ZKC is one of the leading manufacturers of concentrates with which plastics can be coloured or given with special properties. ZKC's customers include plastics producers and processors throughout Germany and Europe. ZKC has gained renown particularly for its high flexibility and capacity for innovation. Its motto is "Make your innovation our job." In addition to coloration, Zipperling concentrates can also endow plastics with flame retardant, antistatic conductive and many other properties.
Over the past years Zipperling has built up one of the most important production capacities in its field in Europe; every year approximately 20,000 to 25,000 metric tons are manufactured to fill 6,000 individual orders.
Characteristic of ZKC is the high proportion of research and development invested in solving the problems of customers all over Europe.
ZKC is a medium-sized, privately owned company which has been operating independently for 185 years in markets that for centuries have been subject to constant and often fundamental canges.
The employees of Zipperling have made a decisive contribution to the company's success and stable growth over the past 15 years. ZKC is one of the few companies of its branch of industry which achieved positive results even in the recession years 1992-1993 and most recently during the "minor recession" since the middle of 1995 (now apparently tapering off), while actually increasing the number of jobs to 250. The partners and company management have laid the foundations for this with a corresponding capital employment policy and business strategy.
With 26 masterbatch and compounding plants worldwide, Clariant is one of the most important marketers of concentrates for the plastics industry on a global scale (see also the Clariant information sheet).
Zipperling has decided to sell its compounding business for the following reasons:
After over 15 years of research, Zipperling was the first company worldwide to bring "organic metals" to market maturity and at the beginning of the year established a subsidiary company called "Ormecon Chemie GmbH & Co. KG" (Our Team...). The expansion of this company and the worldwide market introduction, product development and further basic research in this completely new-type class of materials will require enormous amounts of capital. For this ZKC is seeking venture capital.
In recent years Zipperling has reached a size in the masterbatch market which far exceeds regional importance. With its export business now representing 60% of the total, Zipperling has become one of the leading marketers in Europe. However, the market is increasingly developing into a global one in which of course smaller, regional marketers can play local roles, but in which larger marketers such as Zipperling must play a global role. More and more of Zipperling's customers are now operating on a global scale.
The simultaneous expansion of "Ormecon Chemie" together with the entry of Zipperling into the world market would exceed the strength of Zipperling's capital resources.
With the takeover of ZKC's compounding business by Clariant, both objectives of Zipperling's strategy can be entirely achieved without any problems for the employees from the region of Stormarn or Köthen (Sachsen-Anhalt, with the branch plant at Trebbichau):
firstly, Clariant will take over all employment contracts
the Ahrensburg/Trebbichau compounding and masterbatch plant will be one of the largest operations of the masterbatch business sector of Clariant
Clariant will now make it possible for ZKC with its innovative strength to market its products much more efficiently on a European and worldwide scale
Clariant will follow an expansive, global strategy in which not only Zipperling's Ahrensburg plant but also the branch plant at Trebbichau will take on a central role;
secondly, ZKC will receive the means necessary for the rapid expansion of "Ormecon Chemie"; this will also create new jobs; the Ormecon mangement is expecting an increase over the next few years of 50 to 100 employees.
Thus the contract between Clariant and Zipperling Kessler & Co. constitutes one of the best possible means of securing two innovative and expansive strategies. It represents an optimum step for the future of the compounding business in Ahrensburg and Trebbichau, for the employees and for the stable future-orinted development of jobs as well as an optimum opportunity for the fundamental innovation represented by "organic metals" and their market introduction by "Ormecon Chemie"
In the future Clariant and Zipperling will work closely together. Dr. Bernhard Wessling, the present managing partner of Zipperling Kessler & Co., will remain available to Clariant and the Zipperling works as consultant. Until further notice, "Ormecon Chemie" will continue to use its existing rented premises in the building of the Zipperling works.
The transaction must still be approved by the German Federal Cartel Office.
Dr. B. Wessling
