Croda acquires research enterprise Enza Biotech
July 2017: Croda International Plc (‘Croda’), who make, create and sell innovative and sustainable speciality chemicals has today announced its acquisition of Enza Biotech AB, a research enterprise established as a spin-out company from Lund University in Sweden.
Enza Biotech was founded in 2012 by researchers at Lund University with the aim to develop the next generation of renewable surfactants using carbohydrate-based chemistry. Through this acquisition, Enza Biotech’s patented technology will enhance Croda’s well-established natural and renewable product portfolio to offer their customers, particularly in the Personal Care, Crop Care and Health Care markets, the sustainable ingredients they are looking for to satisfy the demands of consumers.
Croda will also gain the expertise of Enza co-founders Maria Andersson and Stefan Ulvenlund, and their team, as they become full time employees to lead the commercialisation of their work using Croda’s technical and formulation expertise, global operational footprint and sales force and track record at bringing new technologies to market.
This acquisition demonstrates Croda’s commitment to delivering sustainable solutions without compromising on product performance as this novel range of surfactants has been proven to offer differentiated performance benefits across many applications, such as emulsification, wetting and dispersion.
Steve Foots, Chief Executive of Croda, said: “Enza Biotech offers a fantastic opportunity for us to fill an identified technology gap in the surfactants market using natural and renewable raw materials. It is a great fit as sustainability underpins our growth strategy and is an area that already sets us apart in the eyes of our customers.”
Maria Andersson, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Enza Biotech said: “Croda is the perfect fit for our technology due to their commitment to investing in innovative and sustainable solutions. With their proven track record in bringing new technologies to market and strong customer relationships, we are confident Enza Biotech will have a bright future. We look forward to working with the Croda team and the new opportunities that will bring.”
