Solutia, Wujin form Chinese phosphonate marketing venture

The Dequest Business Group (Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium) of Solutia Inc. has formed a joint venture with Wujin Fine Chemicals (Hen Qiao Shan Changzhou, Jiangsu, China) to market phosphonate chemicals for a broad range of industrial applications in the People's Republic of China.

Solution will own 51% of the joint venture company, Solutia Xiafeng Fine Chemical Co. Ltd. It will locate its main offices in Changzhou Hi-Tech Park (Changzhou, China).

Solutia Xiafeng will focus on expanding markets and sales for phosphonate products already manufactured by its two parent companies.

Under the agreement, Wujin will manufacture products sold through the joint venture. Solutia will provide applications expertise for industrial water treatment, detergents and cleaners, pigment dispersion, metal finishing, peroxide stabilization and other industrial applications.

"We are extremely excited about the opportunity to introduce the Dequest family of products into the People's Republic of China," says Dequest worldwide business director Jacques Verspeek.

The companies expect to launch Solutia Xianfeng with about 80 employees and annual sales of 60 million RMB (US $7 million), mostly in the water treatment market. The company will seek to expand its market to include industrial scale inhibition, sequestration, dispersion, and corrosion control.

Jeffrey Kuo heads the venture as GM. The company's directors include Yang Chan Yu (chairman), Jacques Verspeek (vice chairman), John Mei (director), Russ Belle (director), and Laura Hoke (director).

Dequest also announced the launch of a new range of biodegradable products. Based on inulin technology developed by Sensus BV of the Netherlands, the new Dequest PB products will target industrial applications that now rely on petrochemical-derived polyacrylate products.

By Alan S. Brown
Managing Editor, Chemical Online