AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals renamed Nouryon

AKZONOBEL Specialty Chemicals has been renamed Nouryon following its sale to the Carlyle Croup and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund (GIC).

The new name is derived from Noury & Van der Lande, a food and chemicals company established in the 1830s that went on to merge with the AKZO Group that later became AkzoNobel.

“When we started developing our new name and brand we asked our employees what mattered most to them,” explained Vivi Hollertt, chief communications officer at Nouryon. “Our employees are especially proud of our heritage.”

Nouryon operates in more than 80 countries with five business units centred on ethylene and sulfur derivatives, industrial chemicals, polymer chemistry, pulp and performance chemicals, and surface chemistry. Products include salt, bleaching agents and polymer additives.

AkzoNobel announced in April 2017 that it would cleave off the specialty chemicals business so it could focus on producing paints and coatings after fighting off an unsolicited takeover deal for the full company from rival PPG Industries. The company was purchased through an auction process in a deal worth around €10bn (US$11.5bn) including debt.