Clariant To Distribute KitoZyme Biopolymers

Clariant has entered into a long-term partnership with KitoZyme to distribute its biopolymers. The complete range of effective, sustainable and sensory enhancing biopolymers for personal care applications of KitoZyme will be available from October 2011 under Clariant trade names Vitipure, Zenvivo and Velsan.

According to Sonja Gehm, global marketing manager, Clariant’s move into the biotechnology arena enables the company to participate in the anti-aging and skin repair categories. “This is our first entry into the actives area,” she told Happi. “With an aging population, there is high demand for anti-aging products. The time is right for Clariant.”
These ingredients cover a wide range of applications and deliver proven high performance including sensory enhancing, skin repair, anti-aging, moisturizing and antimicrobial properties. Overall, they meet the current need for innovative, natural ingredients, according to Clariant.

The new Clariant range of chitosan, chitin-glucan and derivatives is extracted from secured vegetal source and is eco-friendly and cost-effective. According to Clariant, in production they are modular and sequenced in such a way that each intermediate product is isolated and purified before moving to the next stage ensuring pure and ultra-pure grade units.

Gehm noted that the range of products is multifunctional, enabling formulators to potentially reduce ingredients. For example, chitosan has microbial efficacy, which may enable formulators to reduce the amount of preservative in a product. Chitosan also has film-forming capabilities, which makes it an excellent addition to sunscreen formulations, according to Gehm.

“Our actives tackle a lot of different skin parameters at the same time, so the formulation can be made more easily and with new market claims,” Gehm continued.

Sourced by selected suppliers that meet requirements in terms of purity, microbiological quality and traceability, the materials are produced from fully renewable, non-GMO and traceable fungi, by-products of biotech and food industry, these biopolymers comply with GMP (FDA and EMEA), HACCP and ISO9001: 2008.

“Clariant’s decision to partner with KitoZyme is fully in line with our strategy to be the preferred partner to the personal care industry by providing sustainable innovations and superior sensoric differentiation based on formulation expertise and market insight,” said Michael Willome, head of business unit industrial & consumer specialties, Clariant. “This partnership helps us to become a supplier of technology ingredients with the character of differentiation, with the help of new technologies and a deeper product portfolio.”



Symrise To Focus on Nature-Identical Alphabisabolol
Symrise will stop harvesting natural bisabolol from the candeia tree that grows in the Brazilian rainforest as the sustainable supply of the oil can no longer be guaranteed. In the future, Symrise will focus on the production of highly pure nature-identical bisabolol, specifically, Dragosantol and Dragosantol 100.

Alpha-bisabolol is an essential soothing ingredient in many personal care products for sensitive skin and hair and for baby care. The natural active substance is derived from the oil of the candeia tree (Vanillosmopsis erythropappa), which grows in Brazil’s Mata Atlantica forest. The tree is endangered because its natural environment is constantly shrinking. Around 20,000m3 of candeia wood are needed every year to cover global demand for candeia oil, according to an estimate by Lavras University.

By replacing natural alpha-bisabolol with nature-identical, synthetic alphabisabolol in its product portfolio, Symrise is now making an additional contribution to limiting the deforestation of the endangered Atlantic rainforest in Brazil. The use of Dragosantol 100 means that even fewer candeia trees need to be felled.

“As the largest supplier of alpha-bisabolol, we are well aware of our responsibility and clearly commit ourselves to safeguarding the Brazilian rainforest,” said Véronique Maurin, global product director cosmetic ingredients at Symrise. “For us, this means making an active contribution to society and the environment.”

Croda Opens New Production Line at Atlas Point
Croda Inc. has announced the official opening of its new, state-of-the-art facility for the production of lubricant esters at its Atlas Point manufacturing site in New Castle, DE.

This expansion will enable Croda to better supply its value added technologies to the North American market. The Atlas Point manufacturing site will now be able to manufacture lubricant quality esters, targeting growth in high end lubricant applications which are being driven by increasing market demands for improvements in fuel economy and sustainability. Food-grade esters for lubricant base fluids and additives will be supplied in addition to water-soluble lubricity additives for stamping and drawing lubricants. A further advantage is that the expansion will facilitate the manufacture of new innovations for the marketplace, the company said.

