Element Solutions Inc is a leading global specialty chemicals company whose businesses supply a broad range of solutions that enhance the performance of products people use every day. The company’s product innovation and product extensions are expected to continue to drive sales growth in both new and existing markets while expanding margins through a consistent focus on increasing customer value propositions.
The company’s extensive global teams of specially trained scientists and engineers de...
Element Solutions Inc is a leading global specialty chemicals company whose businesses supply a broad range of solutions that enhance the performance of products people use every day. The company’s product innovation and product extensions are expected to continue to drive sales growth in both new and existing markets while expanding margins through a consistent focus on increasing customer value propositions.
The company’s extensive global teams of specially trained scientists and engineers develop its products, and its expert sales and service organizations ensure its customers' needs are met every day. The company’s continuous focus on customer-centric innovation serves as a catalyst to drive changes to existing formulations and opportunities in adjacent markets within its industry.
The company’s strategy is based on a balance of operational excellence and prudent capital allocation.
Acquisitions
ViaForm Distribution Rights - On June 1, 2023, the company reacquired the right to market and distribute directly (rather than through its exclusive distributor) its ViaForm electrochemical deposition products by terminating a long-standing distribution agreement.
Kuprion Acquisition - On May 19, 2023, the company completed the Kuprion Acquisition. Kuprion, Inc. is a developer of next-generation nano-copper technology for the semiconductor, circuit board and electronics assembly markets.
Business Segments
The company operates through two segments: Electronics and Industrial & Specialty.
The company provides highly-technical service and support to customers and OEMs in order to optimize their manufacturing processes.
Electronics
Electronics segment researches, formulates and sells specialty chemicals and process technologies for all types of electronics hardware, from complex printed circuit board designs to advanced semiconductor packaging. In mobile communications, computers, automobiles and aerospace equipment, its products are an integral part of the electronics manufacturing process and the functionality of end-products. The segment's wet chemistries for metallization, surface treatments and solderable finishes form the physical circuitry pathways and its assembly materials, such as solder, pastes, fluxes and adhesives, join those pathways together.
Electronics provides solutions through the following businesses:
Assembly Solutions - representing approximately 51% of the segment's 2023 net sales. As a global supplier of surface mount technologies (SMT), fluxes, thermal management materials, coatings and other attachment materials, the company develops high-performing innovative materials that are used to assemble consumer electronics from circuit boards, discrete electronic components, connectors and integrated circuit substrates. The company’s growth in this business will be driven by the increasing use of electronics in consumer, automotive, telecommunications, memory, medical, aerospace and other markets.
Circuitry Solutions - representing approximately 30% of the segment's 2023 net sales. As a global supplier of chemical formulations to the electronics industry, the company designs and manufactures proprietary wet chemical processes and materials used by its customers to manufacture printed circuit boards and memory storage devices. The company’s product portfolio focuses on specialized consumable chemical processes and materials, such as circuit formation, primary metallization, electroplate, surface finishes and flexible/formable films. The company’s growth in this business will be driven by demand in wireless mobile devices, internet infrastructure, high performance computing, and the increasing use of electronics in automobiles.
Semiconductor Solutions - representing approximately 19% of the segment's 2023 net sales. As a global supplier to the semiconductor industry, the company provides advanced copper interconnects, die attachment, sintered silver material, adhesives, wafer bump processes and photomask technologies to its customers for integrated circuit fabrication and semiconductor packaging. The company’s growth in this business will be driven by advanced electronics packaging, necessary to meet the growing needs of high performance computing, artificial intelligence, the internet of things, next-generation wireless communications and the increasing content and complexity of electronics in automotive applications.
Products
A selection of Electronics' product offerings is presented below:
Assembly Solutions
Electronic Assembly Materials: Electonic assembly materials are used in circuit board and high-performance electronic device assembly. The company’s product offering is primarily focused on SMT, including solder pastes, adhesives and preforms. The portfolio also includes thermal management materials, encapsulants, coatings, fluxes and other solder materials, all of which facilitate wave solder and surface mount assembly activities. Key brands include Alpha, Innolot, AccuFlux, Powerbond, Kester, Electrolube, and Alpha HiTech.
Circuitry Solutions
Circuit Board Metallization: Circuit board metallization products are used to plate holes drilled through printed circuit boards to connect opposite sides of the board and multi-layered printed circuit boards. Products include Shadow, Blackhole, MacuSpec, M-System and Systek.
Circuit Formation Products: Circuit formation products consist of an assortment of products for defining circuit patterns and bonding conductors to insulating materials.
