ-
ent levels of associated CO2 emissions.
CEO Christian Kohlpaintner said: “By offering
our customers product options to reduce CO2
emissions we can impact Scope 3 actively. Buy-
ing decisions on the customer side are more
and more impacted by reducing CO2 – today
we can already offer three different grades of
CO2 emissions for a certain product.”
Brenntag has partnered with Carbon
Minds, a company providing carbon footprint
data which is process and site-specific. Other
measurements of carbon footprint used in the
chemical industry are often based on average
numbers.
“We can differentiate because we have that
data now and this means we can have tailor-
made offerings for our customers. It’s early
days, but you clearly see that people are start-
ing to take deliberate choices in purchasing
decisions related to how they can impact their
emissions,” said the CEO.
Kohlpaintner hopes this will have ripple ef-
fects up the supply chain to producers.
Brenntag can now inform suppliers about
winning or losing a tender based on sustaina-
bility criteria which might influence their deci-
sions on innovation and process technology.
“We are the intermediary who can influ-
ence a lot in this ecosystem, both on the cus-
tomer side and on the manufacturing side,”
according to the CEO.
The company’s commercial people have
discovered that customers are now putting
Emissions
Q Scope 1 emissions – produced
from a company’s own operations
Q Scope 2 emissions – produced
from procured utilities such as
electricity, steam
Q Scope 3 emissions – indirect
emissions from up and down
supply chain, including end of life
sustainability at the top of their agenda, along
with the usual topics of product quality, price,
and availability.
Supplier behaviour is also changing – they
want Brenntag to help them gauge the com-
mercial potential of greener products which
they are assessing for production. Brenntag
has found that customers are willing to pay a
premium if there is a very large difference in
emissions and raw material content.
Carbon pricing in the EU is likely to increase
as regulators aim to use the tool to force emis-
sions reductions.
Michael Friede, member of Brenntag’s man-
agement board, who takes over as chief oper-
ating officer Brenntag Specialties from July
2023, said: “The aspect of carbon pricing will
become a more relevant and impactful factor
over time, with the cost benefit of sustainably
sourced raw materials increasing. This a great
opportunity for Brenntag: changes in the regu-
latory environment are playing into this and will
also require our expertise for customers.”
The new EU Corporate Sustainability Re-
porting Directive comes into effect for some
companies from 1st of January next year, but
then at a much broader scope in 2028. A lot of
our smaller customers may seek help from
distributors to manage that because of sizea-
ble disclosure requirements.
Lack of agreed standards
Measuring carbon content is often carried out
using life cycle analyses (LCA). Unfortunately,
there are not yet any agreed industry stand-
www.icis.com

Distributors can influence entire supply chains as customers drive emissions reduction
ards for LCAs, making it very difficult to com-
pare technologies and products.
This lack of agreed standards may deter inves-
tors and regulators from making decisions which
could help decarbonize the chemical industry
because they are unsure about the impact.
Kohlpaintner said: “We need to have
agreed standards because otherwise we are
comparing apples with pears. I’m a great fan
of standardizing and normalizing this data be-
cause it makes it comparable.”
Michael Freide
Member of Brenntag’s management board,
incoming chief operating officer Brenntag
Specialties
“We must step up our game in
terms of capabilities, in terms of
active portfolio management and
in terms of addressing some of the
white spots in the setup of the
Brenntag Specialties business”
www.icis.com
He added: “Then the danger of greenwash-
ing is just eliminated because we are not inter-
ested in selling a nice story, we are interested
in driving the sustainability agenda in chemi-
cal distribution, and for the whole chemical
industry, together with the large manufactur-
ers and our customers.”
Reduction of carbon footprint needs to be
a joint agenda for the whole industry with
chemical distribution playing the central role,
he believes.
Turning point for demand
Downstream demand should reach a turning
point in the second quarter as a four-to-six
month inventory depletion cycle comes to an
end, according to Kohlpaintner.
The ongoing cost of living crisis has sapped
consumer confidence around the world, lead-
ing to poor demand conditions since last year
for key chemical markets such as construc-
tion, automotive and electronics.
Margins and profitability have also become
depressed as a capacity build up in China,
and easing logistics, have allowed cheap ex-
ports to undermine pricing in other regions,
especially Europe. Plummeting first quarter
(Q1) financial results for the chemical sector
reflected this, with listed chemical distributors
being slightly insulated by new revenues from
acquisitions.
Chemical markets ICIS reports on are
showing very few signs of a pick up in de-
mand which many had hoped would happen
as the second half of the year approached.
Chemical executives have been disappointed
by a lack of rebound in China, caused by on-
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
Shutterstock
going problems in its construction sector and
poor demographics.
Brenntag, however, is experiencing a se-
quential increase in demand from many key
markets as inventories become depleted.
Kohlpaintner said: “Positively, we also have
seen gradual monthly improvements in our
volumes globally. Overall, we see momentum
on the volume side; inventory depletion on our
customer side is coming to a turning point.”
The company has seen this more strongly
in the industrial chemicals business but not
yet in specialties.
“I believe the second quarter could mark
the turning point of that volume demand pat-
tern which was negatively impacting the in-
dustrial chemical market for the last six
months. The inflection point appears to be
within the second quarter, which does make
us more optimistic for the second half of this
year than for the first half of 2023.”
He added: “We have no reasons to believe
that underlying demand has disappeared or is
at a totally different level.”
The CEO explained that demand for the last
six months, since about November, has been
mostly determined by inventory control by
customers, which typically takes four to six
months. Customers wanted to manage work-
ing capital and cash positions and this was
amplified by more reliable supply chains.
“Customers are more willing to take larger
bets, larger risks around resupply, and also
have expectations of lower prices as we go
forward,” he said.
Brenntag’s construction chemicals busi-
ness has seen overall slow demand, not only ii
19-25 May 2023 | ICIS Chemical Business | 31
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ii from inventory control, whereas other in-
dustries such as pharmaceuticals still see
good volumes. The food and nutrition busi-
ness also saw large effects from inventory
control measures.
“Volume recovery is stronger in North Amer-
ica, but there are also positive signs in Europe,
which is a new development compared to the
last few quarters. China has not shown the pre-
dicted economic recovery, which is quite dis-
appointing,” said Kohlpaintner.
Brenntag does see China exports picking up
and material coming out of China to Europe
and North America. But lower forecasts for im-
ports that show that domestic demand is not
recovering as quickly as had been hoped.
“However, I think that the figures will recov-
er in the second half of the year, which might
also be caused by the low comparable figures
of last year for China and APAC,” according to
the CEO.
Latin America is not showing any demand
or volume recovery. There are still inventory
control measures in place, also strong infla-
tionary trends in most countries.
The second half of 2022 was difficult in Asia
Pacific for Brenntag and other chemical dis-
tributors and producers as the Zero-Covid
policies took effect in China.
“This makes comparable figures for the
second half this year look more positive. This
is not the case in the first quarter 2023, where
the previous year was very strong, having the
opposite effect,” said Kohlpaintner.
Commodities more independent
Brenntag aims to make its specialties and
commodities businesses more separate, and
take steps to improve the performance of its
Brenntag Specialties division.
www.icis.com
In February this year, US investor Engine
Capital urged the company to spin off its
Brenntag Specialties business, claiming it
would continue to lag its peers and be unable
to optimise its operating performance.
Specialties would not realise the same valu-
ation multiple as other pure-play specialty
peers, such as Azelis or IMCD, due to the “con-
glomerate discount” investors would contin-
ue to assign to Brenntag, the investor said.
Kohlpaintner acknowledges Brenntag’s
structure means there is a performance gap
compared with pureplay distributors.
Most of Brenntag’s suppliers and customers
are either industrial or specialty players with
less than 20% of its customers sourcing from
both divisions. It was for this reason that com-
pany created two global business divisions,
Brenntag Essentials and Brenntag Specialties.
The CEO said: “We are currently strength-
ening the capabilities in those divisions to
make them more and more independent from
each other, but this transformation from a full
line distributor takes time. We recognize that
Brenntag Specialties shows a performance
gap compared to pureplay specialty players.”
Improvements needed
Friede recognizes improvements are needed
to make the specialties division perform more
effectively.
Distributors can also put pressure
on their suppliers by letting them
know that products with lower
emissions burdens will sell better
and possibly with a price
premium
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
Brenntag
“We must step up our game in terms of ca-
pabilities, in terms of active portfolio manage-
ment and in terms of addressing some of the
white spots in the setup of the Brenntag Spe-
cialties business,” Friede said.
Freide acknowledged that capability needs
to be built up to make the division better un-
derstand demand changes and to help cus-
tomers craft recipes and new formulations.
Changes are also being planned for logis-
tics which are still intertwined between Brenn-
tag Specialties and Brenntag Essentials, hav-
ing grown together historically.
Freide also wants Specialties to be much
more selective in choosing supply partners
which are actively developing a more sustain-
able product portfolio.
“Supply partners, some of which have
grown organically with us, can be largely seg-
mented into two groups – one that is extreme-
ly dedicated to developing and providing sus-
tainable products, not just because it’s the
right thing to do. The other group, who are
behaving more passively, are more interested
in maintaining the status quo.”
He believes more innovative suppliers see
net zero and sustainability as a huge oppor-
tunity to differentiate. They do everything
they can, for example, to lower volatile or-
ganic compound (VOC) levels or to increase
the share of renewable resources instead of
utilizing oil- or naphtha-based derivatives in
the formulations.
“We have not been very proactive in craft-
ing our supplier base, for example from the
sustainability angle. The innovators will be the
ones to survive in Europe and elsewhere, al-
most independent of energy prices: out of
necessity you create a lot of creativity, or as
we say in German, Not macht erfinderisch.” Q
19-25 May 2023 | ICIS Chemical Business | 33
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updates by email, tailored to the
markets you are interested in.
TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS Visit icis.com/keep-in-touch

IMCD targets Asia,

Americas for growth
CEO and founder of IMCD describes the business model he created as he prepares
to retire and hand over to a new leader of the company from January 2024
Will Beacham Barcelona

Dutch-headquartered specialty chemical dis-

tributor, IMCD, is more focussed on Asia and
the Americas for future expansion as Europe
battles against a higher cost base which has
undermined its competitive position.
Positive business conditions and growth in
the Americas and Asia make these regions
more promising to fuel growth for many
chemical distributors, rather than Europe
where industrial supply chains are under pres-
sure from higher energy costs and increased
competition from Asia, particularly China.
Upstream chemical producers are closing
assets in Europe, especially in the energy-in-
tensive sector and 25.7m tones of petrochem-
ical and fertilizer capacity are still offline or

operating at reduced rates across the region
according to latest analysis by ICIS.
The ongoing cost of living crisis is also sap-
ping demand for manufactured goods in Eu-
rope, with latest Purchasing Manager Indices
(PMIs) in negative territory, suggesting a con-
traction in activity. With Europe facing a long-
term competitive disadvantage, for global dis-
tributors such as IMCD the focus is now more
on capturing growth from other regions. Many
of their suppliers are doing the same thing by
refocusing investment elsewhere.
According to IMCD CEO Piet van der Slikke: “I
would say Europe as a region should watch out
very carefully because I think investments will
go to Asia and to the US predominantly and that
will over time cause a decline in demand. What
we see is that in certain product ranges there is
increased competition again from China be-
cause logistics costs have normalised.”
IMCD was founded in Europe and already has
a well-established network across the region.
The CEO added: “So generally you would
see more active investments in Asia Pacific
and in the Americas, both North America and
Latin America. We have done quite a lot of ac-
quisitions there and also now in the pipeline
we have a lot of projects in these regions.”
The company has already acquired several
assets in India, making it by far the largest spe-
cialty chemical distributor there, according to
van der Slikke. India will continue to be a tar-
get country because of its business-friendly
environment, and a growing population of
1.4bn, almost equalling China’s. Indian demo-
graphics are also more favourable: China’s
previous one child policy means its popula-
tion may soon start to shrink.
Van der Slikke said: “China is more compli-
cated both politically, but also in terms of lan-
guage and how you reach into this vast coun-
try and all its regions. The focus will be growing
with our principles and organic growth re-
mains very important – we are benefiting from
megatrends such as urbanization and an in-
creasing middle class that serve our purpose.”
He added: “I would say we go with our prin-
ciples and we globalise as they globalise – our
Piet van der Slikke
CEO, IMCD
I would say we go with our
principles and we globalise as
they globalise – our business is
global in many respects and if we
can keep aligned with principles
and be flexible then we will have a
great future
IMCD
business is global in many respects and if we
can keep aligned with principles and be flexi-
ble then we will have a great future.”
Questions over demand
From Q4 2022 and into Q1 2023, IMCD saw a
significant fall in demand from more industrial
segments such as construction and ad-
vanced materials. However more specialised
segments such as life sciences, food, pharma-
ceuticals and beauty and personal care have
proven to be more resilient. The CEO believes
customers have been destocking to bring
down inventory, but sees this coming to an
end as stocks become depleted.
“Maybe there’s still an effect of that, but abso-
lutely there has been a decrease in demand,
most dominant in the US but also in Europe and
a little bit less than Asia. China has improved a
bit because of the end of zero-COVID.”
The underlying factor driving poor demand
conditions across the chemical sector is the
ongoing cost of living crisis which has seen
soaring inflation and interest rates plus high en-
ergy costs suck money from consumers’ pock-
ets. Although these factors are now moderat-
ing, most people are still worse off because
wages have not kept pace with rising costs.
The net result is a that most consumers are

34 | ICIS Chemical Business | 19-25 May 2023 www.icis.com

 IN ASSOCIATION WITH

focussing on basics and avoiding big ticket

purchases. This has affected key end use mar-
kets such as automotive, construction and
even packaging as people steer clear of pre-
mium brands.
According to Van der Slikke: “Behind con-
struction chemicals comes paints and coat-
ings, decorative paint, industrial paints, the
building industry. You would normally see in
the coatings market a pick up in the second
quarter so the circumstances are not that
great at this moment.”
Demand from the auto industry has not de-
clined substantially. IMCD’s Q1 financial results
were up on the previous year, buoyed by a
strong of acquisitions in 2022 and early 2023.
“The fundamentals of our business remain
very strong and resilient and there’s a lot of
consolidation going on in the market that we
can benefit from. I think our scale benefits us

IMCD
over local players.” said the CEO.
The company reacted to global logistics In 2014 IMCD listed on the Euronext Stock Exchange in Amsterdam
challenges by keeping higher inventories to
IMCD Will Beacham Barcelona
maintain security of supply.
“On the one hand this consumes working Piet van der Slikke and IMCD
capital but on the other hand, it also shows
the relevance of our business. We have the lo- Piet van der Slikke founded I’m still a shareholder and mands of the principles be-
gistic infrastructure locally to keep stock and IMCD in 1995. In January I’ve been CEO for 28 years. came different.
then to serve our customers.” 2024 he will retire, and be The original name was They wanted more trans-
replaced by Valerie Diele- Internatio-Müller Chemical parency, they wanted a
The digital challenge Braun, currently CEO of Distribution. As we ac- partner. They didn’t want
The chemical distribution sector is the link be- fine chemicals producer quired companies with just a trader- they wanted
tween chemical producers and thousands of CABB Group. their own names, at a cer- technical capabilities. I
smaller downstream customers. Using digital Piet van der Slikke talks tain stage, we said we will would say the strategy
tools to streamline and improve the effective- about his career with IMCD go only under the name of worked and you could also
ness of customer interactions is a huge op- “In 1995 I was a lawyer IMCD. almost say that we were the
portunity, but distributors are now grappling working for a Rotterdam- I found it exciting be- disruptors of that time. We
with exactly how to do this. Along with its based company as a legal cause it was potentially a have been followed later by
peers, IMCD is trying to define exactly how it counsel but I wanted out of global business and my others, but I think we stood
will connect in the future with its customers. the legal profession. strategy from the start was at the start of this trend.
“We need to complement face-to-face con- The company I worked very much around the pos- For me personally I have
tact with a very, very strong digital infrastruc- for was an old-fashioned sibility to serve manufactur- found an enormous enrich-
ture and we are very well positioned for that. conglomerate and in a cor- ers. Not by having a ment to be able first of
We have one global IT platform which is very ner they had a few compa- different distributor in each course to meet all the
important and is similar all over the world.” nies in ‘trade’ as they called country, but to have one Europeans, but also then
Digital marketplaces have had a mixed suc- it. A few of them were in partner and that has been people from overseas from
cess so far in the chemical industry. They may chemical distribution, very very, very successful. all kinds of different back-
threaten distributors because they allow pro- small companies in Benelux When I started I found grounds.
ducers to reach smaller customers direct, cut- and one in France. many of my competitors I always have been very
ting out the middle man. I said, OK, I’m going to were relatively conserva- interested in art, and I have
Van der Slikke disagrees with this analysis: make that into a bigger tive, very much family a small publishing com-
“In specialties you need the ability to reach to group. So I started to work owned. They did business pany. Also I’m involved with
reach customers with formulation expertise. on that and built a strategy as they had for many years a big cancer hospital in
It’s not just pushing a button and then order- around specialty chemi- in the same way but the de- Amsterdam.” Q
ing a product, it’s that ability plus logistics in- cals, investing in Europe. In
frastructure, stockpiles, your ability to deliver 2001 I took this business Piet van der Slikke
quickly and to change orders quickly if de- out of the conglomerate CEO, IMCD
mand is different from one day to another.” with private equity plus my
Many platforms, especially in the US, focus own investment. You could also almost say that we were the
on lead generation rather than transactions. In When we started it was disruptors of that time. We have been
many markets segments where IMCD operates maybe €50m turnover and followed later by others, but I think we stood
there are a limited number of potential custom- now we are almost a €5bn at the start of this trend
ers, making lead generation for new business company.
less important, according to the CEO. Q

www.icis.com 19-25 May 2023 | ICIS Chemical Business | 35

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Univar Solutions
Univar has a large dedicated fleet of trucks to support its distribution network

Univar sees growth

boost with Apollo
CEO David Jukes sees accelerated growth with private equity firm Apollo
as new owner. North America and sustainability are key areas of focus
Joseph Chang New York
US-based chemical distributor Univar Solu-
tions expects new ownership under private
equity firm Apollo Global Management to ac-
celerate growth, its CEO said.
In March, Apollo agreed to buy Univar in a
deal valuing the company at around $8.1bn in
enterprise value (including the assumption of
debt). The transaction is expected to close in
H2 2023 and will include a minority equity in-
vestment from a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi
Investment Authority (ADIA).
“As a private company and with Apollo’s
support, we expect to have even more flexibil-
ity to explore new opportunities and make ad-
ditional investments to accelerate Univar So-
lutions’ growth,” said David Jukes, president
and CEO of Univar Solutions.
“Apollo brings great expertise as they man-
age over $500bn in assets and have a deep
understanding of chemicals and ingredients.
David Jukes
CEO, Univar Solutions
“As a private company and with
Apollo’s support, we expect to
have even more flexibility to
explore new opportunities and
make additional investments to
accelerate Univar Solutions’
growth”
They recognise our position as a leading global
specialty chemical and ingredient distributer,
as well as our dedication to putting the cus-
tomer at the center of all we do,” he added.
Univar went public through an initial public
offering (IPO) in 2015 by private equity owners
Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) and CVC Cap-
ital which acquired their stakes in 2010.
In global chemical distribution, Univar has
the #1 position in North America, and is #2 in
EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), ac-
cording to the company. Total sales in 2022
were around $11.5bn.
Bullish on North America
In a February interview with ICIS, the Univar
CEO was especially bullish on the re-industrial-

36 | ICIS Chemical Business | 19-25 May 2023 www.icis.com


isation of North America and the implications
for chemicals demand, allowing Univar to lev-
erage its extensive asset network in the region.
“We have a real competitive moat with our
asset footprint in a re-industrialising North
America which means we have great growth
opportunities here. No one has a better set of
contiguous assets for inorganic and organic
chemistries in North America than we do,”
said Jukes.
“You can’t readily replace those assets. You
can’t go out and quickly build out tank farms,
replicate rail sidings and 600-700 railcars for
specific products. All these new industries are
pouring into the US,” he added, referring to
semiconductor manufacturing, as well as
manufacturing products for the green energy
transition.
The $280bn US CHIPS and Science Act to
build local semiconductor manufacturing ca-
pabilities, and the $369bn US Inflation Reduc-
tion Act (IRA) to incentivise manufacturing of
electric vehicle (EV) batteries, solar cells, wind
turbines and build out infrastructure for hy-
drogen and carbon capture and storage
(CCS) is set to spur a renaissance in high-tech
US manufacturing which will require massive
volumes of chemicals.
Rising environmental, social and govern-
ance (ESG) standards, as well as new invest-
ment in clean technology driven by the US
IRA, should be a big benefit to Univar, the
number one chemical distributor in the US
and North America, he pointed out.
“Increasing ESG standards help give us an-
other level of differentiation over some of the
small regionals that might not have the same
ability to invest to keep their plants and equip-
ment at that level of ESG that customers and
suppliers really require,” said Jukes.
“Whether it’s windmills, batteries, solar
cells, chips – all of these things require chem-
istry, and a lot of that chemistry can be the
old-fashioned hazardous kind, and it requires
faultless service levels and impeccable safety
standards. That requires an asset footprint
and 100 years of experience in doing it in-
credibly well,” he added.
Enabling sustainability
Univar is also helping customers reduce
Scope 3 emissions (includes the carbon foot-
print of raw materials) by offering more sus-
tainable products.
Starting this year, the company will collabo-
rate with suppliers globally to provide carbon
footprints for the products it distributes, along
with other sustainability attributes such as bio-
based and recycled content, along with social
impact and environmental accreditation.
“Just simply working to be able to help re-
duce Scope 3 emissions for our supply part-
ners, and thinking about more natural and
sustainable products we put out into the mar-
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Univar’s labs help develop formulations that better serve customer needs
ketplace, we see real opportunity in the
changing landscape of North America in par-
ticular,” said Jukes.
Univar is actively focused on developing
of a full range of sustainable and natural in-
gredients across its portfolio which will sup-
port customers seeking to infuse sustainable
and natural ingredients into their own prod-
uct development.
“The value chain as a whole tends to cur-
rently lack consistent global standards and an
understanding of sustainability at the product
level,” according to a Univar whitepaper on
how chemical distributors can drive sustaina-
ble solutions across industries.
David Jukes
CEO, Univar Solutions
“We have a real competitive moat
with our asset footprint in a
re-industrialising North America
which means we have great
growth opportunities here”
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
Univar Solutions
“Working in the middle of the value chain,
chemical and ingredient distributors… can
provide holistic sustainability insights from
supplier to customer, while formulating inno-
vative chemistries and delivering ingredients
that meet our customers’ needs, including
economic, availability, and sustainability con-
siderations,” it added.
M&A and Q1 results
Univar continues to grow through targeted
specialty acquisitions. Pick-ups in 2023 and
2022 included specialty ingredients and
chemicals distributor ChemSol Group (Cen-
tral America), specialty chemicals distributor
Kale Kimya (Turkey) and specialty chemicals
distributor Vicom (Spain).
On its own buyout, Univar previously re-
ceived buyout interest from a number of par-
ties over the past several months, including
from Germany’s Brenntag. Ultimately, the
board determined that the deal with Apollo
both maximises value and positions the com-
pany for further success, he noted.
“In Apollo, we believe we have found an
ideal partner, and we are looking forward to
working with their team to take our business
to new heights,” said Jukes.
“They are passionate about our mission
and with their support, we will continue to ad-
vance our purpose of helping to keep our
communities healthy, fed, clean and safe,” he
added.
Univar recently posted Q1 results, with ad-
justed earnings before interest, tax, deprecia-
tion and amortisation (EBITDA) down 33%
year on year to $215m on 6.9% lower sales of
$2.68bn. Lower demand was partially offset
by pricing discipline, the company said. Q
19-25 May 2023 | ICIS Chemical Business | 37
SPECIAL REPORT
TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS
Barentz to
build
Americas
bridge
CEO Hidde van der Wal seeks synergies through M&A
as the company builds a chemical distribution bridge
from North America to South America
Joseph Chang New York
Netherlands-based chemical distributor
Barentz seeks to build a bridge across the
Americas with its recent acquisition of Brazil-
based Metachem, along with other deals.
In April, Barentz acquired Metachem, a full-
line distributor encompassing industrial chem-
icals, specialties for paints and adhesives, as
well as pharmaceutical and nutrition ingredi-
Hidde van der Wal
CEO, Barentz
“The strategic plan for North
America and South America…
[is that] we want to link North
America with our mid-Americas
operations where we have also
industrial activities, towards
South America”
38 | ICIS Chemical Business | 19-25 May 2023
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ents, with sales of around $84m in 2022.
“That makes it an ideal fit for our Brazilian
operations because earlier we only had life
science activities in Brazil. With Metachem,
we can enlarge our activities in performance
materials as well,” said Hidde van der Wal,
CEO of Barentz, in an interview with ICIS.
“In North America, specifically in the US
and in Canada, we have a very strong position
in performance materials already. The strate-
gic plan for North America and South Ameri-
ca… [is that] we want to link North America
with our mid-Americas operations where we
have also industrial activities, towards South
America,” he added.
Active in Americas M&A
Barentz has been very active on the M&A front
in the Americas in 2022 and 2023, acquiring
Volp (Brazil), Grasse (Brazil), Viachem (US),
Chemcel (Mexico), and DIVSA (Central Ameri-
ca). In Europe, it also acquired Natural
(France), Unipex (France) and ACE Trade
(Czech Republic).
Guatemala-based DIVSA, which Barentz
acquired in March 2022, has life science in-
gredients and specialty chemicals operations
across Guatemala, the Dominican Republic,
Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Pana-
ma, which made it another key component in
bridging Barentz’s operations in North and
South America.
DIVSA’s key end markets included personal
care, home care, flavors and fragrances, food
and beverage, pharmaceuticals, coatings,
and polyurethanes.
Barentz aims to create synergies between
its North American and South American op-
erations, including leveraging supplier rela-
tionships and sourcing opportunities to bring
new products and solutions to customers.
“To find these synergies, we create a steer-
ing committee or team of experts helping
them integrate into Barentz, and also helping
them find synergies between the two conti-
nents,” said van der Val.
A key part of Barentz’s strategy is that in
every one of the 70 countries in which it oper-
ates, it maintains and develops local expertise.
“We think global, but we act local. The
local teams understand local formulations
and very importantly, local needs,” said van
der Wal, pointing out that these can be quite
different from Mexico to the US to Guatema-
la, for example.
“In these 70 countries, we aim for growth -
both organically and through targeted acqui-
sitions,” he added.
Of Barentz’s 2022 sales of around €2.5bn,
Europe accounted for about €1.1bn, North
America (including Mexico and Central Amer-
ica) €1bn, with South America and Asia Pacific
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 IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Hidde van der Wal

CEO, Barentz

“We think global, but we act local.

The local teams understand local
formulations and very importantly,
local needs”

at around $200m each.

In December 2021, Barentz acquired US-
based Maroon Group which had around
$500m in sales at the time in CASE (coatings,
adhesives, sealants and elastomers) and life
science ingredients across North America.
Barentz seeks acquisitions for strategic fit
and potential synergies – not for size, its CEO
emphasised.
“We buy to fill the puzzle and to find the
synergies. It can be a sizable acquisition or a
niche type of deal, if it fits in one of the holes
we have in the region,” said van der Wal.
The company aims to grow more in South
America as well as Asia Pacific, along with the
US through acquisitions, he noted.
While the overall financing market has be-
come more challenging, Barentz is in a strong
position backed by solid financial results and
free cash flow, along with private equity firm
owner Cinven that is “extremely supportive in
the realisation of our growth ambitions”, said
the CEO.

Industrial chemicals challenging

Barentz posted record earnings in Q1 but has
Shutterstock

seen a bit of a cool down in North America

where it has a greater presence in CASE, plas-
tics and synthesis solutions, he noted.
On a global basis, key end markets in phar-
maceuticals and human nutrition continue to
be strong, while personal care is mixed as this
segment is more exposed to inflation and its
impact on consumer discretionary spending.
Geographically, Europe is performing a bit
stronger than the US, part of the reason being
that it is less exposed to the performance ma-
terials business.

Bio-based materials
Sustainability is also a key part of Barentz’s
strategy with ESG being a license to operate
and grow as a business, said the CEO.
The distributor seeks to source and formu-
late more bio-based chemicals in perfor-
mance materials, as well as in food and phar-
maceutical ingredients.
“This is an integral part of our strategy, where
we also have the assistance of all our labs at
global scale to support new formulations for
more sustainable products for our customers
and for all our suppliers,” said van der Wal.
“We are adapting as a solutions provider
Barentz

with formulation technology to help create

Barentz is headquartered in Hoofddorp, Netherlands with operations around the world change,” he added. Q

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Competition
heats up in
Europe
Smaller distributors are agile enough to be
both reactive and proactive as they battle
tepid demand and increasing competition
from Asia, says the CEO of Julius Hoesch

Tom Brown London
Competition is strong in the European chemi-
cals distribution space at present, as ample
availability of product, more stable supply
chains and flows of product from outside the
region pile pressure on pricing, according to
the CEO of Germany’s Julius Hoesch.
With destocking trends still dogging Euro-
pean chemicals demand in the face of a tepid
economic environment hit by surging interest
rates and stubbornly-high inflation, competi-
tion among distributors keen to retain a share
of limited business is high.
“Product availability is much better than the
last two years, supply chains are stabilising
and there is a flow of goods coming from out-
side Europe again, which is putting pressure
on price levels,” said Stephan Andreas, CEO
of the Germany-based firm.
Based in Duren, western Germany, Julius
Hoesch specialises in distribution of industrial
chemicals, specialties and services including
formulation, production and storage.
Company volumes are currently split 60%
industrial, 30% specialties and 10% services,
with turnover of around €200m for the finan-
cial year ending last February.
High interest rates and consumer demand
that has been hit by the sharp increase in cost of
living has hit output in key chemicals end mar-
kets such as construction, with the eurozone
currently marked by a decoupling between ser-
vice and manufacturing sector momentum.
Bearish manufacturing sector and chemical
customer expectations that prices may contin-
ue to fall for some value chains are increasing
pressure to deplete inventories, with a growing
disparity between prices paid for stock and cur-
“Maybe with a drop in price levels,
demand will start to go up again.
But it’s tough, it will be a tough
year, probably tougher than the
previous two, when it comes to
margins and volumes”
rent market values across the sector.
“That adds to weak demand because cus-
tomers are waiting for the prices to drop to
buy again, so it’s quite a weak situation when
it comes to quantities,” Andreas said.
“Margins are also under pressure and we see
strong competition in the distribution market
because demand is so weak,” he added.
Andreas took up the CEO role around a
year and a half ago, after a period working for
accounting firms such as Pricewaterhouse-
Coopers and Deloitte, before heading up Ju-
lius Hoesch at the tail end of the pandemic.
While the supply chain disruption that had
dogged global trade since the onset of the
COVID-19 era has eased with slower demand,
the shockwaves following the Ukraine war
mean that market volatility has remained the
order of the day.
The constant shifts in footing and opacity
of future demand visibility mean that compa-
nies need to be reactive as much as pro-ac-
tive, with the ability to respond quickly to
changes the key factor for competitiveness

40 | ICIS Chemical Business | 19-25 May 2023 www.icis.com


when long-term planning is impossible.
“There’s no room for long-term planning,
but as we are a medium sized company with
180 employees, we always have been quite
Stephan Andreas
CEO, Julius Hoesch
“Conditions have normalised to an
extent but I don’t think we will get
back to the to the old normal”
www.icis.com
Increasing competition
from Asia is putting
European distributors
under pressure
Shutterstock
agile compared to our larger competitors,
which allows us to shift from being more pro-
active to more reactive,” Andreas said.
While some of the market conditions that
marked the height of the pandemic have
eased, it is unlikely that pre-COVID conditions
will ever return, according to Andreas.
“Conditions have normalised to an extent
but I don’t think we will get back to the to the
old normal” he said.
“Stability won’t go all the way back to what it
has been before the COVID crisis, there will al-
ways be more fluctuation in the product avail-
ability in the future and also the resilience of
the supply chains is not that good,” he added.
Regulatory pressure
Players, particularly the small and medium-
sized businesses that make up a substantial
portion of Germany’s chemicals production
market, are also facing up to the administra-
tive burden presented by an intensifying de-
carbonisation regulatory framework in the EU.
While the European Commission is also de-
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
veloping billions of euros-worth of stimulus for
projects such as green hydrogen and carbon
capture, smaller firms without in-house compli-
ance departments face an increasingly costly
administrative burden, according to Andreas.
“In addition to that we have a lot of regulatory
topics in the EU like the EU Green Deal or the di-
rectives on corporate social responsibility, that
will lead some industrial manufacturers to invest
in countries other than Germany,” he said.
“Of course, the initiatives towards sustaina-
bility and corporate social responsibility are
good and right, but they need to be economi-
cally viable as our economy is subject to inter-
national competition,” he added.
Following on the heels of Reach, the Classi-
fication, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) and
biocides directives, and other regulatory
frameworks that have shifted the European
chemicals landscape over the last decade,
the increase in red tape provides a potential
growth area for Julius Hoesch.
“Especially in Germany, the market is quite
fragmented. You have a lot of small and me-
dium sized companies, and these smaller me-
dium sized companies have special needs
that we can adapt our portfolio and services
around,” Andreas said.
“SMEs will have to outsource parts of their
production because they want to be able to
cope with these regulations. And therefore,
they come to us to take over the production
and also help with adapting their products to
be compliant. That will be a bigger part of our
business in the future,” he added.
“We are also looking to grow our business
in the home care/Industrial and institutional
industry and in organic specialties. Further-
more, we are expanding our toll manufactur-
ing capacities, which is also a sector affected
by rising regulation,” he said.
Many chief executives of listed European
chemicals producers expressed hopes in re-
porting the close of the 2022 fiscal year for a re-
covery in demand in the second half of this year.
Players have pointed to firmer demand in the
second quarter so far, but at more muted rates
than had been hoped for earlier in the year.
With price pressure and low demand con-
tinuing to bite, a more pronounced recovery
may not be apparent until the start of next
year, according to Andreas.
“We could see a more pronounced recov-
ery by Q4 this year potentially, but I expect it
more at the beginning of 2024. It’s quite un-
predictable, the market might be a bit better
after the summer but inflation is still very high,
and therefore we expect demand to stay
weak throughout the year,” he said.
“Maybe with a drop in price levels, demand
will start to go up again. But it’s tough, it will
be a tough year, probably tougher than the
previous two, when it comes to margins and
volumes,” he added. Q
19-25 May 2023 | ICIS Chemical Business | 41

