Aug 06
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Surfactants Monthly – July 2022

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Surfactants Monthly July 2022 We’re a bit late with the July blog and so, if you are so inclined you can get in touch and we will gladly refund the price of your subscription. You’re welcome! That’s funny because, you know, there is no subscription price.. There’s a whiff of recession in the air with prices edging back ever-so-slightly in the wholesale market and demand off a bit as folks cut back a bit and trade down in the face of consumer goods inflation. Once your stimulus money runs out and your rebound from the lockdown has finished, you realize just how much eating out costs and how much that basket of your favorite brands will put you back vs the store-brands – which are pretty much as good right?. So now what? By the way, a friend of mine was getting so much incoming financial COVID-associated support that he temporarily gave up his self-employed professional avocation to make lamps – for fun – then started selling them – for real money- while spouse continued to bring home paycheck bacon. Heckuvva stimulus party that. I’m even feeling a headache and didn’t even sample the punchbowl. Anyhow – I’m not a…

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Jul 03
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Surfactants Monthly – June 2022

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Surfactants Monthly – June 2022 This month we’ll take a look back at the music of Kate Bush, with some enticing nuggets scoured from deep within the bowels of YouTube. We’ll have some surfactants news of course, mostly courtesy of our friends at ICIS. The big news involves the blog’s favorite activist investor, Nelson Peltz. Last month, I thought I’d get ahead of the game and publish the blog with a day to spare at the end of May. And it was on that day, of course, that Unilever and Peltz chose to announce that they had come to an accommodation on a board seat for Peltz, without any of that expensive proxy fight business that P&G went through before acceding to Peltz’s overtures. Clever timing to avoid the blog’s attention, I suppose, but no matter, we get to indulge ourselves once again this month in all things Peltz. In addition, Tatler magazine released a sneak peek, at the activist investor’s equally famous daughter’s photo session with the magazine. It’s tasteful with the 27 year old adopting a somewhat retro late 70’s riffing on a 60’s look (in my opinion – kinda like Debbie Harry’s take on Jackie O) along…

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May 29
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Surfactants Monthly – May 2022

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Surfactants Monthly – May 2022 It looks like I may have been too tough on Tide in last month’s blog. I linked Stepan Company comments about the consumer markets in their quarterly report directly to our beloved brand leader in detergents, when in fact no such link was stated. The brand’s owner sprang promptly to its defense as they should. So there we are. Another reminder of the wide readership of the blog and the need to keep wilder musings to the music or culture sections. Interestingly, the Wall Street Journal last week outlined some difficult trends in the consumer markets, in an article entitled “Shoppers Are Fretting. Stores Are Listening” along with a sub-head “Consumers are growing cautious, and companies from Walmart to Procter & Gamble are altering course to reflect changing budgets. ‘Mom only has money right now for the bare-bones basics.’  The article goes on to discuss how some consumers are shopping for cheaper alternatives to their normal purchases in order to mitigate the effects of inflation. Examples given include how Walmart is stocking more half gallons of milk for shoppers who can’t afford a full gallon. And P&G is touting a dish-soap bottle that allows users…

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May 04
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Surfactants Monthly – April 2022

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You’ve still got about a week to reserve your spot at the upcoming conference, May 10-11 in Jersey City. Did I mention we have, for the first time ever, an exclusive breakfast briefing by Shell Chemical? They don’t speak that often in public about their surfactant related business, so now is your chance to hear what they have to say – in person. Check out the website for the event and book when you still can. Thanks. End of commercial. In what’s becoming a bit of a habit, the WSJ misleadingly headlined an April 28 story about Unilever as follows: Unilever’s Activist Truce Should Hold for Now. They’re talking about activist investor, Nelson Peltz and, as the story goes on to confirm, there is no such truce. A lull maybe, yeah, but not a truce. A lull isn’t a truce in my book. Anyhow the story notes that the company has done pretty well recently and they have not heard from Nelson since he built up a stake and rattled some management cages. That’s not a truce though right ? – if they have not heard from him yet. Anyway, the article goes on to note that Marmite Maker Unilever…

