Municipal & Industrial

As an essential part of Kemira’s strategy, the Municipal & Industrial segment intends to continue the strategy implementation through new product innovation and market launches, also focusing on cost competitiveness. “I see my role in this as an enabler and facilitator; providing rapid decision-making and letting our organization focus on delivering the results,” says Hannu Virolainen, who was appointed President of the Municipal & Industrial segment as of November 1, 2011.

 

In 2011, Kemira began active work on commercializing the developments of its SWEET research program. Our desalination and reuse membrane chemistry product range benefited from development derived from SWEET. Furthermore, the work done during 2011 resulted in disinfectant trials in various areas.

 

We inaugurated major investment projects in EMEA to improve the competitiveness of our coagulant supply, and took similar action in India. Our position in Western and Southern Europe was strengthened especially as we began the construction of two new coagulant plants at Bayer sites in Germany and Spain. In addition, new production technology was implemented in EMEA production sites to produce high performance aluminum coagulants for drinking water and industrial applications.

 

Another very significant achievement was the revitalized market presence of our polymer product line, particularly in EMEA, where the growth in our market position was notable. The SWEET research program is covering new sustainable polymers with improved biodegradability and further product development on existing product line to differentiate in selected applications.

 

In 2011, we began implementation of our key account management program within the Municipal & Industrial segment. We have identified several companies with global activities, nominated key account managers to supervise our collaboration with them, and deepened our relationships with these major customers.

 

In 2011, Kemira divested the Finnish engineering company Galvatek, located near Lahti.

 

We see our application business model as an important part of how we differentiate ourselves in emerging markets. By leveraging knowledge gathered in North America and Europe, we can shape growth in these increasingly important territories. In South America, particularly successful applications at this juncture include odor and corrosion control in sewer systems, as well as lake restoration. In APAC, membrane-related applications are of great importance as is our membrane chemistry and boiler and cooling water treatment chemical offering.

 

At this stage, we are in a position of organic growth, especially in APAC. Over the coming years, we will continue to develop a localized offering in emerging markets. This will be achieved in the short term by complementing our imports from Europe and North America with products from trusted local supply partners. The development will be bolstered by selective local production investments, such as our initiatives in India and China, which will begin work in 2012.

 

Municipal & Industrial constantly addresses sustainability issues and concerns in its customers’ businesses. We put a significant focus on energy and water efficiency as well as environmental considerations both in terms of our own operations and those of our customers. This is particularly relevant in industry, where increasingly tight regulations necessitate applications that are more efficient and pollute less. Water treatment is a key challenge for our customers and one that we are able to address.

 

2012 will see a great deal of effort committed to the commercialization of our SWEET programs as well as improvements to the competitiveness of our coagulant supply to maintain our leading market position in North America and EMEA.

 

In addition to this expansion of the product range in these key areas, and increased competitiveness of our base product line, we will also initiate development projects in our polymer product line to enable enhanced differentiation. Based on a deep understanding of our customers’ needs, we intend to launch new innovations that meet their future needs. Cross-functional teamwork will be essential for success.

 

Looking more in the long term, we will commit to developing profitable growth in the APAC area. We see this as a crucial activity as Kemira moves forward. Likewise, we will maintain efforts encompassing sales team development, application knowledge, and intensive training within our sales organization.