UK Manufacturer Raises $1.2 Million to Expand Sales of Smart Corrosion Inhibitors

PORT TALBOT, UK — UK-based manufacturing start-up Hexigone Inhibitors Ltd. has received a $1.2 million investment to expand global sales of its smart corrosion inhibitors, which are reported to offer superior protection and a sustainable solution to key industries worldwide.

Corrosion costs the world economy approximately $2.5 trillion every year and is the root of many environmental and social challenges across the globe. This ambitious South Wales start-up has found a way to protect metals for up to 10 times longer, through its innovative, smart inhibitors. The company is raising $1.2 million of financial support to ramp-up commercial activity across the globe.

The $1.2 million investment comes from new investors from the British Business Bank Future Fund and Enterprise Investment Scheme as well as continued support from existing investors Development Bank of Wales, Armourers & Brasiers, Sunnybarn Investments and Hexigone Chairman Owen Sennitt. The cash injection comes at a key milestone for Hexigone, with recent technical validations leading to commercial sales. The company is also on the verge of completing major deals with two coating industry giants in Asia.

Worldwide demand for inhibitors is expected to reach approximately $9.4 billion in 2021, encompassing the aerospace, automotive, architectural and energy sectors. Hexigone’s smart, self-healing technology is unique within the coatings industry and offers a high-performance alternative to the leading inhibitor that is currently being phased out around the world due to its toxicity.

Phil Buck, former owner of Spencer Coatings Group and Chairman of Sunnybarn Investments Ltd., said, “We are delighted to re-invest and provide further support to the Hexigone team as they begin to scale the business for the future. As well as welcoming new investors, all current investors — including the Development Bank of Wales — re-invested, which demonstrates future confidence in the company. This anticorrosion technology will be soon adopted by the coatings market and will become the industry gold standard within five years.”

Hexigone’s technology not only delivers superior protection of metal surfaces, but offers a unique and sustainable way of tackling corrosion. The inhibitors are available “on demand” and respond to a corrosive attack when it occurs, allowing the coating to protect the metal underneath in a more intelligent way. Independent testing has proven that the technology vastly reduces maintenance costs, which in turn, reduces the drain on natural resources.

In a cost analysis with an oil and gas refinery, it was found that just one of the refinery’s offsite chemical storage tanks costs $374,000 to repaint every 15 years due to corrosion. Hexigone’s technology has shown to increase metal asset longevity by c. 50% and can therefore increase the coating life cycle of the tank by seven years, reducing the cost of maintenance per tank by a third.

Patrick Dodds, CEO and Founder of Hexigone, said, “This investment positions Hexigone for huge levels of growth in 2021, and we are extremely excited about the next phase of commercial ramp-up. Over 40 prospective clients are formulating with our product — with lengthy technical validations currently being completed. We hope to be working collaboratively with these customers to deliver smart coatings across the globe in 2021 and beyond.

“The investment is recognition of the hard work and dedication of the Hexigone Team, which will be growing rapidly this year to execute our commercial expansion and manufacturing scale-up. Further investment opportunities will become available as we plan a series A raise later this year, and we welcome enquiries from venture capital firms.”

Chemetall Receives the European Supplier Award from Novelis

FRANKFURT, Germany — The Surface Treatment business unit of BASF’s Coatings division, operating under the Chemetall brand, has received the European Supplier Award 2020 from Novelis. The award recognizes Chemetall for continuously pursuing excellence in quality as well as its expertise, reliability and professional services. The award, which was presented for the first time, was given out during a virtual ceremony.

“Chemetall has proven to be a first-choice supplier for Novelis. Day in, day out, our operators have used Chemetall’s pretreatments — and day in, day out, Chemetall has delivered the expected quality performance,” said Xavier Varone, Director Quality & Coil Industries Europe at Novelis. “The supplier award recognizes Chemetall for its outstanding quality and stability over the years. It is also a recognition of Chemetall’s commitment to develop excellent pretreatment in the market.”

Ulf Neidlein, Chemetall’s Vice President Surface Treatment EMEA and South America, is proud to have received this prestigious award. Neidlein said, “It is an acknowledgement of our customer centricity, reliability and fast responsiveness, which form the core values of our dedication.” Marcus Schinzel, Chemetall’s Global Segment Manager Coil, added, “We are looking forward to continuing this successful partnership with Novelis to drive innovations and to deliver best-in-class quality standards.”

Novelis has evaluated more than 50 supplier partners across three categories in terms of sustainability, innovation and quality. With the European Awards, Novelis thanked its suppliers for their valued partnership and their extraordinary contribution to the business.

By establishing the European Supplier Awards, Novelis strives to honor and foster its partnerships with suppliers, underlining its commitment to quality, sustainability and innovation as core values and drivers of business success.

Novelis, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, is a leading producer of flat-rolled aluminum products, and is reportedly the world's largest recycler of aluminum. Chemetall has maintained a long-term relationship with Novelis for more than 25 years, supplying Gardobond^® and Permatreat^® aluminum coil passivation technologies for the automotive industry as well as other surface treatment specialties.

Azelis Americas CASE, Southwest Region Receives Award for Outstanding Sales

WESTPORT, CT — Azelis Americas CASE, Southwest region received the BASF Dispersions and Resins (ED) Distributor Team of the Year Award for outstanding sales performance. BASF awards this honor to the BASF Distributor Team that captures the highest year-over-year sales growth.

