On the occasion of the 6th China International Polyurethane Exhibition one year after the merger of Compton and Dahu, Chemtura, with a new attitude, is a future chemical leader Vision participated in this polyurethane industry event. During the exhibition, the reporter of Tiantian Chemical Network had the honor to interview Dr. Gao Dehua, Business Director of Asia Pacific Region of Functional Special Products of Chemtura, Mr. Zhang Zizheng, Marketing Manager of Polyurethane Prepolymer Asia Pacific Region, and Mr. Jian Baiyi, General Manager of Greater China and Southeast Asia Region of Flame Retardant Division, etc. .
Tiantian Chemical Network: Compton and Great Lakes merged a year ago. What new measures will the merged new company have in the near future? How does this strategic merger benefit the company or the client?
Dr. Gao Dehua: First of all, let’s get to know the name of the new company. Chemtura is a combination of Chemical and Future, expressing the vision of the future chemical leader; new company, new name, but still retains the original excellent Tradition and brand. Compton and Great Lakes combined their respective excellent traditions, making the sales of the new company reach 4 billion US dollars. As the company’s president Bob Wood said, “Chemtura is the world’s leading supplier of functional special products”
Recently, Chemtura has integrated its branches and opened a new Asia-Pacific headquarters office in Shanghai, China. This office represents all of the company’s business units and is the center of strategic activity in the Asia Pacific region. Chemtura believes that the Asian market is a very important one, and the position of Shanghai is particularly important.
Before the merger, the two companies both had good technical reserves, which can be shared well after the merger. For example, the market size of the petroleum additive business has become larger after the merger. In addition, the additive department at the upper end provides technical support for the product department.
Tiantian Chemical Network: Can you introduce the products and services of Chemtura’s Polyurethane Division?
Mr. Zhang Zizheng: Chemtura’s polyurethane products in functional special products include aromatic polyester polyol, CPU, PUD (polyurethane dispersion) and so on. Chemtura’s CPU products have a history of more than 40 years. We are familiar with the key points of each chemical step and can assist customers to improve the performance of materials to the highest level.
Tiantian Chemical Network: In order to adapt to the rapid development of China’s PU industry, does the merged Chemtura have any new investment plans in China?
Dr. Gao Dehua: Chemtura’s PU department has a factory in Nanjing. This factory is the original Compton factory and was merged into Chemtura in July. With the development of business in China, the production capacity of this factory will continue to expand. Chemtura’s device capacity will continue to improve as market demands change. In addition, in addition to the polyurethane department, Chemtura is also actively seeking other cooperation points in the Chinese market.
Tiantian Chemical Network: How does Chemtura view the current characteristics of China’s polyurethane market? How will Chemtura face the competition in the Chinese market?
Mr. Zhang Zizheng: Taking CPU as an example, some downstream customers in China are gradually developing upstream, and they synthesize prepolymers by themselves; Chemtura believes that the polyurethane industry needs a professional division of labor, and China’s The market will develop in the direction of professional division of labor in the future.
Chemtura has a good technical reserve and can continuously improve the performance of materials. Provide customers with better products and services, and help customers win more markets. As for the current price competition in the Chinese market, it is because customers fail to discover the superior performance of materials. Whoever can maximize the performance of materials will become the leader in the industry.
Tiantian Chemical Network: As Chemtura’s downstream customers in Europe and the United States are gradually shifting to the Asian and Chinese markets, how does Chemtura respond to this strategic change?
Mr. Zhang Zizheng: First of all, Chemtura will make a corresponding transfer with the original European and American customers’ strategic transfer; secondly, Chemtura pays more attention to local downstream customers in China, and they also have development potential; The rapid development of China’s polyurethane industry in the past 10 years also confirms this point.
At present, our foreign customers even use Chemtura to find customers and competitors in the Chinese market, which also proves that the capabilities and potential of Chinese customers cannot be ignored.
Tiantian Chemical Network: In terms of the current situation of China’s polyurethane industry, and other polyurethane developed or developing countries.What is the noticeable difference?
Mr. Zhang Zizheng: In some countries where the polyurethane industry is relatively mature, such as Japan and Australia, the downstream customers of polyurethane products can well recognize the performance of the material itself, and even demand their suppliers to continuously improve their products properties or materials that require new properties.
In some developing countries in the polyurethane industry, such as India, the competition among downstream factories is also very fierce, but they are all willing to try new materials and processes to improve their competitiveness. In India, the specialized division of labor is relatively clear. For example, CPU factories in India only produce finished products but not raw materials. On the contrary, many Chinese customers produce by themselves from materials to finished products.
Tiantian Chemical Network: The flame retardant business department is one of the main business departments of Chemtura. How is the current business situation?
Jian Baiyi: First, a brief introduction to the flame retardant industry; current flame retardant products are mainly divided into bromine, phosphorus, tin and other series. Flame retardants are mainly used in electronics, electrical appliances and construction and structure. For Chemtura, the PU flame retardant business accounts for 10-15% of the global flame retardant business, while the proportion in China is about 5%, and the Chinese market has greater development potential.
Tiantian Chemical Network: What is the future development trend of flame retardant industry technology and standards? What is the development prospect of China’s polyurethane flame retardant market?
Jian Baiyi: For the flame retardant industry, the more authoritative standards are the American UL standards. However, the polyurethane industry has not yet established a complete flame retardant standard. Currently, the more common standards are the British BS5852 standard and the Cal117 standard. In the next few years, the flame retardant standards of the polyurethane industry will gradually become standardized, and the Ministry of Public Security of China will also issue flame retardant standards one after another. Chemtura is also working hard to improve the flame retardant standards.
In terms of technology, due to environmental protection issues, chlorine-containing flame retardants such as TCEP and TBCP will be replaced, while the same kind of TCPP will continue to be used by manufacturers. The bromine and phosphorus flame retardants FM600 and FM602 recently launched by Chemtura have outstanding anti-scorch properties, minimal impact on the foam processing process and the physical properties of the final product, excellent resistance to cigarette smoldering and good environmental protection characteristics.
Currently in the Chinese market, only about 10% of polyurethane blocks use flame retardants, which is far lower than the level in Europe and the United States. In the next few years, 40% of the world’s flexible foam will be produced in China; with the increase in the production of polyurethane flexible foam in China and the increase in the proportion of flame retardants used, the demand for flame retardants in China will be considerable in the future.
Tiantian Chemical Network: At present, there are many localized flame retardant suppliers in China, and the price competition is fierce; how does Chemtura respond to this market competition pattern, and whether it develops and supplies products at different levels?
Jian Baiyi: Chemtura is committed to technological innovation and product development, providing customers with better products and services. For the Chinese market, Chemtura will develop products suitable for China’s national conditions according to industry classification, including products with different performance and price.
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