Specialty chemicals company Cognis, sold by Henkel at the end of 2001 to an investment group, has announced a number of changes to the structure of the company. The changes are designed to prepare the company to go public within the next four to five years. The goal is to double sales during this preparatory period.

The management reshuffle, announced last month (see leatherbiz.com, January 21, 2002: "Cognis reshuffles management") has now been combined with a systematic restructuring of the company into five strategic business units.

The five units will be Oleochemicals, directed by Pierre Renaud; Care Chemicals, headed by Richard Ridinger; Nutrition and Health directed by Paul Allen; Functional Products, headed by Guido Willems; and Process Chemicals, which will service the leather and textile industry. The director of the Process Chemicals unit is still to be decided.

The chief executive officer of Cognis, Antonio Trius, said the change in structure: "reinforces the decision-making competencies of the heads of the businesses and allows a more flexible response to developments in the marketplace."