Degussa business units

Yogurts made with probiotic cultures can have positive effects on the microbiological status of the human digestion system and support the demand of the customer in terms of wellness and healthy nutrition. The Degussa Business Unit BioActives provides the dairy industry with the starter cultures for these products (see Fig. 6). 

Several projects applying the SCOR principles were already carried out within Evonik Degussa. Evonik Degussa, a wholly owned subsidary of Evonik Industries AG, is a multinational corporation consistently aligned to high-margin specialty chemistry. It is organized on a decentralized basis. Business operations are in the hand of twelve Business Units. 

Degussa is fostering the concept by the creation of linking knowledge elements that overcome the limitations of the business unit organization. For example, a network of industrial and customer teams was founded to identify and exploit the needs of specific industries and customers in various projects that are owned by the contributing business units (Fig. 9.6). 

Several companies have completed or are in the process of completing this first step, among them the company formerly known as Hoechst (now Aventis and Ce-lanese), Dow, DuPont, Shell Chemicals, NOVA Chemicals, ICI and Degussa-Hiils. However, not all of them have taken the reorganization down to the business unit level - a necessary condition if they are to reap the full benefits. 

Ralph Marquardt is an Associate in the Frankfurt Office and is a member of the chemical practice. His focus is on global strategy and e-commerce projects. Prior to joining McKinsey he gained three years of experience in the R D department of Degussa AG, leading projects in Degussa s hydrocyanic acid derivatives and methylmethacrylate business units. He holds a PhD from the Ruhr-Universitat Bochum. 

Publication of Degussa AG, Business Unit Advanced Fillers and Pigments, Frankfurt/M., Germany (2003). 

The shrinkage in demand has resulted in a restmcturing of the carbon black-industry. Several of the principal multinational oil companies have left the business including Ashland, Cities Service Co., Phillips, and Conoco. Some plants have changed ownership. In the United States this has increased the production capacities of Degussa, Sid Richardson, and Huber. Today s U.S. industry consists of six principal producers. Rated capacities of the six U.S. manufacturers is shown in Table 13. Cabot Corp. and Columbian Chemicals are the leading producers, followed by Degussa, Sid Richardson, J. M. Huber Corp., and Witco. A survey of the future markets and present stmcture of the carbon black industry has been presented (1). 

Presently, worldwide refined acrolein nameplate capacny is about 113,000 t yr. Degussa has announced a capacity expansion in the United States by building a 36.000 t/yr acrolein plant in Theodore. Alabama to support their methionine business. The key producers of refined acrolein are Union Carbide (United States), Degussa (Germany i, Atochem (France), and Daicel (Japan). 

To give the new company a distinct image as a chemical company, non-chemical businesses were sorted out regardless of their attractiveness. These included Degussa-Hiils s units Asta Medica (pharmaceuticals), dmc2 (precious metals industrial catalysts),... 

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