Short-term turbulence,
brighter long-term?
Much chemical distribution growth has been driven inorganically through
acquisitions; different business models may be needed for long-term prosperity
Guenther Eberhard, Managing Director,
DistriConsult
We are getting towards the end of the report-
ing period for first quarter (Q1) 2023 results,
and so far the numbers in chemical distribu-
tion have held up surprisingly well.
The year-on-year comparison has shown
either a sideways movement or even a slight
increase for the larger listed distribution com-
panies that are providing formal trading up-
dates. But when asked what the future will
bring, the company leaders always mention
geopolitical uncertainties, a potentially ad-
verse macroeconomic environment and the
effects of inflation. They stick to very “broad”
comments on the future outlook, for reasons
of restrictions imposed on them by the cus-
tomary stock exchange regulations.
In private conversations, mostly with non-
listed family companies, the feedback some-
times gets a bit more direct, but also a bit
www.icis.com
more diverse, depending on the scope of ac-
tivities and the positioning of the company
you are talking with. Let’s now look at a num-
ber of aspects in more detail.
Growth from acquisitions
Serial acquisitions by larger players like Euro-
pean groups Azelis or IMCD still have contin-
ued to be a major contributor to growth in
2022 and also in Q1-2023. Since that contribu-
tion only shows up in the reported figures
with a time-lag, the last quarter captures most
if not all the transactions concluded in 2022.
As an example, Azelis, which report very
Serial acquisitions by larger players
like European groups Azelis or
IMCD still have continued to be a
major contributor to growth in
2022 and also in Q1-2023
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
Shutterstock
detailed numbers in that respect, derive quite
a significant portion of their Adjusted earn-
ings before interest, tax and amortization
(EBITA) from newly acquired companies. In
Q1-2023 this was 11.9% of a total of 15.5%
growth. On the top-line, virtually all the
growth of 12.0% came from add-ons. “Organ-
ic revenue was broadly stable”, they said in
their announcement.
IMCD also announced that their top-line
was “mainly driven by the first time inclusion
of companies acquired in 2022 and 2023”. For
Operating EBITA the growth is a mix of both
contributing factors, internal growth as well
as acquired businesses. But no further break-
down was provided.
The above will also apply to a varying de-
gree to the other large distribution groups
with a significant acquisition pipeline in past
and present, namely Barentz and Caldic. But
since they are not listed, detailed data are not
really available to the public. Some indirect ii
19-25 May 2023 | ICIS Chemical Business | 43
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ii calculations can be made of course, but
that is complicated and outside the scope of
the article.
Of the “full-line” distributors only Brenntag
has been quite active in M&A, mostly in 2022,
not so much recently. Univar only had a few
selective add-ons. That is apart from their bi-
lateral discussions regarding a potential
merger that had surfaced in November last
year. But the project was called off rather sud-
denly at the beginning of the year, before it
became fully known what the underlying ob-
jectives were.
Their focus is currently more on internal re-
organisation (Brenntag with their projects
“Project Brenntag” and “Strategy to win”), and
themselves being acquired (Univar Solutions
being taken private by Apollo), respectively.
Due to their overall size, smaller add-ons,
while strategically important and relevant,
make less of an impact on the aggregated fig-
ures reported regularly.
Commodities versus specialties
In summer last year, even before the discus-
sions between Brenntag and Univar Solu-
tions about a potential merger transpired,
the two different operating models for indus-
trial chemicals (depot/tank farm based, own
transport logistics for bulk and semi-bulk,
blending and filling capabilities, short term-
“ish” and transactional, usually non-exclusive
supply, often more volatile) and specialty
chemicals (third party warehouse of packed
goods, outsourced transport logistics, know-
how based, longer-term development/quali-
fication driven, more “sticky” and steady) got
a lot of attention in the public discussion,
partly driven by Brenntag’s announcement a
while ago to organise themselves in two
global business divisions, Brenntag Essen-
tials (distribution of industrial chemicals) and
Brenntag Specialties.
As these lines are written, Brenntag is
under considerable pressure from activist in-
vestors to split itself up along the above lines,
into two “pure play” companies. So the next
Annual General Meeting, a few weeks from
now, might be the podium for some interest-
ing discussions.
While in a top-down “financial” approach to
the analysis of a large integrated distribution
company, a split into a “high EBITDA-multiple”
specialties company and a “lower-EBITDA-
multiple” commodities firm does make a lot of
sense conceptually. In a more bottom-up “op-
erational” look at such an historically grown
structure, the situation is much less clear and
certainly not simple to resolve.
There are significant operational synergies
between the two models, which Brenntag aims
to be getting at in their projects. These could
potentially get lost in a break-up. Not straight
away, but I’d be worried once transition agree-
www.icis.com
M&A activity by company
Number of deals since 2021: 100 out of 156 in total
Azelis SA
IMCD NV
Barentz
International
Brenntag SE
Caldic BV
DKSH AG
OQEMA AG
Safic-Alcan SA
Univar
Solutions
0 5
Source: Company websites, press releases, company filings, ChemAgility, Hazardous Cargo Bulletin, DistriConsult analysis
There are significant operational
synergies between the two
models, which Brenntag aims to
be getting at in their projects.
These could potentially get lost in
a break-up
ments for mutual service provision expire and
things ultimately come to the surface.
From a stakeholder perspective, many cus-
tomers and/or suppliers also see benefits
from working with such a broad organisation,
covering a range of needs. Otherwise the
business would not have grown to the size it
has today. But the set-up needs to be efficient
and responsive to ever changing market
needs, something smaller and focussed com-
panies in certain situations find easier to
achieve. And then there is always an “execu-
tion risk” in any multi-faceted and complex
project that such a split would constitute.
Or put in simple terms, if today you would
want to build a big global distribution compa-
ny from scratch and according to the most
advanced concepts, it would quite likely be
either a company selling “Industrial Chemi-
cals” or “Specialty Chemicals” and not a “Full-
liner” like Brenntag (or Univar Solutions)
today.
But since Brenntag as an entity is there in its
historically grown shape, you may as well use
what you have in a smart way. Two separate
business units, each representing a distinct
business model, under a small corporate
group and linked by a lean “shared and lever-
aged service” organisation, that is covering
areas such as supply chain where scale mat-
ters. After all, Brenntag as a group is not com-
parable to the sprawling conglomerates of
the past, which often had many unrelated ac-
tivities and businesses. These organisations
were ripe to be broken up and many stake-
holders benefitted. I am not so sure this is the
case here with Brenntag.
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
10 15 20 25 30
What about the rest?
The rest is actually the bulk of the industry as we
all know it, many small and medium-sized com-
panies, owned and controlled by families and
other private investors. These companies have
been doing very well lately. Post-COVID product
shortages, supply chain issues around China
(and elsewhere) and also inflation helped these
companies to nice growth in terms of sales,
(gross) margins and profits, provided they had
good people to handle this exceptional situa-
tion. All this came at the price of a lot of stress
and is by no means guaranteed to continue.
Digitals tool like CRM or supply chain software
did help greatly, but the much talked about digi-
tal platforms and marketplaces were not the al-
ternative people had hoped them to be.
Suppliers and the products they made
available to the distributors in times of supply
constraints were the critical factor for
2021/22. That appears to be shifting gradually,
as products become more readily available
and demand gets softer. Customers and their
needs, but also their innovation potential and
the ability to perceive where the consumer
markets are headed become crucial. So it
pays off to be tuned in locally or regionally.
Where are we headed now?
Geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty
continues to impact business and that clouds
the horizon. Europe is particularly exposed due
to potentially continued energy price swings,
which might eventually result in a general
trend of a (chemical) manufacturing decline,
and its proximity to the war in Ukraine. So the
business of distributors will require constant at-
tention, stamina and good judgement. But it
will also provide opportunities.
As the summer holiday season approaches
and airports and airplanes get more crowded,
and many of the people in the industry are on
their way to the beaches or the mountains, we
could say: “We expect turbulence ahead, so
please fasten your seatbelt at all times”, but
otherwise, “enjoy the view”! Q
19-25 May 2023 | ICIS Chemical Business | 45

ICIS Top 100
Chemical
Distributors
We present our global ranking of the leaders in
chemical distribution, from large to small
based on 2022 sales. This year we have a
record of almost 340 companies participating
Sarah Creswell London
Joseph Chang New York
Will Beacham Barcelona
BRENNTAG
1 2022 SALES: $20.85BN (€19.43BN)
Essen, Germany
www.brenntag.com`
CEO: Christian Kohlpaintner
Products: Full-line range of more than 10,000
products; industrial chemicals; specialty
chemicals; ingredients; adhesives; paints; oil
and gas chemicals; food and nutrition ingredi-
ents; water treatment chemicals; personal
care ingredients; pharmaceutical ingredients;
cleaning chemicals; coatings and construc-
tion chemicals; animal nutrition products;
pulp and paper chemicals
Services: Tailor-made distribution solutions
for industrial and specialty chemicals; one-
stop-shop solutions; specific application
technology; extensive technical support; just-
www.icis.com
SPECIAL REPORT
TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS
in-time delivery; product blending and mix-
ing; formulation; repackaging; inventory man-
agement; drum return handling
Assets: More than 600 locations in 72 coun-
tries; workforce of more than 17,500 employees
TRICON ENERGY
2 2022 SALES: $12.53BN
Houston, Texas, US
www.triconenergy.com
President and CEO: Ignacio Torras
Products: Chlor-alkalis; aromatics; glycols;
fibre intermediates; solvents; olefins; poly-
mers; fertilizers
Services: Global presence with sales into
over 100 countries; marketing; re-export fi-
nancing; shipping; logistics; packaging;
blending; storage; just-in-time delivery; re-
packaging; inventory management; risk man-
agement for commodity price and foreign
exchange
Assets: 21+ offices; more than 450 employees
Shutterstock
UNIVAR SOLUTIONS
3 2022 SALES: $11.48BN
Downers Grove, Illinois, US
www.univarsolutions.com
President and CEO: David Jukes
Products: Acids; additives and modifiers;
chelates; enzymes; essential chemicals and
ingredients; oleochemicals; oxides; polymers
and resins; process aids; silicones; solvents;
surfactants
Services: Blending; bulk breakdown; im-
port/export; private label; receiving; ship-
ping; small packaging; storage; transloading;
located in 31 countries and delivering to
more than 100,000 customer locations
across around 120 countries from over 1,800
suppliers
Assets: Over 600 distribution facilities across
the world; 4,900 tractors, trailers and tankers
providing flexible inventory and delivery alter-
natives; over 2,500 railcars; 120 rail and barge
terminals; 20 deep sea terminals
19-25 May 2023 | ICIS Chemical Business | 47
SPECIAL REPORT
TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS
HELM
4 2022 SALES: $8.59BN (€8BN)
Hamburg, Germany
www.helmag.com
CEO: Stephan Schnabel
Products: methanol; base petrochemicals;
biobased chemicals; acids & lyes; fibreglass;
intermediates; fertilizers (nitrogen; potassi-
um; phosphates; liquids; specialties); crop
protection (insecticides; herbicides; fungi-
cides; growth regulators); pharmaceutical
products (active pharmaceutical ingredi-
ents; pharmaceuticals)
Services: International marketing; logistics;
distribution; project development; scientific &
technical services; production & investments
Assets: Subsidiaries in about 30 countries;
production participations; joint ventures
NAGASE & CO
5 2022 SALES: $5.96BN (Y780.56BN)
Tokyo, Japan
www.nagase.co.jp/english
Representative director and President:
Hiroyuki Ueshima
Products: Chemicals; plastics; electronics
materials; cosmetics and health foods
Services: Import/export and domestic sales
KOLMAR GROUP
6 2022 SALES: $5.37BN
Zug, Switzerland
www.kolmargroup.com
CEO and Chairwoman of the board: Ruth
Sandelowsky
Products: Alcohols; aromatics; renewable
fuels; fibre intermediates; solvents; olefins
Services: Blending; storage; transportation
Assets: 2 biofuels plants
Trading Sales: 66.5%
IMCD
7 2022 SALES: $5.07BN (€4.73BN)
Rotterdam, Netherlands
www.imcdgroup.com
CEO: Piet van der Slikke
Products: Specialty chemicals and ingredi-
ents for the following industries: pharmaceuti-
cals; coatings and construction, adhesives,
sealants, elastomers (CASE); personal care;
advanced materials; food and nutrition; ani-
mal nutrition; nutraceuticals; lubricants; in-
dustrial solutions; HI&I; oil and gas
Services: Technical sales; marketing of spe-
cialty chemicals and ingredients; application
laboratory services; local and central stock
holding; drumming; repackaging; blending;
sampling
Assets: 73 market-focused application labo-
ratories; over 4,300 employees; 109 offices
and 135 warehouses throughout all operat-
ing companies in: EMEA: Europe, Turkey,
Egypt, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Saudi
Arabia, Africa; Americas: US, Canada, Brazil,
48 | ICIS Chemical Business | 19-25 May 2023
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Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Dominican Repub-
lic, Guatemala, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay,
Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico and Asia
Pacific: Australia, New Zealand, India, Bang-
ladesh, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philip-
pines, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Japan,
South Korea
AZELIS
8 2022 SALES: $4.41BN (€4.11BN)
Antwerp, Belgium
www.azelis.com
CEO: Hans Joachim Mueller
Products: Thousands of specialty chemicals
and food ingredients for the following mar-
kets: animal nutrition; food and nutrition; per-
sonal care; flavours and fragrances; home
care and industrial cleaning; pharmaceuticals
and healthcare; agricultural and environmen-
tal solutions; CASE; electronics; essential
chemicals; fine chemicals; lubricants and
metal-working fluids; advanced materials and
additives; textiles; leather and paper and
other applications
Services: Laboratory analysis; formulation
development and blending; expert technical
and regulatory support; repacking; flexible
pack sizes; local stockholding; market re-
search and trend analysis; GMP and clean-
room pharmaceuticals facilities; integrated
supply chain; sampling
Assets: 60+ application laboratories; 3,800+
people; offices and access to warehouses
across EMEA, Americas and Asia Pacific; high
quality sales force that is technically trained
for the market segments they serve
CZARNIKOW
9 2022 SALES: $4.3BN
London, UK
www.czarnikow.com
CEO: Robin Cave
Products: A range of food ingredients and
packaging; agriproducts and energy prod-
ucts including: PET; RPET; HDPE; LDPE;
sugar; fruit; acidulants; dairy; starches;
sweeteners; additives; grains; nuts and
seeds; fertilizer; biomass; ethanol and renew-
able electricity
Services: Supply chain management solu-
tions including trading; trade and structured
finance; price risk management; logistics;
freight; stock management; sustainability;
market analysis; consultancy and corporate
finance
Assets: Joint ventures; silos; solar parks
SUNRISE GROUP
10 2022 SALES: $3.6BN
Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
www.sunrisechemical.com
President and CEO: Sun Yang
Products: Adhesives; active pharmaceutical
ingredients and intermediates; paints and
coating chemicals; polymers and resins; poly-
urethanes; solvents; surfactants; aromatic hy-
drocarbons; polyesters; polyolefins; engineer-
ing plastics; animal feed additives; veterinary
and pesticide preparations; agrochemicals
and intermediates
Services: Global sourcing and distribution;
hazardous chemical storage; repackaging
and labeling; digital logistics support; market-
ing and financing services; manufacturing
and formulation; custom mixing and blend-
ing; milling and granulating; laboratory analy-
sis and quality control; technical training and
consultancy
Assets: Global distribution network in 46
countries with offices in China, UK and
Japan; 3 plants and 2 labs with gross area of
154,000+ square metres; workforce of 580+
employees; self-developed customer portal;
network of warehouses (owned and third-
party)
Trading Sales: 69%
SINOCHEM PLASTICS
11 2022 SALES: $3.52BN
Beijing, China.
www.sinochemplastics.com
General Manager: Guoxun Zhao
Products: Engineering plastics; high perfor-
mance plastics; plastic additives; epoxy res-
ins; UPR; coatings materials; materials for hy-
giene products; synthetic rubber; basic
chemicals; rubber chemicals; specialty chem-
icals; textile raw materials; dyestuffs and pig-
ments; intermediates; solvents and other
chemical products; food ingredients; oilfield
chemicals
Services: Marketing; diversified product solu-
tions and value-added services for upstream
and downstream customers at home and
abroad; one-stop procurement; supply chain
management; technical support; commis-
sioned processing; brand maintenance
Assets: 3 warehouses with gross area of
58,687 square metres and total construc-
tion area of 57,210 square metres; 2 office
buildings with gross area of 10,269 square
metres
Trading Sales: 40%
CALDIC
12 2022 SALES: $2.9BN (€2.7BN)
Rotterdam, Netherlands
www.caldic.com
CEO: Alexander Wessels
Products: Ingredients and specialty chemi-
cals for the food and nutrition, pharmaceuti-
cal and biopharmaceutical, personal care and
industrial formulations markets such as coat-
ings and construction, plastics and rubber,
and many other industrial applications
Services: cGMP warehousing and cleanroom
facilities for pharmaceuticals and biopharma-
ceuticals; mixing; blending; filling; grinding;
www.icis.com
SPECIAL REPORT
TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS
repacking; formulation and application sup-
port; integrated supply chain services; regula-
tory support; quality control; customised
value added solutions
Assets: Global presence in the life science
and material science markets; solid presence
in Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and
Latin America; around 3,500 employees
working across 43 countries; network of ap-
plication laboratories, mixing and blending
facilities, repacking equipment, cleanrooms
and warehousing across the four regions
BARENTZ
13 2022 SALES: $2.69BN (€2.51BN)
Hoofddorp, Netherlands
www.barentz.com
CEO: Hidde van der Wal
Products: Life science ingredients and per-
formance materials in human nutrition, phar-
maceuticals, nutraceuticals, personal care,
animal nutrition, CASE and plastics, house-
hold care, industrial and institutional cleaning;
specialty intermediates
Services: Global distribution; local/regional/
global warehousing; combined order man-
agement; e-harmonised sampling system;
technical and formulation support; custom-
ised nutrition and taste systems/production;
customised sourcing; dry/liquid blending;
spray drying; microencapsulation; test-mar-
ket support
Assets: Offices in about 70 countries in
EMEA, Asia-Pacific, China, North America and
Latin America; 42+ specialised application
laboratories; 2,500+ employees; Barentz
Academy
SNETOR
14 2022 SALES: $2.49BN
Courbevoie, France
www.snetor.com
50 | ICIS Chemical Business | 19-25 May 2023
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CEO: Emmanuel Aubourg
Products: PE; PP; PVC; PET; PS; ABS; engi-
neering polymers; polyols; TDI; industrial
chemicals; recycled, biodegradable, mass
balance plastics
Services: Full range of products; technical
support
Assets: 90 warehouses
Trading Sales: 75%
STOCKMEIER HOLDING
15 2022 SALES: $2.46BN (€2.29BN)
Bielefeld, Germany
www.stockmeier.com
CEO: Peter Stockmeier
Products: Industrial chemicals (acids, caus-
tic, solvents, solids); specialty chemicals for
industrial and home care; cosmetics ingredi-
ents; coatings materials; construction chemi-
cals; cleaning products; peracetic acid; poly-
urethane chemicals; flavours and spices;
printing inks; textile auxiliaries; AdBlue; water
treatment chemicals
Services: Warehousing; blending; toll manu-
facturing; logistics
Assets: More than 50 locations in Europe;
specialised laboratories; 200 trucks
PETROCHEM MIDDLE EAST
16 2022 SALES: $2.29BN
Dubai, UAE
www.petrocheme.com
CEO: Yogesh Mehta
Products: Aromatics; monomers; methanol;
alcohols; esters; polymers; pharmaceutical
ingredients; oilfield materials; plasticizers;
acetic acid; butanols
Services: Bulk chemicals distribution world-
wide; tank leasing and storage solutions;
blending and manufacturing chemicals
Assets: State-of-the-art large bulk chemicals
storage terminal in Jebel Ali, Dubai, UAE;
Shutterstock
drum and powder chemicals storage; drum-
ming lines and loading arms; tank storage in
Adabiya Port and Port Said in Egypt; logistics
terminal in Dammam/Al Jubail, Saudi Arabia
Trading Sales: 37%
MANUCHAR
17 2022 SALES: $1.83BN
Antwerp, Belgium
www.manuchar.com
CEO: Philippe Huybrechs
Products: Home and fabric care chemicals;
personal care ingredients; human and animal
nutrition ingredients; mining and energy
chemicals; crop nutrition ingredients; textile
chemicals; paints and coatings materials;
construction chemicals; sodium sulphate;
soda ash; zeolite; caustic soda; citric acid; so-
dium bicarbonate; calcium chloride; sodium
lauryl ether sulphate (SLES); linear alkyl ben-
zene sulphonic acid (LABSA); glycerine; sur-
factants and oleochemicals; silicones; emulsi-
fiers; resins and monomers
Services: Diversified product portfolio in
chemicals and fertilizers; local know-how and
technical support in emerging markets; tailor-
made warehousing and other logistics/supply
chain services; financial solutions
Assets: 80+ affiliates worldwide across 35+
countries; 160+ locations; over 608,000
square metres of warehouse space; presence
in emerging markets such as Latin America,
Caribbean, Africa, Middle East and Asia as
well as growing presence in mature markets.
Trading Sales: 16%
OQEMA GROUP
18 2022 SALES: $1.82BN (€1.7BN)
Liedberg, Germany
www.oqema.com
CEO: Patrick Barthels
Products: Chemicals and ingredients for
paints and coatings, chemical industry and
synthesis, construction, HI&I, cosmetics and
personal care, feed and food, flavours and fra-
grances, pharmaceuticals, water treatment,
surface technology, plastics and rubber, agri-
culture, lubricants, metal and surface treat-
ment, automotive and machinery
Services: Blending; dilution and mixing; sus-
tainability and recycling in own units; tailored
logistics solutions; key account management;
technical support; laboratory services; stor-
age and warehousing; drumming and pack-
aging; transloading vessel to rail; regulatory
affairs management; clean room services;
price risk mitigation (fixed, contract and spot
pricing)
Assets: Offices and own warehouses cover-
ing 25 countries; own tank terminal in Ludwig-
shafen, Germany; recycling plant; fleet of own
trucks; specialised laboratories; dedicated
workforce of 1,500 throughout Europe
Trading Sales: 5%
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markets you are interested in.
TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS Visit icis.com/keep-in-touch

OMYA
19 2022 SALES: $1.80BN (SWFR1.66BN)
Oftringen, Switzerland
www.omya.com
EVP, sales, marketing & innovation, mem-
ber of the executive board: Thoralf Gliese
Products: Binders; high-performance poly-
mers; titanium dioxide; organic pigments;
dyes; minerals; additives and other specialty
raw materials for CASE, inks, engineered mate-
rials, plastics, thermosets, plasters, mortars,
concrete, packaging, board and paper, alumin-
ium finishing; ingredients for food, nutraceuti-
cals, pharmaceuticals, personal care, cosmet-
ics, home care and animal nutrition; raw
materials for agriculture and water treatment
Services: Global marketing and sourcing;
global supply chain management (logistics,
customer service); regulatory affairs manage-
ment and services; R&D; technical service;
analytics; microscopy; quality control
Assets: R&D centre for surface science, min-
eral pigments, chemical engineering, micro-
biology and consumer goods; technical ap-
plication services hubs in Europe, Americas
and Asia Pacific for all product categories;
sales affiliates in more than 50 countries;
global network of 120+ warehouses

BIESTERFELD
20 2022 SALES: $1.78BN (€1.66BN)
Hamburg, Germany
www.biesterfeld.com
President and CEO: Stephan Glander
Products: High-performance polymers; engi-
neering polymers; thermoplastic elastomers;
styrenic and acrylic polymers; sustainable
polymer solutions; synthetic rubbers; rubber
chemicals and fillers; high-quality com-
pounds based on silicone and flouro-silicone
rubbers; carbon blacks; rubber additives; raw
materials for personal care, cleaning, health-
care, advanced intermediates, nutrition, nu-
traceuticals, CASE, polyurethanes, perfor-
mance products, electronics and energy,
composites, polymer additives, industrial
chemicals, animal health, salts
Services: Technical expertise and consulting;
joint innovation management; individual solu-
tions; active application development and
product specification; customised logistical
solutions; direct and warehouse distribution;
less-than-truckload quantities; blending and
storing; joint formulation development; tech-
nical assistance and laboratory support
Assets: Subsidiaries in more than 50 coun-
tries serving more than 120 countries; appli-
cation laboratories, GDP and EN9120 certified
DKSH PERFORMANCE
21 MATERIALS
2022 SALES: $1.62BN
(SWFR1.5BN)
Zurich, Switzerland
www.dksh.com/pm
CEO: Stefan P Butz
Products: Food and beverage ingredients;
personal care and cosmetics ingredients;
pharmaceutical ingredients; industrial spe-
cialties
Services: Marketing and sales; logistics; inno-
vation and formulation services; regulatory
services; sourcing services; blending and re-
packing; after-sales services; digital services
Assets: 53 innovation centres; 120 business
locations
MITSUBISHI SHOJI CHEMICAL
22 2022 SALES: $1.61BN (Y211BN)
Tokyo, Japan
www.mccml.co.jp/en/company
President and CEO: Noriyuki Koga
Products: Sulphuric acid; solvent; coating
resins and materials; paint; silicone; polyure-
thane and raw materials; phenol; additives
Services: Trading; market analysis
Assets: Chemical storage tank and vessels
Trading Sales: 70%
QUIMIDROGA
23 2022 SALES: $1.38BN (€1.29BN)
Barcelona, Spain
www.quimidroga.com
CEO: Vicente Munoz
Products: Solvents; monomers; glycols and
intermediates; fine chemicals and specialties
Shutterstock
for food, feed, agrochemicals and fertilisers,
pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, flavours and fra-
grances, detergents, coatings, adhesives,
paper, water treatment, plasticizers, resins,
plastics and elastomers
Services: Storage of liquid and packed prod-
ucts; blending; standard and tailor-made
packaging; dissolutions; AEO certification
(authorised economic operator); customs
bonded warehouse; applications and devel-
opment laboratory services for personal care,
home care and food (technical advice, formu-
lations, research)
Assets: Logistics complex at the port of Bar-
celona with capacity of 30,000 tonnes of
packed products plus 155 tanks for 12,000
cubic metres of liquids; 2 sites located in the
north (Burgos) and centre (Madrid) of Spain
with capacity of 1,500 tonnes of packed prod-
ucts plus 20 tanks for liquids, as well as 9 dis-
tribution centres, a fully equipped quality con-
trol laboratory and an applications and
development laboratory
Trading Sales: 5%
STAVIAN CHEMICAL
24 2022 SALES: $1.23BN
Hanoi, Vietnam
www.stavianchem.com
Chairman and CEO: Dinh Duc Thang
Products: Plastics resin; biodegradable plas-
tic bags

52 | ICIS Chemical Business | 19-25 May 2023 www.icis.com

SPECIAL REPORT
TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS
Services: Global distribution; international
trading; logistics; import and export; supply
chain solutions; packaging
Assets: 30 branches and representative of-
fices worldwide; 2 plants for biodegradable
plastic bags with capacity of 4,000 tons/
month; 40 warehouses worldwide
Trading Sales: 10%
RAVAGO CHEMICALS
25 2022 SALES: $1.18BN (€1.1BN)
Arendonk, Belgium
www.ravagochemicals.com
General manager US: Jeff Rand
General manager EMEA: Tomas Keisers
Products: Chemicals and ingredients for
coatings, PU, construction, asphalt, personal
care, pharmaceuticals, animal nutrition,
human nutrition, beverages, water treatment,
rubber, polymers and elastomers, material
science
Services: Technical expertise; warehousing;
logistics; blending; repackaging; laboratory
services
Assets: Network of warehouses (owned and
3rd party); drumming, blending and labora-
tory facilities; feed premix plant; pressure
vessel manufacturing and water treatment
factory
Trading Sales: 10%
TER GROUP
26 2022 SALES: $1.16BN (€1.08BN)
Hamburg, Germany
www.terchemicals.com
CEO and Managing shareholder: Christian
Westphal
Products: Wide portfolio of more than 5,000
products; specialty chemicals for adhesives,
rubber, plastics, coatings, construction, lubri-
cant, industrial cleaning, home care, disinfec-
tion and water treatment; ingredients for per-
sonal care, health care, food and animal
nutrition
Services: Tailor-made distribution solutions;
product blending and mixing; packaging;
warehousing; specific application technolo-
gy; formulation advice; laboratories; sam-
pling; shipping; marketing; production; sales
into 100+ countries by technically trained
sales force for dedicated application seg-
ments
Assets: Global presence with 40+ subsidiar-
ies; 1,000+ employees; 30,000+ customers
CELLMARK
27 2022 SALES: $1.1BN
Gothenburg, Sweden
www.cellmark.com
Presidents: Hugo Galletta/Ersin Alkan
Products: Acetyls; acids; chlor-alkali; agro-
chemicals; construction chemicals; ligno;
petrochemicals; light metals; foundry; non-
ferrous; ferrous; caustic soda; hydrogen per-
54 | ICIS Chemical Business | 19-25 May 2023
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markets you are interested in.
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oxide; semiconductor materials; renewable
battery materials; oil and gas chemicals;
water treatment chemicals; coatings; agro-
chemicals; flame retardants; food and bever-
age ingredients; cosmetic ingredients; oral
care ingredients; active pharmaceutical in-
gredients; organic chemicals; inorganic
chemicals; vitamins; plant extracts; nutra-
ceuticals; amino acids; specialty and fine
chemicals
Services: Sales and marketing; sourcing;
custom manufacturing; packaging; blending;
milling and granulations; R&D; regulatory ser-
vices; market research; logistics; bulk and dry
storage
Assets: Production facility and equipment;
inventory held at public warehouses in over
20 locations worldwide
Trading Sales: 39%
HYDRITE CHEMICAL
28 2022 SALES: $964M
Brookfield, Wisconsin, US
www.hydrite.com
President: Kevin Honkamp
Products: Extensive line of products includ-
ing peracetic acid (PAA); chlor-alkali; industri-
al chemicals; foam control chemicals; food
processing and sanitation chemicals; food in-
gredients; liquid sulphites; fertilizers and liq-
uid micronutrients; pulp and paper chemi-
cals; organic and inorganic chemicals;
styrene/acrylic emulsion polymers; metal fin-
ishing chemicals; solvents; wastewater treat-
ment chemicals
Services: Contract manufacturing; formula-
tion; solvent reclamation; hazardous waste
removal; packaging and transloading; techni-
cal training and customer product research
Assets: 15 locations; bulk storage of 15m gal;
private fleet of trucks and professional drivers
JEBSEN & JESSEN GROUP
29 2022 SALES: $957.3M (€892M)
Bangkok, Thailand and Ham-
burg, Germany
www.ingredients.jjsea.com
www.jebsen-jessen.de
CEOs: Lim Siew Tin, Fritz von der Schulen-
burg
Products: Coatings and resins; plastics and
rubber; food and nutrition health ingredients;
food additives; oil and gas chemicals; oil de-
rivatives; bioethanol; pharmaceutical and per-
sonal care ingredients; home care specialties;
adhesives; water treatment specialties; min-
ing components; agrochemicals; modified
starches; collagen and sweeteners
Services: Sales and marketing; R&D applica-
tion lab services; import/export; regulatory
affairs; warehousing; sourcing; factory audit;
credit report; local currency financing
Assets: 19 offices worldwide; 14 warehouses;
4 laboratories; 3 regional innovation centres
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SAFIC-ALCAN
30 2022 SALES: $915M
Paris, France
www.safic-alcan.com
CEO: Yann Lissillour
Products: Wide range of specialty chemicals
and materials; performance products for ad-
hesives and sealants, coatings, inks and con-
struction, plastics, rubber, polyurethanes, in-
dustrial specialties, detergent industries, life
sciences, cosmetics and personal care,
health, wellness and nutrition, and food and
beverage
Services: Global sourcing; local sales; supply
chain management and marketing support;
dedicated technical support; regulatory and
quality support; formulation support; blend-
ing and sampling
Assets: 35 offices that cover 60 countries in
EMEA, North America, South America and
Asia; 10 laboratories for cosmetics, coatings,
rubber, pharmacy and water treatment; com-
bination of local warehouses and regional
storage
HAWKINS
31 2022 SALES: $912.9M
Roseville, Minnesota, US
www.hawkinsinc.com
President and CEO: Patrick Hawkins
Products: Caustic soda; bleach; minerals;
lactates; sulphuric acid; hydrochloric acid; so-
dium citrate; vitamins; ferric/ferrous chloride;
urea; chlorine
Services: Manufacturing; custom blending;
packaging; private label; delivery
Assets: Industrial manufacturing facilities (7);
water treatment distribution warehouses (39);
trucks (200+); nutraceutical manufacturing
plant (1)
Trading Sales: 8%
SOLVADIS GROUP
32 2022 SALES: $895M
Frankfurt, Germany
www.solvadis.com
CEO: Andreas Weimann
Products: Methanol; sulphur; sulphuric acid;
petrochemicals; solvents; industrial chemi-
cals; industrial minerals; cosmetic and phar-
maceutical raw materials; synthetic lubri-
cants; laboratory chemicals; coatings;
fertilizers; packaging materials; personal pro-
tective equipment; polymers
Services: Marketing; storage; tanks and pipe-
lines; logistics; packaging; supply chain man-
agement; processing; tank terminalling;
transloading; re-manufacturing; sulphur form-
ing (prilling); regeneration; investments in
sustainable production; project development
Assets: 9 tank farms; 6 storage facilities/
warehouses; tanks and pipelines; 1 produc-
tion facility; worldwide subsidiaries from
shareholder Sojitz group
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Asia Pacific chemical distribution leaders (2022 sales, $m)

Rank Company Sales ($m) Rank Company Sales ($m) Rank Company Sales ($m)
1 NAGASE & CO 4,603.8 39 Ceyenar Chemicals 85.5 74 REVADA Group 10.0
2 Tricon Energy 3,608.0 40 Rakha Al-Khaleej 82.7 75 Safic-Alcan 10.0
3 Sunrise Group 3,593.1 International 76 Arpadis Benelux 9.7
4 Sinochem Plastics 3,503.6 41 Shanghai Saifu Chemical 77.1 77 Leela Corp 8.0
Development
5 Brenntag 2,378.3 78 BdV Behrens 7.3
42 TER Group 75.1
6 Mitsubishi Shoji Chemical 1,552.8 79 Grup Barcelonesa 6.4
43 REDA Chemicals 69.0
7 IMCD 1,136.6 80 2M Holdings 6.1
44 Wego Chemical 60.7
8 DKSH Performance Materials 1,069.2 81 Arkem Kimya 6.0
45 Prakash Chemicals 55.1
9 Stavian Chemical 910.0 82 Penpet Petrochemical 5.4
46 McKinn International 45.1 Trading
10 Kolmar Group 819.8
47 RishiChem Distributors 41.1 83 Comercial Quimica Masso 5.2
11 Azelis 802.8
48 Shrieve Chemical 40.8 84 SMC Global 5.0
12 Behn Meyer Group 799.6
49 Nordmann, Rassmann 40.8 85 Skystep Trading 5.0
13 Redox 796.7
50 Taj Al Mulook General 40.1 86 Jobachem Group 4.8
14 TOPNEXT International 645.6 Trading
(formerly TOP Solvent) 87 Grolman Group 4.6
51 Ankush Enterprise 38.0
15 Junan Resources 600.0 88 BassTech International 4.2
52 S. Kushalchand 33.8
16 Pon Pure Chemicals Group 496.5 International 89 Nortex 4.1
17 KLJ Resources 493.5 53 Norkem Holdings 30.2 90 Moller Chemie 3.2
18 Omya 400.3 54 Bodo Moller Chemie 29.0 91 Faravelli 3.2
19 Pertamina Petrochemical 391.0 55 Telko 28.2 92 Tilley Distribution 3.1
Trading
56 Rebain International 26.8 93 Hawkins 2.5
20 Ramniklal S. Gosalia & Co 340.0
57 Simagchem Asia 25.7 94 Cornelius Group 2.5
21 Petrochem Middle East 330.0
58 Connect Chemicals 24.7 95 Coreflow Chemi 2.4
22 Jebsen & Jessen Group 297.3
59 PHT International 23.6 96 L'Aprochimide 2.1
23 CellMark 284.0
60 Novasol Chemicals 23.6 97 George S. Coyne Chemical 1.8
24 WWRC Holding 230.0
61 INMATRADE 22.5 98 Al Nahda International 1.5
25 KPL International 228.9 (Anichem Group)
62 Equilex Chemicals 20.6
26 Sanjay Chemicals 200.9 99 VTAR 1.5
63 Saiper Chemicals 19.9
27 Manuchar 158.0 100 Quimica Anastacio 1.3
64 Algol Chemicals 16.1
28 Sri Balaha Chemicals 139.0 101 Gamma Chimica 1.3
65 RAHN Group 15.0
29 Barentz 127.7 102 Nesstra Services 1.2
66 Continental Industries 15.0
30 NEO Chemical 108.0 103 Atlantic Chemicals Trading 1.1
Group
31 Biesterfeld 102.0 104 Will & Co 1.1
67 Prakash Chemicals 14.2
32 Polmann India 100.0 International 105 Solventis 1.1
33 Montachem International 100.0 68 An Loc Phat International 14.0 106 Hubbard-Hall 1.0
34 Guangzhou Lifly Chemicals 100.0 69 WISTEMA 13.1 107 Likit Kimya 1.0
35 Union Petrochemical 93.3 70 Aug. Hedinger 12.6 108 Chemical Solvents 1.0
36 Transmare Chemie 90.4 71 National Chemical 12.2 109 Kemat 1.0
37 Maha Chemicals 90.0 72 Incendin 11.8 Note: Sales are in the specific region and may differ
from total company sales. Sales $1m and above are
38 Aik Moh Paints & Chemicals 89.6 73 Isochem 10.2 included

