Rockwood’s Sachtleben venture acquires crenox TiO2 production assets and inventory

Rockwood Holdings, has announced that its titanium dioxide venture Sachtleben has reached an agreement and acquired the titanium dioxide production assets and inventory of crenox GmbH.The acquisition closed in mid July. The terms were not disclosed.
Sachtleben, which is a venture of Rockwood and Kemira Oyj, acquired the crenox Krefeld-Uerdingen plant and all inventory of the facility. The acquisition will add over 100kt of TiO2 production, increasing capacity to approximately 340kt, further enhancing Sachtleben’s position as a leading global supplier of high quality TiO2 pigments.
Commenting on the acquisition, Rockwood Chairman and CEO, Seifi Ghasemi, said, "This acquisition significantly enhances the value of our TiO2 businesses. We have been trying to buy this facility for more than five years as we have always believed it would be a great fit with our TiO2 business. This 100,000ton/year plant will now enable us to optimise production between three plants, in addition to creating growth opportunities and enhancing our ability to serve customers.”

Vernon S Sumner, CEO of Sachtleben, added, "For most of 2010 and 2011 we were completely sold out in our titanium dioxide business, with sales limited by our production output. This acquisition provides us with a financially attractive capacity expansion to meet the growing needs of customers in all market segments. The technology, products, customer base and employees of crenox are the ideal supplement to Sachtleben’s portfolio.”