Italmatch 25th Anniversary – Moving into organic specialty chemicals (2007)
Italmatch's growth strategy continued in 2007, with the acquisition of Arese (Italy) manufacturing site
Communications Office
In case you missed it, read the article about first Italmatch Chemicals projects in China in 1999 by clicking the button below:
In the early 2000s, as the Italmatch growth continued eastward, the company’s management was also busy searching for new opportunities to further expand the business into complementary markets. The opportunity presented itself with Arese plant and business, specialized in organic chemistry, today one of the group’s flagships.
The factory dates back to 1963, founded by Italcolloid. In 1973 it passed to Armor Hess UK, and a year later it was acquired by Akzo Chemie. The opportunity for Italmatch arose in 2007: the Dutch chemical multinational AkzoNobel was divesting some company branches and product lines, and no longer considered the site north of Milan as strategic.
Italmatch, however, understood its potential because these were chemicals that strengthened and, above all, complemented the group and the customers in the markets in which it was already present. The change of ownership was viewed with skepticism by the Arese employees, who up then had been able to count on the solidity of a large international group.
Italmatch invested heavily in the plant on the outskirts of Milan, and the strongest message came from subsequent hires. Not only did the signs show that there would be no downsizing, but rather that the aim was for expansion.
Since then, Arese plant has remained a core for coordination, development and research for the various sectors of the company.
Initially, production focused on lubricating oils and polymer additives, but the plant also proved to be perfectly equipped to handle phosphorus trichloride and produce phosphorous acid and its derivatives for automatic transmission fluids.
The innovation hub
Today the plant also hosts the important Innovation Hub which coordinates all the Group’s Research and Development activities.
The Advanced Water Solutions Technical and R&D Center of Excellence deals in particular with developing chemical solutions for new applications, including in the field of environmental sustainability.
For example, it is active in research concerning electric car batteries and solutions for their recycling – and since 2020, Italmatch has been selected as a partner of the European project “IPCEI (Important Project of Common European Interest) – Battery Innovations” together with the best industrial excellences of member countries.
After its first acquisition in Italy, Italmatch Chemicals was ready to expand into other complementary markets with the Spanish oleochemicals company Undesa:
