Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (Kronos) operates as a global producer and marketer of value-added titanium dioxide pigments, or TiO2, a base industrial product used in a wide range of applications.
The company, along with its distributors and agents, sells and provides technical services for its products to approximately 3,000 customers in 100 countries with the majority of the company's sales in Europe, North America and the Asia Pacific region. The company has developed considerable expertise and eff...
Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (Kronos) operates as a global producer and marketer of value-added titanium dioxide pigments, or TiO2, a base industrial product used in a wide range of applications.
The company, along with its distributors and agents, sells and provides technical services for its products to approximately 3,000 customers in 100 countries with the majority of the company's sales in Europe, North America and the Asia Pacific region. The company has developed considerable expertise and efficiency in the manufacture, sale, shipment and service of its products in domestic and international markets.
Effective July 16, 2024, the company acquired the 50% joint venture interest in Louisiana Pigment Company, L.P. (LPC) held by Venator Investments, Ltd. (Venator). Prior to the acquisition, the company held a 50% joint venture interest in LPC through a wholly-owned subsidiary. LPC was operated as a manufacturing joint venture between the company and Venator. Following the acquisition, LPC became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company.
TiO2 is a white inorganic pigment used in a wide range of products for its exceptional durability and its ability to impart whiteness, brightness and opacity. TiO2 is a critical component of everyday applications, such as coatings, plastics and paper, as well as many specialty products such as inks, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. TiO2 is widely considered to be superior to alternative white pigments in large part due to its hiding power (or opacity), which is the ability to cover or mask other materials effectively and efficiently. TiO2 is designed, marketed and sold based on specific end-use applications.
TiO2 is the largest commercially used whitening pigment because it has a high refractive rating, giving it more hiding power than any other commercially produced white pigment. In addition, TiO2 has excellent resistance to interaction with other chemicals, good thermal stability and resistance to ultraviolet degradation. Pigment extenders such as kaolin clays, calcium carbonate and polymeric opacifiers are used together with TiO2 in a number of end-use markets.
At December 31, 2024, approximately 50% of the company’s common stock was owned by Valhi, Inc. and approximately 31% was owned by a wholly-owned subsidiary of NL Industries, Inc. Valhi also owns approximately 83% of NL Industries’ outstanding common stock. A wholly owned subsidiary of Contran Corporation held approximately 91% of Valhi’s outstanding common stock.
Products and End-Use Markets
The company offers its customers a broad portfolio of products that include over 50 different TiO2 pigment grades under the KRONOS trademark, which provide a variety of performance properties to meet customers' specific requirements. The company's major customers include domestic and international paint, plastics, decorative laminate and paper manufacturers. The company ships TiO2 to its customers in either a dry or slurry form via rail, truck and/or ocean carrier. Sales of the company's core TiO2 pigments represented approximately 90% of the company's net sales in 2024. The company and its agents and distributors primarily sell the company's products in three major end-use markets: coatings, plastics and paper.
Some of the principal applications for the company's products include the following:
TiO2 for Coatings - The company's TiO2 is used to provide opacity, durability, tinting strength and brightness in industrial coatings, as well as coatings for commercial and residential interiors and exteriors, automobiles, aircraft, machines, appliances, traffic paint and other special purpose coatings. The amount of TiO2 used in coatings varies widely depending on the opacity, color and quality desired. In general, the higher the opacity requirement of the coating, the greater the TiO2 content.
TiO2 for Plastics - The company produces TiO2 pigments that improve the optical and physical properties of plastics, including whiteness and opacity. TiO2 is used to provide opacity to items such as containers and packaging materials, and vinyl products such as windows, door profiles and siding. TiO2 also generally provides hiding power, neutral undertone, brightness and surface durability for housewares, appliances, toys, computer cases and food packages. TiO2's high brightness along with its opacity, is used in some engineering plastics to help mask their undesirable natural color. TiO2 is also used in masterbatch, which is a concentrate of TiO2 and other additives and is one of the largest uses for TiO2 in the plastics end-use market. In masterbatch, the TiO2 is dispersed at high concentrations into a plastic resin and is then used by manufacturers of plastic containers, bottles, packaging and agricultural films.
TiO2 for Paper - The company's TiO2 is used in the production of several types of paper, including laminate (decorative) paper, filled paper and coated paper to provide whiteness, brightness, opacity and color stability. Although the company sells its TiO2 to all segments of the paper end-use market, the company's primary focus is on the TiO2 grades used in coated board and paper laminates, where several layers of paper are laminated together using melamine resin under high temperature and pressure. The top layer of paper contains TiO2 and plastic resin and is the layer that is printed with decorative patterns. Paper laminates are used to replace materials, such as wood and tile for such applications as counter tops, furniture and wallboard.
