Solenis acquires Turkish chemical manufacturer

Solenis acquired the Turkish chemical manufacturer, NEU, in a recent deal to expand its international supply chain. | DBT PHOTO BY JACOB OWENS

WILMINGTON — Solenis, the Wilmington-headquartered global producer of specialty chemicals used in water-intensive industries, recently acquired a Turkish product supply manufacturer, marking its second major international acquisition this year.

It acquired Neu Kimya Anonim Şirketi, also known in international markets by its brand names NEU or NEUCHEMIE, a growing provider to the water treatment, oil and gas, geothermal and mining industries in Turkey, Southeast Europe and the Middle East. Terms of the acquisition between the two privately owned companies were not disclosed.

The 9-year-old NEU has a few dozen employees, according to industry databases, and sales offices in Turkey, Croatia, Indonesia and South Africa as well as San Diego in the United States. Headquartered in Turkey’s largest city Istanbul, NEU has a 100,000-square-foot office and manufacturing plant there capable of producing over 80,000 megatons of product a year.

NEU will “fit well with Solenis’ direct-to-market strategy and will offer customers in the region improved product and service offerings,” according to the deal’s announcement.

“We are excited to combine Neu Kimya’s talented commercial team and technical capabilities with Solenis’ world-class solutions to create enhanced value for our customers,” Andrea Natali, vice president and general manager of EMEA industrial solutions for Solenis, said in a May 26 statement.

The acquisition of NEU comes nearly six months after Solenis acquired SCL GmbH, a German producer of dimethylaminoethyl acrylate, or DMA3, a primary raw material in the production of a group of water-soluble polymers with a wide range of applications.

All of those are applications of interest for Solenis, which was acquired by California-based private equity investment firm Platinum Equity last fall for $5.25 billion. Solenis emerged from former Hercules and Ashland water treatment divisions dating back to 1907, launching its current iteration in 2015.

“This new acquisition adds to our strategic growth plan following our recent ownership change to Platinum Equity,” said John Panichella, CEO of Solenis, said in a statement. “With the ongoing support from the Platinum Equity team, we continue to proactively seek other opportunities for similar acquisitions that enhance our ability to serve customers.”

Solenis currently serves two primary segments: consumer solutions for food packaging, graphic paper, and tissue and towel markets; and industrial solutions for core water treatment and wastewater markets. As a result of its Platinum Equity acquisition, it also merged operations with former firm Sigura, which specialized in the production and sale of water care solutions and value-added services for residential and commercial pool and spa applications as well as industrial markets.

Solenis now has 47 manufacturing facilities worldwide and employs over 6,000 in 120 countries across five continents. It opened a new headquarters at Avenue North off U.S. Route 202 in 2020, and employs about 200 people in Delaware there and a research and development lab leased on the Ashland campus off Hercules Road.