Brenntag advances in personal care

Brenntag has announced an agreement to acquire independent speciality chemical distributor of Chemgrit Group of Johannesburg, South Africa, in a deal that is expected to close in Q4. Shortly afterwards, it also opened operations at two new innovation and application centres for personal care in France and the UK.

Chemgrit focuses on personal care, which is one of the fastest growing market segments in South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, as well as food, and material science. Brenntag Specialties will integrate the firm’s personal care operations into its own Personal Care & HI&I business unit. As well as expanded regional coverage, the buy includes a dedicated application laboratory including mixing, refilling, redistribution and delivery, formulating and testing of materials and products, and other technical support.

“The enlarged Brenntag Specialties business in South Africa will be scaled to other African markets, adding to Brenntag’s current African presence with local entities in Maghreb, Ghana, Nigeria, East Africa, Mauritius and South Africa,” commented Michael Thomson, president of Brenntag Specialties Africa.

The new innovation and application centres will focus on R&D for personal care applications, including concepts and prototype development, customised formulation support, technical solutions and stability studies. Both are located close to multiple customers and suppliers.

The French centre is lat Arteparc in Lille, which is fully based on circular economy and renewable energies. The UK centre, meanwhile, is in the Lawnswood Business Park in Leeds, alongside the company’s UK headquarters and the site of Prime Surfactants, which it acquired last year. Brenntag now has 19 centres for personal care and HI&I, including four in the EMEA region.