Bluestar Silicones a ‘perfect example’ of win-win cooperation
Acquisition of French business has led to broad expansion for both companies
Bluestar Silicones was born from the acquisition of France’s Rhodia Silicones by China National Bluestar Corp on Feb 1, 2007, and it has since developed into one of the leading silicone producers worldwide.
In those 11 years, the SinoFrench collaboration has successfully energized Bluestar’s silicones business, driven by high growth in investments, research and development, operational excellence as well as very demanding markets, said Bluestar Group executives.
The win-win cooperation has seen the French side bring its technology and knowledge in special silicones, with the Chinese side developing its capacity, long-term industrial vision and global growth strategy, according to Bluestar.
The business was reinforced in 2011 by an upstream integration initiative and industrial synergies from the merging of Norway’s Elkem into Bluestar Group. And Bluestar Silicones was further integrated with Elkem’s silicone business to form a company called Elkem Silicones in June 2017.
Bluestar has invested tens of millions of euros every year in its silicone-focused industrial facilities, especially in China, France and the United States, creating more jobs and strengthening R&D.
“A lot of people were wondering about our future after our company was bought by a State-owned Chinese group, which was less well-known in 2007,” said Frederic Jacquin, then Bluestar Silicones CEO.
“Today, no one doubts the mutual interest of this association. The industrial vision of our Chinese shareholder, reinforced by our upstream integration with Norwegian company Elkem and the French creativity, are why we have the ambition to become one of the top three global silicone leaders, and no longer struggle for our survival.”
Jacquin made the remarks at the company’s 10th anniversary celebrations. His view was echoed by Ren Jianxin, chairman of ChemChina, parent of Bluestar Group.
“What we have insisted on during international merger and acquisition activities is not just gaining good assets but also an excellent team of management and employees. The latter matters even more. It requires us to respect the employees and the culture of the acquired company, and to make sure we understand their values and they share ours,” Ren said.
“Taking Bluestar Silicones as a perfect example, we kept the local management and just sent a few young Chinese with potential to be trained. We were proud of Bluestar Silicones’ excellent technology, experience and know-how, coming from famous French parent company roots such as Rhone-Poulenc and Rhodia.
“We learnt from them so much in terms of being more customer-centric, investing in application research and marketing to foster innovation, training people for HSE — or the health, safety and environmental management system — and the continuous improvements in process, knowledge and techniques that contributed to the enhancement of the domestic businesses,” Ren said.
Rhodia Silicones has been a leading player in the industry since 1953. Sixty years ago, the company produced the world’s first silicone sealant for the construction industry in the Saint-Fons plant.
Silicone is one of the most important materials that is used today and applied in diverse markets.
Bluestar Silicones inaugurated a 15 million euro ($18 million) investment in 2017 to strengthen the production of silicone elastomers at the Saint-Fons site, demonstrating Bluestar Group’s determination to remain a leading player and contributor to France’s economic and social development, in particular to the growth of the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region, with plans to continue its global expansion.
Through its two French subsidiaries, Adisseo — an animal nutrition science company acquired by Bluestar in 2011 — and Bluestar Silicones, the Bluestar Group directly employs almost 2,000 people in France, half of them in the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region. The section is sponsored by ChemChina.