• Table of Contents • cen-chemjobs.org • Today's Headlines • Editor's Page • Business • Government & Policy • Science & Technology • ACS News • Calendars • Books • Career & Employment • Special Reports • Nanotechnology • What's That Stuff?          Back Issues 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998  Safety Letters  Chemcyclopedia ACS Members can sign up to receive C&EN e-mail newsletter.   Join ACS			June 23, 2003 Volume 81, Number 25 CENEAR 81 25 p. 14 ISSN 0009-2347 BUSINESS A PLANT GOES DOWN THE DRAIN Clariant is scrapping a just-built bleach activator facility ALEX TULLO In its latest setback, Clariant has shut down its new Mount Holly, N.C., plant for the bleach activator sodium nonanoyloxybenzenesulfonate (NOBS) because of technical difficulties. The move will result in a write-off of about $90 million to its second-quarter earnings. Clariant says corrosion in the plant adversely affected product quality, but it won't disclose more details about the process. "Intensive testing of the plant has now demonstrated that the required specifications cannot be achieved in time," it says in a statement. "Therefore, Clariant has decided to terminate the project with immediate effect." The plant, which Clariant started building in March 2001, was originally due to start up in the summer of 2002. Clariant was to make NOBS for Procter & Gamble, which developed it for its Tide with Bleach laundry detergent. Joel H. Houston, president of Brewster, N.Y.-based consultancy Colin A. Houston & Associates, says NOBS is a low-temperature activator of sodium perborate bleach, used in powder detergents. He says the chemistry used to make NOBS can be tricky. P&G reports it has an alternative NOBS source, which Houston says is Eastman Chemical. In fact, in a supplement to its first-quarter earnings announcement, Eastman said a custom synthesis contract that was set to expire mid-year has been extended for one year, though it didn't specifically mention P&G or NOBS. "While we cannot discuss individual business relationships with specific customers, our ability to continue providing this product to a major consumer goods company speaks highly of the good work our employees have been doing in meeting our customer's needs," Eastman said at the time. Clariant says that it is evaluating another use for the plant and that cost-cutting measures in its functional chemicals business will help offset the write-off. For Clariant, the news could not come at a worse time. The company reported a loss of $477 million in 2002 because of a $656 million charge associated with its 2000 purchase of fine chemicals maker BTP. The company said some of its prospects in life sciences didn't pan out. Moreover, the company said it would divest noncore business representing about 7% of its sales and that it is establishing new legal entities for its pharmaceuticals, custom synthesis, electronics chemicals, and masterbatches businesses. In March, just weeks after the earnings announcement, the company's CEO Reinhard Handte abruptly resigned. Top Chemical & Engineering News Copyright © 2003 American Chemical Society			Advanced Options Related Stories Clariant Hits Turbulent Waters [C&EN, March 3, 2003] Related Sites Clariant Procter & Gamble Eastman Chemical Colin A. Houston & Associates E-mail this article to a friend Print this article E-mail the editor
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