BEHN MEYER GROUP
33 2022 SALES: $886.8M (€826.3M)
Hamburg, Germany
www.behnmeyer.de
Products: Fertilizers; crop protection chemi-
cals; agricultural additives and specialties; in-
gredients for food, personal and home care,
and pharmaceuticals; additives for animal
feed and aquaculture; specialties for rubber
and plastics; eco-friendly solutions for water
treatment; petrochemicals; coatings; leather
and textile chemicals; chemicals for process
industries
Services: One-stop solution provider; techni-
cal sales and marketing; customer service; in-
dustry-specific technical advice; regulatory
and risk management; innovation and formu-
lation; R&D support; blending; ingredient cus-
tomisation and packaging; warehousing and
logistics; supply chain management; omni-
channel support and business development.
Assets: Over 1,300 employees worldwide; of-
fices and warehouses in 14 countries; 38
warehouse locations; global production facili-
ties in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Italy,
Netherlands, US and Australia; laboratory fa-
cilities in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Viet-
nam, Italy, Netherlands and Australia
REDOX
34 2022 SALES: $847.2M
Sydney, Australia
www.redox.com
Joint Managing Director: Raimond Coneliano
Products: More than 1,000 products serving
all markets; commodity and specialty chemi-
cals; food ingredients; agricultural chemicals;
household and personal care chemicals; min-
ing chemicals; surface coatings; plastics addi-
tives; greases and lubricants; water treatment
chemicals; building and construction chemi-
cals; pharmaceutical ingredients; animal feed
ingredients

56 | ICIS Chemical Business | 19-25 May 2023 www.icis.com

SPECIAL REPORT
TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS
Services: Technical support; custom blend-
ing; dilutions; repackaging; bulk storage of
powders; solvents; acids; alkalis; palletised
storage
Assets: 16 regional sales offices; 2 manufac-
turing sites; 7 in-house operated warehouses;
more than 100 stock locations
WEGO CHEMICAL GROUP
35 2022 SALES: $837.7M
Great Neck, New York, US
www.wegochem.com
Founder and CEO: Bert Eshaghpour
Products: Agricultural chemicals; animal nu-
trition and feed ingredients; antifreeze and
coolants; CASE; corrosion inhibitors; lithium
battery materials and electrolytes; lubricants
and greases; pharmaceutical and fine chemi-
cals; HI&I chemicals; flame retardants; food
and beverage ingredients; metal-working
chemicals; finishing and flux chemicals; oil-
field chemicals; plastics additives; resins and
rubber chemicals; pulp and paper chemicals;
water treatment and pool chemicals
Services: Multi-national chemical and ingre-
dient distribution; sourcing/supply chain part-
ner to chemical users; export/distribution
partner to chemical manufacturers; end-to-
end supply chain management; product ex-
pertise; just-in-time delivery with 95% OTD;
supplier-managed inventory
Assets: 160+ professionals across 14 coun-
tries; 9 branch offices globally; 50+ distribu-
tion centres across four continents
Trading Sales: 20%
58 | ICIS Chemical Business | 19-25 May 2023
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markets you are interested in.
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KARTLI INTERNATIONAL
36 2022 SALES: $829.6M
Baar, Switzerland
kartli.ch
Sole member of the board: Marat Barnabish-
vili
Products: HDPE; LDPE; PP; PC; GPPS; HIPS;
PET; PVC; ABS; synthetic rubber; natural rub-
ber; carbon black; industrial chemicals; petro-
chemicals; alcohols; solvents; monomers;
plasticizers; fuel components; petroleum
products
Services: International marketing; global dis-
tribution; logistics; technical support; tech-
nologist consultation
Assets: Over 510,000 tonnes of products an-
nually supplied; global distribution network in
10 countries; 200+ employees; 300+ ware-
houses
HROMATKA GROUP
37 2022 SALES: $772.7M (€720M)
Vienna, Austria
www.hgmag.ch
Owner: Hans W Hromatka
Products: High-performance polymers; engi-
neering polymers; thermoplastic elastomers;
styrenic and acrylic polymers; polyolefins;
sustainable plastic solutions; blends; com-
pounds; masterbatches
Services: Individual solutions; technical ex-
pertise and consulting; direct and ware-
house distribution; customised blends and
storing; active application development and
product specification; assistance and labora-
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tory support
Assets: Subsidiaries in 23 European coun-
tries with local brands (Plastoplan, Lenor-
plastics, Graesslin, Aectra, Guzman, AGI,
SAX, DK); 43 warehouses; 2 compounding
facilities; 3 laboratories
Trading Sales: 5%
QUADRA CHEMICALS
38 2022 SALES: $753.8M
Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec, Canada
www.quadra.ca
President: Anne Marie Infilise
Products: Performance adhesives; flexible
packaging; cleaning and formulating chemi-
cals; water treatment chemicals; mining
chemicals; soluble fertilizer and agriculture
chemicals; pulp and paper chemicals; metal
treatment and galvanizing chemicals; con-
struction chemicals; coatings, adhesives,
sealants and elastomers (CASE); pool and spa
chemicals; oilfield chemicals; gas processing
chemicals; SAGD chemicals; nutritional and
functional ingredients; health and personal
care ingredients; pharmaceutical ingredients;
nutritional supplements and nutraceuticals
Services: Storage; packaging; blending
Assets: 7 locations (warehouses and tank
farms)
SHRIEVE CHEMICAL
39 2022 SALES: $704.7M
The Woodlands, Texas, US
www.shrieve.com
CEO: George Fuller
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Products: Full line of organic and inorganic

industrial chemicals and specialty ingredients
for CASE, pulp and paper, personal care, food
and beverage, chemical manufacturing,
water treatment, pharmaceuticals, oil and
gas, home care and industrial cleaning, agri-
culture, lubricants, mining
Services: Custom blending; packaging; for-
mulating; technical service; application devel-
opment; R&D; global supply chain manage-
ment; toll blending; warehousing;
transportation; regulatory services; tank
cleaning
Assets: Sales and administrative offices and
laboratories in the US, China and UK; pilot
plant in The Woodlands, Texas; 50 global
stocking locations across the US, China and
UK; railcar fleet

QUIMICA ANASTACIO
40 2022 SALES: $688.2M
Sao Paulo, Brazil
www.anastacio.com
CEO: Jan Krueder
Products: Beauty and personal care ingre-
dients; pharmaceutical ingredients; food
and feed ingredients; flavours; agricultural

chemicals; coatings and construction mate-
rials; rubbers; household and industrial
cleaning chemicals; lubricants and metal-
working chemicals; polyurethanes; plastics;
industrial oils
Services: Storage; blending; packaging; bulk
distribution; trading; cargo consolidation;
dedicated procurement
Assets: 10 warehouses – 4 In Sao Paulo, 1 in
Santa Catarina, 1 In Rio Grande Do Sul, 1 in
Pernambuco, 1 in Goias (Brazil), 1 in Buenos
Aires (Argentina) and 1 in Mexico City (Mexico)
Trading Sales: 29%
VIDARA
41 2022 SALES: $668.6M (€623M)
El Prat de Llobregat, Spain
www.vidara.com
General manager: Daniel Diaz-Varela
Products: APIs for human pharmaceuticals
and veterinary; nutraceuticals; amino acids;
pigments; nutritional additives; essential oils;
cosmetic ingredients; synthetic and natural
aromatics; lactic and meat blends; vegan
products
Services: Blending; storage; product devel-
opment; reformulation
Assets: 22 warehouses (including 5 manufac-
turing); Reach registrations; IT systems and
software
Trading Sales: 2%
NORDMANN, RASSMANN
42 2022 SALES: $665.4M (€620M)
Hamburg, Germany
www.nordmann.global
Managing director, Chairman of the
managing board: Gerd Bergmann
Products: Adhesives and sealants; compos-
ites; construction and coatings chemicals;
contact lens, dental and medical materials;
flame retardants; food additives; electronics
materials; industrial chemicals and intermedi-
ates; lubricant additives; monomers; oleo-
chemicals; personal care additives; pharma-
ceutical and nutraceutical ingredients;
polyurethane chemicals; synthetic rubber
and rubber chemicals; thermoplastics and
polymer additives
Services: Laboratory services; studies and
R&D; chemical synthesis and compounding;
marketing and market intelligence; legisla-
tive and regulatory support; quality manage-
ment and safety; global supply chain man-
agement; repacking and refilling; sample
service
Assets: Warehouses located all over Europe,
Asia and North America
Trading Sales: 5%
TOPNEXT INTERNATIONAL
43 2022 SALES: $650.3M
Bangkok, Thailand
www.thaioilgroup.com
Managing director: Anawat Chansaksoong
Products: Petroleum; lube base; surfactants;
olefins; hydrocarbon solvents (aliphatics, aro-
matics, white spirits, de-aromatized solvents);
chemical solvents (alcohol, ketones, esters,
glycol ethers); other chemicals; specialty bio
and green products
Shutterstock
Services: Manufacturing of hydrocarbon sol-
vent products; storage; drum filling; blending
and transportation services; multi-delivery
mode offerings – vessel, bulk lorry, iso-tank,
drum
Assets: Manufacturing plant for hydrocarbon
solvents with capacity of 141,000 tonnes/year
via subsidiary SAK Chaisidhi Company
(SAKC); 6 tank terminals in Asia; 73 chemical
storage tanks with total capacity of over 46m
litres; 8 warehouses; loading and unloading
facilities with trucks, isotanks and vessels;
drum filling station; laboratory (QC and tech-
nical); transport fleet of 54 bulk lorries (con-
tracted), 45 pack trucks
Trading Sales: 2%
GADOT CHEMICAL TERMINALS
44 2022 SALES: $624.6M
Netanya, Israel
www.gadot.com
Group CEO: Opher Linchevski
Products: Solvents; energy; lubricants; print-
ing chemicals and polymers; electronics ma-
terials; life sciences ingredients
Services: Storage and warehousing; coast
terminals; marine logistics; land logistics;
manufacturing; sales and distribution; ecolo-
gy services
JUNAN RESOURCES
45 2022 SALES: $621M
Ningbo, China
www.junanres.com

60 | ICIS Chemical Business | 19-25 May 2023 www.icis.com

SPECIAL REPORT
TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS
President/CEO: Dejun Ke and Xinyu Wang
Products: Acetic acid (AA); methyl acetate
(MEAC); normal butanol (NBA); isopropyl alco-
hol (IPA); styrene monomer; butyl acrylate;
vinyl acetate monomer (VAM); acetone; me-
thyl ethyl ketone (MEK); aniline; toluene; phe-
nol; nitric acid; methyl methacrylate (MMA);
methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE)
Services: Import and export of liquid chemi-
cals; centralised procurement and distribution
Trading Sales: 40%
CONTINENTAL INDUSTRIES
46 GROUP
2022 SALES: $600M
New York, US
www.continental-industries.com
President and CEO: Omer T Karabey
Products: Polymers; specialty chemicals and
commodity chemicals
Services: Sourcing; sales and marketing;
trading; shipping; logistics; warehousing;
blending; project development; inventory
and risk management of chemicals and petro-
chemicals
Assets: 10+ global offices; 75+ team mem-
bers
Trading Sales: 40%
MONTACHEM INTERNATIONAL
47 2022 SALES: $589M
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US
www.Montachem.com
CEO: Jerry Murcia
Products: Polyethylene; polypropylene; PVC;
PET; polystyrene; polymers; thermoplastics;
additives; PCR resins; biodegradable resins
Services: Global resin distribution; global
sourcing; international logistics; supply chain
solutions; financing; market intelligence;
technical support
Assets: Global network and affiliates in over
70 countries; 102 employees; 8 wholly owned
subsidiaries in 5 continents; 20 global ware-
house locations storing more than 65,000
tonnes of stocks
CG GROUP | CG CHEMIKALIEN
48 2022 SALES: $552.7M (€515M)
Laatzen, Germany
www.cg-group.de
Managing director: Philipp Klass
Products: Industrial and specialty chemicals;
health and nutrition ingredients (additives and
supplements); pharmaceutical and biotech
ingredients (pharmaceutical excipients and
GMP process chemicals); water chemistry
chemicals; coatings, paints and lacquer raw
materials; surface technology products
Services: Consulting; procurement; analyt-
ics; quality management; contract manufac-
turing; labelling and packaging; application
technology; cleanroom production grade C
and D; logistics concepts
62 | ICIS Chemical Business | 19-25 May 2023
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Assets: 7 subsidiaries; 7 locomotives; 100
trucks; 114 tank wagons and ISO containers;
14 certificates
BUFA GROUP
49 2022 SALES: $552.7M (€515M)
Oldenburg, Germany
www.buefa.com
CEO: Felix Thalmann
Products: Chemicals and specialties for food,
beverages, agriculture, industry, coatings,
construction, cleaning, cosmetics, personal
care, water treatment, composite systems;
green chemicals
Services: Sustainability transformation; out-
sourcing; warehousing; toll manufacturing;
drumming and packaging
Assets: Several logistics locations in Europe;
own trucks
EMCO CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS
50 2022 SALES: $548M
Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, US
www.emcochem.com
President: Edward Polen
Products: Acids and alkalis; additives; aliphat-
ic and aromatic hydrocarbons; amines; car-
bonates; chelating agents; ester and ether
esters; ethanol and denatured ethanol; gly-
cols; ketones; pigments; plasticizers; resins;
silicones; surfactants
Services: Specialties and traditional com-
modities distribution; blending and packag-
ing; waste services; CASE application labora-
tory services; hazardous goods warehousing;
order fulfilment; USP and food grade packag-
ing; private fleet delivery
Assets: 3 production facilities (US – North
Chicago, Illinois; Columbia, Illinois; Pleasant
Prairie, Wisconsin); 9 warehouses (US – Co-
lumbia, Illinois; North Chicago, Illinois; Elkhart,
Indiana; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Cincinnati,
Ohio; Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. Canada –
Calgary, Alberta; Toronto, Ontario; Montreal,
Quebec); 49 tractors and 133 trailers
K-SOLV GROUP
51 2022 SALES: $545.1M
Houston, Texas, US
www.ksolv.com
Owner/CEO: Russell Allen
Products: Aliphatic solvents; aromatic sol-
vents; alcohols; glycols; glycol ethers; ace-
tates; chlorinated solvents; ketones; base oils;
white oils; acids
Services: Commerce and freight handling;
packaging; blending; laboratory services;
maritime services; emergency spill response;
disaster response; industrial services; waste
management; transportation
Assets: Tote and drum warehouse with over
100,000 gal capacity on-site; tank farm with
over 1m gal capacity on-site; flare; nitrogen
access; docks; fleet of trucks and trailers
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KLJ RESOURCES
52 2022 SALES: $539.5M
New Delhi, India
www.kljindia.com
Managing director: Hemant Jain
Products: Aromatics; amines; acids;
acrylates; acetates/esters; alcohols/oxo alco-
hols; aliphatic solvents; anhydrides; base oils;
caustic soda; chlorinated solvents and paraf-
fins; dearomatised hydrocarbons; glycols/PG/
PEG; isocyanates; ketones; LAB; monomers;
paraffins/isoparaffins; polymers; polyols
Services: Agency business of petrochemical
manufacturers; wide product range; dedicat-
ed storage tanks; vendor questionnaire sup-
port from manufacturers; hassle free supply
chain operations; repacking and labelling;
blending and distillation; market updates to
customers; extended credit to customers;
transparency with all service providers; sub-
leasing of storage space; re-exports
Assets: 9 branches in India; 13 warehouses
across India; drumming facilities in Kandla
and Silvassa; dedicated workforce; leased
storage tanks in Kandla, Mundra, Hazira, Pipa-
vav, Jnpt, Mumbai, Ennore, Vizag, Kakinada
and Budge Budge
Trading Sales: 30%
LEHMANN & VOSS
53 2022 SALES: $536.5M (€499.9M)
Hamburg, Germany
www.lehvoss.com
Managing partners: Knut Breede, Thomas
Oehmichen and Soenke Thomsen
Products: High-performance compounds;
technical compounds; masterbatches and
additives; composite materials; solutions for
rubber; magnesium compounds; zirconium
and rare earth compounds; raw materials for
coatings; raw materials for functional fluids;
products for filtration and separation; raw ma-
terials for personal care; nutrition minerals;
pharmaceutical excipients; nutraceutical in-
gredients
Services: Ideation; production; trade; appli-
cation engineering consulting; laboratory ser-
vices; formulation; logistics; quality manage-
ment
Assets: Owner-managed international net-
work and business activities; broad product
portfolio; technical center
PON PURE CHEMICALS GROUP
54 2022 SALES: $529.3M
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
www.pure-chemical.com
Chairman and Managing director:
M Ponnuswami
Products: Acids and derivatives; aromatics;
ketones; esters; ethers; chlorinated solvents;
alcohols; aliphatic solvents; hydrocarbon sol-
vents; monomers; coatings and inks; plastics
and composites; textile chemicals; leather
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SPECIAL REPORT
TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS
and paper chemicals; sugar chemicals; water
treatment chemicals; lubricants; oilfield
chemicals; hygiene and cleaning products
Services: Small packing; underground stor-
age; technical service; custom blending; just-
in-time delivery; transportation
Assets: 28 branches in India; 5 overseas
branches in Dubai, Australia, Singapore,
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka; 23 warehouses
across India (inclusive of 7 explosive repack
warehouses); leased terminal facilities at
Kandla, Mumbai, Ennore, Kakinada, Haldia
and Hazira; Manufacturing units in Sidco, Ala-
thur, Sipcot, Thervoykandigai in Tamil Nadu
and in Malur, Karnataka
Trading Sales: 5%
POCHTECA MATERIAS PRIMAS
55 2022 SALES: $528.1M
Mexico City, Mexico
pochteca.net
CEO: Armando Santacruz
Products: Inorganic chemicals; solvents and
blends; food ingredients; chemical special-
ties; lubricants
Services: Blending; packaging; storage and
logistics solutions; product application; prod-
uct development; quality control; environ-
mental solutions
Assets: More than 350,000 square metres of
logistics capacity; capacity to store 44.4m li-
tres of liquids; 54 distribution centres – 33 in
64 | ICIS Chemical Business | 19-25 May 2023
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Mexico, 3 in Central America, 17 in South
America; 1 in US; fleet of more than 200 units;
solvent recycling plant; 27 quality control and
product application laboratories
LBB SPECIALTIES
56 2022 SALES: $500M
Norwalk, Connecticut, US
www.LBBSpecialties.com
CEO: Hank DeWolf
Products: Full range of 5,000+ specialty
chemicals and ingredients for personal care,
food and beverage, human nutrition, biotech
and life sciences, CASE, plastics, HI&I, fla-
vours and fragrances, and other applications
Services: Technical marketing; warehousing
and logistics; custom blending; dedicated
technical formulation and application assis-
tance; regulatory support
Assets: 42 stocking locations in North Ameri-
ca; applications labs for personal care, food,
and confectionery; local customer service;
300 employees
UTS/ETC
57 2022 SALES: $486M
St Petersburg, Russia
utsrus.com
CEO: Andrey Shkola
Products: Paints and coatings chemicals; dry
mixture and construction chemicals; plastics
and polymer additives; rubber chemicals; res-
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ins and chemicals for composites; fibres;
chemicals for detergents, cosmetics and
household chemicals; oil and oilfield chemi-
cals; lubricants and refinery additives and
chemicals; food additives; specialties and
chemicals of general application; pharmaceu-
tical raw materials; agricultural chemicals;
chemicals for mining; chemicals for road con-
struction; polyurethanes
Services: Storage and logistics; mixing/
blending; laboratory services; technical sup-
port; certification
Assets: 13 offices and 14 warehouses; 40,000
square metres of warehousing; 14,000 square
metres office space; 7 laboratories
TILLEY DISTRIBUTION
58 2022 SALES: $483.3M
Baltimore, Maryland, US
tilleydistribution.com
President and CEO: Sean Tilley
Products: Ingredients; specialty chemicals;
CASE; lubricants
Services: Global distribution; QC/QA and
R&D; custom blending; packaging and trans-
loading
Assets: Warehousing; bulk storage; white
room packaging; blending tanks; full service
laboratories; delivery fleet
Trading Sales: 12%
MCASSAB
59 2022 SALES: $477.2M
Sao Paulo, Brazil
www.mcassab.com.br
CEO: Victor Cutait Neto
Products: Performance and specialty chemi-
cals for polyurethanes; paints; resins; con-
struction and polymers chemicals; solvents;
additives; silicones; pigments; monomers;
emulsifiers; polyols; isocyanates; biocides;
APIs and pharmaceutical excipients; home
and personal care ingredients; veterinary
products; feed and food premixes and ingre-
dients; vitamins; amino acids
Services: Blending; packaging; storage; in-
ventory management; dilutions; technical ap-
plications laboratories (polyurethanes, home
and personal care, coatings, agribusiness,
pharmaceuticals and food); full technical sup-
port; formulation; quality control laboratories
(physical, chemical and microbiology)
Assets: 4 warehouses in Brazil; 1 warehouse
in Argentina; 4 premix facilities for animal nu-
trition; 1 premix facility for nutritional blends
(human nutrition); 1 facility for polyurethanes
systems
Trading Sales: 1%
NORTEX
60 2022 SALES: $465.2M
Moscow, Russia
www.nortex.ru
Group CEO: Vladimir Yakushin
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SPECIAL REPORT
TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS
Products: Isocyanates and polyols; synthetic
and natural rubber; rubber chemicals; epoxy
and polyester resins; polyolefins and engi-
neering plastics; PVC resins; plasticizers; anti-
oxidants and UV stabilisers; mineral fillers and
pigments; lubricant and fuel additives; hard-
eners and catalysts; water treatment addi-
tives; construction chemicals; household
chemicals; flame retardants; synthetic and
glass fibre
Services: Logistics; financing; packaging;
technical support; market competence
Assets: Chemical storage facilities
Trading Sales: 10%
EIGENMANN & VERONELLI
61 2022 SALES: $461.5M (€430M)
Milan, Italy
www.eigver.it
CEO: Gabriele Bonomi
Products: Specialty chemicals and additives
for coatings, construction, pharmaceuticals,
personal care, rubber, plastics, textiles; lubri-
cants; food and nutraceuticals ingredients
Services: Marketing; toll manufacturing; stor-
age; repacking; logistics
Assets: 2 production sites; R&D and applica-
tion labs
Trading Sales: 2%
GRUPO RNM
62 2022 SALES: $456.1M (€425M)
Vila Nova de Famalicao, Portugal
www.grupornm.pt
CEO: Ricardo Machado
Products: Caustic soda; hydrogen peroxide;
sulphuric acid; hydrochloric acid; sodium hy-
pochloride; polymers (PE, PP, PVC, PS); sol-
vents; surfactants; silicones; sulphonic acid;
66 | ICIS Chemical Business | 19-25 May 2023
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SLES; AdBlue
Services: Storage of liquid and packaged
products; blending; tailor made packaging;
logistics and operations consulting
Assets: Logistics complex at Tarragona, Fa-
malicao, Santo Tirso, Madrid, Valencia, Carta-
gena, Vigo, Lisbon with capacity of 55,000
tonnes for packed products and 8,000 cubic
metres for liquids; 5 tank terminals for liquid
bulk; own fleet with 80 trucks; 85 cisterns and
125 isotainers
Trading Sales: 5%
TENNANTS DISTRIBUTION
63 2022 SALES: $450.5M (£372.3M)
Manchester, UK
www.tennantsdistribution.com
Managing director: Tim Griffiths
Products: Acids and alkalis; animal feed raw
materials; fatty acids; alcohols and esters;
food ingredients; aroma chemicals; Greenox
Adblue; personal care ingredients; pharma-
ceutical raw materials; resins and perfor-
mance chemicals; solvents; surfactants;
water treatment chemicals; white oils and pe-
troleum jellies
Services: Warehousing and storage; repack-
aging; blending; formulating; relabelling
Assets: 20 sites including warehousing; bulk
storage and in-house vehicle fleet
Trading Sales: 2%
PVS CHEMICALS DISTRIBUTION
64 GROUP
2022 SALES: $424.1M
Detroit, Michigan, US
www.pvschemicals.com
Chief operating officer: Timothy F Nicholson
Products: Inorganic acids/bases; surfactants;
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solvents; amines; water treatment chemicals;
metal-working chemicals; CASE; agricultural
chemicals; food ingredients
Services: Minibulk; warehousing; blending;
dilution; terminal services; technical services
Assets: Warehouse network; company-
owned fleet; terminal network
REDA CHEMICALS
65 2022 SALES: $411M
Dubai, UAE and Al Khobar, Saudi
Arabia
www.redachem.com
CEO: Abboud Smadi
Products: Specialty chemicals, ingredients,
solutions and blends for food, life science ap-
plications (pharmaceuticals, animal nutrition
and health, home and personal care), paints
and coatings, construction, oilfield, water and
metal treatment, plastics and rubber, automo-
tive, paper, ceramic
Services: Technical sales and marketing
with in-depth market and local regulations
knowledge; local and regional warehous-
ing; formulation services and application
laboratories to bring innovations and new
technologies to market; blending facilities;
invoicing in local currencies; centralised
purchasing and logistics; after sales servic-
es; market research; committed to Respon-
sible Care principles
Assets: 40 subsidiaries active in 32 coun-
tries with strategic focus on Asia, Middle East
and Africa; 70+ warehouses and logistic plat-
forms; team of 500+ technically qualified
sales force organised by business units;
blending facilities; laboratories; ISO, TRACE,
GDP accreditations
Trading Sales: 3%
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SOLEVO
66 2022 SALES: $403.5M
Geneva, Switzerland
www.solevogroup.com
CEO: Joris Coppye
Products: Specialty chemicals for life science
and industrial applications; food and beverage
ingredients; house care and personal care so-
lutions; mining chemicals; paint and construc-
tion chemicals; agricultural chemicals; packag-
ing and water treatment chemicals
Services: Warehousing; reconditioning; solid
and liquid blending; tailor made formulations;
consignment and telemetry-managed stock
management; application laboratory servic-
es; supply chain optimisation; liquid and solid
bulk handling and distribution; agro services,
A.O. test fields; digitalisation projects
Assets: Base in 8 countries in West and Cen-
tral Africa including warehouses; liquid stor-
age tanks; solid bulk facilities; docking berths;
repacking installations; laboratories.
Trading Sales: 2%

ARKEM KIMYA
67 2022 SALES: $396M
Istanbul, Turkey

www.arkem.com
Chairman and CEO: Levend Kokuludag
Products: Monomers; hyrdrocarbon sol-
vents; alcohols; ketones; esters; glycols; gly-
col ethers; chlorinated solvents; oleochemi-
cals; specialty chemicals; cosmetics;
pharmaceuticals; food ingredients; sur-
factants; plastics
Services: Sales and marketing; bulk storage;
blending; formulating; drumming; packaging;
labelling; other warehousing services
Assets: Deep sea tank terminal at Gebze, Tur-
key with capacity of 84,000 cubic metres; lo-
gistics company with 75 transport units and
600 ISO tank containers; 4 warehouses (2 in
Istanbul, 1 in Izmir, 1 in Rotterdam)
Trading Sales: 3%
DISAN LATINOAMERICA
68 2022 SALES: $395M
Bogota, Colombia
disanlatinoamerica.com
CEO: Mateo Leon
Products: Chemical specialties; enzymes;
additives; silicones; soluble and foliar fertiliz-
ers; fertilizers premix; substrates; feed and
food nutrition ingredients; chemical com-
modities; textile auxiliaries; vitamins; hydro-
colloid systems; antioxidants and proteins;
fragances
Services: Long-term relationships; reliable
supply; specialised advisory; logistics efficien-
cy; one-stop shop portfolio
Assets: 17 warehouses; 16 R&D laboratories; 2
fertilizer premix plants; 1 natural gum systems
plant
Trading Sales: 2%
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HSH CHEMIE Dubai, UAE
69 2022 SALES: $391.7M (€365M) www-rai-uae.com
Hamburg, Germany CEO: Eduardo Contreiras
www.hsh-chemie.com Products: High density polyethylene; low
Group managing directors: Stefan F Rather, density polyethylene; linear low density poly-
Stephan P Lohden, Frank Raabe ethylene; polypropylene; PVC; PET; polysty-
Products: Specialty chemicals for coatings, rene; masterbatches; vinyl chloride mono-
adhesives and building, personal and home mer; P-Life biodegradable additives
care, food, feed and pharmaceuticals, plastics Services: Trading and distribution of plastic
and rubber, and industrial performance appli- raw materials and chemicals
cations Assets: Building; inventory; motor vehicles
Services: Technical consultancy; formulation Trading Sales: 34%
advice; storage and logistics; sampling; fi-
nancing; full compliance support; full market- KRAHN CHEMIE
ing support. 72 2022 SALES: $368.1M (€343M)
Assets: 13 sales office locations in central and Hamburg, Germany
eastern Europe. www.krahn.eu
Trading Sales: 10% CEO: Rolf Kuropka
Products: Coating ingredients (additives,
PERTAMINA PETROCHEMICAL rheology modifiers, pigments and colour-
70 TRADING ants, resins, biocides, film consolidation
2022 SALES: $391M agents); construction chemicals (additives,
Jakarta, Indonesia pigments, fillers, rheology modifiers); adhe-
pertachem.com sives ingredients (resins, plasticizers, addi-
President director: Deni Febrianto tives, bonding agents); cleaning and disin-
Products: Polyethylene; polypropylene; black fection products; personal care ingredients;
masterbatch; PET; polystyrene; EVA; propyl- plastic ingredients (additives, plasticizers,
ene; benzene; paraxylene flame retardants); rubber ingredients (syn-
Services: Trading of petrochemicals thetic rubber, additives, adhesion promot-
Trading Sales: 100% ers, mould release agents); lubricant ingredi-
ents (base oils, additives and additive
RAKHA AL-KHALEEJ packages); heat transfer fluids; fire suppres-
71 INTERNATIONAL sion chemicals
2022 SALES: $381.4M Services: Technical sales and marketing sup-

68 | ICIS Chemical Business | 19-25 May 2023 www.icis.com

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North America chemical distribution leaders (2022 sales, $m)

Rank Company Sales ($m) Rank Company Sales ($m) Rank Company Sales ($m)
1 Univar Solutions* 8,654.0 27 Omya 259.6 55 Viking Specialty Supply 98.0
2 Brenntag 8,049.2 28 Tanner Industries 208.0 56 Walsh & Associates 92.7
3 Tricon Energy 2,392.0 29 Connection Chemical 160.0 57 Coast Southwest 91.1
4 Kolmar Group 2,131.0 30 Pride Chemical Solutions 150.0 58 Saconix 90.0
5 Azelis 1,530.4 31 CellMark 146.1 59 SolvChem 88.1
6 IMCD 1,246.0 32 The Chemical Company 143.9 60 TER Group 85.9
7 Barentz 1,148.4 33 Sea-Land Chemical 140.0 61 Tennants Distribution 84.5
8 Hydrite Chemical 964.0 34 GreenChem Industries 136.2 62 PHT International 83.3
9 Hawkins 901.9 35 Webb Chemical Service 135.6 63 Chemisphere 82.7
10 NAGASE & CO 897.6 36 Astro Chemicals 135.0 64 Brainerd Chemical 81.0
11 Quadra Chemicals 753.8 37 H.M. Royal 133.0 65 United Mineral & Chemical 75.0
12 Shrieve Chemical 627.4 38 Skyhawk Chemicals 131.0 66 Chemical Solvents 75.0
13 EMCO Chemical 548.0 39 Mays Chemical 126.3 67 Sanjay Chemicals 74.7
Distributors
40 ClearTech Industries 124.2 68 Silver Fern Chemical 72.8
14 K-Solv Group 545.1
41 Safic-Alcan 122.0 69 Hubbard-Hall 72.0
15 LBB Specialties 500.0
42 Harwick Standard 120.7 70 Petrochem Middle East 69.5
16 Wego Chemical Group 496.9
43 TRINTERNATIONAL 118.0 71 Veckridge Chemical 69.0
17 PVS Chemicals 424.1
44 Rierden Chemical & Trading 114.1 72 Radchem Products 68.5
18 Tilley Distribution 421.6
45 George S. Coyne Chemical 113.1 73 Vivion 68.1
19 Ravago Chemicals 414.3
46 Isochem 109.0 74 Van Horn, Metz & Co 66.2
20 Superior Industrial 350.0
47 TRiiSO 108.0 75 DKSH Performance Materials 64.8
Solutions
48 Chemsolv 107.5 76 Independent Chemical 64.0
21 ChemGroup 350.0
49 ALAC International 106.4 77 Ideal Chemical and Supply 62.1
22 Colonial Chemical 348.4
Solutions 50 TCR Industries 101.8 78 InterAtlas Chemical 57.7
23 Interstate Chemical 323.0 51 Buckley Oil 100.0 79 Aktopa 56.0
24 The Plaza Group 320.0 52 Tarr 100.0 80 JNS-Smithchem 55.9
25 Barton Solvents 303.6 53 Miles Chemical 99.5 81 McCullough & Associates 55.0
26 SMC Global 265.0 54 Valudor Products 99.1 82 Gehring Montgomery 53.0

port; application development; laboratory
analysis; colorimetry and colour matching
service; formulation advice; warehousing and
logistics solutions; mixing and blending; re-
packaging; sampling service; legislative and
regulatory support
Assets: 4 technology centres
RAMNIKLAL S. GOSALIA & CO
73 2022 SALES: $350M
Mumbai, India
www.rsgchemicals.com
CEO: Hiren Gosalia
Products: Liquid bulk solvents – aromatics,
oxo-alcohols, ketones, fibre intermeidiates,
acetates, chlorinated solvents, alcohols; poly-
mers and plastics – PE, PP, PVC, metallocene;
elastomers; fine chemicals and specialty
chemicals
Services: Storage of liquid products at tanks
on ports; warehousing; blending and decant-
ing of products into smaller packing; trans-
portation of products to customers and pro-
viding end-to-end solutions
Assets: Bonded storage tanks; warehouses;
trucks and tankers
Trading Sales: 40%
SUPERIOR INDUSTRIAL
74 SOLUTIONS
2022 SALES: $350M
Indianapolis, Indiana, US
relyonsuperior.com
President: Kurt Hettinga
Products: Solvents; water-based cleaners;
paint pre-treatment products; paint purge;
thinners; heat transfer fluids; pressroom
chemicals; fibreglass reinforcements; resins;
catalysts; gel coats; corrosion inhibitors; sur-
factants; plasticizers
Services: Solvent recycling; blending; cus-
tom manufacturing; private labelling; acetone
replacement systems; vendor managed in-
ventory; regulatory consulting; bulk and pack-
age delivery
Assets: 8 full service locations; 60 trucks; 170
trailers; 250 bulk tanks; 55 blend tanks
CHEMGROUP
75 2022 SALES: $350M
Louisville, Kentucky, US
www.chemgroup.com
President and CEO: Martin J Wehr
Products: Acids; alkalis; hydrogen peroxide;
sodium hypochlorite; solvents and intermedi-
ates; glycols; glycol ethers; amines; sur-
factants; alcohols; water treatment chemi-
cals; caustic soda; bleach; nitrogen products;
white oils; borates; lime; specialty chemicals
including gas-to-liquid fluids and solvents
Services: Chemical and inventory manage-
ment; blending; warehousing; technical and
safety training; customised billing
Assets: 12 warehouses with over 600,000
square feet; 2,000,000+ gal bulk storage; 30
tractors; 20 straight trucks; 40 trailers; 18
tankers
COLONIAL CHEMICAL
76 SOLUTIONS
2022 SALES: $348.4M
Savannah, Georgia, US
www.colonialchemicals.com
President: Rob Roberts IV
Products: Comprehensive product line in-
cluding organics; inorganics; aromatics; ali-
phatics; alcohols; acids; chlor-alkali; oleo-
chemicals; sodium chemicals; specialty
chemicals
Services: Bulk liquid transloading; AIB certi-
fied food grade warehousing; kosher repack-
aging; temperature controlled storage; on-site

