10/21/2014 |

TROSIFOL and SentryGlas join forces

"We will benefit from the talented GLS/Vinyls employees worldwide and from DuPont's technology, research & development, production and distribution network. I am convinced that this expertise will help us to boost our vinyl acetate business further," said Keiji Murakami, President of the Kuraray Group vinyl acetate company, in a press publication on the acquisition of the DuPont business unit.
When the American competition regulator approved the acquisition without restrictions, the European authorities gave its consent subject to certain conditions. To satisfy competition law, Kuraray is not therefore permitted to integrate the production location for PVB films in Hamm-Uentrop and the associated service activities into its own business operations, but must sell them off.

Unlike in previous years, the exhibition stand at glasstec 2014 will not be dominated by an extensive product presentation. Instead, Kuraray will be granting pride of place to communication with customers. "It is our aim to use the stand to demonstrate our design expertise, but without overpowering the visitor," the new Marketing Manager Christoph Troska stresses. "We want it to be inviting and give our employees enough space to hold talks with visitors – most of them customers. Following the purchase of Dupont's GLS activities, the questions and suggestions from our customers at this fair are particularly important."

"Best of Both" is the motto that Kuraray is communicating to customers at the fair. "By this we mean the best of both worlds," says Troska. "We are now in the unique position of being able to offer our customers not only our comprehensive PVB product range, but established ionomer technology as well."

In a letter to employees and customers, Kuraray Managing Director Dr Matthias Gutweiler affirmed: "We are convinced that this pooling of resources will enable us to serve our customers even better – with the Best of Both worlds. In the integration process, we wish to closely involve all our customers and employees, and we will take plenty of time for questions at this fair."

Kuraray is drawing attention to the new benefits for the customer:

• "Genuine" global player in the glass sector and always close to the customer
• Range of glass interlayers extended through the addition of SentryGlas
• Global network of specialists and technicians
• Global network of laboratories and R&D departments
• Perfect extension of the value chain within the Group
• Major synergies in the optimisation of existing products and the design of new solutions.

There will also be a stronger focus on automotive glass applications, and innovation in this field will be accelerated.

On 1 June of this year, the Japanese chemical group Kuraray Co., Ltd. listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, officially took over the Glass Laminating Solutions (GLS) segment of US DuPont Packaging & Industrial Polymers (E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, NYSE: DD). The purchase price came to USD 543 million plus the value of all stockpiles. By taking over SentryGlas, the best-known GLS product, Kuraray is adding an important material to its product portfolio.

At DuPont, GLS achieved net sales of over USD 500 million in 2012 as a whole. GLS/Vinyls has a 600-strong workforce and six production locations in the USA, Europe and Asia that serve over 350 customers worldwide.
The effects of the acquisition on the consolidated business results of the Kuraray Group for fiscal year 2014 ending in December are currently being analysed and will be published. At glasstec 2014 in Düsseldorf, the globally leading glass fair, Kuraray Europe GmbH will be presenting its complete product range for glass interlayers for the first time.

Kuraray was one of the first companies to industrialise polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and market it worldwide. As a pioneer of business allied to vinyl acetate, Kuraray currently does global business with PVA resins, PVB resins and films, PVA films for LCDs and dishwasher detergent packages, EVOH (ethylene vinyl alcohol) resins (EVAL brand) for food packages and petrol tanks, and PVA fibres (Vinylon brand), which are used as a substitute for asbestos and as a reinforcing agent in cement.

Download this press release as an Adobe Acrobat Document here

Press contact:
Christoph Troska, Head of Marketing & Business Development
Kuraray Europe GmbH, Business Area PVB,
Mülheimer Strasse 26, D-53840 Troisdorf, Germany
Phone +49 (0) 22 41 / 2555 201
Fax +49 (0) 22 41 / 2555 299
Email trosifol(at)kuraray.eu