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Everchem Updates
VOLUME XXI
September 14, 2023
Everchem’s exclusive Closers Only Club is reserved for only the highest caliber brass-baller salesmen in the chemical industry. Watch the hype video and be introduced to the top of the league: — read more
March 25, 2022
Huntsman Shareholders Elect All Huntsman Director Nominees at 2022 Annual Meeting
Download as PDF March 25, 2022 10:21am EDT
THE WOODLANDS, Texas, March 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Huntsman Corporation (NYSE: HUN) today announced, based on preliminary vote results provided by its proxy solicitor following the Company’s 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, that Huntsman shareholders have voted to elect all 10 of its director nominees – Peter R. Huntsman, Dr. Mary C. Beckerle, Sonia Dulá, Cynthia L. Egan, Curtis E. Espeland, Daniele Ferrari, Jeanne McGovern, José Muñoz, David B. Sewell and Jan E. Tighe – to the Company’s Board of Directors.
Peter R. Huntsman, Chairman, President and CEO, commented as follows:
“We appreciate the dialogue that we’ve had with a significant number of our shareholders during this campaign – including almost all of our 100 largest shareholders – and want to thank all of our shareholders for the feedback they provided. Over the past few years, we transformed our product portfolio to focus on ‘value over volume’ and fully deleveraged our balance sheet, earning an investment grade rating. The outcome of today’s shareholder vote is validation of our portfolio strategy and recognition that the Huntsman of today is vastly different than the Huntsman of five years ago.
Mr. Huntsman further commented:
“Our fit for purpose and refreshed Board is committed to delivering on its core principles of shareholder alignment and accountability as we continue to execute on the strategy outlined at our November 2021 Investor Day. As Huntsman looks to the future, the Board and the management remain unwavering in our steadfast commitment to build on our record results this past year and to continue delivering lasting value for our shareholders. Looking momentarily to the past, we would like to thank our departing directors – Nolan Archibald, Anthony Burns, Sir Robert Margetts and Wayne Reaud – for their many contributions to the Company. As previously announced, each departed effective at the Annual Meeting.
In closing, Mr. Huntsman noted the Board’s intent to continue building on the high level of shareholder engagement prompted in part by Starboard’s campaign. With regard to Starboard more specifically, Mr. Huntsman stated:
“While we had our differences with Starboard on the key issue of Board composition, we appreciated the constructive dialogue we had with them on that topic as well as several other business matters since their initial investment and look forward to continued engagement with Starboard as a significant investor in Huntsman.”
The results announced today are considered preliminary until final results are tabulated and certified by the independent Inspector of Elections. Final results will be reported on a Form 8-K that will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
March 24, 2022
Just three years after 2019’s trucking bloodbath, another one is on the way…
Craig Fuller, CEO at FreightWaves Follow on Twitter Thursday, March 24, 2022 4 minutes read
Listen to this article 0:00 / 5:40 BeyondWords
After two years of COVID-induced havoc in global freight markets, volatility has started to abate. FreightWaves’ view of the market has become clearer, and the picture isn’t pretty. We think another sharp, painful downturn in the U.S. truckload market is imminent, and it could be as bad as 2019.
March has been unusually soft in the truckload freight market, according to the SONAR Outbound Tender Volume Index (OTVI). Because this index measures actual truckload tenders in the contract market, it provides a very reliable indicator of market direction.
March is typically a strong month for trucking, as shippers start to stock their shelves in preparation for summer. And late March normally gets a reliable end-of-quarter boost in volumes as shippers pump sales and reduce inventories. This year, we are not seeing that surge. In fact, March volumes are softer than at any point in 2021 (other than holidays).
The OTVI (in blue) is currently sitting at 13,571. It was 15,531 at the end of January and 15,859 a year ago. The orange line is 2021.
What is causing soft truckload volumes?
More than likely, the lower volumes are due to a major consumer slowdown. Inflation that began in 2020, combined with the surge in fuel prices related to increased inflation and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, have made consumers move to the sidelines. In addition to monitoring SONAR data, FreightWaves analysts also conduct channel checks through our network. Market participants are confirming what FreightWaves analysts are seeing in the data. Spot rates are falling fast and volumes are dropping.
