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The largest specialty chemical companies headquartered in the United States include Crompton, DuPont, Ecolab, Engelhard, Ferro, H.B. Fuller, General Electric, Great Lakes, Hercules, Lubrizol, PolyOne, and Rohm and Haas. They are active in the areas of plastic additives, agricultural chemicals, engineering resins, coatings, formulated cleaning and sanitation products, catalysts, engineering polymers and compounds, flame retardants, pulp and paper chemicals, water treatment, lube oil additives, compounding of resins, adhesives and sealants, biocides, and electronic chemicals.
Many companies that are major participants in the specialty chemicals market are devoted entirely or to a great extent to specialty chemicals or chemicals in general. However some companies have only a single or narrowly focused specialty chemical product line that may constitute only a minor portion of their total revenues.
Many specialty chemical companies have successfully carved strong positions in rigorously defined markets. Although that rigor has been a major contributor to the success of these companies in gaining leading market and technological positions in their businesses, companies have ultimately seen their growth tied to the growth of a limited set of markets. When those markets reached maturity, growth prospects dimmed. Globalization may alleviate the situation if the company's preeminence is limited to certain geographical regions, but for companies where this provides limited new growth, new opportunities need to be sought - through broadening of their markets.
An example of this is Lubrizol. With an overwhelming portion of its business currently dependent on lubrication for transportation, it is redefining its business. Rather than lubricants being the sole focus of its business, it is focusing on functional fluids and fluid technologies. Lube oils are only likely to grow at 1-2%, but Lubrizol has set a much more aggressive growth objective based on the new definition of its markets and technologies.
The largest producers of specialty chemicals headquartered in Western Europe include Akzo Nobel, ATOFINA, BASF, Bayer, Clariant, Ciba Specialty Chemicals, Degussa, DSM, Henkel, ICI, and Rhodia. ATOFINA, Ciba Specialty Chemicals, Clariant, Degussa, ICI and Rhodia have all or almost all of their sales in various specialty chemicals segments. The other companies - Akzo Nobel, BASF, Bayer, DSM and Henkel - are also active in areas such as basic and commodity chemicals, commodity plastics, oil and gas, health and nutrition, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, consumer care products, fine chemicals and fibers, but simultaneously have significant, world-scale specialty chemicals businesses.
The largest chemical conglomerate among these companies is BASF with nearly Û36 billion in net sales, while Degussa is the largest pure specialty chemicals company with more than Û20 billion in net sales in 2000. Measured as organic growth and excluding effects from acquisitions and divestitures, currency conversions, and price increases, sales volumes of these companies increased in a range of 3-7%.
Among the number of participants in the specialty chemicals industry in Japan are such companies as Dainippon Ink and Chemicals, Kao, Mitsubishi Chemical, Mitsui Chemicals, Shin-Etsu Chemical, and Sumitomo Chemical.
Almost all of the sales of Dainippon Ink and Chemicals and Kao are in various specialty chemical segments including consumer products, while the other companies are involved in commodity chemicals (including commodity plastics) to a larger extent than specialty chemicals. However, they are planning to strengthen their specialty chemicals businesses in the future.
Globalization is still a common strategy for most Japanese specialty chemical companies. Currently, sales outside Japan for four companies fall in the range of about 20-27% of total sales. Only two companies - Dainippon Ink and Chemicals and Shin-Etsu - have more than 50% of their total sales outside Japan in recent years. They expanded their businesses into the global marketplace mainly by acquiring companies in the United States and Western Europe.
In Japan, there are no giant chemical companies like BASF and Bayer. Even on a consolidated basis, the largest sales amount was recorded at approximately $15.8 billion by Mitsubishi Chemical in fiscal year 2000, which ended March 2001. While Dainippon Ink and Chemicals is one of the leading specialty chemical companies in Japan, its consolidated sales accounted for approximately $8.8 billion in fiscal year 2001.
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