Electronic Materials: Electonic materials are specialty products developed for evolving electronic applications, including photovoltaics, memory disk and molded interconnect devices manufacturing, as well as lead frame and dielectric plating solutions.
Surface Finishes : Surface finishes are metallic and organic surface finishes products that promote wire bondability, provide contact functionality and preserve solderability of the circuit board prior to component assembly. Key brands include Sterling, Entek, Affinity and Ormecon.
Film and Smart Surface Solutions: Films and smart surfaces solutions include 3D formable films, 2D films, texturing Lacquers and circuitry & component attach materials which are used in the creation of in-mold electronic (IME) structures for human-machine interfaces (HMI). Key brands include Xtraform, Autotex and Autoflex.
Semiconductor Solutions
Semiconductor Materials & Packaging Applications: Semiconductor materials & packaging applications are advanced plating chemistries and assembly materials used for semiconductor chip fabrication and packaging. The company’s plating portfolio consists of copper, nickel and precious metals used in wafer-level packaging applications, as well as damascene metallization used for transistor interconnection. The company’s semiconductor assembly materials portfolio includes sintered materials, die attach pastes and films, thermal interface materials, adhesives, getters, solder flux and solder pastes. The company’s Argomax line of advanced sinter technology is used in power semiconductor and solid state lighting markets to improve reliability and device performance. Other key brands include ALPHA, ViaForm, MICROFAB, ATROX, TrueHeight, Staydry, Kester and Compugraphics.
Industrial & Specialty
The company’s Industrial & Specialty segment researches, formulates and sells specialty chemicals and process technologies that enhance surfaces or improve industrial processes in diverse industrial sectors from automotive trim to transcontinental infrastructure and from high-speed printing to high-design faucets. Its products include chemical systems that protect and decorate metal and plastic surfaces; consumable chemicals that enable printing image transfer on flexible packaging materials; and chemistries used in water-based hydraulic control fluids in offshore energy production. The segment's products are used in the aerospace, automotive, construction, consumer electronics, consumer packaged goods and oil and gas production end-markets.
Industrial & Specialty provides solutions through the following businesses:
Industrial Solutions - representing approximately 76% of the segment's 2023 net sales. As a global supplier of industrial metal and plastic finishing chemistries, the company primarily designs and manufactures chemical systems that protect and decorate surfaces. The company’s high-performance functional coatings improve resistance to wear and tear, such as chrome plating of shock absorbers for cars, or provide corrosion resistance for appliance parts. The company’s decorative performance coatings apply finishes for parts in various end-markets, such as automotive interiors or jewelry surfaces. As part of its broader sustainable solutions platform, the company also provides both chemistry and equipment for turnkey wastewater treatment, recycling and reuse solutions. The company’s industrial customer base is highly diverse and includes customers in the following end-markets: appliances and electronics equipment; automotive parts; industrial parts; plumbing goods; construction equipment and transportation equipment.
Graphics Solutions - representing approximately 16% of the segment's 2023 net sales. As a supplier of consumable materials used to transfer images onto consumer packaging materials, the company’s products are used to improve print quality and printing productivity. The company produces and markets photopolymers through an extensive line of flexographic plates that are used in the consumer packaging and printing industries. Photopolymers are molecules that change properties upon exposure to light. Flexography is a printing process that utilizes flexible printing plates made of rubber or other flexible plastics.
Energy Solutions - representing approximately 8% of the segment's 2023 net sales. As a global supplier of specialized fluids to the offshore energy industry, the company produce water-based hydraulic control fluids for major oil and gas companies and drilling contractors to be used in offshore deep-water production and drilling applications. The company’s growth in this business will be driven by continued capital expenditures in energy exploration and production.
Products
A selection of Industrial & Specialty's product offerings is presented below:
Industrial Solutions
Electroless Nickel: Electroless nickel is applied to a variety of metal and plastic surfaces to enhance corrosion resistance, wear resistance, solderability and to repair worn or over-machined surfaces in a variety of applications.
Plating Products: Plating products are high-performance coatings used in multiple applications. The company’s CuMac range of products is used for plating on aluminum wheels, plastic substrates and zinc-based die castings while its evolve plating process applies to chromium-free plating on plastics.
Pre-treatment and Cleaning Solutions: Pre-treatment and cleaning solutions are applied to prepare the surfaces of a wide variety of industrial products for subsequent treatment. This product family includes a complete line of aqueous and semi-aqueous pre-treatment and cleaning products.
Functional Conversion Coatings: Functional conversion coatings are applied to metals to enhance corrosion resistance and paint adhesion in a wide spectrum of industrial applications where heavy-duty usage and exposure to unfavorable environments are anticipated.
