KINGSPORT, TN — Eastman Chemical Co. announced a realignment of its chemicals business in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, splitting the business into two segments: Chemicals and Polymers. The Chemicals Business Group includes the Coatings, Adhesives and Specialty Polymers, Fine Chemicals, and Performance Chemicals and Intermediates business units.
The realignment was prompted by a series of recent acquisitions that have expanded Eastman’s portfolio of products and manufacturing facilities, the company said. Those acquisitions include ABCO Industries, Lawter International, McWhorter Technologies and Ernst Jager Fabrik Chemische Rohstoffe GmbH & Co. The realigment gives Eastman a more “customer-focused” organization, the company said.
Also as a result of major expansions of operations in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, the company’s Coatings, Adhesives and Specialty Polymers (CASP) business announced plans to open three technical centers for application support and new-product development, to be located in Kirby, UK; Düsseldorf, Germany; and Sokolov, Czech Republic.
As a result of acquisitions and expansions, the CASP business unit offers raw materials including cellulose ester; Texanol additives; thixotropic chemistries; UV specialties; acrylic and hybrid polymers; polyesters; and modified polyolefins. The company’s Performance, Chemical and Intermediates Business offers a variety of materials for coatings and other markets, and has been split into five divisions: Acetyls; PZ/OXO; Organic Specialties; Resin Intermediates; and Acrylic Monomers.