What does this mean for the rest of 2022?
There are many reasons to believe that the freight market slowdown will continue, and that an oversupply of trucking capacity – particularly in the spot market – will pull rates even lower.
Consumer spending is shifting away from physical goods
Freight is all about the movement of physical goods. Travel and entertainment do not drive (much) freight, so any dollars spent on “experiences” means money isn’t spent on cargo.
After two years of massive consumption of physical goods, consumers are pausing their spending. The COVID surge is largely behind us and people are starting to shift their spending away from physical goods to travel and entertainment, which will take a much larger percentage of disposable spending than we have seen over the past two years.
The trend toward intensive goods spending has taken longer than many initially expected to reverse itself, but consumer spending data confirms that a material shift is taking place. February retail sales were nearly flat at 0.3%, missing expectations.
Inflation and high fuel prices will keep consumers on the sidelines
If traffic is any indication, consumers are on the move right now and this requires fuel. Except for the 3% of the U.S. population that have electric cars, any money spent on filling up the gas tank will mean less money going toward discretionary spending.
Everything is more expensive than it used to be and consumers are starting to be more cautious about the future. High fuel prices and runaway inflation sap consumer confidence and will be a drag on discretionary purchases.
Inventories
Over the past two years, shippers were short of inventory. In an attempt to prevent stock outages, they ordered more than they needed and now are faced with a hangover from ordering too much. Key transshipment infrastructure like ports, warehouses, transloading facilities, and intermodal ramps were clogged, slowing freight velocity, reducing sales, and increasing inventory levels. FreightWaves’ view is that shippers will compensate by slowing their purchasing and working off inventory when opportunities with acceptable margins arise.
Truckload spot rates are falling – fast
Trucking spot rates are under massive pressure, caused by too many trucks and not enough freight. Truckstop.com’s truckload spot rates peaked at $3.83 per mile in January and are now down to $3.42 per mile. Spot rates will fall further and could hit $2.50 per mile by mid-year.
A rash of trucking bankruptcies are on the way and it will be Bloodbath 2.0
Trucking has enjoyed the largest number of new entrants in its history over the past two years. New fleet registrations were up to 20,166 last month alone. This is unprecedented. The last peak was in August 2019; there were 9,511 new trucking fleets and that was in the middle of one of the weakest freight markets in history. New trucking registrations tend to lag market conditions, so we can expect new fleets to continue to enter the market, even after things soften. This will make the downturn that much worse.
Many of the operators are unseasoned and inexperienced. They are unlikely to have ever seen a market downturn, much less run a business in the middle of one. They also bought their trucks and hired their drivers at the top of the market.
These same drivers that were chasing high spot volumes will find fewer and fewer opportunities in the market. They will either leave the trucking market or move to trucking companies that have more consistent freight, leaving those trucks unseated.
With falling spot rates, declining volumes, surging fuel prices and inflation across the board, it will get ugly, very quickly for many of these operators. Back in 2019, FreightWaves reporters wrote about trucking bankruptcies almost every day. I expect this will become reality for us once again.
March 24, 2022
Just three years after 2019’s trucking bloodbath, another one is on the way…
Craig Fuller, CEO at FreightWaves Follow on Twitter Thursday, March 24, 2022 4 minutes read
Listen to this article 0:00 / 5:40 BeyondWords
After two years of COVID-induced havoc in global freight markets, volatility has started to abate. FreightWaves’ view of the market has become clearer, and the picture isn’t pretty. We think another sharp, painful downturn in the U.S. truckload market is imminent, and it could be as bad as 2019.
March has been unusually soft in the truckload freight market, according to the SONAR Outbound Tender Volume Index (OTVI). Because this index measures actual truckload tenders in the contract market, it provides a very reliable indicator of market direction.
March is typically a strong month for trucking, as shippers start to stock their shelves in preparation for summer. And late March normally gets a reliable end-of-quarter boost in volumes as shippers pump sales and reduce inventories. This year, we are not seeing that surge. In fact, March volumes are softer than at any point in 2021 (other than holidays).