70 | ICIS Chemical Business | 19-25 May 2023 www.icis.com

 SPECIAL REPORT
TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS

North America chemical distribution leaders (2022 sales, $m)

Rank Company Sales ($m) Rank Company Sales ($m) Rank Company Sales ($m)
83 Research Solutions Group 52.4 109 Guangzhou Lifly Chemicals 26.0 133 INMATRADE 5.7
84 Redox 50.5 110 Continental Industries 25.0 134 Cornelius Group 5.4
Group
85 Connect Chemicals Group 50.4 135 Bodo Moller Chemie 5.4
111 Boehle Chemicals 24.7 136 Norkem Holdings 5.4
86 Acid Products 50.2
112 LA Chemicals 24.5 137 HARKE GROUP 5.3
87 Stavian Chemical 50.0
88 KH Chemicals 47.2 113 Brisco do Brasil 23.0 138 Jobachem Group 5.0
89 Industrial Chemicals Corp 46.9 114 Schibley Solvents & 21.0 139 Aug. Hedinger 4.7
Chemicals
90 TransChemical 46.5 140 Behn Meyer Group 4.6
115 Faravelli 20.4
91 GJ Chemical 45.0 141 Incendin 4.3
116 American Chemie 20.0 142 Same Chemicals 3.8
92 Comet Chemical 44.2
117 Custom Chemical Services 17.7 143 Arpadis Benelux 3.8
93 Producers Chemical 43.3
Company 118 Comercial Quimica Masso 17.4 144 KLJ Resources 3.8
94 BassTech International 41.5 119 Quimica Anastacio 16.9 145 Rebain International 3.2
95 Seeler industries 40.0 120 ProChema 13.9 146 Penpet Petrochemical 3.2
121 Nordmann, Rassmann 12.9 Trading
96 RE Carroll 40.0
147 DutCH2 3.1
97 RAHN Group 39.0 122 Biesterfeld 12.9
148 Arkem Kimya 3.0
98 TZ Group 38.9 123 Dynamix 11.8
149 Likit Kimya 2.7
99 Min-Chem Canada/ 36.9 124 Classic Distributing 11.0
Company 150 Life Supplies 2.6
Lawrason’s/CK Ingredients
125 Sinochem Plastics 9.4 151 Nesstra Services 2.5
100 Atlantic Chemicals Trading 34.9
126 Montachem International 9.0 152 2M Holdings 1.8
101 Novasol Chemicals 32.2
153 Rakha Al-Khaleej 1.7
102 Jebsen & Jessen Group 31.1 127 Taj Al Mulook General 7.9
International
Trading
103 CJ Chemicals 30.0 154 Quimidroga 1.1
128 A. S. Paterson 7.4
104 Eagle Alcohol 29.2 155 Kemat 1.1
129 Snetor 7.0
105 Gadot Chemical Terminals 28.5 156 Solventis 1.1
130 Prakash Chemicals 6.0
106 Manuchar 28.0 International 157 An Loc Phat International 1.0
* US and Canada
107 Gulf Coast Chemical 26.8 131 BdV Behrens 5.9 Note: Sales are in the specific region and may differ
108 ChemCeed 26.5 132 Mitsubishi Shoji Chemical 5.9 from total company sales. Sales $1m and above are
included

quality control and assurance; repackaging of www.aquachemie.com SANJAY CHEMICALS

solvents and flammables; supply chain flexibil-
ity; reliable and accurate on-time delivery; lo-
gistics warehousing
Assets: Warehouse space located in Savan-
nah, Georgia; Atlanta, Georgia; Charlotte,
North Carolina and Richmond, Virginia; diverse
truck fleet; multimodal distribution network;
multiple bulk tanks; blend tanks; laboratories
NORKEM HOLDINGS
77 2022 SALES: $347.4M
Knutsford, UK
www.norkem.com
Group managing director: Alan Nicholson
Products: Iodine and iodine salts; zinc oxide
and zinc salts; manganese compounds; copper
salts; barium carbonate; citric acid; potassium
carbonate and hydroxide; food chemicals; phar-
maceutical intermediates; feed chemicals
Services: Blending; packaging; manufactur-
ing; liquid suspensions; liquid solutions
Assets: 12 locations worldwide
AQUACHEMIE
78 2022 SALES: $340.4M (DH1.25BN)
Dubai, UAE
Managing directors: Anandkumar Varad- 79 2022 SALES: $340.2M
harajulu / Subrato Saha Mumbai, India
Products: Specialty chemicals for water and www.sanjaychemindia.com
process treatment, paints and coatings; ferti- Director: Sanjay Parmar
lizer additives; personal care ingredients; liq- Products: Chemicals and intermediates; bulk
uid vanadium and formulated MDEA; hydro- solvents; polymers and specialty chemicals
carbon solvents (alcohols, ketones, esters, Trading Sales: 100%
aromatics, aliphatic); inorganics; chlor-alkali;
catalysts – purification and syngas, clay, ANDINO CHEMICAL GROUP
Merox; drilling fluid additives, cementing and 80 2022 SALES: $339M
stimulation additives, production chemicals, Houston, Texas, US
EOR chemicals; molecular sieves; specialty www.andinochemical.com
zeolites; activated carbon CEO: Peter Staartjes
Services: Hydroprocessing catalyst sulfid- Products: Alcohols; acids and lyes; solvents;
ing; turnaround cleaning and decontamina- mining specialties; food and feed specialties;
tion; water and process treatment; catalyst oil and gas chemicals; liquid ammonia
support Services: Sourcing and procurement; bulk
Assets: 3 manufacturing plants for specialty tankers fully stainless; bulk liquid storage; last
chemicals in Jebel Ali (UAE), Dammam mile delivery services
(Saudi Arabia) and Doha (Qatar); fourth plant Assets: Bulk chemical marine terminal in Tux-
under construction at Kezad, Abu Dhabi; pan, Mexico
chemicals terminal with 26 tanks and jetty at Trading Sales: 40%
Jebel Ali; own warehouses in all the GCC
countries; ISO tanks and other material han- DONAUCHEM
dling assets 81 2022 SALES: $337.6M (€314.6M)
Trading Sales: 60% Vienna, Austria

www.icis.com 19-25 May 2023 | ICIS Chemical Business | 71

SPECIAL REPORT
TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS
www.donauchem.com
Member of the board: Mathieu de Krassny
Products: Commodities and specialty chemi-
cals used in food, pharmaceuticals, paints
and construction, cosmetics and detergents,
metal, printing, water treatment, customer
specific compositions
Services: Mixing; blending; environmentally
friendly consultancy; training sessions on
safety and law; waste disposal; consultancy
on chemical law and Reach
Assets: 12 warehouses
Trading Sales: 42%
QUIMTIA
82 2022 SALES: $335M
Peru and Argentina
www.quimtia.com
President: Diego Collard Bovy
Products: Mining chemicals products; water
treatment products; paper chemicals blends;
oil and gas chemicals; industrial chemicals;
feed additives; specialties and premixes;
poultry pigments; animal health products;
food ingredients and blends; flavours; plastic
sacks and bags; human health and pharma-
ceutical products
Services: Packaging and storage; picking
and bulk; blending and dilution; feed premix-
es; pigment production; animal vaccine pro-
duction; flavour production; technical appli-
cation support; total chemical management
programmes; quality control
Assets: 13 warehouses in Latin America (Peru,
Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, Chile, Mexico,
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Paraguay); 8 production facilities; 8 quality CEO: Irfan Mulla
control labs; 5 product application labs Products: Lubricants industry (base oils, ad-
Trading Sales: 2% ditives and additive packages); polyurethane
industry (MDI, TDI, polyols, fabrics and addi-
GAMMA CHIMICA tives); paint industry (PU, water and epoxy
83 2022 SALES: $332.7M (€310M) based resins, additives, pigments, biocides,
Milan, Italy rheological additives); construction industry
www.gammachimica.it (RDP, HPM, HEMC, defoamers and additives);
President: Giuseppe Mearini food industry (milk powders, soya and corn
Products: Glycols; ethanolamines; special derivatives, sesame seeds); polymer industry
amines; glycerine; oils; fatty acids; intemedi- (LDPE, LLDPE, PE, PVC, EVA and additives); oil
ates; solvents; antifreeze; surfactants and se- and gas industry (catalysts, solvents, molecu-
questering agents; products for coatings, lar sieves, heat transfer fluids)
agro, water treatment, abrasives, rubber, Services: Technical sales and service; blend-
feed, textile, pharmaceuticals ing and repacking; bulk storage; local ware-
Services: Storage; packaging; blending; anti- housing and distribution network; inventory
freeze production management; quality control
Assets: Head offices and warehouse of Assets: 10,000 cubic metres of warehouses
54,000 cubic metres, of which 15,000 duty in UAE and Saudi Arabia; bulk storage facili-
covered ties in UAE and India; local offices and distri-
bution network in UAE, Saudi Arabia, India
FEBO and Pakistan
84 2022 SALES: $330.6M (€308M) Trading Sales: 30%
Serravalle Pistoiese, Italy
www.febo.it COMERCIAL QUIMICA MASSO
CEO: Giuseppe Carocchi 86 2022 SALES: $324.3M (€302.2M)
Products: PE; PP; PS; ABS; SAN; EVA; biopoly- Barcelona, Spain
mers; PIR plastics; PCR plastics www.cqmasso.com
Trading Sales: 38% President: Isidro Masso Torello
Products: Pharmaceutical ingredients; cos-
TAJ AL MULOOK GENERAL metics and related products; agricultural
85 TRADING chemicals; food ingredients; technical poly-
2022 SALES: $325.3M mers; industrial colours; ceramics and con-
Dubai, UAE struction materials; animal health ingredients;
www.tajchem.com home chemicals; garden and allotment prod-
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SPECIAL REPORT
TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS
ucts; environmental hygiene products; trans-
port and energy additives; glass and environ-
ment materials; electronic chemicals; textile
chemicals; paper chemicals
Services: Manufacture, formulation and dis-
tribution of chemical specialties of represent-
ed brands and own production; application
laboratory services for personal care, pig-
ments, food and textiles; microbiological lab-
oratory services
Assets: 5 in-house logistics, manufacturing,
R&D and application centres; more than
115,000 cubic metres of storage; commercial
network with presence in 16 countries
SOLVENTIS
87 2022 SALES: $324.1M (€302M)
Guildford, Surrey, UK
www.solventis.net
CEO: David Lubbock
Products: Alcohols; antifreeze; brake fluids;
acetates; glycols; glycol ethers; hydrocar-
bons; ketones; monomers; propylene glycols;
white oils; airplane de-icers; AdBlue; lubri-
cants
Services: Importing bulk chemicals; global
bulk and drum distribution; blending of auto-
motive products and de-icers
Assets: Antwerp storage terminal with drum
and blending facilities; UK storage terminal
and blending facilities
INTERSTATE CHEMICAL
88 2022 SALES: $323M
Hermitage, Pennsylvania, US
www.interstatechemical.com
President and CEO: C Michael Puntureri
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Products: Alcohols; ketones; solvents; gly- TRANSMARE CHEMIE
cols; catalysts; sodium and potassium methyl- 91 2022 SALES: $305.2M
ate; plasticizers; resins; thermal fluids; caustic Antwerp, Belgium
soda; acids www.transmare.com
Services: Refining; manufacturing; packag- CEO: Patrick Van Ende
ing; custom blending; environmental servic- Products: Fine chemicals for healthcare, per-
es; transportation; quality control sonal care and home care industries; full port-
Assets: 9 warehouses; refinery; 2 river termi- folio of raw materials for food, feed, paint and
nals; 102 trucks; 170 tankers; storage tank adhesives markets; chemicals for oil and gas,
rentals; quality control lab chemical process industries
Services: Warehousing; blending and formu-
LIKIT KIMYA lation; full technical support; goods supplied
89 2022 SALES: $321.6M in bulk and full range of packaging options
Istanbul, Turkey Assets: Class I storage facilities in Antwerp,
www.likitkimya.com Hamburg, Singapore, Algeria, Morocco, Tuni-
Chairman: Ahmet Aksoy sia, Malaysia and Ivory Coast
Products: Caustic soda; acetic acid; phos- Trading Sales: 25%
phoric acid; methanol; ethanol; monoethyl-
ene glycol; butyl acrylate; VAM; IPA; lignosul- BARTON SOLVENTS
phonate 92 2022 SALES: $303.6M
Services: Trading; denaturation; packaging; Des Moines, Iowa, US
tank rental services; bonded warehouse ser- www.barsol.com
vice provider; port services President: David Casten
Assets: Likit port; Likit Kimya Tekirdag tank Products: Aliphatics; aromatics; alcohols;
terminal; Adana tank terminal; several lands at glycol ethers; acetates; ketones; glycols;
energy storage area epoxy resins; surfactants; distilled spirits; spe-
Trading Sales: 30% cialty chemicals; USP/NF pharmaceutical in-
gredients; oils; lubricants
THE PLAZA GROUP Services: Custom packaging; custom blend-
90 2022 SALES: $320M ing; delivery to customer or job site; waste
Houston, US services; laboratory services
www.theplazagrp.com Assets: 7 stocking locations; 86 power units;
President: Randy Velarde 165 trailers
Products: Acetone; benzene; methanol;
fuels; toluene; MEK; aqua ammonia; sulphuric SMC GLOBAL
acid; lignosulphonates 93 2022 SALES: $302M
Services: Distributor of petrochemicals New York, US
www.smc-global,com
CEO: Adam Feldman
Products: CASE; oil and gas chemicals; water
treatment chemicals; electronic chemicals;
agricultural chemicals; mining chemicals; tex-
tile chemicals
Services: Tolling; trucking; financing
Assets: Sites in San Angelo, Texas; Kershaw,
South Carolina; Kansas City, Kansas; 50
trucks; 200 ISO containers
Trading Sales: 5%
GUANGZHOU LIFLY CHEMICALS
94 2022 SALES: $300M
Guangzhou, China
www.liflychem.com, www.mma-china.
com, www.chinamek.com
CEO: Lily Tian
Products: Methyl ethyl ketone (MEK); ace-
tone; methyl methacrylate (MMA); isopropyl
alcohol (IPA); butyl acetate (butac); ethyl ace-
tate (etac); butyl acrylate (BA); 2-ethylhexyl
acrylate (2-EHA); n-butanol (NBA); 2-ethyl hex-
anol (2-EH); propylene oxide (PO); toluene;
vinyl acetate (VAM); isononyl alcohol (INA)
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Services: Trading; bonded materials re-ex-
port; delivery to door service
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SPECIAL REPORT
TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS
Assets: Storage tanks; shore tanks; DG ware-
houses; offices
Trading Sales: 30%
CHEMPARTNERS
95 2022 SALES: $294.6M
Moscow, Russia
www.chempartners.ru
CEOs: Gaurav Sood, Constantin Rzaev
Products: Polyolefins (thermoplastic polyole-
fins, polyolefin elastomers); recycled poly-
mers; PVC and polymer processing additives;
adhesives and bonding systems (epoxy, poly-
urethane); solvents; MCAA; water treatment
chemicals; animal feed; food and confection-
ery ingredients; flexible packaging; disinfec-
tion chemicals; synthetic fibres; chemicals
and blends for oil and gas industry; chemicals
for paint and varnish industry and construc-
tion; mining chemicals
Services: Blending; packaging; vendor man-
aged inventory; international logistics; local
logistics; sourcing services; surveying servic-
es; market research; learning centre
Assets: 23 warehouses (rented); polymers re-
cycling facility (own) processing 30,000
tonnes/year of PET, HDPE, LDPE, LLDPE, PP
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organics, liquids and solids); ethanol; hygiene
and surface cleaning products; activated car-
bon; intermediates; plasticizers; high purity
solvents and reagents; electronic grade
chemicals; industrial and automotive lubri-
cants; marine and aviation lubricants; auto-
motive fluids; car care products; AdBlue;
wastewater treatment chemicals; wastewater
treatment installations
Services: Storage; blending; mixing; packag-
ing; laboratory services; quality and control
tests; hazardous waste management; Opti-
tank tank farm management by Telemetry
Assets: 8 dedicated sites for chemicals and
hazardous waste handling; tank farms and
warehouses for chemicals and hazardous
waste; blending, mixing and filling installa-
tions; waste treatment installations; 57 road
tankers and trucks for general cargo; 114 tank
wagons and tank containers
TELKO
98 2022 SALES: $287M (€267.4M)
Espoo, Finland
www.telko.com
CEO: Mikko Pasanen
Products: Solvents; specialty chemicals; life
science ingredients; thermoplastics; engi-
neering plastics; plastics additives; master-
batches; bio plastics; plastics machinery; in-
dustrial lubricants; car chemicals
Services: Warehousing; packaging; custom-
er-specific mixtures; bulk transport; techni-
cal support; technical service; sourcing as a
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service
Assets: Local offices in 15 countries; 88 ware-
houses; 300 professionals
and various types of multilayer packaging
Trading Sales: 43% KH CHEMICALS
99 2022 SALES: $285.5M (€266M)
PROCHEMA Zwijndrecht, Netherlands
96 2022 SALES: $289M www.khchemicals.com
Vienna, Austria General manager: Daan Doomen
www.prochema.com Products: Acrylates; acetates; alcohols; an-
CEO: Werner Figlhuber hydrides; aromatics; chlorinated solvents; gly-
Products: Additives and hardeners; acrylates cols; glycol ethers; hydrocarbons; ketones;
and metacrylates; binders and resins; mono- monomers; oxo alcohols; plasticizers; propyl-
mers; organic acids; polymers and biopoly- ene glycol ethers; vegetable oils
mers; polyurethane feedstocks; flame retard- Services: Trading; packaging; drumming; lo-
ants; reactive diluents; UV curing monomers gistics services
Services: Pan-European sales network; spe- Trading Sales: 3%
cialised in selected customer branches; mar-
ket research; sales and distribution; financing; NEO CHEMICAL
storage; supply chain management; deliver- 100 2022 SALES: $280M
ies to multinational customers worldwide Dzerzhinsk, Nizhny Novgorod,
Assets: 17 sites in Europe and Asia Russia
Trading Sales: 15% www.neochemical.ru
Director: Vladimir Fedyushkin
THOMMEN-FURLER Products: Epoxy resins; titanium dioxide; per-
97 2022 SALES: $288.7M (€269M) oxide compounds; oil additives; food ingredi-
Ruti bei Buren, Switzerland ents; polyisobutylenes; silanes; hardeners;
www.thommen-furler.ch solvents; fuel additives; flame retardants; base
CEO: Franz Christ oils; raw materials for cosmetics and house-
Products: Industrial chemicals (inorganics, hold chemicals
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 SPECIAL REPORT
TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS

Middle East and Africa chemical distribution leaders (2022 sales, $m)
Rank Company Sales ($m) Rank Company Sales ($m) Rank Company Sales ($m)
1 Tricon Energy 2,467.0 29 KH Chemicals 53.7 60 Grup Barcelonesa 7.5
2 Petrochem Middle East 1,580.0 30 BdV Behrens 50.5 61 Wego Chemical Group 7.3
3 Snetor 1,265.0 31 Biesterfeld 50.4 62 EMSA Tecnologia Quimica 5.6
4 Manuchar 533.0 32 Linkers Chemicals and 48.6 63 2M Holdings 5.6
5 Gadot Chemical Terminals 432.8 Polymers
64 COUNT Distribution 5.4
6 Solevo 403.5 33 Bodo Moller Chemie 44.0
65 Grolman Group 5.4
7 Kolmar Group 397.6 34 Mitsubishi Shoji Chemical 43.3
66 SMC Global 5.0
8 REDA Chemicals 342.0 35 RN Chemicals 38.5
36 KLJ Resources 35.8 67 TOPNEXT International 4.7
9 AquaChemie 340.4 (formerly TOP Solvent)
37 Pon Pure Chemicals Group 27.9
10 Azelis 298.4 68 Sinochem Plastics 4.5
38 Leela Corp 26.0
11 Taj Al Mulook General 250.8 69 Incendin 4.3
Trading 39 Skystep Trading 25.9
70 SAME Chemicals 3.2
12 Protea Chemicals (Division 247.0 40 NEO Chemical 25.0
of Omnia Group) 71 L'Aprochimide 3.2
41 INMATRADE 24.2
13 Solvochem Holdings 220.0 42 Penpet Petrochemical 21.5 72 Belchem Solutions 3.0
14 Rakha Al-Khaleej 218.7 Trading 73 WISTEMA 2.6
International 43 Grupo RNM 21.5 74 Arpadis Benelux 2.1
15 Transmare Chemie 200.7 44 Norkem Holdings 21.4 75 Bloomchemag 2.0
16 CellMark 196.8 45 Safic-Alcan 21.0 76 Comercial Quimica Masso 2.0
17 Quimidroga 170.6 46 Vidara 19.3 77 KPL International 1.6
18 Omya 151.4 47 Solventis 19.3 78 Hawkins 1.5
19 Al Nahda International 117.6 48 RishiChem Mideast 17.4
(Anichem Group) 79 Kemat 1.3
49 Jebsen & Jessen Group 17.2
20 Prakash Chemicals 113.0 80 Atlantic Chemicals Trading 1.1
International 50 Newtrac Trading 16.3
81 LUMAR QUIMICA 1.1
21 Nesstra Services 96.7 51 Arkem Kimya 12.0
82 Connect Chemicals Group 1.1
22 Montachem International 80.0 52 Likit Kimya 11.6
83 Chemcom 1.0
53 Junan Resources 11.0
23 Continental Industries 75.0 84 ProChema 1.0
Group 54 Audiche Trading 10.8
55 Ramniklal S. Gosalia & Co 10.0 85 Gamma Chimica 1.0
24 Guangzhou Lifly Chemicals 70.0
25 Stavian Chemical 67.0 56 Lavollee 9.7 86 VTAR 1.0
26 Sanjay Chemicals 64.6 57 DutCH2 9.4 87 Aug. Hedinger 1.0
58 Life Supplies 8.4 Note: Sales are in the specific region and may differ
27 Venus Chemicals Egypt 62.5 from total company sales. Sales $1m and above are
28 Leaderchem 60.0 59 Rebain International 7.5 included

Services: Technical and marketing support;
handling and logistics
Assets: 24 warehouses
CONNECT CHEMICALS GROUP
101 2022 SALES: $269.4M (€251M)
Ratingen, Germany
www.connectchemicals.com
CE0: A. Başar Karaca, Dirk Otmar
Products: Household and industrial care
chemicals; cosmetics and personal care
chemicals; water treatment chemicals; lubri-
cants and metal working chemicals; paper
chemicals; coatings, adhesives and sealants;
plastics
Services: Custom manufacturing; produc-
tion; storage; blending
GRUP BARCELONESA
102 2022 SALES: $264M (€246M)
Barcelona, Spain
www.grupbarcelonesa.com
CEOs: Albert Collell, Enric Collell
Products: Food and feed blends and addi-
tives; agrochemicals: specialties and micro-
nutrients; additives for oil drilling and com-
pletion; products for mining; resins; curing
agents and composites; metal-working for-
mulations; detergent chemicals; disinfection
chemicals; home care chemicals; personal
care and pharmaceutical ingredients; textile
and leather chemicals; chemicals for coat-
ings, inks, adhesives; construction chemi-
cals; lubricants; paper chemicals; pool
chemicals; environmental services chemi-
cals; polyols and polyurethanes; chlor-alka-
lis; acids and bases; metallic salts; solvents;
amines; glycols
Services: Blending and formulating; custom
and toll manufacturing; contract manufactur-
ing; labelling; drumming; packaging; techni-
cal assistance; environmental assistance VMI
(telemetry); agency services; bond warehous-
ing for third parties; full service in logistics:
specialised warehousing for dangerous
goods and transportation
Assets: Warehouses with palletised storage
capacity of 70,000 square metres = 56,000
pallets; located in southwest Europe and
northern Africa; sea tanks of 10,000 cubic
metres; trucks
Trading Sales: 24%
PROTEA CHEMICALS (DIVISION
103 OF OMNIA GROUP)
2022 SALES: $247M (R4.2BN)
Johannesburg, South Africa
www.proteachemicals.co.za
Managing director: Michael Smith
Products: Caustic soda; specialty watercare
flocculants; soda ash; sodium bicarbonate;
ammonia derivatives; bulk resins; ammonium
sulphate; sodium hypochlorite; hydrochloric
acid; hydrogen peroxide; CIP blends; glycols;
citric acid; potassium carbonate; acetic acid;
lysine; ammonium nitrate
Services: Specialty manufacturing; blending;
hydration; repacking; bulk tank installations;
water management; quality control; out-
sourced supply chain; demand driven supply
chain management; financing; sourcing
Assets: Multiple compliant hazardous instal-

www.icis.com 19-25 May 2023 | ICIS Chemical Business | 77

SPECIAL REPORT
TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS
lations; laboratories; delivery trucks; specialty
manufacturing facilities
Trading Sales: 10%
RAINOLDI
104 2022 SALES: $246.8M (€230M)
Bergamo, Italy
www.rainoldi.it
President: Claudio Bombardieri
Products: Industrial chemicals (acids, caus-
tic soda, solvents, solids). specialty chemi-
cals for industrial, home care, coatings,
cleaning; peracetic acid; construction chem-
icals; textile auxiliaries; AdBlue; water treat-
ment chemicals
Services: Warehousing; blending; logistics
Assets: New plant built on 60,000 square
metres; 4,000 tonnes liquid storage; 10,000
square metres covered space; 2 warehouses
Trading Sales: 10%
ATLANTIC CHEMICALS
105 TRADING
2022 SALES: $241.5M (€225M)
Hamburg, Germany
www.act.de
Managing director: Ramin Ghaffari
Products: Vitamins; amino acids; sweeten-
ers; energy ingredients; sports nutrition; pre-
servatives; acidifiers; flavours and fragrances;
plant extracts; feed additives; food additives;
natural products.
Services: Customising; global supply chain;
storage
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Assets: 13 offices worldwide; several ware-
houses worldwide
Trading Sales: 10%
BODO MOLLER CHEMIE
106 2022 SALES: $238.3M (€222M)
Offenbach am Main, Germany
www.bm-chemie.com
Chairman of the board: Frank Haug
Products: Adhesives and sealants (epoxy,
polyurethane, MMA, hotmelts); silicones; res-
ins (basic, epoxy, alkyd, acrylic); casting and
potting resins for electronic components,
semiconductors, generators, motors, batter-
ies (epoxy, polyurethane, silicone based);
composites (resins, gelcoats, reinforce-
ments); mold-making chemicals (boards,
pastes, casting resins); resins and dispersions
for CASE; additives for CASE (light stabilizers,
dispersing agents, thickeners); additives for
plastics and rubber (flame retardants, stabiliz-
ers, stearates); additives for lubricants (corro-
sion protection, antioxidants, metal deactiva-
tors); pigments for CASE; plastics and rubber;
chemicals and dyes for textiles; packaging
and labelling adhesives; masterbatches for
automotive interiors; metal pretreatment and
cleaners
Services: Engineering/FEM; filling and pack-
aging; blending and formulating; education
and training (IFAM); application labs for adhe-
sives; coatings and textile chemistry
Assets: Headquarters in Germany; 38 affili-
ates worldwide; more than 50 local ware-
Shutterstock
houses; adhesive competence centre and
laboratory facilities in Poland, Spain, US,
China, India; 4 production plants for polymer
formulations; competence centre for individ-
ual precision cutting of thermal interface ma-
terials for electronic applications
BANG & BONSOMER
107 2022 SALES: $236.1M (€220M)
Helsinki, Finland
www.bangbonsomer.com
CEO: Mikko Teittinen
Products: Wide range of specialty chemicals
for different industries
Services: Application lab services; formula-
tions; technical support; blending and manu-
facturing; warehousing; process chemistry
engineering; logistics
Assets: Production sites; warehouses; labora-
tories; companies in 14 countries in north and
east Europe
KPL INTERNATIONAL
108 2022 SALES: $232.8M (RS19.26BN)
New Delhi, India
www.kplintl.com
Managing director: Surinder Kumar Kak
Products: Bulk and essential chemicals; poly-
mers; paper and allied chemicals; specialty
chemicals; paint and coating chemicals;
pharmaceutical ingredients; personal care
and cosmetics ingredients; industrial and spe-
cialty gases; engineering consumables
Services: Development of markets for new
products and applications; repackaging; mar-
ket intelligence; technical and after-sales sup-
port; sourcing; exports; procurement and au-
diting services; sourcing and exports from
India, China and Middle East; warehousing
and logistics; technical support for quality
control; testing and plant audits
Assets: 11 warehouses; 2 bottling facilities for
refrigerants and industrial gases; 8 wind tur-
bines with generation capacity of 15.35MW
Trading Sales: 67.65%
WWRC HOLDING
109 2022 SALES: $230M
Singapore
www.wwrc.com
CEO: Teoh Weng Chai
Products: Resins/intermediates; additives/
catalysts; pigments/fillers/extenders; other
chemicals/solvents; grinding media
Services: Technical service; storage; delivery
Assets: 8 warehouses
Trading Sales: 10%
HARKE GROUP
110 2022 SALES: $229.8M (€214.1M)
Muelheim an der Ruhr, Germany
www.harke.com
President: Thorsten Harke
Products: Home care, I&I chemicals; coat-
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SPECIAL REPORT
TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS
ings; electronics/high purity chemicals; food
ingredients; health and functional food in-
gredients; industrial chemicals; cosmetics/
personal care ingredients; pharmaceutical
excipients; plastics; rubber chemicals; spe-
cialty plastic films; specialty chemicals; poly-
mers; water-soluble films; water treatment
chemicals
Services: Reformulation; regulatory advice;
blending; mixing; contract encapsulation;
contract packaging; refilling; sandblast gra-
vure; pre-print
Assets: Warehouses in European countries; 3
production sites (Germany, Hungary and UK);
10 packaging and encapsulation lines; filling
stations
Trading Sales: 10%
ARPADIS BENELUX
111 2022 SALES: $225.4M (€210M)
Antwerp, Belgium
www.arpadis.com
CEO: Laurent Abergel
Products: Acrylates and monomers; isocy-
antes and polyols; solvents; glycols; synthetic
resin intermediates; amines
Services: Distributor and logistics services
through third parties
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Shutterstock
PENPET PETROCHEMICAL BANDEIRANTE QUIMICA
112 TRADING 114 2022 SALES: $215.3M
2022 SALES: $221M (€205.9M) Maua, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Hamburg, Germany www.bbquimica.com.br
www.penpet.com CEO: Carlos Eduardo Marin
Managing directors: Christoph Meister, Tim Products: Aromatics; aliphatic solvents; oxy-
Meister genated solvents; ethanolamines; titanium
Products: Synthetic resins; wood based pan- dioxide (TiO2); surfactants; specialty resins;
els; coatings and paints; printing inks and carbon black; aromatics; blends; organics/in-
plastic coatings; oleochemicals and lubri- organics; household and personal care chem-
cants icals; silicas; amines; agricultural chemicals;
Services: Warehousing; repacking; mixing epoxy resins; glycols
Assets: Warehouse Services: Blending; formulation; technical as-
Trading Sales: 10% sistance; storage; packaging
Assets: 5 branches; 102 tanks; 3 warehouses;
SOLVOCHEM HOLDINGS truck fleet; 2 laboratories; 3,500 intermediate
113 2022 SALES: $220M bulk containers (IBCs)
Limassol, Cyprus
www.solvochem.com 2M HOLDINGS
Chairman: Anthony Joseph Flouty 115 2022 SALES: $215M
Products: Solvents and chemicals; plastic ad- Runcorn, UK
ditives; plasticizers; urethanes and mining www.2m-holdings.com
products Chairman and CEO: Mottie Kessler
Services: Storage; blending; packaging; lo- Products: Triklone; Perklone and MEC prime;
gistics; technical support Samsol; chlorine gas (cylinders and drums)
Assets: Storage tanks (93); warehouses (11); for water treatment and chemical synthesis;
trucks (7) surfactants/reology modifiers; AdBlue; aero-
Trading Sales: 3% space-approved products; Pigmentan (anti-
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REVADA GROUP
118 2022 SALES: $210M
Moscow, Russia
www.revada-group.com
General manager: Vasiliy Cherenkov
Products: Life science and food ingredients;
plastic additives; agrochemicals; lubricants;
coatings; textile additives
Services: Warehousing; logistics; chemical
production
Assets: Own modern offices; warehouses;
production site; transport fleet
Trading Sales: 95%

GROLMAN GROUP
119 2022 SALES: $209.1M (€194.8M)
Neuss, Germany
www.grolman-group.com
Managing directors: Florian Grolman, Dirk
Grolman, Jurgen Grolman, Mike Dorsam
Products: Pigments and dyes; fillers and per-
formance materials; binders; additives; per-
sonal care high performance ingredients
Services: Raw material consultancy; formula-
tion services
Assets: Offices; warehouses; labs

TANNER INDUSTRIES
120 2022 SALES: $208M
Southampton, Pennsylvania, US
www.tannerind.com
President and CEO: Brad Tanner
Products: Anhydrous ammonia; aqua ammo-
nia and urea solutions
Shutterstock

