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A Vertical Phosphate Powerhouse
ICL Performance Products
ICL Performance Products is a specialty phosphates powerhouse with clear industry leadership in terms of revenues, product offerings, geographical presence, and technological capabilities.
ICL-PP produces a broad variety of downstream products for food and industrial applications with particular strength in customized solutions for the food, cleaning products, fire safety, coatings and electronics industries. It also produces alumina-based and other products for the paper, water treatment, construction, pharmaceutical and footwear industries.
The segment has established its headquarters in St. Louis to strengthen its marketing and customer support capabilities in North and South America.
ICL Performance Products at a Glance
2008 Revenues: $1.5 billion (including ~$64 million in internal sales)
% of ICL Revenues: 21% (external sales)
Operating Income: $282.8 million (adjusted)
Market leader: #1 worldwide in glassy phosphates and specialty phosphate blends; #2 in potassium phosphates; in Europe, #2 in dairy and farm hygiene and #3 in total food hygiene; in the Americas, leading marketer of food phosphates; #1 in merchant industrial phosphoric acid sales, electronic-grade specialty phosphoric acids & wildfire safety products.
Major Markets: Europe, North & South America, Asia
Product Lines
Phosphate & phosphorus-based products (78%):
Food-grade & technical-grade phosphoric acid for food and industrial applications
Phosphate salts, blends and phosphorus derivatives for industrial applications
Food phosphates and other food additive and ingredient specialties (seasonings, flavors, color stabilizers, emulsifiers etc.)
Food hygiene, disinfectants and cleaning products
Wildfire safety products
Alumina and other chemicals (22%):
Pharmaceutical and cosmetic ingredients, thermoplastic materials and synthetic gypsum
Industrial applications (water and paper treatment, dispersing agents, corrosion inhibitors, and others)
Competitive Position
ICL Performance Products is a leader in the specialty phosphate industry in terms of product offerings and geographic presence.
- Broad range of branded products: extensive technological know-how supports new product development
- Strong customer relationships: reputation for tailor-made applications and specialty formulations
- Geographic positioning: manufacturing and marketing capabilities in Europe, North and South America and the Asia Pacific region
Industry Trends and Factors
Rising raw material prices: worldwide prices for the segment’s raw materials increased dramatically during 2008 and may continue to rise
Changing pricing methodologies: the specialty phosphates industry is moving toward shorter term, less firm pricing methods as a result of a volatile raw material price environment
Growing focus on specialty markets: markets for new, diverse and value-added and specialty product lines are growing in importance with food ingredients as a key market
Environmental Activities
In addition to adhering to established environmental standards and regulations, ICL Performance Products has implemented a program for cost-effective compliance with all applicable environmental requirements. Program elements include:
- Maintaining segment-wide safety performance standards.
- Implementing an environmental audit program based on a three-year plant review cycle
- Creating an internal metric for communicating environmental compliance for every facility
- Developing a network for the sharing of best practices