out new products to boost sales.These include Tide combined withFebreze fabric freshener, and DawnDirect Foam liquid dish detergent.Henkel, meanwhile, is to jump-startEuropean Persil sales with a newadvertising campaign. Detergentmakers are also increasing sellingprices to offset rising costs. Sales ofP&G’s fabric and home care productsrose 11% to $4.22 bn in its fiscal 1Q(ended 30 Sep 2005). Net profits rose10% to $641 M.

Chemical Week, 1 Feb 2006, 168 (4), 24,26,28(Website: http://www.chemweek.com)

Soaps and detergents: challenges andopportunities

Soap and detergent industry suppliersreport that high energy, freight andraw material costs are still bigchallenges. Suppliers raised pricesfor certain chemicals in 2005 butthese were insufficient to offset costs.Many are turning to innovation to liftmargins. However, raw material costsare not expected to go up any morein 2006 and the squeeze on pricesshould not intensify; it could evenimprove. Goldschmidt Chemical saysraw material costs almost doubledafter the hurricanes. Rising rawmaterial costs are leading to changesin research and developmentstrategies. There will be greaterflexibility in future in relation toformulations, in order to exploit theadvantage of different cost scenarios.Many suppliers are seekingalternative raw material sources andare turning to Asia to erectoleochemical plants or forpartnerships with local producers.According to analysts, fragrances willbe one of the rapidly growing sectorsof the detergents market. Demandhere is expected to rise 9% between2004 and 2009 to $265 M.Biodegradable surfactants are amajor growth market in Europe. Andmild detergents are in demand forconsumers with sensitive skin.

Chemical Week, 1 Feb 2006, 168 (4), 23-24 (Website:http://www.chemweek.com)

Advanced technology contributes todemand recovery for surfactants inJapan

The growing demand for industrialdetergents for use in machinery and

electronic parts applications is drivingthe recovery of the surfactants marketin Japan. Information technology (IT)-related items and environmentalproducts are also key market drivingforces for surfactants. Another drivingforce is the cosmetic andpharmaceutical market. Surfactantcompanies are interested in thepharmaceutical market because itneeds high-performance, value-added surfactants. Thepharmaceutical market is generallyunaffected by competition from low-cost imports, allowing manufacturersto leverage their technical capabilitiesand product-development resources.The market share of textileapplications, a mainstay of thesurfactant market, is declining. Itsmarket share remained at around20% in and after 2004, a drop of 1.4percentage points from 2003. Overall,the Japanese surfactants marketexperienced a decline in 2001 andcontinued to be sluggish through2004. It started to pick up in fall 2005,with surfactant production increasingby some 4000 tonnes year on year inOct 2005. The market is expected toexpand 2-3% year on year in 2006.Production of anionic surfactants isdropping. In contrast, output fornonionic and amphoteric surfactantsis booming, posting a 25% year onyear increase in production duringJan-Oct 2005. There is a dramaticshift happening in the export andimport of surfactants. Exports, whichrose by 14% in 2004, posted a 12%decline from Jan-Oct 2005. Incontrast, imports, which dropped by4% in 2004, grew by 10% from Jan-Oct 2005.

Japan Chemical Week, 9 Feb 2006, 47 (2354), 6-7

Personal care: innovation pumps upsales

Suppliers are finding the high-growthsectors of the personal care industryin the USA, Western Europe andJapan more and more attractive forinvestments. A growing regionaldemand in sectors, including hair careand skin treatments, is drivinginvestments particularly throughacquisitions, new productintroductions and technologyinnovation. Kline and Co revealedthat the global personal care marketreached around $150 bn in

manufacturer sales in 2004. Around$7 bn of chemicals are sold to thatmarket, of which 50% are accountedfor by specialities, includingsurfactants, emollients, ultravioletabsorbers and hair fixatives.Argentina, Brazil, China, Russia andother developing countries areposting top-level growth. The demandfor anti-ageing skin-care products isrising driven mainly by the ageingpopulation in these regions. Otherfactors that are boosting specialitychemicals demand include USdemand for naturally derivedproducts. A demand growth of over5%/y through 2009 is forecast foractive ingredients, including vitamins,botanical extracts andpolysaccharides. Companies such asLubrizol, Engelhard and InternationalSpecialty Products are takingadvantage of the natural wellnesstrend, while others such as Rhodiaand Rohm and Haas cite successfulpricing efforts as the main drivers ofgrowth. Producers also reveal thatsignificant growth prospects exist inAsia and the Pacific. The companiesare expanding capacities,rationalizing businesses andincreasing research and developmentactivities to meet anticipated demandgrowth, particularly in the personalcare market. Some producers areinvesting in nanotechnology, withnanotech delivery systems andinorganic sunscreen agents as theprimary areas of focus.

Chemical Week, 22 Feb 2006 (Website:http://www.chemweek.com)

C&T gains in new products andmarkets

Cosmetics and toiletries producersrecently posted increases in salesfuelled by new product launches in2005 and continued growth indeveloping and emerging markets.Estee Lauder had a 3% rise in itsfiscal 2Q sales to $1.78 bn. Sales inEurope, the Middle East and Africawere up 5% to $659 M, and rose 3%in Asia/Pacific to $246 M. Avon’s total4Q sales rose 4% to $2.4 bn, withsales rising 27% in Latin America and6% in Central and Eastern Europe.Revenues in North America and AsiaPacific fell 7%. L’Oreal had a 12%rise in 4Q 2005 sales and posted14% growth in Asia, 36% in Latin

APRIL 2006 5

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