International. Evonik Industries said it is becoming one of the leading suppliers of additives to the coatings industry. The acquisition of Air Products' performance materials division, which was completed in early January, contributed decisively to this.
Effective January 3, 2017, Evonik merged its coating additive business line, the coatings business of its silica business line, and air Products' specialty additive branch with a focus on substrate wetting additives.
Dr. Claus Rettig, Chairman of the Board of Management of Evonik Resource Efficiency GmbH, stated that "the result is one of the world's leading suppliers of additives to the coatings industry. Our technology platform is unlike any other in the world. It allows us to develop innovative solutions for almost any formulation challenge in the paints and coatings industry."
For Dr. Gaetano Blanda, head of the new line of business, joining forces to create added value for customers and Evonik is one of the most important goals. He wants to further strengthen the unit and place his trust in excellently qualified employees. Around 450 employees from around 30 production and research centres of the new line of business currently offer about 500 products.
The company further clarified that apart from the expanded product portfolio, the acquisition of Air Products' performance materials division will not initially mean any changes for customers. Blanda promises: "Contact persons and existing contracts will not be affected. Our goal is to offer our customers in the coatings industry the best range of products and services in the long term."
