Dow Europes line of specialty surfactants will now be marketed and distributed to its European customers by Rotterdam, Netherlands-based chemical distributor Univar N.V. according to a statement announcing the partnership that went into effect Oct. 1.
Under the agreement, Univar will distribute Dowfax Anionic, Tergitol Nonionic and the Triton Anionic and Nonionic product lines in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.
[Univar and Dow] have always been partners, said a Dow Europe spokesman Teresa Hak. They are just now taking over distribution of surfactants.
Dow Product Manager for Polyglycols and Surfactants John Davidson said: The change was driven by the desire to find an effective distribution model that provided fast and reliable TS&D support as well as efficient dissemination of information on new products, legislative changes and EH&S issues.
The partnership will also give customers enhanced access to technical developments and regulatory information, supply security, responsive commercial and technical contacts, irrespective of where they are, according to Dow.
Operating throughout North America and Europe, Univar says it has about 250,000 industrial customers, with a full portfolio of products. The majority are commodities that the company buys in bulk, then processes, blends and repacks. Products include surfactants, monomers and intermediates, acids and bases, solvents and process chemicals.
The chemical distributor, which had sales in 2006 of $6.6 billion, also provides a number of related services, both to its customers and suppliers, such as blending, managing customer inventories, packaging, labeling, warehouse management, waste management, technical support and managing vendor reduction programs. It operates 160 distribution centers, located throughout the United States, Canada and 18 European countries. Univar has 6,900 employees throughout North America and Europe.
Dow, a leading chemical and plastics manufacturer, offers a wide range of products and services from fresh water, food and pharmaceuticals to paints, packaging and personal care products to customers in more than 175 countries. Dows Europe business headquarters are located in Horgen, Switzerland and include a network of research laboratories, manufacturing plants, sales offices and support services.