Services: Storage tanks; pump out services;

corrosive environment-friendly pigments);
oilfield chemicals; specialty personal care and
cosmetics ingredients; hydrocarbons and ox-
ygenated solvents; homecare and I&I ingredi-
ents; pharmaceutical excipients and APIs;
precision cleaning solutions; formulations for
personal care; phosphating chemicals (metal
pre-treatment)
Services: Manufacturing; packing; storage;
formulation and technical support with lab-
oratory facilities; sample management;
technical, regulatory and legislative exper-
tise; blending and toll blending; water treat-
ment; pigment dispersion; development
and formulation
Assets: Application laboratories; warehous-
ing in UK, Poland, Brazil, Nordics, Benelux;
blending and storage facilities; own trucks
JULIUS HOESCH
116 2022 SALES: $214.4M (€199.8M)
Duren, Germany
www.julius-hoesch.de
CEOs: Gisela Braun and Stephan Andreas
Products: Solvents; acids; leaches; sur-
factants; chelating agents; preservatives;
plasticizers; defoamers; silikones; emulsifiers;
polymers; cosmetic additives; solids; water
treatment chemicals; specialty fuels
Services: Blending; toll production; applica-
tion support; product development; extensive
product range; support in regulatory/legisla-
tion, labelling, safety data sheets; formulation;
customised packaging sizes
Assets: Full service provider owning 86,000
square metres of production and warehouse
space; laboratories; own logistics service
provider
Trading Sales: 20%
FARAVELLI
117 2022 SALES: $212.9M (€198.4M)
Milan, Italy
www.faravelligroup.com
CEO: Luca Benati
Products: Chemicals and raw materials for
food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and indus-
trial applications
Services: Logistics and storage; regulatory
support; blending and repackaging; formula-
tion support
Assets: 1 production plant; 2 application labs;
14 warehouses worldwide
Trading Sales: 25%
tank maintenance. safety training
Assets: 13 distribution locations; full service
fleet of tractors and trailers; highly trained
company drivers
ELTON GROUP
121 2022 SALES: $207.1M (€193M)
Attica, Greece
www.elton-group.com
CEO: Nestor Papathanasiou
Products: Industrial raw materials and ingre-
dients for food, beverages, coatings, adhe-
sives, construction, detergents, cosmetics,
pharmaceuticals, feed, PU systems, water
metal treatment, textiles, paper, agrochemi-
cals, rubber, waxes, plastics and refrigerants
Services: Local logistics; technical promo-
tion; business development; inventory man-
agement and logistic services
Assets: 9 warehouses; bulk storage facilities;
3 labs; privately owned trucks and tank trucks;
commercial infrastructure at southeast Euro-
pean markets Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Ser-
bia, Kosovo, Albania, North Macedonia, Cy-
prus, Ukraine, Turkey
LIFE SUPPLIES
122 2022 SALES: $201.8M (€188M)
Olen, Belgium

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 SPECIAL REPORT
TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS

www.life-supplies.com
Managing director: Chantal Voets
Products: Additives for animal nutrition,
human health and household/personal care
Services: Global sourcing and distribution;
quality and traceability; repacking; blending;
diluting; product development; sales in 50
countries
Assets: Warehouse facilities in different coun-
tries; 50 well motivated employees
Trading Sales: 2%
DOLDER GROUP
123 2022 SALES: $198.5M (€185M)
Basel, Switzerland
www.dolder.com
CEO: Bruno Crippa
Products: Plastic granules; special com-
pounds; masterbatches; resins and binders;
additives; inorganic chemicals; pigments;
elastomers; crosslinkers; fillers; filter media;
filter systems
Services: Laboratory services and analysis;
technical training; environmental services;
business intelligence; market share analysis;
digital marketing; logistics services
Assets: 90 employees; 7 subsidiaries
Trading Sales: 5%
Assets: Reach lead registrant
Trading Sales: 10%
PHT INTERNATIONAL
126 2022 SALES: $182.7M
Charlotte, North Carolina, US
www.phtinternational.com
President/Owner: Lihong Yu
Products: Pharmaceutical ingredients; agro-
chemicals; electronic chemicals; consuma-
ble/personal care chemicals; textile chemi-
cals; construction chemicals
Services: CDMO; CRO; quality control and
regulatory support; green chemistry; flow
chemistry; procurement; logistics
Assets: Samples lab; import/export offices in
China; procurement team in China; global ad-
ministrative offices and sales representatives
KEYSER & MACKAY
127 2022 SALES: $182.4M (€170M)
Amsterdam, Netherlands
www.keysermackay.com
Managing partners: Gerard de Waal / Willem
Augustinus
Products: Specialty chemicals; raw materials
for coatings, inks, plastics, rubber, adhesives,
sealants, construction, personal care, food,
feed and other applications
Services: Technical sales and marketing;
local and central stockholding; laboratory ser-
vices; sampling
Assets: Offices and warehouses in 9 Europe-
an countries.
Trading Sales: 10%
STAUB & CO – SILBERMANN
128 2022 SALES: $176M (€164M)
Nuremberg, Germany
www.staub-silbermann.de
Managing directors: Andreas Frank / Peter
Stockmeier
Products: Industrial and speciality chemicals;
acids and lyes; solvents; solid chemicals;
cleaning agents; products for food/feed/phar-
ma/cosmetics; water treatment chemicals;
thermal transfer agents; ammonia; AdBlue
Services: Storage; mixing; blending; filling;
packaging; polymerisation
Assets: 2 warehouses; 20 trucks

IMPAG GROUP
124 2022 SALES: $193.2M (€180M)
Zurich, Switzerland
www.impag.com
www.impag.ch
CEO: Remo Bernardi
Products: Coatings additives; anhydrides;
acrylates; polyols; flame retardants; polyure-
thane; green solvents; detergents; base
chemicals; cosmetic functionals and active
ingredients; food ingredients; pharmaceutical
ingredients/APIs; oleochemicals
Services: Global logistics; global sourcing;
storage; technical support; regulatory sup-
port; financing; packaging
Assets: 6 sales offices across Europe; 1 tank
farm for liquid goods; filling line for chemicals;
own application lab
Trading Sales: 20%

NOVASOL CHEMICALS
125 2022 SALES: $184.6M (€172M)
Brussels, Belgium
novasolchemicals.com
President: Francois-Xavier Coiffard
Products: Pharmaceutical ingredients and
agrochemicals; personal care and hair care in-
gredients; energy and environment chemicals;
construction chemicals; resins and coatings
Services: Multi-sourcing; tailor-made servic-
es; 97% OTIF delivery; sustainable storage
(solar panels, green energy); flexible packag-
ing capabilities; filling and repacking; global
Shutterstock

presence with sales in 45 countries; market

expertise in life sciences and material science

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Latin America chemical distribution leaders (2022 sales, $m)

Rank Company Sales ($m) Rank Company Sales ($m) Rank Company Sales ($m)
1 Tricon Energy 1,982.0 32 Biesterfeld 55.8 60 Valudor Products 7.3
2 Brenntag 1,383.4 33 Sulatlantica Importadora e 55.0 61 Ricardo Molina 6.4
Exportadora
3 Manuchar 1,030.0 62 Belchem Solutions 6.0
34 Morais de Castro Produtos 54.3
4 Univar Solutions* 756.6 Quimicos 63 Grupo RNM 5.4
5 Snetor 733.0 35 Skystep Trading 45.7 64 Arkem Kimya 5.0
6 Quimica Anastacio 670.1 36 Verquimica Industria e 44.1 65 Equilex Chemicals 4.5
7 IMCD 535.5 Comercio de Produtos 66 Nesstra Services 4.5
Quimicos
8 Pochteca Materias Primas 528.1 67 SAME Chemicals 4.3
37 Guangzhou Lifly Chemicals 34.0
9 MCassab 476.7 68 WISTEMA 4.3
38 Colormix Especialidades 32.2
10 Disan Latinoamerica 395.0 69 Taj Al Mulook General 4.1
39 Brisco do Brasil 30.0 Trading
11 Andino Chemical Group 339.0
40 Assuncao Distribuidora 26.1 70 Likit Kimya 3.9
12 Quimtia 335.0 41 Gadot Chemical Terminals 23.8 71 Ketsin de Costa Rica 3.9
13 Continental Industries 300.0 42 Quimidroga 21.5
Group 72 Hawkins 3.7
43 The Chemical Company 18.7
14 Vidara 285.5 73 Grup Barcelonesa 3.2
44 ADDITIVA Produtos 17.2
15 Montachem International 270.0 Quimicos 74 L'Aprochimide 3.2
16 Jebsen & Jessen Group 266.2 45 SolvChem 16.3 75 BassTech International 3.1
17 Bandeirante Quimica 215.3 46 Tilley Distribution 13.2 76 Moller Chemie 2.1
18 Omya 140.6 47 DutCH2 13.0 77 Connect Chemicals Group 2.1
19 Azelis 133.1 48 Safic-Alcan 13.0 78 Solventis 2.1
20 Petrochem Middle East 116.0 49 Rebain International 12.9 79 Hubbard-Hall 2.0
21 Kolmar Group 115.5 50 Comercial Quimica Masso 12.6 80 TZ Group 2.0
22 Barentz 105.2 51 Transmare Chemie 12.3 81 Atlantic Chemicals Trading 1.6
23 Solven Solventes E 96.7 52 Rakha Al-Khaleej 11.8 82 RAHN Group 1.5
Quimicos International
83 RE Carroll 1.5
24 Metachem 84.2 53 Prakash Chemicals 10.9
International 84 Aug. Hedinger 1.3
25 BdV Behrens 80.2 85 Bodo Moller Chemie 1.1
54 SMC Global 10.0
26 Stavian Chemical 80.0 86 Mays Chemical 1.0
55 Clariquimica 8.4
27 CellMark 79.8 56 Mitsubishi Shoji Chemical 8.3 87 Chemical Solvents 1.0
28 Wego Chemical Group 74.8 57 PHT International 8.2 88 TransChemical 1.0
29 Carbono Quimica 74.2 58 Norkem Holdings 8.0 *Latin America and Asia
Note: Sales are in the specific region and may differ
30 Henry Hirschen 68.5 59 Penpet Petrochemical 7.5 from total company sales. Sales $1m and above are
Trading included
31 TRILUX Chemical Supplier 58.5

AIREDALE GROUP CHIMPEX INDUSTRIALE MOLLER CHEMIE

129 2022 SALES: $172.9M (£142.9M)
Keighley, North Yorkshire, UK
www.airedale-group.com
Managing director: Chris Chadwick
Products: General chemicals; phosphates;
disinfectants; agrochemicals; water treat-
ment chemicals; acidulants; sweeteners; pre-
servatives; surfactants; fatty alcohols; fatty
acids; chelates; metal surface treatment
chemicals; contract manufactured chemicals
Services: Chemical manufacturing; chemical
blending and mixing; contract manufacturing;
small pack filling; packaging management;
technical and regulatory support; chemical
sourcing; speedy and flexible delivery
Assets: 9 warehouses totalling 78,000
square feet; 25 storage tanks ranging from
20,000 to 100,000 litres; 56,000 litres of re-
actor capacity; 154,500 litres of mixing ves-
sels; 20+ vehicles
Trading Sales: 40%
130 2022 SALES: $165.3M (€154M) 132 2022 SALES: $161.6M (€150.6M)
Caivano, Naples, Italy Steinfurt, Germany
www.chimpex.it www.moellerchemie.com
President: Salvatore Romano CEO: Rainer Berghaus
Products: Base chemicals and composites Products: Alpha olefins; fumed silica; sol-
Services: Selling; formulations; product design vents; hydrocarbons; isoparaffins; carbon-
Trading Sales: 85% ates; salicylic acid; vegetable oils; plasticizer;
silicones; catalysts; polyetheramines; dibasic
THE CHEMICAL COMPANY ester; isotridecanol; benzyl alcohol
131 2022 SALES: $163.4M Services: Filling liquids; transferring solids;
Jamestown, Rhode Island, US mixing; melting polymers; dispersing
thechemco.com Assets: Warehouses; tanks; blending and toll-
President: Robb Roach ing; technical support; laboratories; own
Products: Plasticizers; acids; alcohols; oxo al- trucks; trained salesforce
cohols; agrochemicals; solvents; PVC/plastic
additives ALGOL CHEMICALS
Services: Global chemical sales and procure- 133 2022 SALES: $161M (€150M)
ment; import/export; global warehousing; Espoo, Finland
railcar management; transloading (tankers, www.algolchemicals.com
totes/drums) CEO: Kalle Kettunen
Trading Sales: 5% Products: Coatings; plastics; rubber; food

84 | ICIS Chemical Business | 19-25 May 2023 www.icis.com

SPECIAL REPORT
TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS
and feed ingredients; personal care ingredi-
ents; pharmaceuticals ingredients; industrial
chemicals; construction chemicals; road con-
struction materials; asphalt chemicals; life sci-
ence ingredients
Services: Packaging; toll manufacturing; logis-
tics; chemicals consulting; Reach registration;
warehouse services; tailor-made chemicals
Assets: Production facilities; packaging facili-
ties; warehouses
Trading Sales: 5%
ILARIO ORMEZZANO
134 2022 SALES: $160.7M (€149.7M)
Gaglianico, Italy
www.ilarioormezzano.it
CEO: Giancarlo Ormezzano
Products: Solvents; monomers; acrylates;
base chemicals; pharmaceutical intermedi-
ates; hydrocarbons; glycols; acids; anhy-
drides; polymers; natural products; vitamins;
AdBlue; water treatment chemicals
Services: Storage of liquid and solid products;
storage for third parties; blending; customised
handling (packaging, mixing, filling and label-
ling); quality control; technical after sales sup-
port; Reach support; product research
Assets: 2 owned warehouses with a total of
85,000 square metres and storage capacity of
more than 10,000 cubic metres; 1 warehouse
for rent; 3 offices; 2 laboratories; 6 trucks
Trading Sales: 20%
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CONNECTION CHEMICAL
135 2022 SALES: $160M
Newtown, Pennsylvania, US
connectionchemical.com
President: Frank Farish
Products: Caustic soda (liquid and dry); caus-
tic potash (liquid and dry; industrial and insti-
tutional chemicals; compounding chemicals;
agricultural products; water treatment chemi-
cals; food and beverage ingredients; feed in-
gredients; pulp and paper chemicals; oil and
gas chemicals; metal finishing and flux chemi-
cals; phosphates; mineral acids
Services: Logistics; importing; inventory
management; supply chain solutions; repack-
aging; dilutions; blending; outsourcing
Assets: 14 stocking locations nationwide;
strategic deep draft storage
HAEFFNER
136 2022 SALES: $160M
Asperg, Germany
www.hugohaeffner.com
CEO: Thomas Dassler
Products: Water treatment chemicals; paint,
ink, coating, adhesive and resin additives;
paint, textile and leather auxiliaries; food addi-
tives; feed additives; metal treatment chemi-
cals; household and personal care ingredi-
ents; lubricant additives
Services: Mixing, blending and formulat-
ing; repackaging; contract packaging;
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warehousing of hazardous goods; just-in-
time-delivery and application advice by our
highly skilled technical sales team; single
sourcing
Assets: 6 warehouse facilities across Europe
with tank farm for acids/lyes/solvents and
hazard analysis and critical control points
(HACCP) filling and blending area; 1 laborato-
ry; 30 trucks
Trading Sales: 10%
PRAKASH CHEMICALS
137 INTERNATIONAL
2022 SALES: $159.8M
Vadodara, Gujarat, India
www.pciplindia.com
Managing director: Manish K Shah
Products: Caustic soda flakes; TDI; benzyl al-
cohol; ethyl acetate; sodium sulphate anhy-
drous; cinnamic aldehyde; SLES; chlorinated
paraffin wax; benzyl chloride; liquid glucose;
DEP; dextrose monohydrate; hydrochloric
acid; white oil; hydrogen peroxide; colour
speckles; liquid chlorine
Services: Blending; packaging; storage; toll
manufacturing; customised labelling; logis-
tics/supply chain services; ex-works to DDP;
quality assurance; pre-shipment inspection;
country specific documents compliance;
Reach registration; FAMI-QS certification; ISO
9001:2015; ISO 14001:2015; halal and kosher
certifications
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Assets: 1 manufacturing plant for custom

blends; 1 R&D lab; 1 application development
center; 2 QC labs; 3 warehouses; repacking
stations; 4 subsidiaries outside India
Trading Sales: 100%

KTM
138 2022 SALES: $156.1M
Istanbul, Turkey
www.ktm.com.tr/en
CEO: Keyan Zulfikari
Products: Polyolefins (PE, PP, PVC); oxo alco-
hols; plasticizers; monomers; polyurethane
raw materials; solvents; TiO2; organic and in-
organic chemicals
Services: International marketing; logistics;
packaging; storage; inventory management;
VMI and JIT; blending; financing; risk manage-
ment
Assets: Pan European coverage and offices;
shore tanks and bulk storage facilities; numer-
ous warehouses covering Europe and turkey;
truck fleet and road tankers
Trading Sales: 30%

RAHN GROUP
139 2022 SALES: $155M
Zurich, Switzerland
www.rahn-group.com
CEO: Xavier Marguerettaz
Products: Raw materials for inks, coatings
and adhesives; personal care ingredients; fla-
vours; fragrances; food ingredients
Services: Application support; R&D/custom-
ised products; regulatory affairs; guide formu-
lations; international logistics; analytics
Trading Sales: 50%
TILLMANNS
140 2022 SALES: $153.5M (€143M)
Milan, Italy
www.tillmanns.it
CEO: Stefan Vollmer
Products: Organic and inorganic pigments;
binders; resins; waxes; preservatives; special-
ty chemicals and additives for coatings; plas-
tics; adhesives and construction chemicals;
specialty chemicals for water treatment; func-
tional additives and ingredients for food and
feed; specialty casings
Services: Marketing; product formulation and
blending; custom packaging; product evalua-
tion in own laboratory; technical support team;
green chemistry product solutions; warehous-
ing and supply chain management; vendor
managed inventory; fire class 4.1 category for
storage of highly flammable products
Assets: 2 company owned and operated
warehouses with total capacity of 45,000
tonnes; 2 laboratories; own truck fleet
CSC JAEKLECHEMIE
141 2022 SALES: $151.4M (€141.1M)
Nuremberg, Germany
www.csc-jaekle.de
Managing directors: Robert Spaeth / Heiko
Warnecke / Michael Spehr
Products: Industrial chemicals (acids, alkaline
solutions, solvents, solids); coatings and adhe-
sive raw materials; water- and solvent-based
solutions for industrial cleaning of compo-
nents; products for water treatment; special-
ties for the health and nutrition industry
Services: Technical expertise and field ser-
vice; application technology; laboratory ser-
vices; formulation advice; warehousing;
blending and repackaging; worldwide ship-
ment; disposal of chemical waste
Assets: Storing, filling and trans-shipment
sites; own laboratories for quality assurance
and coatings; own trucks and tank wagons
BDV BEHRENS
142 2022 SALES: $151M (€140.7M)
Hamburg, Germany
bdv-behrens.de
Managing partner: Raul Valente
Products: Industrial chemicals; pharmaceuti-
cal ingredients; food and feed chemicals;
paper and packaging chemicals
Services: International trade; supply chain
solutions; global sourcing; financing; quality
managment
Assets: Sales offices in Brazil, Mexico and US
Trading Sales: 100%
CHIMITEX
143 2022 SALES: $150.3M (€140M)
Fagnano Olona, Varese, Italy
www.chimitex.it
CEO: Bottini Emilio
Products: Industrial chemicals; caustic soda;
acids; glycols; glycerine; AdBlue; food and
feed ingredients; pharmaceutical ingredients;
water treatment chemicals; solids
Services: Storage of liquids and solids; pro-
duction; blending and dissolutions; logistics
Assets: AdBlue and ferric chroride produc-
ers; total area of 60,000 square feet; 16,000
cubic metres liquid storage capacity; 20,000
square feet covered warehouses
Trading Sales: 10%
PRIDE CHEMICAL SOLUTIONS
144 2022 SALES: $150M
Holtsville, New York, US
www.pridesol.com
President: Art Dhom Jr

88 | ICIS Chemical Business | 19-25 May 2023 www.icis.com

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TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS

Board member/CEO: Cezary Mielczarek; drocarbon resin; calcined bauxite; l-carnitine;

Board member: Paweł Tomaszkiewicz resins; mineral animal feed materials; indus-
Products: Styrene; IPA; VAM; methanol; gly- trial chemicals
cols; solvents; anhydrides; EPS; caustic soda; Services: Supply chain management; sourcing
BA; phenol Trading Sales: 100%
Services: Logistics support; intermodal solu-
tions; warehousing; storage; customised ser- GREENCHEM INDUSTRIES
vices and solutions; technical support 151 2022 SALES: $136.2M
Trading Sales: 50% West Palm Beach, Florida, US
www.greenchemindustries.com
SEA-LAND CHEMICAL CEO: John Lagae
147 2022 SALES: $142M Products: Acetates; acids; alcohols; amines;
Cleveland, Ohio, US aromatics; bio-based chemicals; glycols; gly-
www.sealandchem.com col ethers; ketones; plasticizers; oils; VOC-ex-
President and CEO: Jennifer Altstadt empt solvents
Products: Specialty amines; biocides/pre- Services: 3PL; warehousing; packaging; im-
servatives; corrosion inhibitors; esters; fatty port and export
acids; surfactants; extreme pressure addi- Assets: 35 public warehouses
tives; chelating agents; lubricity aides; antioxi-
dants; sodium sulphonates; poly alpha ole- WEBB CHEMICAL SERVICE
fins; normal alpha olefins; rheology modifiers; 152 2022 SALES: $135.6M
industrial and transportation lubricants and Muskegon Heights, Michigan, US
additives www.webbchemical.com
Services: Warehousing; repackaging; prod- CEO/Owner: Brad Hilleary
uct sourcing; market development; technical Products: Solvents; chlor-alkali; acids; sur-
expertise; laboratory testing; domestic and factants; alcohols; ethanolomines; food and
international logistics; small package to bulk pharmaceutical ingredients; glycols
deliveries; consolidation of orders; regulatory Services: Packaging; trucking; warehousing;
support on-time delivery
Assets: 9 warehouse locations in North Assets: 6 warehouses; 30 bulk tanks; 40+
America and Europe; 6 repackaging facilities; tankers; fantastic employees
1 testing laboratory
ASTRO CHEMICALS
MOGOIL 153 2022 SALES: $135M
Shutterstock

148 2022 SALES: $141.6M (€131.9M) Springfield, Massachusetts, US

Berlin, Germany www.astrochemicals.com
www.mogoil.com President and CEO: Christopher Diamond
Products: Alcohols; amines; esters; glycols; General director: Andreas Rogge Products: Glyoxal; sodium hydroxide liquid
glycol ethers; hydrocarbon solvents; ketones; Products: Base oils; process oils; rubber pro- and dry; potassium hydroxide liquid and dry;
mineral oils; oleochemicals; petrolatum; plas- cessing oils; slackwaxes; low vis oils; PAOs phosphoric acid 85%, 75% tech and food
ticizers; silicones; sorbitol; surfactants; vege- Services: Trading; storage; customs clear- grades; solvents A-Z; glycerine all grades; ke-
table oils ance; technical support; market analysis tones; denatured alcohols 190-200 proof; ad-
Services: NF ESP kosher repackaging; sol- Trading Sales: 25% hesives both PSA and water-based
vent blending; DSP ethanol denaturing; flam- Services: Logistical support for trucking;
mable packaging SRI BALAHA CHEMICALS drumming; toting and storage of hazmat and
Assets: 3 warehouses; 500,000 gal bulk tank 149 2022 SALES: $139M (RS11.5BN) non-hazmat
farm; multiple tank trucks; tractor trailers and Chennai, India Assets: 160,000 square feet of warehousing
straight trucks www.balaha.com split between 2 locations in Springfield, Mas-
Managing director: K Siva Prasad sachusetts; 17 tractors; 20 trailers/tankers; 90
COUNT DISTRIBUTION Products: Chemicals; solvents; plastics; met- skilled, experienced, professional employees
145 2022 SALES: $144.9M (€135M) als; food products; industrial valves; water Trading Sales: 10%
London, UK treatment chemicals
www.countgroup.com Assets: Corporate office building of 15,000 AEGEAN FIRST COMPANY
CEO: Jeroen Baaima square feet in at R.A. Puram, Chennai; indus- 154 (AFCO)
Products: Aromatics; glycols; acrylates; ace- trial warehouse of about 34,000 square feet 2022 SALES: $134.7M (€125.5M)
tates; alcohols; ketones; anhydrides; acids at Puzhal, Chennai Athens, Greece
Services: Sourcing and supplying across Trading Sales: 90% www.afco.gr
markets globally President: Christos Spanos
Trading Sales: 25% NEWPORT INDUSTRIES Products: Polymers; specialty chemicals; or-
150 2022 SALES: $136.5M (£112.8M) ganic and inorganic chemicals; pharmaceuti-
CHEM INTERNATIONAL Richmond, London, UK cal; agrochemicals; food ingredients
146 2022 SALES: $142.1M www.newport-industries.com Services: Storage; technical support; techni-
Warsaw, Poland Managing director: Raj Patel cal sales
www.chem.international Products: Soda ash; sodium bicarbonate; hy- Trading Sales: 6%

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UCG (UNITED CHEMICAL mid fibres; precipitated calcium carbonate; ers; phosphates; purified water; preserva-
155 GROUP) fumed silica; HCR LSR and RTV silicones; zinc tives; surfactants
2022 SALES: $133.4M oxide; graphene nanotubes Services: Warehousing; liquid and dry blend-
Moscow, Russia Services: Sales; customer service; order ful- ing; repackaging; reformulation
www.ucgrus.com fillment; warehousing Assets: 2 warehouses; 1 warehouse/blending
Chairman of the board: Gennady Tolstobrov Trading Sales: 10% facility; 4 liquid tank trucks; 2 liquid tank trail-
Products: ABS; ASA; SAN; HIPS; GPPS; PC/ ers; boomlift and related equipment
ABS; PBT; PMMA; PC; POM; SBS; SEBS; SIS; SKYHAWK CHEMICALS
POE; EVA; MLLDPE; LDPE; HDPE; PP copoly- 157 2022 SALES: $131M C.H. ERBSLOEH GROUP
mer; PA and AIM; road construction materials; Houston, Texas, US 159 2022 SALES: $124.5M (€116M)
oil additives and modifiers; base oils; fertiliz- www.skyhawkchemicals.com Krefeld, Germany
ers; liquid and bulk chemicals President: Jill Knickerbocker www.cherbsloeh.com
Services: 3PL logistics; packaging; storage; Products: Caustic soda; methanol; calcium Managing director: Christopher Erbsloh
technical support chloride; sulphuric acid; anhydrous/aqua am- Products: Specialty chemicals for coatings,
Assets: 9 offices; 11 warehouses; 3 interna- monia; KOH; propylene glycol; hydrochloric adhesives, construction, lubricants, pharma-
tional offices acid; xylene; bleach; polyphosphoric acid; ceutical, cosmetics, personal and home care,
Trading Sales: 10% benzoic acid; citric acid rubber, plastics, electronics, water treatment,
Services: Blending; packaging; storing food and beverage
H.M. ROYAL Assets: Totes and drums Services: Technical sales and marketing; ap-
156 2022 SALES: $133.2M plication development; analytical testing and
Trenton, New Jersey, US MAYS CHEMICAL quality control; warehousing; regulatory ser-
www.hmroyal.com 158 2022 SALES: $128.5M vices; supply chain management; after sales
President: Joseph Royal Indianapolis, Indiana, US services
Products: Flame retardants; polymers; kaolin www.mayschem.com Assets: 11 office locations; application and
clay; carbon black; light weight spheres; President: Kristin Mays-Corbitt quality control laboratories; fully owned and
mould releases; bonding adhesives; metallic Products: Acidulants; citrates; emulsifiers; operated warehousing and tank farm
stearates; peroxides; hydrocarbon resins; ara- flavours; glycerine; glycols; lubricants; oxidiz-
CLEARTECH INDUSTRIES
160 2022 SALES: $124.2M
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
www.cleartech.ca
President: Randy M Bracewell
Products: Water treatment chemicals; caus-
tic soda; hydrochloric acid; chlorine; sodium
hypochlorite; coagulants; flocculants; acids;
alkalis; sulphites; defoamers; activated car-
bon; phosphates; surfactants; chemical feed
systems
Services: Blending; formulating; packaging;
transloading; warehousing and storage
Assets: 10 buildings in 7 cities across Canada

WILL & CO
161 2022 SALES: $123.4M (€115M)
Badhoevedorp, Netherlands
www.will-co.eu
Managing director: Jacques van Lindonk
Products: 1.4-butanediol and derivatives
(THF, GBL); bio succinic acid; plasticizers and
flame retardants; pigments; proteins; cosmet-
ic and personal care ingredients; coating res-
ins and additives; bio-based solvents and
binders; impact modifiers for plastics; foam-
ing agents for plastics; additive masterbatch-
es; sulfamic acid; ferric chloride; engineering
plastics and compounds
Services: Storage management; logistics
management; sales and marketing
Trading Sales: 5%

HARWICK STANDARD
162 2022 SALES: $122.7M
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Akron, Ohio, US
www.harwick.com

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TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS
President and CEO: Ernie Pouttu
Products: Polymers; rubber chemicals; plasti-
cizers; process oils; flame retardants; activa-
tors; chemical and colour dispersions; pro-
cessing aids; organic peroxides; resins;
vulcanising agents; colourants; fillers; stabilis-
ers; dry liquid concentrates
Services: Warehousing; bulk break; logistics;
storage; import; export; technical support;
regulatory support
Assets: 2 company owned warehouses; 7
public warehouses
Trading Sales: 1%
AUG. HEDINGER
163 2022 SALES: $122.7M (€114.3M)
Stuttgart, Germany
www.hedinger.de
CEO: Johann-Ludwig Raiser
Products: Raw materials for technical indus-
tries such as coatings/paints, lubricants,
cleaning, adhesives, construction; products
for the life science industry
Services: Sampling; analytical testing (phar-
macopoeia standards and customised test
methods); batch certification; labelling; re-
packaging and mixing and aqueous solutions
Assets: 2 GMP laboratories; 8 cleanrooms
class 100,000; 16 trucks; dedicated tank
farms; warehouses
ISOCHEM
164 2022 SALES: $122.6M
Sydney, Australia
www.isochem.com.au
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freight forwarding
Assets: 25,000 cubic metre tank terminal
with dedicated berth access (<500m away) at
Jebel Ali port; 12 warehouses; 4 production
facilities (including a 15,000 tonne sulphona-
tion plant); 3 laboratories
TRINTERNATIONAL
167 2022 SALES: $118M
Edmonds, Washington, US
www.trichemicals.com
CEO and Owner: Megan E Gluth-Bohan
Products: Industrial, specialty and fine chem-
icals for paints, coatings, adhesives, sealants,
inks and dyes, polymers, composites, con-
struction, metal-working, textiles, lubricants,
household cleaning, industrial cleaning, water
treatment, oil and gas, food and beverage,
feed, agriculture, pharmaceutical, cosmetics,
and personal care products
Services: Marketing; custom manufacturing;
blending and contract packaging; warehous-
ing; full service logistics
Assets: 1 office building; 3 company vehicles
Trading Sales: 20%
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NESSTRA SERVICES
168 2022 SALES: $117M
Slough, UK
Founder and CEO: Alireza Ehsani www.nesstra.com
Products: Isocyanates; polyether polyols; CEO: Alwan Hitti
polyester polyols; catalysts; flame retardants; Products: Polyurethane chemicals (polyols,
blowing agents TDI, MDI, additives); basic chemicals (calcium
Services: Logistics; transloading; packdown carbonate, caustic soda, glycerine, hexane,
and breakbulk hydrogen peroxide, methyle chloride, MPG,
Trading Sales: 5% sulphuric acid, titanium dioxide, toluene, xy-
lene); polyurethane foam plants; cutting ma-
ATALANT EUROPE chines and spare parts; construction, mining
165 2022 SALES: $121.9M (€113.6M) and electrical equipment and consumables
San Vicente del Raspeig, Services: Storage and drumming of bulk
Alicante, Spain chemicals; blending; technical support; sup-
www.atalant.com ply chain management; maintenance
CEO: Efren Carbonell Sirvent Assets: Tanks and warehouse space for stor-
Products: Polyethylene; polypropylene; poly- age of bulk and packaged chemicals in Rot-
styrene; PVC; polyamide terdam, Netherlands
Services: Supply of polymers; logistics; fi- Trading Sales: 15%
nancing; regular supply
Assets: Own warehouses; trucks; containers; GEORGE S. COYNE CHEMICAL
silo-trucks 169 2022 SALES: $116M
Trading Sales: 20% Croydon, Pennsylvania, US
www.coynechemical.com
AL NAHDA INTERNATIONAL President and CEO: Thomas H Coyne Sr
166 (ANICHEM GROUP) Products: Acids; alcohols; amines; chelating
2022 SALES: $119.1M agents; chlor-alkai; chlorinated solvents; food
Dubai, UAE additives; glycol ethers; hydrogen peroxide;
www.alnahda.group inorganics; ketones; polymers; specialty
Group managing director: TR Vijayan quats; surfactants; potable and waste water
Products: Solvents; acetates; acrylates; alco- Assets: Over 300,000 square feet of storage
hols; aromatics; cellulose ethers; coating ad- in 5 warehouses; 28 trucks and over 50 trailers
ditives; glycols; pigments; polymer emul- or tankers; over 300,000 gal bulk storage
sions; thinners; ethanol; IPA; LABSA
Services: Terminal storage for bulk liquid RIERDEN CHEMICAL & TRADING
chemicals; blending and drumming facility; 170 2022 SALES: $114.3M
3PL warehousing; customs clearance and Libertyville, Illinois, US
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www.rierdenchemical.com
President: Joe Rierden
Products: Oleochemicals; non-HAP solvents;
maleic anhydride
Services: Import; export; warehousing;
logistics

OPES INTERNATIONAL
171 2022 SALES: $112.9M
Caddington, Bedfordshire, UK
www.opeslimited.com
CEO: Neil Dudman
Products: Monomers specialising in
acrylates; methacrylates; hydroxy monomers;
acetyls; styrene and oxo alcohols
Services: Global market knowledge of
acrylate and methacrylate monomers with
complimentary products to support strategic
shore tank storage; sustainable, Ecovadis
gold certified and EU Reach-registered sourc-
ing and importing of stock; heating and re-
packing
Assets: Head office in UK; 1 office in the Neth-
erlands; chemical storage shore tank facilities

SACONIX
172 2022 SALES: $112M
Roswell, Georgia, US
www.saconix.com
CEO: Wes Martin

