Chemcolour NZ buy Clariant's Australian TLP Division

Chemcolour Industries (NZ) Ltd has purchased Clariant's Australian textile, leather and paper division (TLP) - from its part-owner. A complicated web, but Chemcolour will become Clariant’s exclusive Australian distributor of products to the textile, leather and paper industries through its subsidiary, Chemcolour Industries Australia Pty Ltd.

It appears to be primarily a purchase of Clariant’s Sydney manufacturing site and the TLP business associated with it. The Sydney plant is a producer of wax-based products for the paper and plasterboard (gypsum board) industries, along with specialty chemicals for the leather and textile industries and chemicals for the construction industry in Australia and selected export markets.

This is certainly a business and a production site which Clariant could not sustain and needed a new future and impetus. The question is what Clariant's intentions are for the Oceania region where a number of paper chemical companies are committed and well established. It has been noticed in East Europe that a similar approach of appointing agents or distributors has been adopted. A way to lower costs, but it does increase the distance between the supplier and the customer.