TiO2 is beneficial in these applications because it assists in preventing the material from fading or changing color after prolonged exposure to sunlight and other weathering agents.
TiO2 for Other Applications - The company produces TiO2 to improve the opacity and hiding power of printing inks. TiO2 allows inks to achieve very high print quality while not interfering with the technical requirements of printing machinery, including low abrasion, high printing speed and high temperatures. The company's TiO2 is also used in textile applications where TiO2 functions as an opacifying and delustering agent. In man-made fibers, such as rayon and polyester, TiO2 corrects an otherwise undesirable glossy and translucent appearance. Without the presence of TiO2, these materials would be unsuitable for use in many textile applications.
The company produces high-purity sulfate process anatase TiO2 used to provide opacity, whiteness and brightness in a variety of cosmetic and personal care products, such as skin cream, lipstick, eye shadow and toothpaste. In pharmaceuticals, the company's TiO2 is used commonly as a colorant in tablet and capsule coatings, as well as in liquid medicines to provide uniformity of color and appearance. KRONOS purified anatase grades meet the applicable requirements of the CTFA (Cosmetics, Toiletries and Fragrances Association), USP and BP (United States Pharmacopoeia and British Pharmacopoeia) and the FDA (United States Food and Drug Administration).
The company's TiO2 business is enhanced by the following three complementary businesses, which comprised approximately 10% of the company's net sales in 2024:
The company owns and operates an ilmenite mine in Norway pursuant to a governmental concession with an unlimited term. Ilmenite is a raw material used directly as a feedstock by some sulfate-process TiO2 plants. Along with supplying ilmenite ore to the company's sulfate plants in Europe, the company also sells ilmenite ore to third parties, some of whom are the company's competitors. The mine has estimated ilmenite reserves that it expects, based on internal estimates, to last approximately 50 years.
The company manufactures and sells iron-based chemicals, which are co-products and processed co-products of the sulfate and chloride process TiO2 pigment production. These co-product chemicals are marketed through the company's Ecochem division and are primarily used as treatment and conditioning agents for industrial effluents and municipal wastewater, as well as in the manufacture of iron pigments, cement and agricultural products.
The company manufactures and sells other specialty chemicals, which are side-stream products from the production of TiO2. These specialty chemicals are used in applications in the formulation of pearlescent pigments, production of electroceramic capacitors for cell phones and other electronic devices and natural gas pipe and other specialty applications.
Manufacturing, Operations and Properties
Manufacturing - The company produces TiO2 in two crystalline forms: rutile and anatase. Rutile TiO2 is manufactured using both a chloride production process and a sulfate production process, whereas anatase TiO2 is only produced using a sulfate production process. Manufacturers of many end-use applications can use either form, especially during periods of tight supply for TiO2. The chloride process is the preferred form for use in coatings and plastics, the two largest end-use markets. Due to environmental factors and customer considerations, the proportion of TiO2 industry sales represented by chloride process pigments has remained stable relative to sulfate process pigments, and in 2024, chloride process production facilities represented approximately 41% of industry capacity. The sulfate process is preferred for use in selected paper products, ceramics, rubber tires, man-made fibers, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. Once an intermediate TiO2 pigment has been produced by either the chloride or sulfate process, it is 'finished' into products with specific performance characteristics for particular end-use applications through proprietary processes involving various chemical surface treatments and intensive micronizing (milling).
Chloride Process – The chloride process is a continuous process in which chlorine is used to extract rutile TiO2. The chloride process produces less waste than the sulfate process because much of the chlorine is recycled and feedstock bearing higher titanium content is used. The chloride process also has lower energy requirements and is less labor-intensive than the sulfate process, although the chloride process requires a higher-skilled labor force. The chloride process produces an intermediate base pigment with a wide range of properties. The chloride process produces a product with a blueish undertone and is the preferred form to produce TiO2 pigments for use in coatings and plastics, the two largest end-use markets.
Sulfate Process – The sulfate process is a batch process in which sulfuric acid is used to extract the TiO2 from ilmenite or titanium slag. After separation from the impurities in the ore (mainly iron), the TiO2 is precipitated and calcined to form an intermediate base pigment ready for sale or can be upgraded through finishing treatments. The sulfate process produces a warmer undertone and is preferred for use in selected paper products, ceramics, rubber tires, man-made fibers, food products, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, some of which generate higher profit margins.
