Can you introduce Austral Chemicals and provide an overview of the products and services the company offers?

Founded in 1942, Austral Chemicals is one of the oldest chemical companies in Chile. We are the leader in the production and commercialization of sodium and potassium silicates, as well as the formulation of hygiene, industrial maintenance and surface treatment solutions. Austral Chemicals was the Chilean subsidiary of the French company Total Petrochemicals and became independent in 2005 after the spin-off with Arkema. We continue to work closely with both companies and distribute their polyolefins nd specialty chemicals. Over the last few years, we have started to develop other representations, and today we serve various industries including mining, energy, homecare, packaging and plastics, coatings and adhesives, wood and paper, leather and construction.

Which industries have been driving growth for Austral Chemicals in recent years?

The homecare and I&I sectors have always been very important to Austral Chemicals’ business due to the company’s production capability of sodium silicate and innovative cleaning formulations. We also have important operations in the energy sector and help customers to comply with their safety committment. The construction business, for which we have been producing polyurethane systems since 2008, also plays a significant role in Austral’s operations. Austral helps customers to lead their markets by focusing our efforts on supplying sustainable systems for tomorrow’s construction concepts. Since 2016, we have been successfully developing and distributing new solutions for packaging, coating and food safety with world-class suppliers that have a strong product technology leadership.

Can you elaborate on Austral Chemicals’ focus on innovation and sustainability?

Chile is an advanced emerging market where regulatory requirements become more strigent and where expectations start to be characterized by a growing demand for greater innovation, safety and efficiency. This forces Austral Chemicals not only to anticipate customer needs, but also to foster creative solutions in response to unknown needs. Therefore, we pay a lot of attention to the suppliers we promote in Chile to ensure that their solutions will make our customers more successful and our planet more sustainable.

Recently we developped new HFO-based polyurethane systems to eliminate the use of HCFC-141b completely in 2020. We are part of the Foam Sector Support Program, which is funded by the Multilateral Fund of the Montreal Protocol, through the Chilean Ministry of the Environment. We launched a best-in-class anti-sapstain preservative to treat fresh wood after it is cut in the sawmill. This solution, approved by REACH and the European Biocide Directive, prevents discoloration and fungal spores from leading to an irreversible reduction in the wood’s value and a health risk. We also have in-house innovation capabilities through our R&D lab, and we were the first Chilean company to produce solutions such as a solvent-free mineral coating, a phosphoric-free descaling agent, an inorganic dust suppressor, or an inorganic extinguishing agent for A class fire enabling 30% water and time savings. As members of ASIQUIM, we comply with the Responsible Care Program.

How important is Austral Chemicals’ services business to the operations of the company?

The Chilean market is characterized by being conservative, price-oriented, dominated by strong leaders with a standardized offer and by a fast growing economy until 2016. These factors contributed to a scenario in which many customers saw no reason to change their ways, but given the slowing of economic growth, more demanding end-users and new regulations, customers are now obliged to differentiate themselves. Austral Chemicals thus provides outstanding technical support to help R&D, production, quality, safety or purchasing managers to drive product or process changes. In the gas and refining industry, our highly qualified technicians carry out on-site services to handle our chemicals safely. Our food safety team can provide technical assessments and run microbiological tests to control contamination risk in food and livestock plants. We install cleaning equipments to improve the level of hygiene, reduce the cleaning time as well as water consumption. We also have tolling capabilities with 12 reactors to produce tailor-made chemical formulations.