Wastewater Solutions: Wastewater solutions are treatment and recycling systems that allow for less waste discharge and a more sustainable use of resources including water, metals and other production inputs.
Water Treatment: Water treatment consists of Fernox, the company’s water treatment product line, which is used for the filtration, corrosion inhibition, and conditioning of water in residential and commercial boiler systems.
Graphics Solutions
Solid Sheet Printing Elements
Solid sheet printing elements are digital and analog printing sheets, used in the flexographic printing and plate-making processes. Our extensive line of LUX flexographic plates, including its LUX ITP 60 plate, are used in the commercial packaging, letterpress newspaper and publication industries.
Liquid Imaging Products: Liquid imaging products are liquid photopolymers used to produce printing plates for transferring images onto commercial packaging. The company’s key products are LTL photopolymer, M Clear photopolymer and M Stamp 40 photopolymer. The company also offers products that are used in the production of liquid photopolymer plates, such as substrate, coverfilms and detergents.
Energy Solutions
Offshore Fluids
Offshore fluids are used to operate valves for the deep-water oil extraction and transportation process, and drilling fluids are used to operate valves for drilling rigs on the ocean floor. Production and drilling fluids are water-based hydraulic fluids used in subsea control systems.
Business Strategies
The company is building a best-in-class global specialty chemical solutions company. The company’s primary long-term measures of success are the value it creates for its customers, the growth opportunities it provides for its people and the growth in the intrinsic value of its shares, which is a byproduct of value to customers, a strong meritocratic culture and prudent capital allocation. The company regularly develops new products and processes and leverage its existing technologies and global footprint to profitably enter new markets. The company’s efforts are directed by the following key business strategies: commercial excellence; market leading innovation; enabling sustainability; and decisiveness and action orientation.
Customers
The company‘s businesses have diverse customer bases and sell products either directly to end-user customers or through intermediaries. The company also has collaborative relationships with many OEMs and industry partners, who specify its chemistries and technologies for use in their products or grant it development rights to their intellectual property.
The company is able to attracts new customers successfully through its international reach, coupled with its local knowledge and on-the-ground presence, which enable the company to meet the needs its customers. The company operates a relatively large number of small and medium-sized facilities located close to its customers throughout the world's major economic regions. This close proximity to the company’s global customers' local sites enables access to key growth markets and, along with its efficient formulation process, allows for just in time supply chain management.
Selling & Marketing
The company employs a customer-centric and highly-technical sales and marketing force worldwide. These professionals have robust technical expertise and local market knowledge and cultivate strong customer relationships. The company’s local sales and marketing teams closely monitor market trends and maintain active dialogue with its customers to assess and understand their constantly evolving challenges. The company uses this information from its local sales teams to anticipate future needs and respond rapidly to changing market conditions or technologies in order to swiftly deliver customized, value-added solutions to its customers. This feedback loop is an important source of new product ideas and helps guide its capital allocation decisions and research and development initiatives.
The company’s methods for selling and marketing its proprietary products vary slightly by geographic region. The company generates business through the efforts of regional sales, technical and service personnel as well as distributors. In addition to regional sales and service staff, the company maintains a group of global personnel focused on coordinating sales projects and obtaining design specifications for complex projects involving multiple customers within the manufacturing supply chain.
Competition
Electronics
The company’s Electronics segment provides a broad line of proprietary chemical compounds and supporting services, and broadly competes within the specialty chemicals industry. Although competition varies by end-market and geography, its most significant competitors are MKS Instruments, DuPont de Nemours, Inc., Henkel Corporation, Senju Metal Industry Co. and Uyemura International.
Industrial & Specialty
The company’s Industrial & Specialty segment provides a broad line of proprietary chemical compounds and supporting services, and broadly competes within the specialty chemicals industry. Although competition varies by end-market and geography, its most significant competitors are MKS Instruments, DuPont de Nemours, Inc., BP p.l.c., Miraclon Corp. and XSYS Global.
Research and Development
During 2023, the company’s research and development expenses totaled $68.1 million which includes $15.7 million of research and development costs associated with purchase accounting related to the Kuprion Acquisition.
Patents, Trademarks and Proprietary Products
As of December 31, 2023, the company owned, had applications pending, or licensed the rights to, approximately 2,800 domestic and foreign patents, which have remaining lives of varying duration.
History
The company was founded in 1785. It was formerly known as Platform Acquisition Holdings Limited and changed its name to Platform Specialty Products Corporation in 2013 to Element Solutions Inc in 2019. The company was incorporated in Delaware in 2014.
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