Rhodia and SIBUR have signed a letter of intent to create a joint venture in specialty surfactants. This strategic alliance would be focused on creating a leader in the CIS market where specialty surfactants are used particularly in home & personal care, and oil & gas industries, with the surfactants sector growing at more than 6% per year.
The evolution of consumer demand for more sophisticated and segmented products, such as shampoos, conditioners, shower gels, laundry and household detergents, and the need for high performance solutions in oil and gas extraction fields are driving volume growth of specialty surfactants in the CIS region.
Rhodia, as a worldwide leader in specialty surfactants, will provide its expertise in surfactant technologies, its knowledge of formulations and market applications and its customer network, including global key accounts with a strong presence in this region.
SIBUR, the leading petrochemical company in Russia, will contribute its raw materials, production and logistics capabilities. With its longstanding experience of the Russian petrochemicals market, SIBUR will also support the development of the surfactants business in oil and gas markets in Russia and the CIS.
It is expected that the new 50:50 joint venture will site a local production in Russia at Dzerzhinsk, near SIBUR’s petrochemicals operations, 400km east of Moscow, and is expected to be operational in 2013.
“This strategic partnership is a key step in our development in the dynamic surfactants market in the CIS and Eastern Europe,” commented Christophe Clemente, Rhodia Novecare’s Vice President Europe. “This alliance will reinforce our leading position worldwide in specialty surfactants and is fully aligned with our growth strategy. It demonstrates our commitment to become the preferred partner of our customers as they expand in fast growing countries,” added Emmanuel Butstraen, President of Rhodia Novecare.
“SIBUR and Rhodia have strong complementary activities and expertise. The association with a worldwide leader in specialty surfactants will allow us to provide value added products to meet the fast growing demand for more sophisticated and complex solutions”, commented Sergey Merzlyakov, Vice-President - Head of the Plastics and Organic Synthesis business unit of SIBUR. “Collaboration with Rhodia is in line with our strategy of expanding into carefully chosen specialty chemicals business segments”, concluded Dmitry Konov, CEO of SIBUR.
Surfactants are molecules that reduce surface tension and can bring properties such as detergency, emulsification, foaming, wetting and softening. They are used as performance ingredients in formulations in a large number of applications: shower gels, shampoos, conditioners, laundry powders and tablets, household and hard surface cleaning, industrial cleaning, paints, metal treatment, oil and gas extraction, agrochemicals, etc.
