Clariant closes world-class OBA team in the UK

In continuing its cost-cutting programme, Clariant has closed its world-class, global optical brightener (OBA) activities in Horsforth, Leeds, England. The activities have been moved to Switzerland but the key people have decided not to go. The head of the global business and the UK team has now left Clariant to establish his own company, Makowhiteness, and will continue to offer expertise to the industry. Despite efforts to justify the move, it is clear that it will be many years before the team and its expertise will be re-produced and re-established in Switzerland.

OBA is one of the two key areas of paper chemical business for Clariant, the other being paper dyes. Optical brightening agents or fluorescent whitening agens as they are otherwise known are used to improve the whiteness of paper, especially the high-whiteness fine papers used in offices (eg copier paper). The main users of OBAs are International Paper, StoraEnso, UPM Kymmene, New Page, Domtar, Sappi, m-real etc.