Solenis has opened a new technological centre in Paulínia, near São Paulo in Brazil. The new research and development facility, known as Paulínia Technological Centre (PTC), is about thousand square metres and will address the needs of regional customers, as well ass the development of new products. The PTC is the company’s seventh technological centre. The company’s other technological centres are strategically located in Wilmington, Delaware (USA), Krefeld (Germany), Barendrecht (the Netherlands), Shanghai (China), Drammen (Norway) and Terrassa (Spain).
As Solenis vice president and chief technology officer Timothy Wood says, «this state-of-the-art facility, which has been set up to better serve all our customers in Latin America, offers a wide range of laboratory services to support the growth of the region». The PTC has five primary laboratories, including a pilot lab with a Solenis OnGuard™ monitoring and control system that will enable the research team to simulate the actual working conditions of a cooling tower using the sample water provided by customers. Other key areas in the centre include analysis facilities, a FastTrack lab, a lab for the physical tests of paper and a microbiological test lab. With this infrastructure Solenis can help develop new local solutions and products to meet customers’ local needs, especially in the pulp, sugar and ethanol sectors. In the near future the PTC is expected to become Solenis Global Center of Excellence for the development of additional chemical products for the cellulose market. «Brazil is already one of the world’s biggest cellulose producers and this sector is rapidly growing», says the vicepresident of Solenis Latin America José Armando Aguirre. «Solenis has this Technological Center and a Global Center of Excellence and this guarantees that the company can provide constant innovation and an excellent service for a rapidly evolving market».
Furthermore, last May Solenis signed an agreement to acquire the business and assets of Nopco Colombiana SA, i.e. Colombian producer of chemical solutions for water intensive industries, including the paper, food and beverages sectors as well as other industrial markets in Central and South America. Based in Medellin, Colombia, Nopco Colombiana employs over 75 people. Until this acquisition, the company was Solenis distributor for pulp products and paper specialities in Central and South America. Nopco Colombiana produces and distributes wet resins, antiscalant chemicals, dispersants and detergents in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Solenis president and CEO John Panichella explains that «this is an occasion to combine the position of Nopco Colombiana in southern, Northern and Western America with Solenis global strategy for the direct market».
The vicepresident of Solenis Latin America plant José Armando Piñón Aguirre adds that «this acquisition will reinforce out portfolio for the water treatment market and it will enable us to better serve the growing markets in Central and South America through the expansion of our productive and customer service capacities».