Shutterstock
Products: Sulphuric acid; hydrochloric acid;
caustic soda; bleach; sulphur
Services: Marketing; logistics; terminals; rail-
car, barge, vessel and truck shipments support; safety and environmental consulting L’APROCHIMIDE
Assets: Dunphy, Nevada; Carlin, Nevada; Assets: Multiple locations; large bulk storage 177 2022 SALES: $107.3M (€100M)
Etter, Texas; Sucarnoochee, Mississippi; facilities; large fleet of trucks and trailers Muggio, Italy
Brake, Germany www.aprochimide.it
EMSA TECNOLOGIA QUIMICA Chairman: Claudio Sadino
TRIISO 175 2022 SALES: $107.3M (€100M) Products: Pigments; fillers; minerals; titanium
173 2022 SALES: $108M Barcelona, Spain dioxide; barium sulphate; baryte; sodium car-
Del Mar, California, US emsaquimica.com bonate; sodium sulphate; glass beads; citric
www.tri-iso.com CEO: Jorge Grima acid
President and CEO: Jason Scott Products: Melamine; chromium oxide; titani- Trading Sales: 30%
Products: Polyurethanes; paints and coat- um dioxide; caustic soda; epoxy resins; car-
ings; metal-working fluids and lubricants; bon black; ammonium chloride; expandable NATIONAL CHEMICAL
greases and oils; adhesive and sealants; epox- polystyrene; sodium thiocyanate; copper sul- 178 2022 SALES: $106.9M (€99.6M)
ies; composites and advanced materials; UV phate pentahydrate; aromatic and aliphatic Dublin, Ireland
technologies isocyanates; sodium nitrite; functional kaolins ncc.ie
Services: Logistics; warehousing; importing (Dorkafil); surfactants; naphthenic acid CEO: Alan Looney
and exporting Services: Technical advice; mixtures; com- Products: Specialty chemicals; food ingredi-
paction; re-packing; formulation; uncaking; ents; technical polymers and compounds
CHEMSOLV dispersions; dissolutions and granulation Services: Full supply chain solutions includ-
174 2022 SALES: $107.5M Trading Sales: 25% ing risk management, sourcing, accredita-
Roanoke, Virginia, US tion, regulatory support, logistics and supply
www.chemsolv.com INCENDIN Assets: ISO 13485 approved medical poly-
President: Jamison G Austin 176 2022 SALES: $107.3M (€100M) mer compounding plant operated as JV Inno-
Products: Organic and inorganic solvents; Tisselt, Belgium vative Polymer Compounds
custom blends; chemical products; food and www.incendin.com Trading Sales: 8%
pharmaceutical ingredients; surfactants; CEO: Tom Van Gyseghem; Chief commercial
acrylics; silicones; metal-working fluids; chlo- officer: Pieter Daeseleire ALAC INTERNATIONAL
ro-alkali; acids; oils; lubricants; plasticizers; Products: Fire protection chemicals and 179 2022 SALES: $106.6M
fine chemicals. coatings; fire fighting powders and foams; New York, New York, US
Services: Packaging; transportation; trans- flame retardant additives and coatings; fire alacinternational.com
loading; solvent distillation; blending; technical resistant coatings CEO: Lily Frishman

94 | ICIS Chemical Business | 19-25 May 2023 www.icis.com

 SPECIAL REPORT
TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS

VALUDOR PRODUCTS
180 2022 SALES: $106.4M
Encinitas, California, US
www.valudor.com
CEO: Alberto Machado
Products: Specialty chemicals including
water soluble phosphates, zinc sulphate,
manganese sulphate; magnesium sulphate;
EDTA; citric acid; ammonium chloride; potas-
sium carbonate and potassium nitrate
Services: Global sourcing capabilities and
full service logistics
Assets: $27m of working capital as of year
end; 19 employees (8 sales employees, 11
backoffice/logistics employees); 30+ 3PL
warehouses; 100+ suppliers; 200+ customers;
vast network of ocean freight carriers and
trucking companies

URAI
181 2022 SALES: $105.2M (€98M)
Assago, Milan, Italy
www.urai.it
President and CEO: Roberto Giuliani
Products: Specialties; raw materials and lab
instruments for CASE, IFL, house care, water
treatment, personal care, food, pharmaceuti-
cal, F&F
Services: Sales development; warehousing;
logistics; application consultancy; repacking;
formulating support
Assets: Application laboratories; warehouse;
conference rooms; training rooms; lab instru-

Shutterstock
ments show room; repair workshop

SOLVCHEM
182 2022 SALES: $105.1M
Pearland, Texas, US
www.solvchem.com
President: Jean-Pierre Baizan
Products: Chemicals for adhesives and seal-
ants, agriculture, automotive, processing,
compounding, electronics, energy and utili-
ties, food and beverage, fuels, metals, military,
municipal, oil and gas, paints and coatings,
personal care/cosmetics, pharmaceuticals,
plastics, printing, pulp and paper, refineries,
semiconductors, soaps and detergents, tyres
and rubber, water treatment
Services: Custom blending; export services;
technical services; customer support
Assets: 9 trucks; 21 trailers; 31 tankers
LAVOLLEE
183 2022 SALES: $102M (€95M)
Levallois-Paris, France
www.lavallee.com
President: Herve Ory-Lavollee
Products: Raw materials and ingredients for
CASE, IFL, house care, water treatment, per-
sonnal care, food, pharmaceticals, F&F
Services: Sales development; warehousing;
outsourcing; VMI; repacking; formulating sup-
port
Assets: 26 chemicals sales engineers; re-
packing equipment; 2 application labs (food
and personal care)
TCR INDUSTRIES
184 2022 SALES: $101.8M
La Palma, California, US
www.tcrindustries.com
President and CEO: Gary Glaviano
Products: Chemicals for paints, coatings,
plastics, inks, composites, building materials,
food, personal care, nutritionals, wine and
beverage
Trading Sales: 48.4%
MILES CHEMICAL
185 2022 SALES: $101M
Arleta, California, US
mileschemical.com
President/Chairman of the board: Anthony
Miles
Products: Acids; esters; lubricants; adhesives
and sealants; fatty chemicals; pigments; alco-
hols; flavours and fragrances; plasticizers; al-
dehydes; food additives; polyglycols; amines;
glycol ethers; resins catalysts; hydrogen per-
oxide; solvents; chelating agents; industrial
gases; specialty quats; chlor-alkali; inorgan-
ics; surfactants; chlorinated solvents; institu-
tional maintenance chemicals; thickening
agents; ketones
Services: Manufacturing; blending; contract
packaging; solvent reclamation; technical
training; safety training; hazardous waste re-
moval; customer product research; other 3PL
warehousing
Assets: Trucks: 32 trailers, 32 vans, 24 tank-
ers, 6 bobtails; total estimated bulk storage
capacity of 1,370,000 gal; total estimated
warehouse space of 450,000 square feet;
added 1 more facility this year
MEADE-KING, ROBINSON & CO
186 2022 SALES: $100.6M (£83.1M)
Liverpool, UK
www.mkr.co.uk
Managing director: Philip Tarleton
Products: Oleochemicals; glycerine; epoxy
resins; castor oil; vegetable oils; malic acid;
waxes; base oils; process oils; ethanol; sol-
vents; esters and food ingredients
Services: Logistics; blending; formulating;
repacking; warehousing and bulk storage
Assets: Warehouse; blending and bulk stor-
age facilities
Trading Sales: 1%

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VIKING SPECIALTY SUPPLY Services: Blending; packaging; toll blending; Hortolandia, Brazil
187 2022 SALES: $100.5M storage; delivery; custom packaging; trans- www.solven.com.br
Eden Prairie, Minnesota, US loading CEO: Paulo Sergio Moreira
www.vikingspecialtysupply.com Assets: 4 warehouses; 20 trucks Products: Aliphatic solvents; aromatic sol-
President: Tom Hamilton Trading Sales: 5% vents; hydrogenated solvents; thinners; lubri-
Products: Animal nutrition ingredients; agri- cants; oils; waxes
culture chemicals; dairy and food/beverage TARR Services: Mixing and blending; formulation;
ingredients; personal care ingredients; HI&I 190 2022 SALES: $100M packing; storage; bulk distribution; chemical
chemicals Portland, Oregon, US analysis
Services: Global distribution; local warehous- www.tarrllc.com Assets: 4 warehouses – 2 in Sao Paulo, 1 in Rio
ing; dedicated logistics department President: Skip Tarr de Janeiro, 1 in Bahia; laboratory for product
Trading Sales: 95% Products: Hydrocarbons; ketones; alphatics; development and quality control
aromatics; alcohols
POLMANN INDIA Services: Packaging and blending HVL
188 2022 SALES: $100M Assets: Company fleet 193 2022 SALES: $95.5M (€89M)
Mumbai, India Badenweiler, Germany
www.polmannindia.com SAME CHEMICALS www.hvl-online.com
Managing director: Vinod Bhimrajka 191 2022 SALES: $98.2M (€91.5M) Managing director: Ulrich Lips
Products: Elastomers (EPDM, CR, SBR, NBR, Barendrecht, Netherlands Products: Monoethylene glycol; diethylene
HNBR, FKM, AEM, silicone, POE); polyolefins; www.samechemicals.com glycol; triethylene glycol; acetone; engine
rubber chemicals; plastic masterbatches Managing director: Cees-Jan Crezee coolants; ethanol denaturated; Alcofreeze
Services: Distribution of elastomers and pol- Products: Acetates; acrylates; alcohols; aro- Base; AdBlue; iron oxide; aluminium oxide
ymers; manufacturing of plastic masterbatch- matics; DCPD; glycols; glycols ethers; ke- Services: Logistics; storage; financing; mar-
es; rubber compounding; technical service tones; styrene ket insights; blending
Trading Sales: 40% Services: Trading; salvage trading; ware- Assets: Stock; receivables; global network;
housing; blending; drumming; stock manage- recipes/formulas; office
BUCKLEY OIL ment Trading Sales: 25%
189 2022 SALES: $100M Assets: Offices in the Netherlands, Poland
Midlothian, Texas, US and Denmark UNION PETROCHEMICAL
www.buckleyoil.com Trading Sales: 5% 194 2022 SALES: $93.3M
President: Robert Rice Bangkok, Thailand
Products: Solvents; alcohols; aliphatics; aro- SOLVEN SOLVENTES E www.unionpetrochemical.com
matics; glycols; glycol ethers; ketones; base 192 QUIMICOS Managing director: Perapol Suwannapasri
oils; finished lubricants 2022 SALES: $96.7M Products: Alcohols; aromatics; esters; gly-
cols; glycol ethers; hydrocarbon solvents; ke-
tones; monomers; PP and PE
Services: Blending; packaging; repackaging;
storage; delivery; inventory management
Assets: 7 warehouses; 35 trucks

WALSH & ASSOCIATES

195 2022 SALES: $92.7M
Saint Louis, Missouri, US
www.walsh-assoc.com
President and CEO: Ellen M Murphy
Products: Raw materials for CASE, HI&I, inks,
personal care, oil and gas, agriculture, con-
struction, food and beverage, metal working,
pharmaceuticals, plastics, green chemistry
Services: Manufacturing; blending; formula-
tion assistance; technical assistance; EHS
Assets: 6 warehouse locations; 1 tractor trailer
Trading Sales: 2.7%

COAST SOUTHWEST
196 2022 SALES: $91.1M
Arlington, Texas, US
www.coastsouthwest.com
President: Joseph C Cimo
Products: Surfactants; silicones; personal
care specialties; anti-aging ingredients; pre-
servatives; oleochemicals; lubricants
Shutterstock

Services: Liquid blending; liquid bulk; stor-

age; packaging; transportation; formulation

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Europe chemical distribution leaders (2022 sales, $m)

Rank Company Sales ($m) Rank Company Sales ($m) Rank Company Sales ($m)
1 Brenntag* 8,223.1 35 Febo 330.6 67 STAUB & CO - SILBERMANN 176.0
2 Stockmeier Holding 2,460.9 36 Gamma Chimica 330.2 68 Airedale Group 172.4
3 IMCD* 2,157.2 37 Likit Kimya 302.6 69 Chimpex Industriale 165.3
4 Tricon Energy 2,079.0 38 Solventis 300.5 70 Ilario Ormezzano 160.6
5 Univar Solutions* 2,064.7 39 ChemPartners 294.3 71 Haeffner 160.0
6 Kolmar Group 1,909.5 40 Thommen-Furler 288.7 72 Bodo Moller Chemie 158.8
7 OQEMA Group 1,824.5 41 Comercial Quimica Masso 287.2 73 KTM 156.1
8 Azelis 1,646.3 42 Norkem Holdings 282.4 74 Moller Chemie 155.6
9 Biesterfeld 1,561.6 43 ProChema 274.1 75 Tillmanns 153.5
10 Barentz 1,312.6 44 Telko 258.1 76 CSC JAEKLECHEMIE 150.1
11 Quimidroga 1,191.3 45 Grup Barcelonesa 246.8 77 NEO Chemical 147.0
12 TER Group 998.1 46 Rainoldi 246.8 78 Algol Chemicals 144.9
13 Solvadis group 895.0 47 Bang & Bonsomer 236.1 79 Chem International (Chem 142.1
14 Omya 843.8 48 HARKE Group 223.8 Trading, Chem Distribution)
15 Hromatka Group 772.7 49 Julius Hoesch 214.4 80 MOGoil 141.6
16 Ravago Chemicals 770.6 50 Arpadis Benelux 209.3 81 COUNT Distribution 139.5
17 Safic-Alcan 749.0 51 Elton Group 207.1 82 Gadot Chemical Terminals 139.5
18 Nordmann, Rassmann 611.7 52 Atlantic Chemicals Trading 202.8 83 Newport Industries 134.7
19 BUFA Group 552.7 53 2M Holdings 201.2 84 Aegean First Company 134.7
20 DKSH Performance Materials 486.0 (AFCO)
54 Revada Group 200.0
21 UTS/ETC 486.0 85 UCG (United Chemical 133.4
55 Grolman Group 199.1
22 Snetor 485.0 Group)
56 Dolder Group 198.5
23 Eigenmann & Veronelli 461.5 86 Montachem International 130.0
57 Wego Chemical Group 198.0
24 Nortex 461.1 87 Novasol Chemicals 128.8
58 Petrochem Middle East 198.0
25 NAGASE & CO 456.9 88 C.H. Erbsloeh Group 123.4
59 IMPAG Group 193.2
26 Grupo RNM 429.3 89 Will & Co 122.3
60 Connect Chemicals Group 191.0
27 CellMark 392.8 90 Atalant Europe 121.9
61 Life Supplies 190.0
28 HSH Chemie 391.7 91 Stavian Chemical 120.0
62 Faravelli 188.9
29 Arkem Kimya 370.0 92 Opes International 112.2
63 Continental Industries 185.0
30 KRAHN Chemie 368.1 93 URAI 105.2
Group
31 Tennants Distribution 366.1 94 Aug. Hedinger 103.1
64 KH Chemicals 184.6
32 Vidara 363.8 95 EMSA Tecnologia Quimica 99.8
65 Penpet Petrochemical 183.4
33 Jebsen & Jessen Group 346.7 Trading 96 Meade-King, Robinson & Co 99.6
34 Donauchem 337.6 66 Keyser & Mackay 182.4 97 RAHN Group 99.0

Assets: 10 locations; 11 trucks; 1 applications cols; glycol ethers; aromatics; alcohols; other port customs clearance on site (AEO); GMP+
laboratory specialty and lab chemicals FSA assured deliveries
Services: Toll blending; warehousing; Assets: 100+ employees; 3 offices; 2 ware-
MAHA CHEMICALS transportation; drumming; supply chain houses; 2 bonded warehouses; own fleet of 14
197 2022 SALES: $90M management trucks
Singapore Assets: 3 chemical factories and 3 labs in Sin-
www.mahachem.com gapore; 2 factories in Malaysia; 1 factory in CEYENAR CHEMICALS
Executive chair: Tan Seow Hoon Batam, Indonesia 200 2022 SALES: $85.5M (RS7.07BN)
Products: Additives; pigments and colour- Kerala, India
ants; resins and polymers; functional fillers; CENTRO-CHEM www.ceyenar.com
biocides; surfactants; plant extracts and cos- 199 2022 SALES: $88.9M (€82.8M) Managing director: Rajagopal
metic ingredients; additive printing machines; Lublin, Poland Products: Rubber; PVC; polyolefins
laboratory equipment www.centro-chem.pl Services: Distribution and trading
Services: Sales and marketing; stocking and CEO: Piotr Mandziuk
distribution; packaging; laboratory set-up; Products: Glycerine; glycols; ethanolamines; METACHEM
equipment maintenance. alcohols; inorganic salts (sulphates; phos- 201 2022 SALES: $84.2M
Assets: Warehouses; offices; trucks phates; nitrates; chlorides); EDTA and che- Sao Paulo, Brazil
Trading Sales: 1% lates; organic and inorganic acids; hydrox- www.metachem.com.br
ides; white oils and petroleum jelly; fertilizer General manager: Ricardo do Rego Freitas
AIK MOH PAINTS & CHEMICALS raw materials; oleochemicals; solvents; feed Products: Raw materials for technical indus-
198 2022 SALES: $89.6M additives and materials; cosmetic ingredients; tries such as coatings/paints, lubricants, clean-
Singapore food additives ing, adhesives, construction, starting materials
www.aikmoh.com.sg Services: Warehousing; own transportation; and APIs for the life sciences industry
Chairman: Tan Kah Moh drumming; packaging; sampling; quality con- Services: Storage; repacking
Products: Solvents; surfactants; amines; gly- trol; regulatory support; global sourcing; ex- Trading Sales: 18%

100 | ICIS Chemical Business | 19-25 May 2023 www.icis.com

 SPECIAL REPORT
TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS

Europe chemical distribution leaders (2022 sales, $m)

Rank Company Sales ($m) Rank Company Sales ($m) Rank Company Sales ($m)
98 L'Aprochimide 98.7 130 Resource Chemical 48.4 162 Bloomchemag 15.9
99 HVL 95.5 131 Tilley Distribution 45.2 163 Prakash Chemicals 15.7
100 National Chemical 94.6 132 Cornelius Group 44.4 International
101 Lavollee 92.3 133 Iberica Kemya 43.3 164 DutCH2 15.5
102 Centro-chem 88.0 134 Equilex Chemicals 43.3 165 Nesstra Services 12.1
166 A-Gas Electronic Materials 11.3
103 SAME Chemicals 86.9 135 Sinpro 42.9
167 Junan Resources 10.0
104 Incendin 86.9 136 Antala 42.6
168 Quimica Mer 9.1
105 Behn Meyer Group 82.6 137 Antonio Tarazona 42.5
169 Rebain International 8.6
106 Manuchar 82.0 138 SIP 41.2
170 INMATRADE 7.5
107 Jobachem Group 72.0 139 Sameca 37.6
171 NiMAC 7.5
108 Guangzhou Lifly Chemicals 70.0 140 MY-CHEM 37.5
172 BdV Behrens 7.0
109 PHT International 67.3 141 JABER 37.2
173 Skystep Trading 7.0
110 Marmara Polimer 67.2 142 Kadion 37.0
174 Mitsubishi Shoji Chemical 7.0
111 Grupo Cor Quimica - 67.1 143 LUMAR QUIMICA 36.6
175 Crismachem 6.7
Iberalcohol 144 Shrieve Chemical 36.5 176 KLJ Resources 6.4
112 Rakha Al-Khaleej 66.4 145 Barrettine Group 36.2
International 177 Dakram Materials 6.1
146 GB-Chemie 34.3 178 BassTech International 5.8
113 Ricardo Molina 65.9
147 Comercial Godo 32.2 179 J.C. Ramalho & Co 5.5
114 CB Chemie 60.2
148 Lake 31.5 180 Sinochem Plastics 5.0
115 WISTEMA 60.1
149 Kemat 31.1 181 Keiron Chemicals 4.9
116 Attilio Carmagnani 58.7
150 Polyhimkomplekt-M 25.6 182 Isochem 3.4
117 Interpur Chemicals 57.5
151 Chemcom 25.0 183 Hawkins 3.2
118 Kasakrom Chemicals 56.7
152 Taj Al Mulook General 22.4 184 Viking Specialty Supply 2.5
119 Interallis Holdings 56.6 Trading 185 Sea-Land Chemical 2.0
120 Drogas Vigo Group 55.9 153 Biachem Group 22.0 186 Chemical Solvents 2.0
121 Carbon Group 55.9 154 Saconix 22.0 187 Brisco do Brasil 2.0
122 Milano Colori 53.3 155 Stort Group 21.2 188 Transmare Chemie 1.8
123 Solvachem 52.2 156 Comindex 20.7 189 KPL International 1.6
124 A.+ E. Fischer-Chemie 52.1 157 Klaus F. Meyer 20.4 190 RN Chemicals 1.5
125 ProAgro 51.9 158 Tecnosintesi 20.4 191 Sunrise Group 1.4
126 Eurosyn 50.4 159 Symbase (formerly CFI 20.1 192 Independent Chemical 1.0
127 Stera Chemicals 50.0 World)
*EMEA = Europe, Middle East & Africa
128 Alliance-Energy 48.9 160 Abbey Chemicals 19.1 Note: Sales are in the specific region and may differ
161 SMC Global 17.0 from total company sales. Sales $1m and above are
129 Monarch Chemicals 48.5 included

SKYSTEP TRADING
202 2022 SALES: $83.6M
Limassol, Cyprus
www.skystep.eu
Director: Oksana Spyrou
Products: Acrylates; oxo-alcohols; sodium
tripolyphosphate; soda ash; sodium sulphate;
caustic soda; potassium hydroxide; potassium
carbonate; potassium sulphate; lignosulpho-
nates; acetone; methylene chloride; rubbers;
phenol; isopropyl alcohol; ethanolamines
Services: Sales and marketing; financing; ex-
tensive technical and customer support; lo-
gistics and documentation; transportation
and forwarding of dry and tank containers;
bulk shipping; handling; storage and invento-
ry management
Assets: 2 offices in Limassol, Cyprus
Trading Sales: 80%
CHEMISPHERE
203 2022 SALES: $82.7M
St Louis, Missouri, US
www.chemispherecorp.com
President and CEO: Matthew Schwent
Products: USP food and beverage grade eth- www.brainerdchemical.com
anol; alcohols; aliphatics; aromatics; ketones President: Brian Miller
Services: Toll manufacturing; custom blend- Products: Peracetic acid; hydrofluoric acid;
ing; packaging; USP packaging; storage; rail- sulphuric acid; nitric acid; high hazard acids;
car transloading formaldehyde; hydrogen peroxide; fluorine
Assets: 1.4m gal tank farm storage; 14 car rail derivatives; refrigerants; aromatics; aliphatics;
spur; 60,000 square feet warehouse space; glycols; chlor-alkali; alcohols; food processing
bulk tanker fleet sanitation chemicals; water treatment chemi-
cals
JOBACHEM GROUP Services: Packaging; blending; manufactur-
204 2022 SALES: $81.8M ing/engineering services; contract packag-
Dassel, Germany ing; toll manufacturing; logistics services;
www.jobachem.com warehousing; translating
CEO: Julian Kahl Assets: 6 production locations in Oklahoma,
Products: Flavours and fragrances; bio- Illinois, North Carolina, Mississippi and Dela-
based products; specialty chemicals; UV/EB ware; tank farms; rail terminals; extensive
curing; heat transfer liquids; plasticizers company owned truck, trailer, tanker fleet
Services: Refilling; melting; storing
Assets: 4 subsidiaries; 4 warehouses; own WISTEMA
tank containers; truck fleet 206 2022 SALES: $80.1M (€74.6M)
Trading Sales: 80% Dielheim, Germany
www.wistema.de
BRAINERD CHEMICAL General manager: Lars Friedel
205 2022 SALES: $81.5M Products: Catalysts; chemical intermediates;
Tulsa, Oklahoma cosmetics and personal care ingredients;

www.icis.com 19-25 May 2023 | ICIS Chemical Business | 101

SPECIAL REPORT
TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS
food ingredients; industrial chemicals; phar-
maceutical ingredients; plastic additives; pol-
ymers; reprographic chemicals/ink chemi-
cals; solvents/distilled solvents; water
treatment chemicals; waxes
Services: Contract and toll manufacturing;
storage; waste management (waste disposal
certified); salvage recovery and re-sale;
Reach consultation; import and export ad-
ministration
Assets: Warehouse; laboratory
Trading Sales: 60%
CHEMICAL SOLVENTS
207 2022 SALES: $80M
Cleveland, Ohio, US
www.chemicalsolvents.com
Owner: Ed Pavlish
Products: Aromatics; aliphatics; glycol ethers;
chlorinated solvents; silicones; base oils; sur-
factants; alcohols; metal cleaning products
Services: Hazardoues and non hazardous
waste removal and treatment; custom flama-
ble and non flammable toll blending
Assets: TSDF facility; over 1.5m gal tank stor-
age; 2 rail sidings; 4 warehouses
SHANGHAI SAIFU CHEMICAL
208 DEVELOPMENT
2022 SALES: $77.1M (CNY533M)
Shanghai, China
www.saifu.cn
President and CEO: Feng Yimin
Products: Home and personal care industry
chemicals; paint and ink materials; industrial
and household cleaning chemicals
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Services: Raw material purchasing and sup-
ply; logistics; marketing and sales; technical
service; emulsion polymerisation
Assets: 1 technical application center; 4 size-
able storage bases
HUBBARD-HALL
209 2022 SALES: $75M
Waterbury, Connecticut, US
www.hubbardhall.com
President and CEO: Molly Kellogg
Products: Caustic soda; mineral acids; high
performance solvents; microelectronic chem-
istries; general chemicals; metal finishing spe-
cialties; wastewater treatment specialties;
solvents; solvent replacements; aqueous
cleaners; pretreatment chemistry
Services: CHAMP – chemical handling and
analytics service; Infinity cleaning assess-
ments; warehousing; toll blending
Assets: Tank farm; 3 blending locations; 3
warehousing locations
UNITED MINERAL & CHEMICAL
210 2022 SALES: $75M
Lyndhurst, New Jersey, US
umccorp.com
President: Phil Befumo
Products: Deposition materials; battery mate-
rials; colourants/pigments; clean water addi-
tives; additives for paints, adhesives and seal-
ants; additives for concrete and construction
CARBONO QUIMICA
211 2022 SALES: $74.2M
Sao Bernardo do Campo, Sao
Shutterstock
Paulo, Brazil
www.carbono.com.br
President: Vera Maria M Gabriel
Products: Hydrocarbonated solvents; alco-
hols; ketonic solvents; glycols; epoxy resins
and hardeners; surface aditives; alkyd resins;
paint dryers; anti-skinning agent; titanium di-
oxide; organic carbonates; surfactants
Services: Bulk tank leasing services; solvent
blending in small packages.
Assets: Fleet of own trucks; 4 branches in
other Brazilian states; 2,500 cubic metres of
tanks for bulk storage; warehouses with up to
thousands of metric tonnes of storage
SILVER FERN CHEMICAL
212 2022 SALES: $72.8M
Seattle, Washington, US
www.silverfernchemical.com
President: Sam King
Products: Stearates; fatty acid esters (IMP;
IPP; MCT; oleic); glycol ethers (PNP, DPMA,
etc); specialty solvents (ACAC, EEP; TBAC; PC,
PCBTF, DBE); glyoxal; glycolic acid; phosphor-
ic acid
Services: Manufacturer representation;
sourcing hard-to-find materials; importation;
8 US stocking locations; tailored logistics and
storage
Assets: 3 US offices; 8 US 3rd party ware-
houses
RICARDO MOLINA
213 2022 SALES: $72.3M (€67.4M)
Barcelona, Spain
www.ricardomolina.com
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totes; blending; storage

Assets: Dedicated OTR compartment trailers
and dedicated railcars

VIVION
218 2022 SALES: $68.1M
Fort Worth, Texas, US
vivion.com
CEO: Alastair Sanderson
Products: Nutraceuticals; functional food
and beverage ingredients; solid dose for-
mulations
Services: Formulation services; powder
blending

VAN HORN, METZ & CO

219 2022 SALES: $67.2M
Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, US
www.vanhornmetz.com
President: Barry Fisher
Products: Resins; additives; fillers; pig-
ments; organic chemical intermediates for
paints and coatings, plastics and rubber, ad-
hesives and sealants, inks, lubricants, per-
sonal care, composites, and building and
construction materials
Services: Consultative selling; global sourc-
ing; local warehousing
Shutterstock Trading Sales: 34%

MARMARA POLIMER
CEO: Gemma Molina VeckridgeChemical.com 220 2022 SALES: $67.2M
Products: Specialty chemicals for coatings, President: Mark Veca Istanbul, Turkey
building, adhesives, construction, lubricants, Products: Industrial and specialty chemicals www.marmarapolimer.com
pharmaceutical, cosmetics, personal and President: Hayim Kandiyoti
home care, rubber, plastics, water treatment, EQUILEX CHEMICALS Products: PP; PE; ABS; PC; PC/ABS; TPU; SBS;
food and beverage; agro chemicals 216 2022 SALES: $68.7M (€64M) SEBS; POM
Services: Technical sales and marketing; Schiedam, Netherlands Services: Trading; warehousing; financing
application development; quality control; www.equilex.com Assets: Own bonded and regular warehouses
warehousing; regulatory services; supply Managing director: Laurent Suspene Trading Sales: 50%
chain management; after sales services; re- Products: Higher olefins; linear alpha olefins;
packing alkylphenols; alkylbenzenes; ethanolamines; GRUPO COR QUIMICA-
Assets: 3 labs; 1 warehouse solvents; hydrocarbon resins; glycols; acry- 221 IBERALCOHOL
Trading Sales: 5% lonitrile; alpha methyl styrene; nonene; pro- 2022 SALES: $67.1M (€62.5M)
pylene tetramer; melamine; cyclohexane; Valdemoro (Madrid), Spain
HENRY HIRSCHEN pentane www.cor.es
214 2022 SALES: $70.5M Services: Product development; marketing; CEO: Luis Javier Sanchez Cabrera
Buenos Aires, Argentina supply chain solutions; transportation in bulk Products: Ethanol; industrial chemicals; spe-
www.hirschen.com.ar cargoes, trucks and iso containers; custom cialty chemicals; solvents; thinners; titanium
CEO: Miguel A Hirschen clearance; storage; repackaging; financing dioxide
Products: Solvents; surfactants; oleochemi- Assets: Product Reach registrations; human Services: Blending; tailor-made packaging;
cals; glycols; ethoxylates; amines; biocides; expertise storage; toll manufacturing
food ingredients; specialties Trading Sales: 10% Assets: Over 75 tanks of 5,000 cubic metres;
Services: Storage; packaging; drumming; 2 warehouses; fully equipped quality control
blending; trading; same day deliveries; financ- RADCHEM PRODUCTS laboratory; truck fleet
ing; tailor-made solutions 217 2022 SALES: $68.5M
Assets: Central warehouse with tanks in Bue- Orland Park, Illinois, US INDEPENDENT CHEMICAL
nos Aires industrial area fit for liquids and sol- www.radcheminc.com 222 2022 SALES: $65M
ids with pharma/food secluded area President and CEO: Will Radostits Glendale, New York, US
Trading Sales: 3% Products: Chemicals and solvents; alcohols; www.independentchemical.com
aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons; glycol President: Jonathan Spielman
VECKRIDGE CHEMICAL ethers; process and base oils; reuse solvents; Products: Personal care ingredients; nutri-
215 2022 SALES: $69M resins and ketones tional ingredients; HI&I cleaning chemicals;
Kearny, New Jersey, US Services: Transport via rail, tanker, drums and seafood, cheese and processed food ingredi-

104 | ICIS Chemical Business | 19-25 May 2023 www.icis.com

 SPECIAL REPORT
TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS

ents; water treatment chemicals
Services: Cosmetics product development;
dry and liquid food grade blending/packing;
warehousing
Assets: Paterson, New Jersey warehouse; 4
tank trucks; 4 trailers; box truck
Trading Sales: 5%
VENUS CHEMICALS EGYPT
223 2022 SALES: $62.5M
Cairo, Egypt
www.venuskim.com
CEO: Ahmed Alghoul
Products: Fragrance oils; gum rosin; maleic
resin; glycerol ester; surfactants; glycerine;
Venothick; PEG; Tween; solvents
Services: Filling fragrance oils; home care
formulations; branding perfumes
Assets: 10 jumbo cars; 3 warehouses of
6,000 square feet; 2 offices
Trading Sales: 55%
IDEAL CHEMICAL AND SUPPLY
224 2022 SALES: $62.1M
Memphis, Tennessee, US
www.idealchemical.com
President: Jeffrey Block
Products: Acids; alcohols; amines; chelating
agents; chlor-alkali; food ingredients; glycol
ethers; hydrogen peroxide; inorganics; ke-
tones; personal care ingredients; polyglycols;
solvents; textile care ingredients; water treat-
ment chemicals
Services: Wholesale custom blending and
packaging (dry and liquid); distilled spirits
plant; in-house QC and R&D labs; LTL and
truckload quantities; single- and multi-com-
partment tanker deliveries; local warehousing
and logistics; returnable and one-way con-
tainers; remote tank monitoring
Assets: 3 locations with a combined
150,000+ square feet of warehouse space;
Ideal’s fleet of 14 tractors, 22 trailers and 6
tankers; 1m gal liquid bulk storage; multiple
sizes and styles of blend tanks
CB CHEMIE
225 2022 SALES: $60.2M (€56.1M)
Siegendorf, Austria
www.cbchemie.at
CEO: Christian Braunshier
Products: Thickeners; binders; pigments and
preparations; metal soaps; multifunctional ad-
ditives; speciality phosphates; SBS co-poly-
mers; cellulose ethers
Services: Development of solutions; techni-
cal support; product research; vendor man-
agement; storage; repacking to cover the
whole logistics chain
Assets: Warehouse; quality lab and R&D cent-
er; refilling station
INMATRADE
226 2022 SALES: $60.2M
Lucerne, Switzerland
www.inmatrade.com
Vice president: Sandro Amrein
Products: Non-ferrous mining and metallur-
gy materials; petrochemicals; feed additives;
chemicals; base and minor metals; copper
sulphate pentahydrate; grinding balls; ammo-
nium nitrate; zinc sulfate monohydrate; alu-
minium alloys; sodium cyanide; xanthates;
activated carbon
Services: Shipments to worldwide destina-
tions on CIF, CFR, FO/LO, DDP, CIP/CPT, FOB;
mono- and multi-modal transportation with
and without trans-shipment by sea, rail, truck
and air; cargoes in bulk and packed; hazardous
(IMO) and non-hazardous; full and part loads
Assets: Owner of Chemiola Kimya, a modern
disposal efficient production facility in Turkey
with sales in over 100 countries; qualified
sales, trading and logistics team
Trading Sales: 100%
LEADERCHEM
227 2022 SALES: $60M
Dubai, UAE
www.leaderchemfzco.com
CEO: Hassan El Fil
Products: Soda ash dense; soda ash light; so-
dium bicarbonate; sodium sulphate; caustic
soda; sodium silicate; glass containers; calci-
um carbonate; LABSA; SLES; CMC; sodium
metabisulphite; aluminum sulphate; boric
acid; Borax
Services: Raw industrial materials trading
Assets: Offices; warehouses
Trading Sales: 100%
REBAIN INTERNATIONAL
228 2022 SALES: $59M (€55M)
Spain, Netherlands and Australia
www.rebain.com
Managing director: Rene van Baardewijk
Products: Industrial chemicals; food ingredi-
ents; cosmetics ingredients; pharmaceutical
ingredients; detergents
Services: Buying/selling; brokerage; import/
export
Assets: Offices in Barcelona, Spain; Mel-
bourne, Australia; Rotterdam, Netherlands;
Niamey, Niger
Trading Sales: 70%

ATTILIO CARMAGNANI
229 2022 SALES: $58.7M (€54.7M)
Genoa, Italy
www.carmagnani.com
General manager: Emilio Carmagnani
Products: Aromatic solvents (SN100, SN150,
SN150ND, SN200ND, xylene, toluene); ali-
phatic solvents (hexane, heptane); alcohols
(methanol, IPA); acetates (etac, butac); PMA;
MEK; DINP; MEG; castor oil
Services: Trading chemicals; storage of bulk
chemicals; providing tanks for leasing; labora-
tory analysis
Assets: Coastal terminal in Genoa, Italy with
dedicated berth access; 38 storage tanks
with total capacity of 32,000 cubic metres

