Univar Inc. announced today that its wholly owned subsidiaries Univar AB in Sweden and Univar AS in Norway have reached an agreement to acquire Kemetyl Industrial Chemicals, a division of the Kemetyl Group. The Company generates approximately $30 million in annual sales. The acquisition is expected to close in early 2018.
Kemetyl Industrial Chemicals is among the leading distributors of chemical products in the Nordic region and provides bulk and specialty chemicals, such as isopropanol, glycols, metal salts, minerals and polyacrylamides, to customers in Sweden and Norway. Kemetyl Industrial Chemicals is also one of the largest suppliers of industrial grade alcohols in the region, including Sekundol, the division’s own brand. Sekundol is a competitive, sustainable and innovative product that is used as a carbon source in the wastewater treatment process and is derived from recycled ethanol from the pharmaceutical industry.
“The Nordic region is at the forefront of global R&D when it comes to life sciences, which makes this agreement a smart and strategic move to build our customer base and enhance our market expertise. This acquisition will allow Univar to expand its leading position in pharma and strengthen its expertise in water treatment,” said Steve Newlin, Univar’s chairman and chief executive officer. “The demand for sustainable development in the chemical industry is greater than ever and a true circular responsibility is the future of chemical and ingredient distribution. Kemetyl’s commitment to offering recycled products and reducing greenhouse gas emissions is in-step with Univar’s global commitment to sustainability and enhances the value proposition we can offer as more and more of our customers and supplier partners are driven by increased sustainability awareness.”
“We are very satisfied with the development of Kemetyl Industrial Chemicals over the past several years. In our ambition to further focus our business around consumer chemicals, this divestiture is a logical step to ensure that our industrial customers continue to get the level of service and expertise they deserve,” says Ketil Stave, Kemetyl Group’s chairman of the board. “It has been a pleasure to work with the Kemetyl Nordic Industry team. I believe there is a tremendous match with Univar’s outstanding service and capabilities, and we are convinced that they are in the best position to further develop and grow this business.”
In recent years Kemetyl has shifted its focus away from being a distributor that delivered mainly commodities from point to point. The Company’s model now includes a more diversified portfolio of sustainable products and targets segments where technical sales, industry expertise and value-added services are highly regarded and often requested by customers. Kemetyl offers customers value-added services such as: fully-certified processes, end-user education programs and technical service agreements.
“This is a great pairing of capabilities that gives Univar the ability to be even more competitive in the European market. The agreement supports our global corporate strategy to pursue market expansion and acquisitions, to continue profitably growing our core business, and to accelerate growth by focusing on chosen industry segments,” added Nick Powell, Univar’s president of EMEA. “Both companies have deep experience and key competencies within the life sciences market, and we welcome this opportunity to expand Univar’s reach within the water treatment sector, allowing us to forge deeper customer relationships.”
Source: Univar
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