Croda will use this opportunity to remain innovative and competitive while continuing to provide its customers with a dedicated sales and technical service team for their support. Through this upgrade and renovation of the manufacturing site, Croda can increase the accessibility of its product portfolio while maintaining a level of quality and service.

“Investments, such as the lube ester upgrade to the Atlas Point manufacturing site will allow Croda to further support our standing as a world class supplier of quality chemical specialties,” said Chris Donaghy, sales director of lubricants and polymer additives, Croda Inc. “This investment will improve efficiency and innovation while expanding the breadth of services Croda offers to our customers in the area of lubrication technologies now and in the future.”

This investment improves the ester capacity at Croda Inc. by 15%, specifically allowing the company to manufacture various grades for the lubricant ester market.

“We at Croda strongly believe in investing in our manufacturing facilities and continually strive for improvements in process, safety, technology and productivity,” said Dave Johnson, VP-manufacturing. “This latest investment highlights Croda’s commitment to continual improvement and supporting our infrastructure for long term sustainability of our business and future sales growth.”


DSM Nutritional Products Establishes Nutritional Lipids
DSM Nutritional Products has formed Nutritional Lipids, a unit which will combine Martek’s algal DHA omega-3 and ARA omega-6 products and DSM Nutritional Products’ polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFAs) portfolio, making DSM the world’s leading innovator and supplier in this category. Nutritional Lipids will focus on developing and positioning innovative nutritional lipid products. The business will leverage Martek’s technology and market position in the US, and DSM Nutritional Products’ unique global asset footprint, marketing and sales, and premix network to capture significant global growth opportunities and accelerate international expansion.

Leading experts around the world have noted that healthy lipids such as DHA, EPA and ARA are important nutrients for health throughout the life cycle. Products from DSM’s Nutritional Lipids portfolio can already be found in more than 400 brands of infant formula, nutritional supplements, functional foods and animal feeds sold worldwide.

Peter A. Nitze, who joined Martek in 2005 and held the position of COO at the time of the acquisition, will lead Nutritional Lipids as president and will be based in Columbia, MD. Steve Dubin, Martek’s CEO at the time of the acquisition, will also assume a new role at DSM to be announced at a later date. David Abramson, Martek’s president at the time of acquisition, has been appointed senior executive advisor for DSM Nutritional Products.



Charles Tennant & Co. Forms JV with ESSA Technologies
Charles Tennant & Company (Canada) Ltd., a division of the UK-based Tennant Group of Companies, has formed a joint venture with ESSA Technologies (US) LLC, as part of its focus on strategically developing new and innovative ingredients for the personal care, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.

The joint venture is a strategic alliance of ESSA Technologies’ natural-based technology platform and the global resources of Charles Tennant & Company Ltd. and is designed to expand and support the market development opportunities within the global personal care and cosmetic markets.

ESSA Technologies is a specialty ingredient supplier of naturally-based feel modifiers and gelling agents designed to offer the global personal care and cosmetic markets unique, natural-based ingredients as functional alternatives to traditional synthetic ingredients.

“Meeting the increased demand by global beauty care manufacturers to provide natural-based, cost-effective, functional alternatives to synthetic ingredients is a primary objective of ESSA Technologies current and future product portfolio,” explained Chris Tarletsky, president and founder, ESSA Technologies. “Our Essachem natural-based ingredients provide excellent sensory and texture properties while also allowing chemists to modify the rheological profiles of oils without compromising the desired feel and conditioning attributes of the formulation.”

“The strategic integration of Charles Tennant and Company’s global resources and infrastructure will enhance the sales, marketing, and customer support for ESSA Technologies natural-based product portfolio,” added Kathie Taylor, executive VP-sales and marketing, Charles Tennant & Company. “The partnership between the two companies is in support of Charles Tennant’s ongoing strategic initiative to venture or acquire technology driven companies in key strategic markets like personal care and cosmetics.”


