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A new name in the world of additives is Addivant, a specialty additives company made up of the former antioxidant and UV stabilizer business of Chemtura Corp., which was established as a stand-alone organization owned by SK Capital only this year on May 1st.

Karen Laird

November 5, 2013

2 Min Read
Additives and advantage together make Addivant

, which was established as a stand-alone organization owned by SK Capital only this year on May 1st. New though the name may be, Addivant's portfolio of specialty additives - light stabilizers, polymer modifiers, polymerization inhibitors and intermediates - are familiar friends to many throughout the industry.

At K 2013, Peter Smith, president and CEO of Addivant, speaking at a press conference, explained the 'why' behind the advantages that Addivant offers. 

"We have a truly global footprint - 11 plants on five continents - which means we can serve our customers locally," he said. "We're a technology-driven company, and we want to be the innovator in this industry. To that end, we've been investing since our launch in May in new talent and in technology. We are expanding production capacity ahead of polymer expansions on three different continents and have added 10% more employees over the past six months."

He added: "We aim to position ourselves closer to our customers to support their growth plans and provide improved supply security and service standards."

Smith pointed out that as an additives company, "we live on the back of polymer industries." His vision is shaped by a number of ongoing trends in the polymer industry, driving Addivant's growth. One such trend is the shale gas revolution, which means that huge capacities of PP and PE are due to come on stream. He also sees a significant growth slowdown in the Middle East. In his view, the next wave will be in North America. In China, Smith sees demand-driven capacity, with large methanol to olefin investments. Europe "is where we take our technology to," he said. "There, it's important to differentiate into specialties in order to survive."

"We're in the 'age of additives' - incredibly, the three additives that are mainly used today are 45 years old," he noted. "Yet global megatrends - such as urbanization, which is driving the demand for packaging, mobility, the expanding middle class, new applications and the demand for sustainable products - are making increasingly challenging demands on plastics in terms of productivity, sustainability, time and quality."

"The world needs new additives," he added. Which Addivant is ready to provide.

"Productivity is a key driver across Addivant's portfolio," Smith said. "Customers using Addivant's additives can save material, save energy, save time and save money, all while achieving high quality end products."

Products representing these benefits at K 2013 included a host of new solutions ranging from Anox and Lowinox phenolic antioxidants; Alkanox, Weston and Ultranox phosphite antioxidants to Lowlite light stabilizers, Polybond polymer modifiers - the company's first polymer modifiers derived from renewable resources, and Naugaurd polymerization inhibitors, to name but a few.

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