Chemetall acquires all shares of Shanghai Joint Venture

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Feb 19, 2015, 08:00 ET

BATON ROUGE, La., Feb. 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Chemetall, a business unit of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB), has completed the acquisition of all shares of its Shanghai Chemetall joint venture and is now the sole owner of the entity.

Chemetall, a business unit of Albemarle Corporation, has completed the acquisition of all shares of its Shanghai Chemetall joint venture and is now the sole owner of the entity. From left to right: (Row 1: Jennifer Chen, Jacqueline Zhang, Viola Xu, Mike Watson, Joris Merckx, Sven Schneider, Jin Chuan, Owen Deng, Row 2: Julius Zhu, Kore Ke, Jeff Zhou, Fu Yongfei, Row 3: Peter Fendel, Dominik Maier, Andreas Filsinger, Bruno Rouvier, Jin Hui)

This transaction is in line with Chemetall's strategic market approach to further enhance its global footprint as the surface treatment supplier of choice. "We are committed to expanding our presence in China with one voice to the customer through our wholly owned organization," said Joris Merckx, president, Chemetall. "As a specialist in surface treatment, we aim to offer absolutely the best in service along with the most innovative technologies and effectively address shifting market and customer needs."

China is a key growth market for Chemetall. "With our very strong focus on the automotive market and our long-term relationship with leading automotive manufacturers, we are ideally positioned to further develop the business, provide advanced innovative technologies to the market and create value for our customers in this region," said Jin Hui, managing director, Shanghai Chemetall.

Today, China is the largest automotive market in the world. With its broad portfolio of surface treatment technologies, Chemetall expects to actively participate in the dynamic growth of automotive related businesses, such as automotive components, coil and cold forming industries.

Established as a joint venture with two Chinese partners in 1995, Shanghai Chemetall today houses the recently modernized, highly equipped and expanded regional R&D and Technical Center, administrative offices and over 220 dedicated employees to support customers in the region.

About Albemarle
Albemarle Corporation, headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is a premier specialty chemicals company with leading positions in attractive end markets around the world. With a broad customer reach and diverse end markets, Albemarle develops, manufactures and markets technologically advanced and high value added products, including lithium and lithium compounds, bromine and bromine derivatives, catalysts and surface treatment chemistries used in a wide range of applications including consumer electronics, flame retardants, metal processing, plastics, contemporary and alternative transportation vehicles, refining, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, construction and custom chemistry services. Albemarle is focused on delivering differentiated, performance-based technologies that deliver innovative and sustainable solutions to its customers. Albemarle employs approximately 6,900 people and serves customers in approximately 100 countries. Albemarle regularly posts information to www.albemarle.com, including notification of events, news, financial performance, investor presentations and webcasts, Regulation G reconciliations, SEC filings and other information regarding Albemarle, its businesses and the markets it serves.

Chemetall Surface Treatment, a business unit of Albemarle Corporation, is a leading global supplier of specialty chemicals with a focus on processes for the surface treatment of metals and plastics. To learn more, visit www.chemetall.com.

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SOURCE Albemarle Corporation