DKSH Acquires Tiger Chemicals
DKSH has entered into an agreementto acquire Melbourne-based Tiger Chemicals Company, which will be integrated into DKSH’s Business Unit Performance Materials. With this transaction, Performance Materials, a specialty chemicals distributor, gains access to several hundred customers and a sales team with more than 30 years of experience in specialty chemicals distribution.

The takeover strengthens DKSH’s footprint in Australia enabling further growth thanks to an expanded customer base. Moreover, it enables the company, headquartered in Switzerland, to extend its activities to New Zealand through established sales channels, offering an even better market coverage in Asia Pacific to its existing and new clients, the company said.
The owner of Tiger Chemicals Company, Rex Gordon, will continue to be actively involved in the business within DKSH Australia to ensure a smooth transfer of the business relationships.

Established in 1988, Tiger Chemicals Company imports and distributes specialty chemicals, partly own branded products, and focuses on providing its customers additional value through a solution-selling approach, formulation guidance, stock keeping and on-time delivery.

With the acquisition, Michael Joyce has been appointed as head of Business Unit Performance Materials for Australia and New Zealand. He brings more than 25 years of experience in the specialty chemicals industry to the team. Before joining DKSH, he worked over 20 years for BASF in Australia and Singapore. In his latest position, he was managing director BASF Coatings Pty. Ltd, in charge for both the Australian and New Zealand markets.



Chroma Expands Color Lab, Dedicates the New Technology Center
Chroma Corporation, McHenry, IL, has more than doubled the size of it color innovation and development laboratory. The firm has added six injection molding machines, three additional extruders, and a meeting area for customers to enjoy a relaxed working atmosphere in the color development and product development laboratory. These state-of-the-art capabilities will accommodate application development, testing, formulating and processing optimization and color development, the company said in a press statement.

The new equipment is capable of precise statistical process control and is geared toward Chroma’s strategic focus in engineering resins as well as their substantial core business in polyolefins.

Stu Swain, Chroma’s director of sales and marketing said “Chroma was built on supporting all facets of the packaging industry and we will never forget that, but we have been adding capabilities to better serve the consumer durables markets over the last few years. This lab expansion and new equipment is the best investment to support our growth and activity in this market segment.”

The lab also includes a blown film line and a cast sheet line to support the flexible packaging market.
In August, the firm’s newly expanded and renovated technology center was dedicated to founder, Robert D. Swain.


Scentsy Opens New Distribution Center
Scentsy, Inc., a home fragrance company, will open a new distribution center in Coppell, TX, to serve its customers in the south central US. The distribution center will add 190 new jobs to the local economy and handle approximately 27% of Scentsy’s orders in the US by the end of 2011.

The firm plans to lease approximately 150,000 sq. ft. of space for the new distribution facility, which is scheduled to open this month. The facility will reduce shipping times to customers in the south central US, according to the company, which has other distribution centers in Meridian, ID and Lexington, KY that serve the western and eastern US respectively.

“We sell more Scentsy products in Texas than any other state,” said Scentsy president Heidi Thompson. “Our new distribution center in Coppell is evidence of our commitment to give our Texas consultants and customers the best possible service.”

In addition to distribution centers in Idaho, Kentucky and Texas, Scentsy also has a distribution facility in Poland to serve its European Union customers. Scentsy’s administrative offices and manufacturing facilities are located in Meridian, ID.

Scentsy’s flagship product is a scented, wickless candle heated in decorative ceramic warmers. It has over 110,000 current independent sales consultants running home-based businesses in the US, Puerto Rico, Guam, Canada, Germany and the UK.



Fareva Acquires Pfizer Plant in Virginia
Fareva, a privately-held international contract manufacturer that makes household and industrial products, as well as cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, will acquire Pfizer’s consumer products manufacturing site Henrico County, VA. The site manufactures and packages Chapstick as well as Pfizer’s OTC products including Advil and Robitussin.

According to published reports in the Henrico Citizen, Pfizer and Fareva have struck an accord in which the plant continues production of Pfizer consumer products for the global marketplace. Additionally, all of the approximately 500 Pfizer colleagues employed there will transfer to Fareva.

