Arch Chemicals Purchases Aquachlor HTH Swimming Pool Sanitizer Business in South Africa

Arch Chemicals, Inc. has completed the purchase of the remaining 50 percent of Aquachlor (Proprietary) Limited in South Africa from its joint-venture partner Sentrachem Limited, a subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company. The plant produces calcium hypochlorite, a dry sanitizer that it markets under the HTH(R) brand for use in residential and commercial swimming pools. The sanitizer is also used to purify drinking water as well as to treat water used in industrial applications such as South African gold and platinum mines.

Located in Kempton Park, the Aquachlor plant is the sole producer of calcium hypochlorite in Africa and has an annual capacity of 40 million pounds. Annual sales of this entity for the year ended December 31, 2002 were approximately $20 million. The business is the leading supplier to the sizeable South African swimming pool market.

"This transaction gives us the flexibility to expand our product offerings and to capitalize on major water-treatment growth opportunities in both Africa and Asia," said David L. van Den Berg, who is serving as Business Director of the business, which is being renamed Arch Water Treatment South Africa. "We plan, for example, to significantly grow our business of providing sanitizers to address the need for potable water throughout Africa, and we will step up efforts to capitalize on residential, commercial and industrial water-treatment applications in Asia."

Source: Arch Chemicals, Inc.