Chemicals distributor Brenntag said last week that it will change its operating model by forming two units – one to supply specialty chemicals and the other to handle fine chemicals.
Lubricant additives will fall under Brenntag Specialties, which will also supply the pharmaceutical, nutrition, personal care and water treatment industries. The fine chemicals unit, Brenntag Essentials, will supply process chemicals for a wide range of applications.
Officials of the Essen, Germany-based company said the new structure, which takes effect in January, will allow it to focus more on different types of chemicals and the customers that use them. Brenntag is a large distributor of lubricant additives.
Fine chemicals are simple chemical substances, produced to exacting specifications, often used as building blocks or as intermediates in the manufacture of other substances. Specialty chemicals are more chemically complex, sometimes referred to as formulation or performance chemicals, and may be made for specific customers or applications.
Dividing into units for specialty and fine chemicals is a common practice within the chemicals industry.
Brenntag appointed Henri Nejade chief operating officer of Brenntag Specialties and named Steven Terwindt to the same position for Brenntag Essentials. The company said it will also appoint a chief transformation officer to manage the process of adapting to the new structure.