LPC – Prior to July 16, 2024, Kronos Louisiana, Inc., one of its subsidiaries, and Venator each owned a 50% interest in LPC, which was operated as a manufacturing joint venture. LPC owns and operates a chloride-process TiO2 plant located near Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Operations
The company produced 535,000 metric tons of TiO2 in 2024.
Properties
The company operates facilities throughout North America and Europe. The company has four TiO2 plants in Europe (one in each of Leverkusen, Germany; Nordenham, Germany; Langerbrugge, Belgium; and Fredrikstad, Norway). In North America, the company has a TiO2 plant in Varennes, Quebec, Canada and a TiO2 plant near Lake Charles, Louisiana.
The company's chloride process production and remaining sulfate production capacity has increased by approximately 5% over the past ten years due to debottlenecking programs with only moderate capital expenditures.
The company also operates an ilmenite mine in Norway pursuant to a governmental concession with an unlimited term. In addition, the company operates a rutile slurry manufacturing plant near Lake Charles, Louisiana facility, which converts dry pigment primarily manufactured for the company at its Lake Charles TiO2 facility into a slurry form that is then shipped to customers.
Suppliers
The company purchases feedstock for its chloride process TiO2 from the following primary suppliers for certain contractually specified volumes for delivery extending, in some cases, through 2026: Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium Ltd.; Sierra Rutile Limited; and Iluka Resources Limited.
Sales and Marketing
The company works to maintain close relationships with the key decision makers through in-depth and frequent contact. The company endeavors to extend these commercial and technical relationships to multiple levels within the company's customers' organizations using its direct sales force and technical service group to accomplish this objective. Close cooperation and strong customer relationships enable the company to stay closely attuned to trends in the company's customers' businesses. Where appropriate, the company works in conjunction with its customers to solve formulation or application problems by modifying specific product properties or developing new pigment grades. The company also focuses its sales and marketing efforts on those geographic and end-use market segments. This focus includes continuously reviewing and optimizing the company's customer and product portfolios.
The company also works directly with its customers to monitor the success of its products in their end-use applications, evaluate the need for improvements in the company's product and process technology and identify opportunities to develop new product solutions for the company's customers. The company's marketing staff closely coordinates with its sales force and technical specialists to ensure the needs of the company's customers are met, and to help develop and commercialize new grades where appropriate.
The company sells a majority of its products through its direct sales force operating in Europe and North America. The company also utilizes sales agents and distributors who are authorized to sell its products in specific geographic areas. In Europe, the company's sales efforts are conducted primarily through the company's direct sales force and its sales agents. The company's agents do not sell any TiO2 products other than KRONOS branded products. In North America, the company's sales are made primarily through its direct sales force and supported by a network of distributors. The company has increased its marketing efforts over the last several years in export markets and the company's sales are now made through its direct sales force, sales agents and distributors. In addition to the company's direct sales force and sales agents, many of the company's sales agents act as distributors to service its customers in all regions. The company offers customer and technical service to customers who purchase its products through distributors, as well as to the company's larger customers serviced by its direct sales force.
The company sells to a diverse customer base with only one customer representing 10% or more of its net sales in 2024 (Behr Process Corporation – 10%). The company’s largest ten customers accounted for approximately 39% of net sales in 2024.
Seasonality
Neither the company’s business as a whole nor any of the company’s principal product groups is seasonal to any significant extent. However, TiO2 sales are generally higher in the second and third quarters of the year, due in part to the increase in coatings production in the spring to meet demand during the spring and summer painting seasons. The company normally builds inventories during the first and fourth quarters of each year in order to maximize the company’s product availability during the higher demand periods normally experienced in the second and third quarters (year ended December 2024).
Competition
The company’s principal competitors are LB Group Co. Ltd., The Chemours Company, Tronox Holdings PLC and Venator Materials PLC.
Research and Development
The company's research and development expenditures were approximately $14 million in 2024.
Patents
The company’s U.S. patent portfolio includes patents having remaining terms ranging from one year to 19 years.
Trademarks
The company's trademarks, including KRONOS, are covered by issued and/or pending registrations, including in Canada and the United States.
Regulatory and Environmental Matters
The company’s U.S. manufacturing operations are governed by federal, state and local environmental and worker health and safety laws and regulations. These include the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, or RCRA, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act, or CERCLA, as well as the state counterparts of these statutes.
History
Kronos Worldwide, Inc. was founded in 1916. The company was incorporated in Delaware in 1989.
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