Brenntag North America, Inc., part of the Brenntag Group, the global market leader in chemical distribution, announces a new collaboration with Umicore for the distribution of polyurethane and polyester catalysts in the United States and Canada. Brenntag North America has been appointed as the exclusive distributor for two Umicore product lines:
- Valirex catalysts for Unsaturated Polyester Resins (UPR)
- Valikat® catalysts for Polyurethanes (PU)
Umicore’s manufacturing and R&D is in Bruges, Belgium, and supplies catalysts for a variety of industries including paints and coatings, inks, adhesives, sealants, elastomers, insulating materials, PU flexible foam, artificial stone, and gelcoats. “The Umicore UPR & PU catalyst product lines are an exciting addition to our ACES (Adhesives, Coatings, Elastomers, Sealants) portfolio,” said Ted Davlantes, ACES Director for Brenntag North America. “Distributing these products in North America will enable our team of technical sales professionals to meet the demands of new product development and the challenges of new regulations. By incorporating Umicore’s catalyst line, Brenntag continues to show commitment to investing in key strategic principal collaborations and providing differentiated value to our customers.”
New catalysts include:
- Valirex Co: accelerators for UPR based on cobalt, available in concentrations between 1 and 21%, and a variety of solvents such as white spirit, xylene, TXIB, and DINP
- Valirex K15 DEG: booster for cobalt accelerators in UPR
- Valirex Cu 8 D60: exotherm peak reducer for UPR curing
- Valikat Bi, Valikat Zn and Valikat ZB: catalysts based on bismuth and zinc for polyurethanes, replacing tin and mercury-based catalysts, which are available in multiple concentrations
- Valikat DCC: delayed cure catalysts for polyurethane, mimicking the effect of mercury
“Umicore has realized a tremendous growth in its sales of catalysts for PU and UPR within the past five years, taking clear market leadership in its product range in Europe. It is a logical step to expand our geographical footprint toward North America, and we believe Brenntag is the best possible collaborator to make a success story out of it,” says Jensen Verhelle, Business Line Manager Carboxylates at Umicore.
About Umicore Specialty Materials:
The history of Umicore goes back more than 100 years, starting with the amalgamation of several mining and smelting companies, which gradually evolved into the materials technology and recycling company Umicore is today. Today Umicore is a global materials technology and recycling group, with about 10,000 employees and a turnover of EUR 12.3 billion. For more information on Umicore Specialty Materials, please visit www.umicore.com Valikat® is a registered trademark of Umicore Specialty Materials Brugge NV.
Press contact for Brenntag North America:
Barbara Nothstein
Brenntag North America, Inc.
5083 Pottsville Pike Reading,
PA 19605
Telephone: (610) 916-3858
E-Mail: brenntag@brenntag.com
www.brenntag.com/north-america
Brenntag North America, Inc.
5083 Pottsville Pike Reading,
PA 19605
Telephone: (610) 916-3858
E-Mail: brenntag@brenntag.com
www.brenntag.com/north-america