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Apr 04
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Surfactants Monthly – March 2022

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Surfactants Monthly – March 2022 Before we jump straight into the news: Please consider registering for our surfactants in-person event in May (10 – 11) in Jersey City, NJ. If you missed ACI in Orlando this year, now’s the chance to get back on the circuit, to meet old friends and new, to talk shop, to make deals, to learn a heck of a lot, to see who won the awards, to have a laugh and a joke and listen to some great music and just generally get back to normal. Everyone else will be there, pretty much, so.. yeah you should register, I think – Here’s the link. https://events.icis.com/ehome/worldsurfactants/home/ News: I know most of you have been waiting on literal tenterhooks (not sure what tenterhooks are but I think you get it) to hear the next installment of the Activist Shareholder / Marmite Maker – Nelson Peltz / Unilever corporate thriller. Well, nothing much has happened in the past month as far as I can see from my searching of the financial press. So, OK, we can seek solace in the pages of the Daily Mail which can be relied upon to write about (and picture) Peltz daughter Nicola…

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Mar 05
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Surfactants Monthly – February 2022

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Surfactants Monthly – February 2022 It often feels weird writing about surfactants when there are huge other things going on in the world. Then I think, yeah but who wants to hear from me about the affairs of the day. Everyone has their own opinions and the news surrounds us 24/7. I also think that, if the business of surfactants is how you’ve bought (OK still buying) a house and sent (still sending) some kids to college, then that’s a huge thing so.. And I think that, at least folks read this business blog and get something out of it. Some even find the humorous bits funny and one or two enjoy the musical interludes. If I told you what I think about Ukraine, I’m not sure you’d gain anything at all and maybe you’d resent the airspace here being taken up with something that doesn’t add to what you get on the telly or your newsfeed. I will say, though, that I have a concern about World War 3. I hear the phrase used at least once a day, these days. Having read and heard enough about WW2, I think 3 would be bad. The technology’s more effective and…

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Jan 28
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Surfactants Monthly – January 2022

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Surfactants Monthly – January 2022 Back In Person Like many others in our industry, I’ll be marking the end of the pandemic and the beginning of the endemic with a trip to Florida and the American Cleaning Institute Meeting. That may or may not be wishful thinking. Not the going to Florida part. That will have happened as of your reading this. The endemic part. That’s when you stop writing and talking about it except in the historical sense – like “hey do you remember that.. can you believe we were doing … such and such”. Let’s see. By the way, you’ll get no gossip or tittle-tattle from the ACI in this blog. Our motto is, as you know, that “you gotta be there”.  So.. Another place you gotta be is our great ICIS / Neil A Burns LLC World Surfactant Conference, which is back in person in Jersey City, NJ May 9 – 11th. It’s 1.5 day conference and a 1 day optional course. Of course, we also have the great Surfactants Awards for which nominations are now open. After two years of, frankly, unsatisfying meetings over zoom and somewhat nervous get-togethers at various meetings, I am really looking…

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Jan 02
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Surfactants Monthly New Year 2022

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December 2021 / New Year – Monthly Surfactants Happy New Year As promised, we have here our monthly blog for the remaining part of December and an end of year short story. The story is set on New Year’s Eve and starts in the control room of a specialty chemical plant. If you don’t want to be bothered with the story and associated moralizing, you can skip straight to the news section which is clearly marked. OK? So here we go then… Oh and by the way, the story is fiction. It’s not based on any real events or places. Although – you may recognize some characters, thoughts and feelings from your own life. Alright here we go… The Story Emerald – A New Year’s Eve Short Story John gazed at the pale green screen. It yielded nothing of interest. Nothing at all really. No phones. No books or magazines even, allowed in the plant control room at Veritas Chemical, ever. Not even New Year’s Eve, when basically nothing was happening. Well, nothing that the control room cared about. There was some last-minute shipment being drummed off out there for a customer in Thailand or Taiwan or someplace round the…

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Dec 12
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Surfactants Christmas 2021 Double Issue