Headquartered in Luxembourg, Fareva operates 28 manufacturing sites in Europe and emerging markets. The company’s CEO Bernard Fraisse said the firm has been looking for the right opportunity to expand its manufacturing footprint into North America and establish its pharmaceutical and cosmetics businesses in the US.



Venus Goddess Aids Hispanic Education
Latinos have the lowest high school and college completion rates of any racial or ethnic group. Despite recent advances in educational attainment, reports from the US Census Bureau reveal that serious discrepancies remain when Hispanic educational levels are compared to other ethnic groups. To help beat the odds and bolster the chances of a college degree, Gillette’s Venus razor brand is launching a new scholarship program for young Latinas through The Venus Goddess Fund for Education.

In partnership with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, Venus will offer $40,000 in scholarships to Houston students who apply and share their experiences on what motivates them to pursue their goals. Applications are available online through Oct. 28 and scholarships are open to all Latina students residing in the Houston metro area, who are planning to enter college to pursue two- or four-year degree and have a GPA of 3.0 or higher.

The Venus Goddess Fund for Education was launched by Gillette Venus razors in February 2011 in partnership with spokesperson Jennifer Lopez.


Mansfield-King Recognized by Inc.
Mansfield-King, an Indianapolis-based contract manufacturer of personal care items, announced today that it had been recognized multiple times by Inc. as the fastest-growing personal care manufacturer in US.

“From 2006-2010 our growth has been explosive, driven by our commitment to quality, R&D and service. New and existing customer growth has come from recognition of the talents of our team and what we are able to deliver to our customers,” said Charles Haywood, president of Mansfield-King.

Inc. also recognized Mansfield-King as the third-fastest growing privately held manufacturing business, of any type, in the US, for the period 2006-2009, and the eleventh-fastest growing manufacturing business for the period 2007-2010.
More info: www.mansfieldking.com



Naturex Earns Grade-A BRC Certification
Following Birmingham, UK, Avignon, France and Bischofszell and Burgdorf Switzerland, Naturex’s South Hackensack, NJ industrial site is the latest factory of the group to become BRC certified.

Naturex Inc. successfully complied with the rigorous and thorough inspections of the BVQI certification body.

“Gaining this grade-A BRC certification rewards the continuous and daily efforts of our teams but it also recognizes Naturex’ guarantee to supply our clients with the highest level of quality and safety for our ingredients,” said Nicolas Souchon, global quality assurance coordinator.

The BRC Global Standards are a leading global product safety and quality certification program used by suppliers in over 100 countries. A growing number of European and North American retailers and major manufacturers require this independent certification from their suppliers.

This new BRC certification demonstrates the commitment and the global approach of Naturex to meet the highest existing quality assurance standards, the company said.


NMI’s Molyneaux Honored
Maryellen Molyneaux, founder and president of Natural Marketing Institute (NMI), was honored with a Brava Award for her achievements as a leader, marketer and role model among female executives in the Philadelphia area.

The annual Brava Women Business Achievement Awards celebrate female CEOs, founders, presidents, owners and executive directors who combine their entrepreneurial spirit with a passion for giving back to the Philadelphia community. More than 250 nominations were submitted this year.



Swisher Buys Try-Chem And Masterchem
Swisher Hygiene Inc. has acquired the assets and certain liabilities of Try-Chem Services, LLC and Masterchem Services Corp., both Illinois-based hygiene and chemicals companies.

Under terms of the agreement, Swisher Hygiene paid $385,000 in cash, the assumption of certain liabilities, and the issuance of a convertible promissory note which may be converted into a maximum of 75,000 shares of common stock subject to customary restrictions, including acceptance by the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Try-Chem and Masterchem cover the greater Chicago area and adjacent markets and provide a complete range of warewash, laundry and specialty chemicals and service programs to the foodservice and hospitality industries.

Lawrence Gempp, owner of Try-Chem, and Ralph Sirianni and Jack Caplan, the owners of Masterchem, will be joining Swisher Hygiene.