The OTVI (in blue) is currently sitting at 13,571. It was 15,531 at the end of January and 15,859 a year ago. The orange line is 2021.
What is causing soft truckload volumes?
More than likely, the lower volumes are due to a major consumer slowdown. Inflation that began in 2020, combined with the surge in fuel prices related to increased inflation and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, have made consumers move to the sidelines. In addition to monitoring SONAR data, FreightWaves analysts also conduct channel checks through our network. Market participants are confirming what FreightWaves analysts are seeing in the data. Spot rates are falling fast and volumes are dropping.
What does this mean for the rest of 2022?
There are many reasons to believe that the freight market slowdown will continue, and that an oversupply of trucking capacity – particularly in the spot market – will pull rates even lower.
Consumer spending is shifting away from physical goods
Freight is all about the movement of physical goods. Travel and entertainment do not drive (much) freight, so any dollars spent on “experiences” means money isn’t spent on cargo.
After two years of massive consumption of physical goods, consumers are pausing their spending. The COVID surge is largely behind us and people are starting to shift their spending away from physical goods to travel and entertainment, which will take a much larger percentage of disposable spending than we have seen over the past two years.
The trend toward intensive goods spending has taken longer than many initially expected to reverse itself, but consumer spending data confirms that a material shift is taking place. February retail sales were nearly flat at 0.3%, missing expectations.
Inflation and high fuel prices will keep consumers on the sidelines
If traffic is any indication, consumers are on the move right now and this requires fuel. Except for the 3% of the U.S. population that have electric cars, any money spent on filling up the gas tank will mean less money going toward discretionary spending.
Everything is more expensive than it used to be and consumers are starting to be more cautious about the future. High fuel prices and runaway inflation sap consumer confidence and will be a drag on discretionary purchases.
Inventories
Over the past two years, shippers were short of inventory. In an attempt to prevent stock outages, they ordered more than they needed and now are faced with a hangover from ordering too much. Key transshipment infrastructure like ports, warehouses, transloading facilities, and intermodal ramps were clogged, slowing freight velocity, reducing sales, and increasing inventory levels. FreightWaves’ view is that shippers will compensate by slowing their purchasing and working off inventory when opportunities with acceptable margins arise.
Truckload spot rates are falling – fast
Trucking spot rates are under massive pressure, caused by too many trucks and not enough freight. Truckstop.com’s truckload spot rates peaked at $3.83 per mile in January and are now down to $3.42 per mile. Spot rates will fall further and could hit $2.50 per mile by mid-year.
A rash of trucking bankruptcies are on the way and it will be Bloodbath 2.0
Trucking has enjoyed the largest number of new entrants in its history over the past two years. New fleet registrations were up to 20,166 last month alone. This is unprecedented. The last peak was in August 2019; there were 9,511 new trucking fleets and that was in the middle of one of the weakest freight markets in history. New trucking registrations tend to lag market conditions, so we can expect new fleets to continue to enter the market, even after things soften. This will make the downturn that much worse.
Many of the operators are unseasoned and inexperienced. They are unlikely to have ever seen a market downturn, much less run a business in the middle of one. They also bought their trucks and hired their drivers at the top of the market.
These same drivers that were chasing high spot volumes will find fewer and fewer opportunities in the market. They will either leave the trucking market or move to trucking companies that have more consistent freight, leaving those trucks unseated.
With falling spot rates, declining volumes, surging fuel prices and inflation across the board, it will get ugly, very quickly for many of these operators. Back in 2019, FreightWaves reporters wrote about trucking bankruptcies almost every day. I expect this will become reality for us once again.
March 22, 2022
Recticel expands its Insulation activities with the acquisition of the insulated panel specialist Trimo
Regulated information, Brussels, 22/03/2022 — 07:00 CET, 22.03.2022
Recticel announces that it has entered into final agreements with Central European private equity fund Innova Capital to acquire 100% of Trimo d.o.o. in cash for an enterprise value of EUR 164.3 million. This represents a 9.5x 2021A normalized EBITDA multiple. The transaction is subject to customary conditions precedent, including regulatory approvals.
