Uniroyal expands in Europe and the Far East

22 May 1995 00:00  [Source: ICB]

UNIROYAL CHEMICAL CORP's Ankerweg production site, near Amsterdam, which it acquired with Solvay Duphar's crop protection business, is likely to play a key role in the US company's European expansion ambitions. It gives Uniroyal a second production site in Europe - in addition to Latina, Italy - and offers scope for expansion with the introduction of non-agrochemical products and a laboratory. Uniroyal will almost certainly set up a technical centre at Ankerweg, with a view to establishing EPDM production in Europe later, indicated Michel Duchesne, vice president for Uniroyal's European operations.

Europe should account for 18-19% of Uniroyal's overall sales this year, estimated at around $1bn. The Solvay Duphar business will add $60-65m in sales, mostly from Dimilin, an acaricide, and Casoron, a speciality herbicide. This will boost crop protection sales by over 20% to around $330m - of which $100m are in Europe. Even without Solvay Duphar, European agchem sales grew 48% in H1 1995.

Crop protection has been a focus of Uniroyal's European growth strategy, with the last six months seeing two other acquisitions: the UK-based seed treatment business of DowElanco, and the acquisition of formulation technology from KVK. A number of additional acquisitions in this area are in negotiation, said Alfred Ingulli, executive vice president of the European region, responsible also for the crop protection business. Uniroyal has also gained the marketing rights this year to several new products, including Zeneca's insecticide Fireban and Novo-Nordisk's biological insecticide for cotton, soybeans and peanuts, Biocot.

The company's own R&D is also yielding results. The first registrations are being made in central Europe for the new post-emergent grass herbicide Pantera, while registration work continues in western Europe and is being held up in the US by patent issues. Uniroyal's experimental miticide D2341 is showing encouraging results in toxicity tests and resistance potential, but will not be registered in the US for four years. The expansion of crop protection facilities at Latina (ECN 30 May 1994), meanwhile, is coming onstream next month.

Outside agrochemicals, Uniroyal continues to discuss a rubber chemicals jv with Slovakia's Istrochem, but negotiations are being complicated by privatisation plans, said Uniroyal ceo Bob Mazaika. It is also discussing with several companies possibilities for setting up EPDM production in Europe. Elsewhere, Uniroyal set up a representative office in Singapore, headed by a newly-appointed vice president for the Asia-Pacific, Edward Hagen, who will decide how to proceed in the potentially vast Chinese crop protection market. Options include linking with a local partner in packaging and/or formulation, while a corporate office may also be established.

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