Dow and Buckman sign new agreement
04/09/2008
Antimicrobial solutions provider Dow Biocides, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company (Dow), and Buckman Laboratories International have signed a memorandum of understanding for a joint development agreement to accelerate the research and development of technologies for use in leather hide preservation.
The companies have said this will have no impact on existing agreements for Dow Chemical to acquire leather chemicals supplier Rohm and Haas, and Rohm and Haas's marketing joint venture with Lanxess.
The temporary preservation of hides and skins prior to tanning, and the need for effective mould resistance in intermediate and finished leather goods are critical issues for the industry. As a by-product of the meat industry, hides and skins, along with intermediate processed goods and finished leather articles, are shipped around the world in the course of manufacture and commerce.
The globalisation of the industry has placed significant demands on product performance. In tandem, requirements from regulatory authorities and end-consumers for improved product safety and environmental stewardship both in the application of biocides and through the leather article lifecycle, place ever greater compliance demands on product and supplier.
According to Nanette Hermsen, global marketing manager for Dow Biocides, the combined resources of Dow and Buckman Laboratories will bring leading scientific advancement for improved products and systems to solve leather industry problems. She said: “Joint efforts between us will leverage field applications knowledge, monitoring services, customer support, and the Busan brand leadership from Buckman and combine it with the global regulatory expertise, broad portfolio of antimicrobial products, and global customer application centres of Dow Biocides. A focus on local raw materials and formulations along with innovative applications development will yield sustainable solutions for leading tanners in the industry who require the highest performance along with regulatory compliance and global market acceptance of treated leather articles.”
Robin Luck, vice president of global marketing at Buckman Laboratories, said: “Buckman is truly excited about working with Dow as it allows us to bring new products and new combinations of products to our customers, as well as the added strength of our combined resources.”
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