Rocky Prior, Senior Vice President Sales, Azelis Americas CASE, commented, “This is yet another testament to the commitment of Azelis Americas CASE to our partner BASF. In these unprecedented times, our Technical Sales representatives along with our applications chemists were able to deliver outstanding sales growth. We appreciate BASF ED for recognizing Azelis Americas CASE with their DOY awards, and I am confident that the success we have demonstrated in the past will continue in the future.”

Denise Hartmann, Senior Vice President, BASF ED, Americas, added, “Azelis has been a much-valued distribution partner to the BASF Dispersions & Resins business over the years. Our partnership continues to grow and has helped us remain a strong competitor in each of our markets.”

The award was presented to the Azelis Americas CASE group during an annual review meeting held over Zoom. The physical award was sent separately to Parish Basham, VP of Sales, SW, Azelis Americas CASE to share with his team members.

Circa Group Completes €56 Million IPO, Begins Trading on Euronext Growth Oslo

OSLO, NORWAY — Biochemicals company Circa Group AS has successfully completed a private placement of 575 Norwegian Kroner (NOK) — approximately €56 million — in a transaction led by Pareto Securities and Sparebank 1 Markets in Oslo, at a post-money-market valuation of approximately NOK 2 billion (approximately €194 million). The company (ticker code: CIRCA) began trading on Euronext Growth Oslo on March 2, 2021.

The company reports that the private placement attracted strong interest from global institutional investors and was more than 15 times oversubscribed (excluding pre-allocated shares). Cornerstone investors include BNP Paribas Energy Transition Fund, Delphi Fondene, DNB Asset Management, Handelsbanken Fonder, The Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund, Robeco Asset Management and Circa’s industrial partner Norske Skog ASA.

Circa is a leader in the production of sustainable biochemicals. The company has a patented technology called Furacell™ for making the platform biomolecule levoglucosenone (LGO), which is the base for a range of chemicals, including the green solvent Cyrene™. The proceeds from the private placement will be used to build the 1,000-tonne ReSolute plant in France and to further develop the company’s portfolio of chemical derivatives. The ReSolute plant has received a €12 million flagship grant from the EU’s Horizon 2020 program.

Tony Duncan, CEO and co-founder of Circa Group, said, “We are very appreciative of the incredible support shown towards Circa in our IPO. This has been a 15-year journey for a dedicated team and our partners. The Circa IPO initiates phase 3 of our development — the manufacture and commercialisation of the levoglucosenone biomolecule platform for industry — and is a positive signpost for the biomaterials industry as a whole. It is clear that consumers want better, safer, more sustainable products, and brand owners need to respond before the regulators do.”

Stahl Will Focus on Four Key Strategic Areas

WAALWIJK, The Netherlands — Stahl announced that it plans to further apply its focus and efforts on four areas of strategic importance: digital transformation, open innovation, renewable feedstocks and sustainable development. The company reports that by doing this, and by working with partners throughout the value chain, Stahl will raise the bar and create more value for its employees, partners, customers, investors and society at large.

To realize this commitment, Stahl will work together with its partners to further drive its progress and value delivery in four key areas:

• By continuing its digital transformation journey, Stahl will drive its operational efficiency, propositional value and market relevance;

• By embracing open innovation, Stahl aims to innovate more efficiently, explore new markets, and better address customer demands;

• By further enabling renewable feedstock solutions, Stahl will support de-fossilization and help to decouple growth from fossil-carbon-based resource consumption; and

• By working with partners to deliver sustainable development, Stahl aims to do well by doing good and create value for all its stakeholders.

Huub van Beijeren, Chief Executive Officer at Stahl, said, “Stahl is at an early stage of an important journey — a journey to drive sustainable development and positive change together with our suppliers, customers and industry partners. By seizing digital opportunities, embracing open innovation and driving renewable feedstock solutions, we are supporting our company’s long-term ambitions and helping to ensure a better world for all our stakeholders. More than ever, I’m encouraged by our progress, thankful for the contributions of all my colleagues, and excited for what lies ahead.”

For nearly a century, Stahl has collaborated with a range of partners to develop and deliver necessary chemistry. According to the company, by fostering transparency and working to improve its environmental impact, Stahl has helped to protect the communities in which it operates and shape a better chemical industry. Today, with the world facing a series of pressing, interconnected environmental and social challenges, Stahl is further committing to enabling high living standards within planetary boundaries.

Axalta Expands Energy Solutions Portfolio with New Acquisition

SHANGHAI — Axalta has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Anhui Shengran Insulating Materials Co. Ltd., a leading Chinese producer of wire enamels used in a wide range of consumer electronics, electric vehicle and industrial applications. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021, subject to customary closing conditions. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The addition of Anhui Shengran will complement Axalta's existing Energy Solutions portfolio and will add new wire enamel products for customers in the automotive, renewable energy and consumer electronics markets. The additional production capacity will support Axalta's expansion in rapidly growing Asian markets.

“Anhui Shengran's wire enamel products and capabilities are highly complementary to our growing Energy Solutions business,” said Shelley Bausch, Senior Vice President of Global Industrial Coatings at Axalta. “This will be a solid platform for further specialization and growth as we support key customers in China. I am also excited to welcome the Anhui Shengran team to Axalta.”

“It was important to me that we were acquired by a company I could trust to treat my employees well, and I believe Anhui Shengran is in good hands,” said Zhangying Tu, Executive Director of Anhui Shengran. “We are excited to become part of Axalta, and we look forward to working together to add value and increase market share in the growing Energy Solutions market in China.”