Reichhold CEO John Gaither Addresses Chemical Industry Conference in New York
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.--Reichhold Chairman, President and CEO John Gaither recently served as one of the featured speakers at a chemical industry conference in New York City organized by Chemical Week magazine.
Reichhold is headquartered in Research Triangle Park, NC and is the world’s largest manufacturer of unsaturated polyester resins for composites applications and a leading supplier of coating resins for a variety markets.
The Chemical Week conference, entitled, “Chemical Industry Global Outlook 2007,“ featured a number of well-know CEOs and other senior leaders within the international chemical industry. Among these were Rohm and Haas Chairman, President and CEO Raj Gupta and Huntsman President and CEO Peter Huntsman.
Gaither addressed the topic of “Changing Trends and Issues in the Resins / Polymers Market.” To put his remarks into perspective for the Chemical Week audience, Gaither first provided a brief history of Reichhold, from it’s beginnings through going public, acquisition of the company by Japan’s Dainippon Ink and Chemicals (DIC) in the 1980s and the 2005 management buyout (MBO) of Reichhold from DIC.
In his remarks to the conference, Gaither emphasized that current management is not an equity fund looking for a quick re-sale of Reichhold. Rather, he explained the history of Reichhold’s entire Executive Team and their desire to create long-term value in the company.
Gaither’s presentation covered the current trend of many larger chemical companies seeking to divest themselves of smaller holdings such as Eastman’s sale to the Apollo group, which put that business into the Hexion structure, and DIC’s sale of Reichhold among others.
He noted that many companies within the industry are either going private or seeking funding through private equity. Examples included AOC, Interplastic, Hexion and Reichhold, all similarly sized companies serving similar markets.
On the issue of capacity, Gaither noted that utilization varies across markets and regions. Where one finds fairly high utilization within the North American unsaturated polyester resin (UPR) market (composites), there are more players and more free capacity in the UPR market in Europe.
Similarly, he pointed out the low capacity utilization within the coatings industry, with the same being true for Reichhold in this market.
While some industry trends and conditions are unclear at the moment, Gaither said that the approach Reichhold will take is clear. “Reichhold will work hard to grow our share in our mature markets of North America and Western Europe through improved products (innovation) and better service,” he explained.
“At the same time,” he continued, “We will apply more resources in growth markets such as Eastern Europe, where Reichhold will grow its market-leading position in composites.” He also noted that Reichhold has established a joint venture company in Turkey and will be following customers into Asia.
“We are certainly no longer a company dependent primarily on the construction and leisure markets of North America,” Gaither told his industry colleagues. “The industry will change at a rapid pace, but Reichhold must move faster,” he said. “We are convinced that our lean, experienced team, wherein the managers and owners are one, will be able to respond quickly to the new challenges and opportunities headed our way.”
About Reichhold
Founded in 1927, Reichhold, Inc. will celebrate 80 years in business in 2007. With its world headquarters and technology center in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA, Reichhold is the world’s largest manufacturer of unsaturated polyester resins and a leading supplier of coating resins for the industrial, transportation, building and construction, marine, consumer and graphic arts markets. Reichhold has manufacturing operations throughout North America, Latin America, the Middle East and Europe.
Note to Editors: A photo of Reichhold's John Gaither addressing the Chemical Week Conference can be obtained by calling Phil Bridges at 919-990-7952, or via email at phil.bridges@reichhold.com.