Trimo is specialized in the production of sustainable premium insulated panels for the construction industry. Predominantly geared towards the industrial and commercial building segments, it perfectly complements the current insulation boards activities of Recticel.
This acquisition will allow Recticel to:
- expand its insulation product portfolio into the adjacent and growing insulated panel market;
- accelerate its geographic expansion into the Central and South-Eastern European markets;
- increase its profit margin, as of the first full year of consolidation.
Financing is secured by the existing credit facilities, and ultimately by the proceeds from the disposals of the Bedding and Engineered Foams business lines, expected to close respectively at the end of 1Q2022 and around mid-2022.
The closing of the transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2022.
Olivier Chapelle (CEO) : “The acquisition of Trimo marks another important milestone in Recticel’s strategic portfolio reorientation. Following our announced divestments of the Bedding and Engineered Foams business lines, leading Recticel to become a pure player in insulation, today’s announcement represents an important step in the insulation centered growth path of the company. Moreover, this acquisition enables Recticel to expand in an adjacent Insulation category and to increase its geographic reach. During the process, we have been impressed by the Trimo team, and are looking forward to welcome our new and highly skilled colleagues in Recticel.”
Trimo was founded in 1961 and has been owned by Innova Capital since early 2016. Trimo was originally established as a manufacturer of thermal insulated panels but gradually developed into a high quality-producer of aesthetic prefabricated building components such as façades, walls, roofs and modular space solutions. The group is headquartered in Trebnje, Slovenia and operates from two sites (Trebnje, Slovenia and Šimanovci, Serbia). It sells its insulated panels and building solutions in more than 60 countries around the world. In 2021, Trimo employed about 480 people and generated net sales of EUR 138.4 million.
For more information on Trimo : www.trimo-group.com
March 22, 2022
Recticel expands its Insulation activities with the acquisition of the insulated panel specialist Trimo
Regulated information, Brussels, 22/03/2022 — 07:00 CET, 22.03.2022
Recticel announces that it has entered into final agreements with Central European private equity fund Innova Capital to acquire 100% of Trimo d.o.o. in cash for an enterprise value of EUR 164.3 million. This represents a 9.5x 2021A normalized EBITDA multiple. The transaction is subject to customary conditions precedent, including regulatory approvals.
Trimo is specialized in the production of sustainable premium insulated panels for the construction industry. Predominantly geared towards the industrial and commercial building segments, it perfectly complements the current insulation boards activities of Recticel.
This acquisition will allow Recticel to:
- expand its insulation product portfolio into the adjacent and growing insulated panel market;
- accelerate its geographic expansion into the Central and South-Eastern European markets;
- increase its profit margin, as of the first full year of consolidation.
Financing is secured by the existing credit facilities, and ultimately by the proceeds from the disposals of the Bedding and Engineered Foams business lines, expected to close respectively at the end of 1Q2022 and around mid-2022.
The closing of the transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2022.
Olivier Chapelle (CEO) : “The acquisition of Trimo marks another important milestone in Recticel’s strategic portfolio reorientation. Following our announced divestments of the Bedding and Engineered Foams business lines, leading Recticel to become a pure player in insulation, today’s announcement represents an important step in the insulation centered growth path of the company. Moreover, this acquisition enables Recticel to expand in an adjacent Insulation category and to increase its geographic reach. During the process, we have been impressed by the Trimo team, and are looking forward to welcome our new and highly skilled colleagues in Recticel.”
Trimo was founded in 1961 and has been owned by Innova Capital since early 2016. Trimo was originally established as a manufacturer of thermal insulated panels but gradually developed into a high quality-producer of aesthetic prefabricated building components such as façades, walls, roofs and modular space solutions. The group is headquartered in Trebnje, Slovenia and operates from two sites (Trebnje, Slovenia and Šimanovci, Serbia). It sells its insulated panels and building solutions in more than 60 countries around the world. In 2021, Trimo employed about 480 people and generated net sales of EUR 138.4 million.
For more information on Trimo : www.trimo-group.com
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