Sachtleben GmbH, a German producer of sulphate-route titanium dioxide (TiO2), is to acquire the production assets and inventories of former Tronox asset crenox GmbH.
As part of the deal, Sachtleben, which is a joint venture between Rockwood Holdings Inc. and Kemira Oyj, will acquire crenox’s 100,000 tpa sulphate-route TiO2 plant in Krefeld, near Essen, Germany. The plant is located just 20 km west of Sachtleben’s own German facilities in Duisburg.
This purchase will bring Sachtleben’s total capacity up to 340,000 tpa sulphate-route TiO2 of which it currently supplies 55% to Europe, 20% to Asia Pacific, 20% to the Americas, and 5% to the Middle East and Africa.
“For most of 2010 and 2011 we were completely sold out in our titanium dioxide business, with sales limited by our production output,” said Vernon Sumner, CEO of Sachtleben. “This acquisition...