Innospec acquisition of Chemsil and Chemtec strengthens personal care focus

“Personal care has been the strategic core of our Performance Chemicals business for a long time and it has always been our intent to focus our resources on this market,”​ said Patrick Williams, president and CEO of Innospec in an exclusive interview.

Chemsil develops and markets silicone-based formulations to the personal care industry, while Chemtec distributes a wide range of personal care ingredients, mainly in the West Coast areas.

Chemsil becomes a part of the High Performance Chemicals business​

Chemsil will now become a part of Innospec’s High Performance Chemicals business, which develops and markets both surfactants and emollients to the personal care industry.

Although terms, conditions and the price of the acquisition have not been revealed since the deal was first announced early last month, the two businesses have a combined annual turnover of approximately $40 million.

Williams added that the acquisition has served to not only increase the company’s geographic footprint, but also its technology base.

A 'complement' to the Innospec product range​

“The product range is an excellent complement for the existing Innospec product range – our focus is on skin care and hair care, and we are therefore able to make a wider offering to our customers,”​ he said.

“We will be able to provide a wider range of products to our customers, off the Chemsil products through our global network, and continue to focus our R&D on innovative new products in this area.”​

Although Chemsil and Chemtec have both been growing in recent years, according to the company’s president, James Harrison, it had been decided that to provide sustained future growth, the best strategy would be to become a part of a larger business in both the US and internationally.

Acquisition focuses on future growth on product roll out​

“Joining Innospec provides us with the infrastructure and critical mass to accelerate that expansion and focus on future technology,”​ Harrision said.

To finance the acquisition, Innospec increased its credit facility from $100 million to $150 million for another two years, while also request a further commitment of a further $50 million to assist future investment.

“As a company we have made a number of recent acquisitions, and we will be focusing our efforts in the near term on integrating those acquisitions and creating value for our customers and shareholders,”​ said Williams.