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Christmas Double Issue December 2021 The cynics among you may conclude that we’re calling this a Christmas Double Issue because we’re very late publishing the November blog. And the cynics would, on this rare occasion, be right. The last few weeks have been tough for reasons good and bad and so this blog – gives you the news up to mid-December and includes some Christmas musings. We’ll be back in January though, so don’t worry. You’ll get your money’s worth! By the way, don’t forget to save the date. May 9 – 11th for our great 2022 World Surfactants Conference. Live and in-person in Jersey City, NJ. Same great place and bigger and better than ever. More details to all registered blog readers, very soon. Christmas Musings: I’m standing outside our lab in Connecticut, waiting for a car. It’s late, dark and cold. It’s been a physically, mentally and spiritually demanding week. Not that different from a lot of weeks you have in the course of your daily business – but I’m beat and ready to get home to a nice warm fireplace and dinner and wife and night’s sleep. A minivan pulls up. Chrysler, old-ish model, a bit dirty,…

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Oct 31
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Surfactants Monthly – October 2021

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Surfactants Monthly – October 2021 Great month for surfactants. We had our European and Asian Surfactants Conference – a huge success. And we were able to announce that the the next conference will be live and in person 9 – 11th of May of 2022 in Jersey City, NJ. Stay tuned and we’ll get further information to all registered blog readers. So – let’s see. There’s a lot going on with Sasol these days, which we heard about at the conference and which they also talked about at their capital markets day. Check out  the details at the end of the post. You’ll also notice, as you read through the news, that there is a lot of talk about inflation and supply chain disruptions. Shortages, high prices, stuff like that. Even Stepan’s mighty surfactant machine experienced problems this year as they discussed on their earnings call (see below). Hmm.. we went back to Manhattan for the first dinner / play / night-over since the pandemic. One thing struck me – the aroma of the city. It’s changed from what it was a couple of years ago. Today the prevalent aroma is one of marijuana and urine. Pot and piss, you…

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Oct 02
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Surfactants Monthly – September 2021

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September 2021 – Surfactants Monthly For Blog Readers Only We’re starting with a commercial for the upcoming European and Asian Surfactants Conference – Online – October 26th and 27th. I have a $100 promo-code only for readers of this blog only. Just use WSC21NB500 at checkout and you get $100 off the registration. I’m told that this is now the only way to get registered at less than the full price. So – don’t say I never give you nowt! Check out the conference here or just go straight to registration here. We have some great new speakers and panelists from companies including: Sasol Reckitt Benckiser Clariant Ecover / Method IP Specialites Vespucci Locus Jiahua Godrej Arzeda ICOS Capital (invested in Holiferm) Mintel Flini Colt & Willow So register here and use the promo-code WSC21NB500 to get $100 off. Great right? Blog readers only. I’ve always wanted to say that. As always, of course, I am producing and chairing the event and we will learn a lot and have a bit of fun along the way. See you there. End of commercial. Start of some pre-news musings. I’ve spent a bit of time listening to 2 heavy metal bands this…

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Sep 05
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Surfactants Monthly – August 2021

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Can I just have a minute for a quick commercial before we start? Our Asian and European Surfactant Conference will be online and coming up soon, October 26th and 27th. Details and registration here. We’ll talk oleo, EO, logistics, computational design (yeah I know right?), carbon capture and much more. We have a huge keynote from Sasol and a bunch of other special guests. I co-produce and chair as usual and so, yes, I’m biased. But you should still register. Thanks for your attention. Lots of news this month, so let’s get stuck in. First up Hurricane Ida. Your blogger was fortunate enough to only experience a minor inconvenience from the storm having to spend an extra day in San Diego before getting home. Others lost their homes, businesses, and lives – along the gulf coast and in the Northeast. The chemical industry, as usual, reminded us how the concentrated their risk profile is in North America. ICIS maintains a truly excellent topic page on Ida here.  We learn that about 2.64% of the US chemical supply was taken offline by the hurricane, including 3 Million MT of ethylene capacity. In further analysis by Janet Miranda, ICIS noted that: Producers,…

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Aug 02
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Surfactants Monthly – July 2021