TRILUX CHEMICAL SUPPLIER

230 2022 SALES: $58.5M
Porto Alegre, Brazil
Shutterstock

www.trilux.com.br
CEO: Marcos Bresolin

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Products: Acrylic monomers; sodium meth-

ylate; sodium metabisulfite; sodium sulphite;
sodium nitrate; sodium nitrite; sodium hydro-
sulfite; ammonium sulfate; ammonium chlo-
ride; ammonium bicarbonate; propionic acid;
formic acid; DETA; DMEA; EDA; DMF; NPG;
TMP; NMP; MEG; DEG; TDI; paraffin wax; gly-
oxal; phthalic anhydride; maleic anhydride;
carbonyl iron powder; soda ash; acetic acid;
butyl glycol; sorbitol 70; caustic soda flakes; l-
lysine; fumaric acid; silicones
Services: Global sourcing; international mar-
keting; import and logistics consulting; tech-
nical expertise and consulting
Assets: Offices in Porto Alegre and Sao Paulo
Trading Sales: 100%

INTERPUR CHEMICALS
231 2022 SALES: $58.1M (€54.1M)
Barcelona, Spain
www.interpurchemicals.com
CEO: Oscar Garcia
Products: Polyether polyols; polyester poly-
ols; Mannich polyols; HFO blowing agents for
PU; amine catalyst; metal catalyst; flame re-
tardants for PU; isocyanates; silicones for PU;
saturated polyester for powder coatings; ad-
ditives for powder coatings; polyester for UV
curing powder coatings
Services: Technical consultancy for polyure-
thanes; technical consultancy for polyol pro- INTERALLIS HOLDINGS AKTOPA
duction; technical consultancy for powder 234 2022 SALES: $56.6M (€52.7M) 236 2022 SALES: $56M
coatings Nicosia, Cyprus Houston, Texas, US
Trading Sales: 10% www.interallis.com www.aktopa.com
President: Nikos Kazantzis President/Founder: Jose S Rodriguez
INTERATLAS CHEMICAL Products: Human and animal nutrition inge- Products: Aliphatic solvents; glycol ethers;
232 2022 SALES: $57.7M dients; agricultural supplies; household, per- base oils; inorganics; polymers
St Catharines, Ontario, Canada sonal care, industrial chemicals; polymers; Services: Full truckload; less than truckload;
www.interatlaschemical.com coatings and construction materials; lubri- drums; super sacks; vessel quantities
CEO: Alex van Zijl cants; rubber Assets: Inventory
Products: 2-EH; alkyd resins; bisphenol A; Services: Logistics; repacking; licensing; Trading Sales: 70%
epoxy resins; hexamine; maleic anhydride; seed treatments
melamine; nonylphenol; paraformaldehyde; Assets: 2 tank farms; 1 seed treatment plant; JNS-SMITHCHEM
pentaerythritol; phenol; phthalic anhydride; 9 logistics facilities og 60,000 square metres; 237 2022 SALES: $55.9M
para-tertiary butyl phenol; cresylic acid 1 film production plant Paterson, New Jersey, US
Services: Sales and marketing; logistics; Trading Sales: 40% www.jns-smithchem.com
security of supply; partnerships; risk man- Co-President: Darren Jachts
agement CARBON GROUP Products: Resins; fillers; minerals; additives;
Assets: 20 trucks; 60 chassis; 1 Sioux Steam 235 2022 SALES: $56.3M (€52.5M) pigments; chemical specialties; packaging
Flo generator; 7 forklifts; 1 loader Ringaskiddy, Cork, Ireland
Trading Sales: 80% www.carbon.ie DROGAS VIGO GROUP
Managing director: Brian Walsh 238 2022 SALES: $55.9M
KASAKROM CHEMICALS Products: Low chlorate alkalis; solvents; alka- Porrino, Pontevedra, Spain
233 2022 SALES: $56.7M (€52.8M) lis; food ingredients; salt; acids; alcohols; en- www.drovi.com
Bucharest, Romania gineering paints; powder paint; pre-treatment CEO: Enrique Casal Lareo
www.kasakrom.com chemicals; chemical blends Products: Solvents; thinners; green solvents;
General manager: Ion-Cristian Andrei Services: Import and export; contract manu- organic and inorganic chemicals; raw materi-
Products: PE; PP; PET; PVC; PS; EPS; filler; facture; chemical blending; logistics; quality als for paints; adhesives; pharmaceutical in-
ABS; EVA; PA; biocompostable materials control; laboratory services; bulk tank stor- gredients; cosmetics ingredients; agrochemi-
Services: Personalised solutions; technical age; specialised container distribution; cals; automotive chemicals; detergents;
expertise; business consulting; direct and COMAH regulated; hydrogen peroxide dilu- water treatment chemicals; food ingredients;
warehouse distribution; global sourcing tion; solvent storage lubricants and waxes
Assets: Experienced sales team; large ware- Assets: UK storage depots Services: Storage and marine logs; solvents
house network in Romania; logistics Trading Sales: 46% recycling and reformulation; blending; pack-

106 | ICIS Chemical Business | 19-25 May 2023 www.icis.com


aging and bulk deliveries; logistics outsourc-
ing; lab analytical services for 3rd parties
Assets: 4 warehouses; sea terminal; solvents
recycling unit; bulk tank and packed trucks
Trading Sales: 25%
PRAKASH CHEMICALS
239 2022 SALES: $55.1M
Vadodara, Gujarat, India
www.prakashchemicals.co.in
Managing director: Chirag Shah
Products: Titanium dioxide; coating additives;
construction additives; paper and coating
binders; plastic additives; colour chemicals;
wet-end chemicals; waxes; home and personal
care chemicals; adhesives; zinc derivatives;
fatty acids; fatty alcohols; functional additives
Services: Sales and marketing; technical sup-
port; storage and warehousing; logistics; sup-
ply chain; sampling; just-in-time delivery;
sourcing; market development; transportation
Assets: 2 offices; 6 warehouses; 4 tankers; 1
laboratory
SULATLANTICA IMPORTADORA
240 E EXPORTADORA
2022 Sales: $55M
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
www.sulatlantica.com.br
President: Mario Grumach
Products: Ammonium chloride; BHT; borax;
caustic potash; caustic soda; DEG; EDTA;
MEA; MEG; potassium carbonate; sodium ni-
trate; sodium nitrite; sulphites; TEG; phos-
www.icis.com
SPECIAL REPORT
TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS
raw materials
Services: Technical support; vendor man-
aged inventories
Assets: Local warehouses throughout the US
and Europe
MORAIS DE CASTRO PRODUTOS
244 QUIMICOS
2022 SALES: $54.4M
Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
www.moraisdecastro.com.br
President: Andre G de Castro
Products: Surfactants; glycols (EO/PO); min-
eral oils; caustic soda; acids (H2SO4; HCl;
HNO3; LAB-S); chemicals for oil and gas; per-
sonal care additives; food ingredients and fla-
vours; rheology modifiers; oxygenated sol-
vents; chlorinated solvents; biocides;
sulphates (Al; Na; Cu; NH3); silicones
Services: Packaging and repackaging; stor-
age; dilutions; imports (under contract); trans-
portation
Assets: 2 warehouses (Bahia and Pernambu-
co); trucks; storage tanks; laboratories (quality
control and application); packaging/repack-
aging facility (with white room)
Trading Sales: 20%
Shutterstock A.+ E. FISCHER-CHEMIE
245 2022 SALES: $54.2M (€50.5M)
phoric acid; sulfamic acid. Wiesbaden, Germany
Services: Import; export; packaging; trans- www.fischer-chemie.de
portation; logistics; blending CEO: Manuel Fischer-Bothof
Assets: 4 warehouses; 20 tanks; 1 office Products: Caustic soda; solvents; hydrochlo-
building ric acid; citirc acid; urea; phosphoric acid; mat-
ting agents; pyrogenic silicon dioxide; precipi-
BRISCO DO BRASIL tated silica; silicone oil; glycerine; caustic
241 2022 SALES: $55M pottash; sodium bicarbonate; hydrogen perox-
Sao Paulo, Brazil and Houston, US ide; activated carbon; sodium persulfate
www.brisco.com.br Services: Storage; packaging; mixing; ex-
CEO: Guillermo Castillo porting
Products: Plastics and chemicals Assets: 4 warehouses for solid and liquid
Services: Logistics; blending; drumming; products; 16 trucks
agency sales Trading Sales: 10%
Assets: 2 warehouses; 6 own trucks;
500,000 litres of tank storage MILANO COLORI
246 2022 SALES: $53.3M (€49.7M)
MCCULLOUGH & ASSOCIATES Cusano Milanino, Milan, Italy
242 2022 SALES: $55M www.milano-colori.com
Atlanta, Georgia President: Antonio Cavazzana
www.mccanda.com Products: Pigments; resins and intermedi-
President: George McCullough ates; solvents; cosmetic and personal care in-
Products: Resins; additives; pigments; fillers; gredients; food and feed ingredients; poly-
matting aids; viscosity modifiers; process mers and plasticizers; leather and textile
equipment chemicals; natural and bio products
Services: Engineering and process design Services: Technical support; R&D and formu-
lation; blending; storage of liquid and solid
BASSTECH INTERNATIONAL products
243 2022 SALES: $54.6M Assets: Warehouses for liquid and solid prod-
Fort Lee, New Jersey, US ucts; laboratories
www.basstechintl.com
CEO: Ben Gutmann GEHRING MONTGOMERY
Products: Inorganic chemicals; elastomers; 247 2022 SALES: $53M
adhesives; polymers; metals; other industrial Warminster, Pennsylvania, US
19-25 May 2023 | ICIS Chemical Business | 107
 SPECIAL REPORT
TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS

wwww.gehring-montgomery.com
Managing director: Mark S Bitting
Products: Waxes; additives; coatings; resins;
alkyds; surface modifiers; food ingredients;
inorganics
Services: Trucking; logistics; product man-
agement; inventory management; chemistry
consulting; warehousing
Assets: Private fleet of trucks; trailers; ware-
houses
Trading Sales: 15%

CORNELIUS GROUP
248 2022 SALES: $53M (£43.8M)
Bishops Stortford, UK
www.cornelius.co.uk
CEO: Phillip Gibbons
Products: Specialties; industrial ingredients;
food ingredients; personal care ingredients;
contact lens raw materials; pigments; resins;
additives; minerals; monomers; fragrances;
flavours
Services: Formulation; warehousing; techni-
cal; regulatory; sales; marketing; logistics;
manufacturing; blending
Assets: Warehouses; chemical factory; labo-
ratories; offices; R&D assets

RESEARCH SOLUTIONS GROUP
249 2022 SALES: $52.3M
Pelham, Alabama, US
www.researchsolutionsgroup.com
CEO: Jeff O Miller
Products: Solvents; solvent blends; specialty
chemicals; organic and inorganic chemicals
Services: Bulk and packaged solvents and
solvent blends; toll manufacturing and pack-
aging; private label; lab services; environmen-
tal services; rail transloading
Assets: 115,000 square feet warehousing
space; 4 bulk terminals; 1.6m gal bulk storage
SOLVACHEM
250 2022 SALES: $52.2M
Wroclaw, Poland
www.solvachem.com
CEO: Elisabeth Luerenbaum
Products: Methanol; technical gases and
aerosols; alcohols and other solvents; regen-
erated solvents; polymers; base oils; inorgan-
ic chemicals; washing agents and disinfect-
ants; fillers and additives; colourants; oils and
greases; used cooking oil (UCO) and vegeta-
ble oils
Services: Logistics
Assets: 1 methanol tank; 5 warehouses; 2 cus-
toms warehouses; production facilities (wash-
ing agents and disinfectants)
Trading Sales: 10%
PROAGRO
251 2022 SALES: $51.9M (€48.4M)
Vienna, Austria
www.proagro.at
CEO: Lukas Rukover
Products: Raw materials for food, feed and
pharmaceutical industries; organic acids;
starches; sweeteners; thickening agents;
amino acids; phosphates; trace elements;
salt; fruits and vegetables; milk derivatives;
plant extracts; fibers; emulsifiers; seeds and
flours; honey
Services: Technical sales and marketing;
sourcing; application development; financ-
ing; warehousing; quality control; logistics
Assets: 40+ years experience; 6 warehouse
locations in Central Europe
Trading Sales: 100%
EUROSYN
252 2022 SALES: $50.4M (€47M)
Milan, Italy
www.eurosyn.it
Chairman: Flavio Campana
Products: Surfactants; biocides; resins; ac-
tives; waxes and dispersions; fragrances; rhe-
ology modifiers; UV filters; light stabilisers;
antioxidants; photoinitiators; levelling and
dispersing agents
Services: Technical support and logistics ser-
vices
Assets: Logistics assets; application lab
ACID PRODUCTS
253 2022 SALES: $50.2M
Chicago, Illinois, US
www.acidproducts.net
President: Jann Fisher
Shutterstock
Products: Acids; caustics; dry chemicals;
solvents; white oils; surfactants; cleaning
chemicals
Services: Toll blending (pails, drums, totes,
bulk); contract packaging (all bottle sizes);
powder blending; LTL chemical distribution
Assets: 2 locations; rail; high speed homoge-
nizer; 10 trucks
STERA CHEMICALS
254 2022 SALES: $50M
Jilava, Ilfov, Romania
www.sterachemicals.ro
CEO: Alecsandru Rasidescu
Products: Resins; pigments; biocides; addi-
tives; glycols; solvents; fragrances; master-
batches
Services: Drumming; filling; mixing; pro-
duction
Trading Sales: 10%
ALLIANCE-ENERGY
255 2022 SALES: $48.9M
Moscow, Russia
www.allianceenergy.ru
CEO: Sergei Baranov
Products: Sodium hydroxide solid; citric acid;
hydrogen peroxide; calcium hypochlorite;
household and personal care chemicals;
coatings and construction materials; food
and feed ingredients; oil and gas chemicals
Services: Trading of commodities; ware-
housing; own custom declaration service;
business financing; logistics; ADR goods

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Services: Food grade and industrial blend-

ing and packaging; food grade storage; eth-
anol denaturing and custom blending; man-
ufacturing
Assets: State-of-the-art white room for USP,
NF, FCC, organic and kosher packaging;
125,000 square feet warehouse space includ-
ing 25,000 square feet food grade storage
warehouse; 24,000 square foot food grade
blending facility; 1.2m gal tank farm; rail spur
to accommodate 4 railcars; 20 tankers; 7 trac-
tors; 3 boxes
Trading Sales: 5%

INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS CORP

260 2022 SALES: $46.9M
Arvada, Colorado, US
industrialchemcorp.com
President: Jason R Wilson
Products: Acetates; acids; chloralkali; aliphat-
ic and aromatic solvents; chelating agents;
glycols and glycol ethers; heat transfer fluids;
hydrogen peroxide; ketones; metal finishing
chemicals; phosphates; silicates; surfactants
Services: Custom, proprietary and toll
blending
Assets: 27 tankers; 10 tractors; 5 vans; over
800,000 gal of bulk storage; 3 warehouses
Shutterstock representing around 60,000 square feet of
storage; rail siding to accommodate 16 railcars

MCKINN INTERNATIONAL
transportation; technical support Services: Warehousing; liquid and powder 261 2022 SALES: $45.1M
Assets: 20 warehouses within Russia; 5 sales blending; toll manufacturing; dilutions; Singapore
offices; own logistics company (17 trucks and packed and bulk UK distribution; inventory www.mckinn.com.sg
3 road tankers equiped for transportation of management; supplier reduction; global CEO: Chau Tak Vui
ADR goods) sourcing Products: Raw materials for lubricant addi-
Trading Sales: 50% Assets: 2 UK distribution locations with bulk tives, adhesives, coatings, UPR, PU and TPU;
and packed storage; offices; 4 purpose built plastics additives; flame retardants; rubber
LINKERS CHEMICALS AND trucks additives; acids and anhydrides; plasticizers
256 POLYMERS Trading Sales: 10% Services: Sourcing and distribution of
2022 SALES: $48.6M chemicals
Dubai, UAE RESOURCE CHEMICAL Assets: Office
www.lcp.ae 258 2022 SALES: $48.4M (£40M) Trading Sales: 95%
CEO: Malik Pervez Zaman Brackley, Northampton, UK
Products: PVC; plasticizers; synthetic rubber; www.resourcechemical.co.uk GJ CHEMICAL
engineering plastics; latex; animal nutrition Managing director: Nicola Bradley 262 2022 SALES: $45M
ingredients; construction chemicals; coatings Products: Chlor-alkali; chromes; metasili- Somerset New Jersey, US
chemicals cates; water treatment and chlorination www.GJChemical.com
Services: Market expansion; technical sup- chemicals; industrial chemicals; detergent President: Diana Colonna
port; financing chemicals; pool and spa chemicals Products: Acrylate monomers; plasticizers;
Trading Sales: 100% Services: Dosing reagents; high purity solvents – ACS/USP/NF/
HPLC
MONARCH CHEMICALS TRANSCHEMICAL Services: Testing; bulk storage; repackaging;
257 2022 SALES: $48.5M (£40.1M) 259 2022 SALES: $47.5M liquid bulk handling; custom blending; purify-
Sittingbourne, Kent, UK Saint Louis, Missouri, US ing; stabilising
www.monarchchemicals.co.uk www.transchemical.com Assets: 3 locations in New Jersey; 8 trucks; 25
Managing director: Jon Hill President: Marilyn Stovall FitzGerald tankers; 15 box trucks; USP filling room
Products: Acetic acid; antifoams; caustic Products: Spirits; distillates; blenders; OTS; Trading Sales: 50%
soda; citric acids; formic acid; feed additives; beverage grade ethanol; organic ethanol; de-
formates; glycerine; glycols; grain preserva- natured ethanol; alcohols; food grade phos- COMET CHEMICAL
tion chemicals; hydrochloric acid; nitric acid; phates; food grade anti-foam chemicals; ali- 263 2022 SALES: $44.2M
propionic acid; sodium hypochlorite; sodium phatics; amines; aromatics; glycols; Innisfil, Ontario, Canada
sulphide hydrocarbons; mineral oils www.cometchemical.com

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President: Jeff Stewart

Products: Industrial solvents; aromatic hydro-
carbons; aliphatics; alcohols; acetates; ke-
tones; glycols; glycol ethers; ethanolamines
Services: Warehousing; regional distribution
and logistics; product blending and private
label packaging; lab services
Assets: 6 stainless steel bulk tankers; 5 van
trailers; 5 power units; 50+ bulk storage tanks;
40,000 square foot warehouse; rail siding;
transloading

VERQUIMICA INDUSTRIA E
264 COMERCIO DE PRODUTOS
QUIMICOS
2022 SALES: $44.1M
Guarulhos, Sao Paulo, Brazil
www.verquimica.com.br
President: Vera Lucioa Oliveira Franco
Products: Methanol; hexane; turpentine; xy-
lene; toluene; ethyl acetate; isopropane; butyl
acetate; acetic acid; perchlorethylene; trichlo-
rethylene; dimethylformamide; malic acid;
methylene chloride; butyl glycol
Services: Formulations; thinning
Assets: 55 tanks
Trading Sales: 100%

IBERICA KEMYA
265 2022 SALES: $43.3M (€40.3M)
Seville, Spain
www.ibericakemya.com
General manager: Damian Santiburcio ANTALA oils; lubricants; ASTM reference oils
Products: Inorganics and general chemicals 268 2022 SALES: $42.6M Services: Repackaging; storage; capacity to
Trading Sales: 100% Barcelona, Spain efficiently repackage 6,000-12,000 gal per
www.antala.com week at several locations for aromatic, naph-
PRODUCERS CHEMICAL Director: Alberto Argudo thenic, paraffinic base and process oils.
266 2022 SALES: $43.3M Products: Adhesives and sealants (epoxies, Assets: Corporate offices; 3 warehouse facili-
Sugar Grove, Illinois, US methacrylates, polyurethanes, silicones, SMP, ties; distribution equipment; company cars
producerschemical.com anaerobics and cyanoacrylates); lubricants
President: Jeff Szklarek (greases, oils, AFC, compounds, pastes); elec- SIP
Products: Acids; alcohols; aliphatics; amines; tronic protection materials; coatings 271 2022 SALES: $42M
aromatics; chlor-alkali; esters; glycerine; gly- London, UK
cols; glycol ethers; ketones; phosphates; plas- ANTONIO TARAZONA www.sip.com
ticizers; printing solutions; surfactants; VOC 269 2022 SALES: $42.5M (€39.6M) Interim managing director: Frank Colcord
exempt solvents Silla, Valencia, Spain Products: White oils; pharmaceutical oils;
Services: Custom blending; contract pack- www.antoniotarazona.com drilling fluids; process oils; speciality fluids for
aging; bulk and mini bulk delivery; import CEO: Daniel Tarazona automotive and industrial use; sustainable
sourcing; USP packaging; waste disposal Products: urea solution; defoamers; coagu- and renewable base oils; lubricants additives
Assets: 2 warehouses with 58,000 square lants; bioenhancers; monoammonium phos- Services: Storage; logistics; blending; pack-
feet of storage; 174,000 gal bulk storage; 10 phate; ammonium sulphate; calcium nitrate; aging; formulation; technical support
trucks prill and granulated urea; phosphoric acid; di- Assets: Warehousing; blending and storage
Trading Sales: 3% calcium phosphate; crystalline NPK facilities in UK and EU
Trading Sales: 100%
SINPRO R.E. CARROLL
267 2022 SALES: $42.9M (€40M) 270 2022 SALES: $42.1M RISHICHEM DISTRIBUTORS
Lausanne, Switzerland Ewing, New Jersey, US 272 2022 SALES: $41.1M (RS3.4BN)
www.sinprosa.ch www.recarroll.com Mumbai, India
Director: Alfred Frankel President: Robert E Carroll www.rishichem.com
Products: Industrial chemicals; resins; poly- Products: Calcium carbonate; clays; blowing President: Sanjiv Desai
esters; pharmaceutical ingredients; construc- agents; alumina trihydrate; zinc oxides; plasti- Products: Resins; intermediates; additives; flow
tion chemicals; paints; inks; food ingredients cizers; foaming agents; barium sulphate; pe- modifiers; surfactants; pigments; rheological
and additives troleum products (aromatic oils, naphthenic modifiers; catalysts; PSA; isocyanates; polyols
Services: Associated with a forwarding agent oils); magnesium oxide; stearates; soybean Services: Distribution of specialty chemicals

112 | ICIS Chemical Business | 19-25 May 2023 www.icis.com

 SPECIAL REPORT
TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS

inhibitors; industrial detergent ingredients;

surfactants; amines; fatty acids; fatty alcohols;
fuel additives; lignosulphonate
Services: R&D; storage; logistics; repackag-
ing; analysis; technical training
Trading Sales: 5%

ANKUSH ENTERPRISE
278 2022 SALES: $38M
Mumbai, India
www.ankushenterprise.com
President: Mukund Bhure
Products: Additives for paints and coat-
ings; printing ink; adhesives; sealants; con-
struction chemicals; polyvinyl alcohol; pig-
ments; silica; potato starches; food
ingredients; personal care ingredients
Services: Prototype development and formu-
lation assistance for food and personal care
industry segments
Assets: Offices; warehouses including tem-
perature-controlled warehouse for food ingre-
dients; application center
Trading Sales: 2%

MY-CHEM
279 2022 SALES: $37.6M (€35M)
Buchholz/Nordheide, Germany
Shutterstock www.my-chem.de
Owner: Ralf Meinecke
Products: Phthalic anhydride; maleic anhy-
dride; styrene; glycols; mono-pentaerythritol;
DUTCH2 acid; acetic acid; DDBSA; sodium percarbon- di-pentaerythritol; paraformaldehyde; puri-
273 2022 SALES: $41M (€38.2M) ate; manganous oxide; hydrochloric acid; fied terephthalic acid; purified isophthalic
Purmerend, Netherlands soda ash; sodium chlorate (dry/liquid); white acid; tall oil products; fumaric acid; heat trans-
www.dutch2.com oil; glycol ether EB; Accoquat; phosphoric fer fluids; silicate dispersions
Managing director: Steven Willekes acid Services: Distribution; trading; transporta-
Services: Trading and export by sea, railroad; Services: Laboratory services; liquid and pow- tion; warehousing
drumming; warehousing; blending; packag- der packaging; warehousing; tank storage; rail
ing; storage storage; trucking service (liquid and van); rail SAMECA
Trading Sales: 20% and truck transloading; property leasing 280 2022 SALES: $37.6M (€35M)
Assets: 275,000+ square feet of warehous- Porto, Portugal and Barcelona,
TZ GROUP ing; 7 tractors; 15 liquid and box trailers; 27 Spain
274 2022 SALES: $40.9M above ground tanks; 7 rail spurs with 2.5 miles www.samecapq.com
The Woodlands, Texas, US of track for transloading President and CEO: Eduardo Moura e Sa
www.tzgroupusa.com Products: Solvents; organic and inorganic
President: Fernando J Zavala RN CHEMICALS chemicals; resins and emulsions; synthetic
Products: Chlorine; perborates; acrylates; 276 2022 SALES: $40M and natural-based pigments and fillers;
phosphates; organic phosphonates; sodium Milan, Italy and Beirut, Lebanon yeasts; starches; preservatives and other food
hydrosulphite; caustic soda; acetic acid; sul- www.rnchemicals.com ingredients; barrels and polymer-based
phuric acid; estearates CEO: Dany Njeim cubes; surfactants; aloe vera-based additives;
Services: Logistics; storage; drumming; bulk Products: Chemicals for industrial, food, silicones; bio-based polymers; polyurethane
transportation water treatment systems; expanded and crystal polystyrene;
Assets: Warehouse and tanks farm in Mexico Assets: Warehouses; trucks; stocks additives for rubber processing
City; warehouse and tank farm in Puebla, Mex- Trading Sales: 40% Services: Commodities and specialties distri-
ico; 43 tank trucks bution; technical support; sourcing; storage;
Trading Sales: 32% LUMAR QUIMICA packaging; blending; logistics; imports and
277 2022 SALES: $38.2M (€35.6M) exports; trading
SEELER INDUSTRIES Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain Assets: Headquarters in Porto (Portugal) and
275 2022 SALES: $40M www.lumarquimica.com Barcelona (Spain); offices in Lisbon (Portugal)
Joliet, Illinois, US CEO and Owner: Lluis Ribera and Vigo (Spain); warehouses at 3 locations –
www.seeler.com Products: Synthetic lube base (PAO, esters, Porto, Barcelona and Valencia (Spain); own
CEO: Steve Seeler PAG, PIB, silicone, phosphate ester); lubricant truck fleet of 7 trucks
Products: Hydrogen peroxide; peracetic additives; antifreeze ingredients; corrosion Trading Sales: 30%

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TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS Visit icis.com/keep-in-touch

ROYALE GROUP (AWSM

285 INDUSTRIES, ROYALE
PIGMENTS & CHEMICALS,
SHORECHEM AND AWSM SOLUTIONS)
2022 SALES: $35M
Bear, Delaware, US
www.royalepigments-chem.com
www.awsmsolutions.com
CEO: John Logue
Products: Alkalis; fluoroborates; fluorides;
metal fluoroborates; nitrites; borates; ACS
grades; specialty organics and inorganics
Services: Sourcing and supply chain man-
agement; transportation; warehousing; pack-
aging; contract and specialty manufacturing
Assets: 2 manufacturing plants; 5 warehouse
locations

KEMAT
286 2022 SALES: $34.5M (€32.1M)
Brussels, Belgium
www.kematbelgium.com
President and CEO: Simon Mason
Products: Low molecular weight convention-
al polybutenes and high reactive polyisob-

KADION
281 2022 SALES: $37.3M (€34.8M)
Barcelona, Spain
www.kadion.com
CEO: Raul Florit
Products: Specialty ingredients and chemi-
cals for coatings, construction, inks, plastics
and other industrial applications
Services: Technical and regulatory support;
storage; trading; sourcing
Trading Sales: 15%
JABER
282 2022 SALES: $37.2M (€34.7M)
Mostoles, Madrid, Spain
www.jabersa.com
CEOs: Javier Jimenez, Joaquin Jimenez
Products: Solvents and thinners; hydrocar-
bons; acetates; ketones; ethers; glycol ethers;
alcohols; mixtures with ethanol; chlorinated
solvents; inorganics; resins; silicones; sur-
factants; white oils; flavours and fragrances
Services: Custom blending; custom packag-
ing; food grade packaging; transportation
(bulk and package); waste management;
analysis and laboratory services
Assets: Warehouses in Mostoles (Madrid) and
Almansa (Albacete) with 14,000 square me-
tres for packaged products and manufactur-
ing; 65 storage tanks with capacity of 1,800
cubic metres; 2 solvents recycling units; qual-
ity control laboratory
MIN-CHEM CANADA/
283 LAWRASON’S/CK INGREDIENTS
2022 SALES: $36.9M
Shutterstock
Oakville, Ontario, Canada
min-chem.com
lawrasons.com
ckingredients.com
President and CEO: David Luciani
Products: Thermoset composites (roving,
resin and peroxides); thermoplastic compos-
ites; rubber additives; adhesives; waxes;
flame retardants; pharmaceutical and nutra-
ceutical ingredients; mineral and industrial
acids; water treatment, pool and spa chemi-
cals; janitorial and sanitation chemicals; in-
dustrial specialty chemicals; winter ice melt-
ing products; Health Canada approved
infectious control disinfectants; hand sanitiz-
ers; anti-bacterial solutions
Services: Manufacturing; blending and com-
pounding; logistics
Assets: 3 warehouses in Ontario, Quebec
and British Columbia
BARRETTINE GROUP
284 2022 SALES: $36.3M (£30M)
Bristol, UK
www.barrettine.co.uk
Group managing director: Steven Bailey
Products: Woodcare chemicals; construc-
tion chemicals; DIY chemicals; industrial
chemicals and solvents; environmental health
products; crop protection and ag chemicals
Services: Manufacturing; blending and be-
spoke formulations; contract manufacturing;
ISO quality standards
Assets: Chemical knowledge/expertise;
onsite laboratory
Trading Sales: 95%
utenes; proprietary PIB emulsions; polyisobu-
tene succinic anhydride; medium and high
molecular weight polyisobutenes; low and
high viscosity poly alpha olefins (PAO); high
viscosity metallocene poly alpha olefins
(MPAO); lubricant auxiliaries (natural oils, cas-
tor oil and linseed/flaxseed oil, molybdenum
disulphide, 12-hydroxy stearic acid); rubber
auxiliaries (natural rubber, technically speci-
fied rubber, ribbed smoked sheets, standard
Malaysian rubber, titanium dioxide, carbon
black); fuel additives (Keropur fuel perfor-
mance packages with BASF technology)
Services: Blending; bulk storage; drumming;
outsourcing; packing; repacking; sourcing;
warehousing
Assets: 100x ISO containers; warehouses
with drumming, blending and repacking ca-
pability; 5 offices globally; internal laboratory;
transport fleet
Trading Sales: 7%
GB-CHEMIE
287 2022 SALES: $34.3M (€32M)
Messel, Germany
www.gb-chemie.com
Managing director: Dirk Forler
LEELA CORP
288 2022 SALES: $34.1M
Ahmedabad, India
www.leelacorp.com
Managing director: Ujas Patel
Products: Acids; basic chemicals; specialty
chemicals; intermediates; agro commodities;
excipients
Services: Contract manufacturing and ex-
porter
Assets: 1 head office; 1 corporate office; 3

114 | ICIS Chemical Business | 19-25 May 2023 www.icis.com

 SPECIAL REPORT
TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS

branch offices; 1 manufacturing plant; 1 over-
seas branch office in US
Trading Sales: 80%
S. KUSHALCHAND
289 INTERNATIONAL
2022 SALES: $33.8M (RS2.8BN)
Mumbai, India
www.skushalchand.com
Executive director: Prasad Pawar
Products: Food and beverage ingredients;
flavours and fragrance specialties; personal
care ingredients; nutraceuticals; coatings and
adhesives; pharmaceutical ingredients;
cleaning solutions and green solvents
Services: Processing of orders; standard
packaging and transportation; customs and
import services; inventory management;
tracking; planning of logistics and reverse lo-
gistics; 100 years of distribution experience
Assets: 24 principals; 650+ customers in 175
cities; 575+ products on shelf; 350+ tonnes
average stocks; 675+ products offered;
25,000+ square feet of in-house warehousing
space; imports from 4 continents and 15+
countries
Trading Sales: 50%
COMERCIAL GODO
290 2022 SALES: $32.2M (€30M)
Barcelona, Spain
www.comercialgodo.com
CEO: Xavier Bustos Ruiz
Products: AdBlue; acids; bases; solvents
Services: Sales of products; mix of liquids;
mix of solids; warehousing; repackaging
Trading Sales: 5%
www.lakecm.co.uk
Managing director: Steven Cartlidge
Products: IFL; coatings; polymers; industrial
chemicals; pharmaceutical ingredients; food
ingredients; cosmetics ingredients; agro
chemicals; animal health ingredients
Services: R&D; manufacturing; repacking;
sourcing
Assets: R&D laboratories; manufacturing
facility
CJ CHEMICALS
293 2022 SALES: $30M
Howell, Michigan, US
www.cjchemicals.net
President: Catherine Lee
Products: Naphthenic oils; paraffinic oils;
styrene; acids; aliphatics; aromatics; base,
complex, cyclic, heterocyclic, hybrid chemi-
cals; metal working fluids; automotive lubri-
cants; greases; rust preventatives; specialty
lubricants
Services: Warehousing and storage; ship-
ping; import/export; lab capabilities; packag-
ing; supply chain; chemical blending
EAGLE ALCOHOL
294 2022 SALES: $29.2M
Pekin, Illinois, US
VP and General manager: Daniel Croghan
Products: Ethyl alcohol pure and denatured;
glycols; glycol ethers; IPA
Services: Packaging; transportation; ware-
housing; transloading
Assets: 100,000 square feet warehouse; seg-
regated bulk storage; 4 tractors; 20 tankers
GULF COAST CHEMICAL
295 2022 SALES: $26.8M
Abbeville, Louisiana, US
gulfcoastchemical.com
Managing member: Jim Fusilier
Products: Glycols; methanol; coolants; lubri-
cants; antifreeze; production chemicals and
associated monitoring; H2S scavengers; heat
transfer fluids.
Services: Blending; storage; laboratory ser-
vices; chemical treatment; testing and moni-
toring services
Assets: 5 company operated facilities; bulk
methanol terminal; 120,000 square feet of
warehouse storage; 600,000 gal bulk liquid
storage; laboratory facility; 22 delivery trucks;
3 tankers; 4 service trucks
Trading Sales: 5%
CHEMCEED
296 2022 SALES: $26.5M
Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, US
www.chemceed.com
President: Marimel Enderes
Products: Plasticizers; corrosion inhibitors; ad-
ditives; solvents; fatty acids; alcohols; specialty
chemicals; industrial chemicals; food additives
Services: Blending; packaging; labelling;
storage; consignment; JIT delivery
Assets: 1 warehouse
Trading Sales: 10%

COLORMIX ESPECIALIDADES
291 2022 SALES: $32.2M (R170M)
Barueri, Sao Paulo, Brazil
colormix.net.br
CEO: Carlos Fernando de Abreu
Products: Wetting and dispersing additives;
surface additives; rheological additives; de-
foamers; effect pigments; organic and inor-
ganic pigments; pigment pastes; amino sur-
factants; natural preservatives ; amino
silicones; antioxidant actives; vegetable oils;
encapsulated actives; natural gum; emulsifi-
ers; complete portfolio for cosmetics
Services: Logistics; storage; sample room;
fractionation; applications laboratory; indent
sales; one-stop shop in colours and additives
for paints, varnishes and coatings
Assets: 90-day inventory of distributed prod-
ucts; transport vehicles; dispersion plant; na-
tional presence in Brazil with 70 employees;
cosmetology laboratory
Trading Sales: 3%

