Additives for Polymers
tel: +1-440-930-1000; fax: +1-440-930-3064;
URL: www.polyone.com
NEWS AND VIEWS
ColorMatrix acquired by
private equity firm, plans
expansion
ColorMatrix Corp, the Cleveland-based manu-
facturer of liquid colorants and additive concen-
trates for thermoplastic products, has been
acquired by US private equity firm Audax
Group for an undisclosed sum. The existing
management, led by co-CEOs and co-founders
John Haugh and Michael Shaughnessy, have
been retained and will remain significant
investors in the company. ColorMatrix is a glob-
al player serving customers in blow moulding,
extrusion and performance moulding with a par-
ticularly strong position in PET colouring.
As a result of the ownership change,
ColorMatrix is also being reorganized, with its
four global business units being joined into a
single operating group. The company says this
will enable it to serve a growing and increasing-
ly multinational customer base more efficiently.
Audax co-chief executive Geoffrey Rehnert
says the new owner plans to accelerate
ColorMatrix’s growth by global expansion and
completing selective add-on acquisitions.
Contact: ColorMatrix, 680 North Rocky River
Drive, Berea, Ohio, USA; tel: +1-216-622-
0100; URL: corporation.colormatrix.com
Bridgestone to build Mexican
carbon black plant
Tokyo-based Bridgestone Corp is planning to
build a plant in Mexico to ensure reliable sup-
plies of high-quality carbon black, which is in
increasingly high demand due to expansion of
the company’s tyre plants worldwide.
Approximately US$81 million (about ¥8.9 bil-
lion) has been earmarked for investment in the
new plant, which is scheduled to begin produc-
tion in June 2008. Annual capacity is expected
to be around 35 000 tons.
August 2006
The new plant will be operated by Mexico
Carbon Manufacturing SA DE CV, a wholly-
owned member of the Bridgestone Group estab-
lished in September 2005. The plant will be
located in Altamira and will employ about 110
staff. This will be Bridgestone’s third carbon
black plant, joining facilities in Japan and
Thailand. Expanding in-house production
capacity in raw materials for tyres and diversi-
fied products is a strategic priority for the group.
Contact: Bridgestone Corp, 10-1, Kyobashi 1-
chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-8340, Japan; tel:
+81-3-3567-0111; fax: +81-3-3535-2553;
URL: www.bridgestone.co.jp
Latest polymer additives
appointments at Chemtura,
Elementis and others
Chemtura Corp (www.chemtura.com) has
recently made a number of executive appoint-
ments in its plastics additives business. Diana
Peninger has been appointed to the position of
global business director, PVC Additives, with
accountability for profit and loss and coordi-
nation of functional support to drive improve-
ment in operating income. Meanwhile, Marc
van Gerwen becomes the company’s global
business director, Antioxidants & UV
Stabilizers, stationed in Frauenfeld,
Switzerland, Chemtura’s European commer-
cial centre. The business unit has plants in
Europe, North and South America, Asia and
the Middle East and produces well-known
brands such as Anox, Lowilite and Ultranox.
Van Gerwen served as business director,
Plastics Additives with Crompton Corp. Chris
Bond becomes commercial director for
Plastics Additives in the Americas, and Sergio
Palumbo takes on the same role in the EMEA
(Europe, the Middle East and Africa) region.
Palumbo, who will be based in Frauenfeld,
was previously commercial manager, EMEA,
for Plastics Additives and will be succeeded
in that role by Brian Johnson, who will be
based in Belgium.
Elementis (www.elementis.com) has appointed
David W. Dutro as president and chief operating
officer. Dutro will also retain his duties as manag-
ing director of the pigments division.