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Surfactants Monthly Review July 2021 The Intro Section (not much surfactant news here): Access your calendar and mark the following please: May 19 – 20th, 2022. The 12th World Surfactants Conference. Our current thinking is to do it again in Jersey City – where it’s been for the last 10 years. However, we’re open to ideas – such as Miami or Houston. What do you think? Rest assured that, wherever the venue, it will be at a first class hotel with superb facilities and of course the content will continue to be just what you want – and what you simply can’t get anywhere else. It will be an event of friendly engagement, innovation, business-dealing and, yes, love. There I said it. And look, I know many of you, like me, engage in our daily business for money. But it’s not only for the money is it? There’s some other set of motivators and one of those is love. Love for the challenge, the technology, the surprises, the people – customers, suppliers, co-workers, even competitors.  Here’s something I’ve been thinking about. I’ve listened to some podcasts recently on the subject of psychedelics (e.g. Lex Fridman – check it out). One…

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Jul 04
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Surfactants Monthly – June 2021

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Surfactants Monthly – June 2021 Huge month for news, again. Lots happening with Oxiteno, Indorama, BASF, Colonial Chemical, Stepan, Amyris, M&A and much more. Before we get to that – this: Heads-up! This is to all the renewable and sustainable brands out there. Kylie Jenner is coming to your party and your life won’t be the same again. Regular readers of the blog know of my fascination with the Kardashians and know also that it is not born of prurient interest. Their influence on the culture and therefore our business is significant. Back in May of this year, Kylie Cosmetics swept its Instagram completely clean and posted a single photo of Kylie Jenner with the caption, “something is coming,” After two months of waiting, Jenner finally, on July 1st, revealed what she’s been working on with her billion-dollar brand. From here on, we’re quoting the IG post “The new @kyliecosmetics is coming JULY 15, 9am pst on KylieCosmetics.com! Everything is clean, vegan, and ready to go global. This means no animal oils, parabens or gluten, and we banned a list of over 1,600 other ingredients from being used in products, but made sure everything has amazing pigmentation and performance.” Let…

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May 30
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Surfactants Monthly – May 2021

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Surfactants Monthly – May 2021 It’s not Science Fiction That was the quote “it’s not science fiction” that sealed it for me. It was spoken by David Grainger of Unilever during his keynote address on Thursday morning of our World Surfactant Conference last week. What did it seal? For me it sealed the fact that this was one of the most consequential conferences I have ever attended (let alone co-produced with my partners at ICIS). David was talking about Unilever Homecare’s commitment to eliminate the use of fossil fuels in cleaning and laundry products by 2030. That’s a big deal because, as David went on to detail, Unilever Homecare’s ingredients are mostly made from fossil-fuels – and furthermore, over half the greenhouse gas impact of Homecare is driven by ingredient choice. And of course, what is the #1 ingredient by weight and volume? Yep, right, so… a huge deal. David went on to provide some incredibly impactful information and insights, as well as previews of what’s to come from Unilever in meeting this self-imposed challenge within the next 8 years. And that’s as far as I can take you my dear reader. As you know, my philosophy is: “You gotta…

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May 02
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Monthly Surfactants – April 2021

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Surfactants Monthly – April 2021 Later this month – May 25th – 27th, we have our 11th World Surfactants Conference. It’s online. Co-produced, as always,  between your author and ICIS. We’ve got P&G, American Chemistry Council, Buss, IP, Integrity Biochem, Kline, Stepan and many many more participants with papers, panels and, of course, the famous surfactants awards which bring you the best and brightest in the indusry. Sign up and you can still get the cheap rate until May 7th. End of commercial. If you’re only here for the music – and I happen to know that’s a meaningful minority of you, skip to the end, where we muse on the incredible catalogue of Black Sabbath. Ever wondered what it takes to become the category defining best-in-the-world at something? One way – create the category, which is of course what Black Sabbath did. One can imagine some early 70’s movie director saying “hey get me one of those, like, heavy metal guitarist type guys, from central casting” and out would trot Tony Iommi. But of course, that would never happen because heavy metal was just invented in 1970 with the release of the first Black Sabbath album, largely written by…

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