LAKE
Shutterstock

292 2022 SALES: $31.5M (£26M)

Redditch, UK

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SPECIAL REPORT
TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS
ASSUNCAO DISTRIBUIDORA
297 2022 SALES: $26.1M
Alhandra, Paraiba, Brazil
www.assuncaodistribuidora.com.br
Managing partner: Mauricio Assuncao
Products: Toluene diisocyanate; polyether
polyol; polymer polyol; sodium metabisulphite;
sodium bicarbonate; caustic soda; soda ash;
titanium dioxide; linear alkyl benzene sulphon-
ic acid (LABSA); sodium lauryl ether sulphate
(SLES); hydrogen peroxide; aluminum sul-
phate; water treatment chemicals
Services: Technical support; tailor-made dis-
tribution solutions for industrial and specialty
chemicals; logistics; value-added services
such just-in-time delivery
Assets: 2 offices in Northeast Brazil; team of
60 employees
CHEMCOM
298 2022 SALES: $26M
Zapresic. Croatia
www.chemcom.hr
CEO: Filip Rosandic
Products: Lubricant additives; base oils;
PMAs; PPDs; sweeteners; milk derivatives;
white oils; cellulosic ethers; RDPs; vitamins;
premixes
Services: Refilling; logistics
Assets: 5 offices; 5 dedicated warehouses
Trading Sales: 50%
SIMAGCHEM ASIA
299 2022 SALES: $25.7M
Singapore
www.simagchem.com
Managing director: Wang Shaobo
Products: Fine chemicals
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Shutterstock
Services: Sourcing and sale services for spe- Products: Over 100 different chemicals; sol-
cialty chemicals for industry and life science vents; amines; surfactants; alkalines; acids
Trading Sales: 100% and dry products
Services: Packaging in bulk, totes, drums
POLYHIMKOMPLEKT-M and pails; custom blending and formulating
300 2022 SALES: $25.6M Assets: 3 different warehouses and blending
Moscow, Russia and packaging facilities; 150,000 gal of bulk
phkomp-m.ru storage; 150 stainless steel totes
CEO: Stanislav Zhilich
Products: Binders; latexes; dispersions; res- BIACHEM GROUP
ins; fillers; pigments; coalescents; rheological 303 2022 SALES: $22M
additives; biocides; antifoams; dispersants; London, England, UK
thickeners; PVC; functional additives for plas- www.biachem.com
tics; textile additives. Managing director/Owner: Bob Beaumont
Services: Warehousing; logistics; transporta- Products: Caustic soda; EDTA and other che-
tion; customs clearance; marketing; adver- lates; salt; magnesium chloride; sodium per-
tisement; microbiological lab services carbonate; sodium sulphate; sulphamic acid;
Assets: 7 outsourced warehouses; 2 trucks phosphates; surfactants
Services: Custom blending; repacking; de-
BOEHLE CHEMICALS tergent formulations
301 2022 SALES: $24.7M Assets: 5 warehouses; businesses in Ireland
Troy, Michigan, US and France
www.boehlechem.com Trading Sales: 10%
President: Tedd Strobehn
Products: Resins; surfactants; coatings addi- STORT GROUP
tives; pigments; lubricant additives; epoxies; bi- 304 2022 SALES: $21.8M (£18M)
ocides; composite raw materials; organic perox- Bishops Stortford, UK
ides; glycerine; defoamers; wetting agents; www.stortgroup.com
epoxy curing agents; colour dispersions Managing director: Richard Gilkes
Services: Repackaging; technical assistance Products: Resins; pigments and additives for
Assets: 5 warehouse locations coatings; colourants for paints and thermo-
Trading Sales: 20% sets; fluorosurfactants; bentonite thickeners;
synthetic and natural raw materials for fla-
LA CHEMICALS vours and fragrances; vitamins
302 2022 SALES: $24.5M Services: Technical sales; sampling; storage
Broadview, Illinois, US Assets: Stort chemicals Ltd; Zanos Ltd; Zanos
www.lachemonline.com Europe BV
President: Dave Ryniec Trading Sales: 5%
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SPECIAL REPORT
TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS
COMINDEX
305 2022 SALES: $21.5M (€20M)
Barcelona, Spain
www.comindex.es
General manager: Ana-Cristina Arp
Products: Additives; acrylic dispersions;
alkyd emulsions; biosolvents; castor and lin-
seed oil and derivatives; corrosion inhibitors;
epoxy resins and reactive diluents; hollow
glass microspheres; matting agents; molecu-
lar sieves; pigments (aluminium, pearl and in-
terference, inorganic, organic, carbon black);
polyols; probiotics; PU and UV curable disper-
sions; solvent-borne resins
Services: Technical assessment; technical vis-
its with our principals; free customer training;
free samples shipment; local warehousing
Assets: 1 headquarters; 1 warehouse
TECNOSINTESI
306 2022 SALES: $21.1M (€19.7M)
Bergamo, Italy
www.tecnosintesi.com
COO: Michele Angius
Products: Ammonium polyphosphate (APP);
acetyl tributyl citrate (ATBC); cyclohexane-
dimethanol (CHDM); diallyl phthalate (DAP);
epoxy resins; hexanediol (HDO); isophthalic
acid (PIA); melamine; monobutyltin oxide
(MBTO); monopropylene glycol (MPG); poly-
etheramine; p-tert butyl phenol (PTBP); tartar-
ic acid; tin catalysts; trimethylolpropane (TMP)
Services: Trading; sourcing of specialties;
storage; blending and repacking; silotrucks;
full service from sourcing to DDP delivery, in-
cluding handling of emergencies
Assets: Warehouses in Italy and Germany
Trading Sales: 75%
KLAUS F. MEYER
307 2022 SALES: $21M (€19.6M)
Fussgoenheim, Germany
www.klausfmeyer.de
Managing directors: Martina Magnie / Frank
Meyer
Products: Hydroxylamine sulphate; hydroxy-
lamine hydrochloride; triflic acid; MEKO; ni-
tromethane; isocyanuric acid; BHT; p-toluene-
sulfonic acid; n-isopropylhydroylamine;
anthranilic acid; agrochemicals; pharma-
chemicals; specialty chemicals; catalysts
Services: Door-to-door-service; refilling of
triflic acid; handling of dangerous goods;
stockholding; isotanks
SCHIBLEY SOLVENTS &
308 CHEMICALS
2022 SALES: $21M
Elyria, Ohio, US
www.schibley.com
President: Reed Schibley
Products: Organic peroxide initiators; UPR
resins; solvents; chelates; fatty acids; sur-
factants; persulphates; stearates
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Services: Trucking; packaging; warehousing;
bulk unloading; blending; product advice and
training
Assets: 4 warehouses; refrigerated cold and
heated storage; hazmat storage; 4 tempera-
ture controlled trailers and trucks
SYMBASE (FORMERLY CFI
309 WORLD)
2022 SALES: $20.1M (€18.7M)
Poznan District, Poland
www.symbase-group.com
CEO: Tomasz Amborski
Products: Chemicals for construction, coat-
ings, rubber, plastics, electronics (MC; HPMC;
RDP; tartaric acid; SBS; NBR; EPDM; TiO2;
melamine)
Services: Creating recipes; R&D; sourcing;
consulting; blending
Assets: R&D center; warehouse; office
AMERICAN CHEMIE
310 2022 SALES: $20M
Austin, Texas, US
www.americanchemie.com
VP and COO: Mike Kamdar
Products: Chemicals and ingredients for sun-
screens, personal care, HI&I, food, animal nu-
trition, lubricants, metal working, oilfield, cat-
alysts, organic synthesis
Services: Imports; exports; logistics; toll
manufacturing; private labelling
Assets: Inventory of chemicals; paid-up capi-
tal; retained earnings
SAIPER CHEMICALS Products: Monoethylene glycol; monopro-
311 2022 SALES: $19.9M (RS1.65BN) pylene glycol; butyl diglycol; monoethanola-
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India mine; acetic acid; ferric chloride; caustic soda
www.saiper.com liquor and pearl; copper sulphate; magnesi-
Director: IBV Raghavan um sulphate; potassium nitrate; calcium ni-
Products: Additives (amine neutralizer, adi- trate; boric acid; zinc sulphate; manganese
pates, propionates); amines (ethanolamine, sulphate; phosphates
ethyleneamines, isopropanolamines); C4 Services: Storage; ISO 9001 and 14001
Chemicals (BDO, NMP,THF, MPDiol Glycol, and UFAS universal feed assurance system
TBAc); glycol ethers (E-Series and P-Series); certification.
propylene glycols; pine oil based derivatives Assets: 5 warehouses; 6 trucks and 7 trailers;
(TOR, TOFA, DTO, rosin esters and rosin ester 6 ADR drivers; offshore marine base facility
emulsions); surfactants (Dowfax series, Tergi- Trading Sales: 10%
tol series, Triton series)
Services: Registered with the FSSAI for sup- BLOOMCHEMAG
ply of chemicals to the F&B industries) and the 313 2022 SALES: $18M (€16.8M)
FDA (for supply of chemicals and intermedi- Mol, Belgium
ates to the pharmaceutical industry); custom www.bloomchemag.com
blending and repacking; formulation labora- CEO: Rajesh Sethi
tory services; drumming Products: Ethyl acetate; butac; NPAC; PMA;
Assets: 2 offices; 3 warehouses (one owned); PM; EP; acetic anhydride; VAM; butyl acrylate;
blending/formulation unit MMA; acrylic acid; 2-EHA; 2-HEMA; propylene
Trading Sales: 2% carbonate; triacetin; MEK; IPA; benzyl alcohol;
benzoic acid; 1,4-butanediol; caustic soda;
ABBEY CHEMICALS methylene chloride; calcium hypochlorite; per-
312 2022 SALES: $19.1M (£15.8M) chloroethylene; MPG; DBE; potassium chlo-
Great Yarmouth, UK ride; potassium hydroxide; maleic anhydride
www.abbeychemicals.co.uk Services: Imports; Asia-origin specialty
Director: Tyson Bonham chemicals; storage and warehousing; drum-
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 SPECIAL REPORT
TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS

Assets: 3 warehouses in Brazilian main indus-

trial regions

BONDERALIA
317 2022 SALES: $17.2M (€16M)
Barcelona, Spain
www.bonderalia.com
CEO: Ramon Balanya
Products: Specialty ingredients for personal
care, cleaning, food, pharmaceutical indus-
tries, labware and instrumentation
Services: Special packaging; granulometry;
mixtures; formulations; regulatory services
Trading Sales: 15%

NEWTRAC TRADING
318 2022 SALES: $16.3M
Cairo, Egypt
www.newtrac.com
Managing director: Patrick Ashba
Products: Textile dyes; pigments; binders
and auxiliaries; epoxy resins and hardeners;
opacity pigments for paints and plastics; ali-
phatic and aromatic isocyanates; IPDA; paints
additives; PVC process aids; heat stabilisers;
waxes; compatibilisers; silicones; amines and
stanous octoate for the foam industry and
PCE dispersing agent for the cement industry
Services: Technical consultancy; technical
sales; formulation support; trading; blending;
storage
Assets: 3 warehouses; 2 offices; 1 application
Shutterstock

laboratory; 3 trucks
Trading Sales: 53%

ming in Antwerp; door-step deliveries in EU carbon blacks; titanium dioxide; epoxy resins; AN LOC PHAT INTERNATIONAL
and UK hardeners; flow control agents; engineering 319 2022 SALES: $15M
Assets: 4,400 square feet fully-owned corpo- plastics; UV additives; antioxidants; hydrocar- Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
rate office in Noida, India; leased/rented ware- bon resins; tin intermediates and catalysts www.anlocphat.com.vn
houses; shared workspace in Mol, Belgium/ Services: Inventory management; just in time President and CEO: Harry Nguyen
UK/Italy; deliveries; technical assistance; laboratory Products: Synthetic rubber; rubber chemi-
Trading Sales: 13% services cals; chemicals for construction, adhesives,
Assets: Office premises lubricants; plastics
CUSTOM CHEMICAL SERVICES Services: Import and distribution of rubber,
314 2022 SALES: $17.7M ADDITIVA PRODUTOS plastics and chemicals; import and export
Hitchcock, Texas, US 316 QUIMICOS Assets: Offices and warehouse
www.cchemicals.com 2022 SALES: $17.2M Trading Sales: 20%
President: Margaret Roff Porto Alegre, Brazil
Products: Organic and inorganic industrial www.additiva.com.br MIDLAND QUIMICA DO BRASIL
chemicals; solvents; acids; aromatics; alco- CEO: Marcos Bresolin 320 2022 SALES: $12M
hols; amines; glycols; ketones; surfactants Products: Additives for paints and coatings; Cotia, Brazil
Services: Custom blending and packaging; industrial chemicals and intermediates; mat- www.midland-quimica.com.br
toll manufacturing; trans-loading; repackag- ting agents; polymers; resins; acrylic mono- CEO: Eduardo Maso
ing; technical services mers; EO/PO copolymers; chelants; anticor- Products: Cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB);
Assets: Warehouses and trained employees rosives; fluorochemicals; titanium dioxide; epoxy resins; hardeners; hydrocarbon resins;
amines; glycols; surfactants; silicones; waxes; vinyl resins; special solvents; adhesion pro-
RISHICHEM MIDEAST catalysts; antioxidants; UV absorbers; fuel ad- moters; intermediates for making resins; pitch
315 2022 SALES: $17.4M ditives; automotive fluids; lubricants; biode- resins; microspheres; antioxidants; anti-UV
Dubai, UAE gradable plastics; filaments; powders and additives
www.rishichem.ae resins for 3D printing; sodium naphthalene
Managing director: Arvind Kapoor sulphonate; dispersions; pigments DYNAMIX
Products: Silicones; natural active ingredi- Services: Warehousing; logistics; technical 321 2022 SALES: $11.8M
ents; cationic agents; polyquats; carbomers; and formulation support; regulatory advising; Markham, Ontario, Canada
styrene butadiene co-polymers; pigments; sampling; repackaging www.dynamix-inc.com

www.icis.com 19-25 May 2023 | ICIS Chemical Business | 119

SPECIAL REPORT
TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS
Co-Presidents: Stewart Tymchuk and
Charles Morris
Products: Metal finishing chemicals; proprie-
tary chemicals; anodising chemicals; electro-
plating chemicals; custom blends; powder
blending; powdered cleaning solutions; liquid
cleaning solutions; hard chrome plating
chemicals; electroless nickel plating; galvanis-
ing chemicals; water treatment chemicals;
commodity chemicals
Services: Consultation services; technical
service; laboratory services; quality control;
private labelling; custom compounding; toll
blending; third party direct
Assets: Proprietary products; manufacturing
plant; manufacturing equipment; blending
equipment; filtration equipment
A-GAS ELECTRONIC MATERIALS
322 2022 SALES: $11.4M (£9.4M)
Rugby, UK
www.agasem.com
Managing Director: Jonathan Sellars
Products: Photoresists; high purity solvents;
acids and bases; dry film; electroplating
chemistries; conductive inks; metal etchants;
soldermasks; anodising chemistries; anodes;
pumps/filters; materials for microfluidics/lab-
on-chip; R&D plating equipment; pre-treat-
ment chemistries; post treatment chemis-
tries; precious metal salts
Services: Warehousing; laboratory analysis;
technical support; R&D
Assets: 20,000 square foot warehouse
CLASSIC DISTRIBUTING
323 2022 SALES: $11M
Pacoima, California, US
120 | ICIS Chemical Business | 19-25 May 2023
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www.classicdistrib.com www.quimicamer.es
President: Larry H Helscher CEO: Javier Huerta Gonzalez
Products: Surfactants; preservatives; esters; Products: Solvents and thinners; green sol-
quats; waxes; cosmetic ingredients vents; paints and coatings materials; adhe-
Services: Sales; warehousing; technical support sives and sealants; fragrances; softeners and
Trading Sales: 10% detergents ingredients; emulsions and co-
polymers; antifreeze formulated products;
AUDICHE TRADING epoxy resins; pharmaceutical, cosmetic and
324 2022 SALES: $10.8M agrochemicals ingredients; organic and inor-
Alexandria, Egypt ganic chemicals; aeronautic and automotive
www.facebook.com/Audiche- materials; water treatment chemicals; ink and
Trading-Co-411445818957021 printing chemicals; food ingredients
Chairman: Alain Audiche Services: Bulk storage; blending and formu-
Products: Titanium dioxide; polyvinyl alcohol; lations; packaging and bulk deliveries; logis-
micaceous iron oxide; glass flakes; hydrocar- tics and outsourcing; lab analytical services to
bon resin; methyl ethyl ketoxime; compound 3rd parties; e-invoicing
ferro titanium; zinc phosphates; iron oxides; Assets: 1 warehouse (bulk and packed stor-
Denka CSA (calcium sulpho aluminate) age); blending facility; bulk tank cars; packed
Services: Agencies; trading trucks
Assets: 1 office; 2 warehouses; 2 trucks
Trading Sales: 35% QUIMICA DEL FRANCOLI
327 2022 SALES: $8.4M (€7.8M)
BELCHEM SOLUTIONS Constanti, Tarragona, Spain
325 2022 SALES: $9.7M www.quifransa.com
Brussels, Belgium CEO: Xavier Rigau Mas
www.belchem.be Products: Acetic acid; boric acid; phosphoric
Director: Linda Pleisa acid; nitric acid; sulphuric acid; ferric chloride;
Products: Chemical raw materials used in ammonia dis 25%; sodium bisulphite; sodium
coatings, paints, resins, adhesives, deter- hypochlorite; sodium hydroxide; caustic
gents, textile and other industries soda; calcium hydroxide; aluminum polychlo-
Services: Sales; transportation; financing; ride; salt
storage; market research; customer support; Services: own dilutions; custom preparations
documentation Trading Sales: 100%
Trading Sales: 80%
CLARIQUIMICA
QUIMICA MER 328 2022 SALES: $8.4M
326 2022 SALES: $9.2M (€8.6M) Guarulhos, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Toledo, Spain www.clariquimica.com
CEO: Valne Lucas Vieira
Products: Pigments and additives; paper and
textile chemicals; iron oxide; dyes for paper;
pigment dispersions; carbon black
Services: Blending and packing
Assets: Warehouse
Trading Sales: 70%
NIMAC
329 2022 SALES: $7.5M
Birmingham, UK
www.nimacltd.co.uk
Group managing director: Nigel McDonald
Products: Lubricant additives: rust protec-
tives; antioxidants; specialty oleochemicals;
specialty petrochemicals and packages
Services: Industry specific personnel; spe-
cialist technical support; multi-location ware-
houses
Assets: Warehouses in the UK and Germany
A. S. PATERSON
330 2022 SALES: $7.4M
Concord, Ontario, Canada
Shutterstock
www.aspaterson.com
President: Rod Paterson
www.icis.com

Products: Colourants; waxes; resins; sur-
factants; additives
CRISMACHEM
331 2022 SALES: $7M (€6.5M)
Alcala de Henares, Madrid, Spain
www.crismachem.com
Managing director: Marcelo Montoro del
Arco
Products: Specialty chemicals for construc-
tion; coatings, adhesives, sealants and elasto-
mers (CASE)
Services: Storage; custom blending and re-
packaging; sieving; formulation; drumming;
training; project development
Assets: Headquarters; 2 warehouses; 1 lab
Trading Sales: 10%
DAKRAM MATERIALS
332 2022 SALES: $6.1M (£5M)
Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, UK
www.dakram.com
Managing director: Kate Mingay
Products: Sulphates; carbonates; nitrates;
chlorides; agriculture; animal feed; catalysts;
water treatment; metal treatment chemicals;
ceramics
KEIRON CHEMICALS
333 2022 SALES: $6M (€5.6M)
Barcelona, Spain
www.keironchemicals.com
CEO: Javier Pique Punet
Products: Fibres; phenolic and CNSL resins;
carbon products; rubber; inorganic-metallics;
lubricants; other raw materials
Services: Storage; logistics; repackaging;
agency distributors
Assets: Headquarters and warehouse in Bar-
celona; other warehouse in Spain; sales office
www.icis.com
SPECIAL REPORT
TOP 100 CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS
and warehouse in Mexico
Trading Sales: 30%
J.C. RAMALHO & CO
334 2022 SALES: $5.5M (€5.1M)
Alcanena, Portugal
jcramalho.com
General manager: Fernando Ramalho
Products: Textile and tannery chemicals;
pulp and paper chemicals; plastics and rub-
ber additives; water treatment chemicals; au-
tomobile and metallurgy chemicals; deter-
gent chemicals; agriculture and food
ingredients; glass materials; stone extraction/
transformation chemicals; paints and varnish-
es; oilfield chemicals; wine ingredients
Services: Storage of liquid and packed prod-
ucts; blending; tailor-made packaging; disso-
lution
Assets: Warehouse
KETSIN DE COSTA RICA
335 2022 SALES: $3.9M
Costa Rica
www.grupoketsin.com
CEO: Cesar Marin
Products: Specialties; polymers; paints and
coatings; food additives; solvents; sanitisers;
packaging
Services: Logistics and packaging
Assets: 2 warehouses; truck fleet
Trading Sales: 2%
COREFLOW CHEMI
336 2022 SALES: $3M
Vadodara, India
www.coreflowchemi.com
President and CEO: Burhan Bazi
Products: Titanium dioxide; HEC; MHEC; so-
dium lignosulphonates; RDP; ethyl acetate;
Shutterstock
SLES; SLS needles; AOS; colour spackles; so-
dium silicate; benzaldehyde; benzyl chloride;
hydrogen peroxide; sodium benzoate
Services: Warehousing; repackaging;
blending
Assets: 2 warehouses; 2 offices; 2 delivery
trucks
Trading Sales: 18%
VTAR
337 2022 SALES: $3M
Vadodara, India
www.vtar.in
President/CEO: Vivek Singh / Tarang Patel
Products: Sodium sulphate; acetic acid; hy-
drochloric acid; manganese sulphate; zinc
sulphate; choline chloride; caustic soda; soda
ash light; aluminum sulphate; poly aluminum
chloride; waxes; fatty acids; ethoxylates; gly-
cols
Assets: 1 branch in UAE; 2 warehouses
Trading Sales: 55%
ENVIROTECH EUROPE
338 2022 SALES: $1.5M (£1.2M)
London, UK
www.envirotech-europe.com
Owner: Larry Clark
Products: ProSolv 5408e; ProSolv; EnSolv
CC-A; SuperCorr A; Aquus CL-One; vapour
degreasing chemicals; solvent cleaning
chemicals; corrosion protection products
Services: Sales and manufacturing
Note: Local currency sales converted
to US dollars based on 31 December
2022 exchange rates
19-25 May 2023 | ICIS Chemical Business | 121
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 CONFERENCES & EVENTS

Dates for your diary WHAT’S ON

Forthcoming ICIS events worldwide

Conferences
Learn. Develop. Discover.
ICIS conferences and events bring together
communities from across the value chain within the
chemical and energy sectors.

Chemspec
26th ICIS & Tecnon OrbiChem World
77th STLE Annual Chlor-Alkali Conference
15-16 June – Intercontinental Hotel, Singapore
Europe 2023 Meeting & The conference is back and brings together the
industry’s leading experts and decision-makers to
discuss the latest developments and challenges

24-25 May 2023 Exhibition facing this vital market.

Our industry-leading analysts and senior professionals
from across the value chain will discuss new

Messe Basel, 21-25 May 2023

challenges businesses face, such as sustainability and
innovation. You’ll gain unparalleled insights and
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Switzerland Society of constantly evolving market.
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The exchange of Tribologists 18th ICIS Middle Eastern Base Oils and
Lubricants Conference
15-16 October – The Ritz-Carlton Jeddah, Saudi
knowledge within and Lubrication Arabia
As the largest gathering of base oils and lubricants

international industry
networks is more
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Chemspec Europe is a
key event for buyers,
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Engineers – STLE professionals in the Middle East, with 30+ nationalities
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networking. With a wide mix of industry leaders from
across the value chain, there is an abundance of new
Society of Tribologists opportunities to be found.
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and Lubrication Training Courses
Engineers sets Learn. Develop. Discover.
As markets evolve and industries change, the need for
sights on Long up-to-date training and personal career development
is imperative to drive businesses forward.
Beach, California, for An Introduction to Polyolefins
24 May – 26 May
comeback of in-person 8.30am London / 11.30am UAE / 3.30pm Singapore
‘Polyolefins’ can often be considered to be quite a
events. broad term and understanding their uses, and where
they fit within value chains, can often be confusing.
This course, will provide an essential overview of key
https://www.stle.org/annualmeeting polyolefins chains such as polyethylene (PE) and
polypropylene (PP), as well regional insights and
market dynamics.
Click HERE to find out more
Fundamentals of the Polymers Business
30 May – 2 June
7am London / 10am UAE / 2pm Singapore
The polymers industry has gone through dynamic
changes over the years. The rise of sustainability
commitments challenged the business models of
many companies. To stay relevant, aligning strategies
with regulations and consumer preferences is critical
but it is equally important to protect traditional
applications. On the other hand, geo-political tensions
and logistics challenges widens supply and demand
gaps impacting the global trade flow.
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Economics and Forecasting
5-6 June
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11-13 September 2023, Sitges, Spain Click HERE to find out more
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We are excited to announce our return to Sitges/ European Gas Markets: The Scramble to
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www.icis.com 19-25 May 2023 | ICIS Chemical Business | 123

ASIA CHEMICAL PROFILE
Jasmine Khoo Singapore
Acrylates
Uses
Acrylic acid (AA) is mainly used as an interme-
diate for several polymers and compounds.
Crude (unrefined) AA is used almost exclu-
sively to make acrylate esters, which include
butyl acrylate (butyl-A), ethyl acrylate (ethyl-
A), 2-ethylhexyl acrylate (2-EHA), and methyl
acrylate (methyl-A).
Glacial AA is widely used to produce supera-
bsorbent polymers (SAP), mainly used in the
personal care industry. Major downstream
markets for AA and acrylate esters include
coatings, elastomers, adhesives, thickeners,
textiles, plastics additives and paper treatment.
Supply/demand
The beginning of 2023 saw healthy demand
in southeast Asia and China ahead of Lunar
New Year, with most buyers seeking to re-
stock. A spate of planned shutdown mainte-
nance and unforeseen production woes at
some regional facilities sparked supply con-
cerns and lent upward support to pricing.
The US banking crisis dampened acrylates
market sentiment further. Most regional im-
porters exercised caution with procurement,
preferring to buy strictly on a need-to basis.
The Chinese domestic market was also
sluggish in cargo uptake, and producers were
soon observed slashing offers to encourage
buying. With Songkran Festival and Ramadan
celebrated in parts of Asia in April, southeast
Asia’s import interest took a further hit.
Most regional facilities were also running
normally in April, resulting in supply over-
US butyl acrylate
$/tonne, import iso container, spot CIF SE Asia
2,400
2,200
2,000
1,800
1,600
1,400
1,200
1,000
May 2022 May 2023
124 | ICIS Chemical Business | 19-25 May 2023
For up-to-date information on more
than 120 global commodities, visit:
icis.com/about/price-reports
hang. With China’s post-pandemic end-user
demand failing to live up to initial expecta-
tions, China-based producers were seen ag-
gressively offering material for export. The
competition to liquidate stocks dampened
market sentiment further.
The Indian market was largely amply sup-
plied, with buyers mostly opting to purchase
domestically available products over risking
potential losses by committing to imports.
Prices
Spot prices for key assessed grades including
butyl-A and 2-EHA in Q1 started off on a strong
note on the back of restocking activity in the
Chinese domestic market ahead of Lunar
New Year. Exports from China were also large-
ly priced firmer, prompting higher import ne-
gotiations seen around the region.
Prices climbed steadily across Asia amid
snug availability, despite weak demand fun-
damentals. However, the price uptrend soon
lost steam towards the second half of March,
as lacklustre demand across Asia weighed on
buying confidence among importers.
Spot prices in Asia started registering de-
clines from late March, with steady price falls
seen across all five assessed grades through-
out April. Amid the price downtrend, most
buyers retreated further to the sidelines amid
concerns of potential losses, resulting in sub-
dued trade.
Technology
The catalytic process requires gas-phase pro-
pylene and air, with the propylene reacting
with oxygen to form acrolein and then acrylic
acid. The acrylic acid is then purified through
distillation to produce glacial AA.
Outlook
Supply overhang is likely to define the near-
term outlook for key assessed grades butyl-A
and 2-EHA, as producers across Asia were un-
derstood to be producing steadily with limit-
ed plans for maintenance coming up in May
and June.
With an existing oversupply in the Chinese
market following the start-up of Guangxi
Huayi’s Qinzhou-based 400,000 tonne/year
butyl-A facility, greater competition can be ex-
pected among China-based sellers in offering
cargoes domestically and regionally.
Asia butyl acrylate capacity
‘000 tonnes/year
Company Location Capacity
Pinghu Jiaxing, China 760
Petrochemical Co
Guangxi Huayi New Qinzhou, China 400
Materials
Wanhua Chemical Yantai, China 360
Shanghai Huayi Shanghai, China 320
Acrylic
Formosa Plastics Ningbo, China 240
Corp
BASF-YPC Nanjing, China 200
Bharat Petroleum Cochin, India 180
Jiangsu Sanmu Taixing, China 180
Taixing Sunke Taixing, China 180
Chemicals
A full list of plants and projects capaci-
ties, forecasts, production volumes and
operating rates are available on the
ICIS Supply and Demand database
From a demand perspective, there are lim-
ited driving factors that could potentially lend
a boost to buying appetite. The Chinese mar-
ket is expected to continue grappling with
lackluster demand from end-user sectors.
Most buyers, concerned over upstream fluc-
tuations and unfavorable economic condi-
tions, were taking small quantities strictly on a
need-to basis and are expected to remain so
for the foreseeable future.
For India, most players spoke of high inven-
tory levels among buyers throughout April.
Buying sentiment was mostly weak, especial-
ly since recent steady price declines led buy-
ers to adopt a cautious approach.
In southeast Asia, there could possibly be
restocking activity observed post-Songkran
Festival and post-Ramadan. However, not all
market players were hopeful for a significant
upturn in demand, especially given weak fun-
damentals in India and China.
For the Middle East market, Tasnee has re-
started from its turnaround from mid-March.
However, cargoes of Middle East-origin were
scarcely seen in southeast Asia and this is likely
to remain the case, as weak pricing deters pro-
ducers from offering actively to the region. Q
Access the archive of the Chemical
Profiles A-Z at icis.com/subscriber/icb/
chemicalprofiles
www.icis.com

Caroline Murray London
PET
Uses
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) has a crystal-
line structure and good chemical resistance
to mineral oils, acids and solvents but not to
bases. It has good electrical resistance and
low moisture absorption. It resists combus-
tion and is self-extinguishing.
PET exists both as an amorphous (transpar-
ent) and a semi-crystalline (opaque and white)
thermoplastic, and can be made into a resin or
a film. Semi-crystalline PET has good strength,
stiffness and hardness while the amorphous
PET has better ductility. PET has good process-
ability that allows it to be recycled for other ap-
plications or returned to its constituent mono-
mers. The largest outlet is synthetic fibres,
followed by bottle resin, which dominates the
European market. PET film is used in electrical
applications and packaging.
Supply/demand
Production was significantly curtailed in H2
2022. This was due to exceptionally high en-
ergy costs creating difficulties for manufac-
turers to compete with imports. With little
clarity as to how end consumers would react
to the terrible economic news, buyers opted
to lower 2023 contractual commitments, cre-
ating more problems for suppliers in Europe.
A declaration of force majeure from Indora-
ma Ventures in Q4 2022 and another in Q1
2023 from Alpek Polyester UK, failed to impact
supplies, even ahead of peak buying season.
Structurally, Europe is reliant on imports.
However, in 2022 its import dependence in-
Europe PET
€/tonne, bottle grade, domestic FD Europe
2,000
Low
High
1,750
1,500
1,250
1,000
May 2022 Apr 2023
www.icis.com
EUROPE CHEMICAL PROFILE
creased to around one-fourth of the total re- Europe PET capacity
quirements, and Q1 2023 saw a ‘tsunami’ of ‘000 tonnes/year
import arrivals at a time of low demand. Company Location Capacity
The tentative resumption of production
NEO Group Klaipeda, 480
lines pre-season did not alter the overall out- Lithuania
put, yet high stocks were difficult to shift.
JBF-Rak Geel, Belgium 432
Demand was worse than anticipated. Much
Koksan Gaziantep, Turkey 432
of Europe was hit by a lengthy spell of cold
weather, supposedly postponing the height Indorama Rotterdam, 426
Ventures Netherlands
of sales activity in the bottling sector. Europe-
an PET demand reported a growth of 3.4% in Sasa Polyester Adana, Turkey 365
Sanayi
2022 and is forecast to be flat to marginally
positive in 2023, depending on country. EquiPolymers Schkopau, 335
Germany
Indorama Corlu, Turkey 270
Prices Ventures
Incredibly high energy prices introduced be-
UAB Orion Global Klaipeda, 263
cause of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, sent PET PET Lithuania
utility costs spiralling up to record highs in
Novapet Barbastro, Spain 260
July 2022. Producers in Europe could not
compete with material from other regions Indorama Wloclawek, 230
Ventures Poland
where costs were cheaper.
Prices proceeded to sink back to 2021 lev- A full list of plants and projects capaci-
els. The difference though, was how uncom- ties, forecasts, production volumes and
fortably close to the upstream paraxylene (PX) operating rates are available on the
ICIS Supply and Demand database
monthly contract price PET has been.
Separately, producers actively pushed prices economies. However, as it goes into food and
lower to lure buyers away from cheap imports beverage packaging, it may mean it fairs bet-
and back to domestic PET. The strategy was ter than other materials. PET’s recycling capa-
partly successful, and lead to a period of stabili- bilities are a bonus over other products, but
ty. However, concerns around consumer de- stricter environmental policies will impact vir-
mand and the state of the economies remained. gin polymer demand for packaging.
As of 2023, there is only one major consumer The competitiveness of imports versus do-
left to settle PX monthly contract prices. mestic PET has been the value chain’s biggest
challenge. In response, a complaint against
Technology PET from China, made on behalf of the Union
In the manufacture of PET resins, purified tere- industry of PET, was lodged and a European
phthalic acid (PTA) and monoethylene glycol Commission investigation of dumping and
(MEG) are reacted to make a basic ester which injury was initiated. Anticipation of a probe
is polymerised in a melt phase, polyconden- was putting purchasers off buying from there
sation finishing reactor. Dimethyl terephtha- even before the announcement.
late (DMT) is an alternative feedstock to PTA Insecurity over the competitiveness of do-
but the PTA route is preferred. The molten mestic producers will persist until there is ei-
polymer is extruded, cut into chips and ther a satisfactory resolution of the Russian-
cooled. The chips pass to a solid state poly- Ukraine war, or the EU successfully secures a
condensation unit to form the PET resin. reliable and consistent energy source.
ICIS expects gas prices to further correct,
Outlook though they will likely stay at a premium to re-
A flurry of fair-weather enquiries could put a gional counterparts. Q
stop to individual sellers’ recent flexibility on Contribution by Jincy Varghese,
PET price, though what happens with the Decision Scientist, ICIS
broader markets may also have an impact on Access the archive of the Chemical
proceedings. The industry appeared doomed Profiles A-Z at icis.com/subscriber/icb/
to suffer the consequences of struggling chemicalprofiles
19-25 May 2023 | ICIS Chemical Business | 125
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