D&L seals deal with Swiss minerals firm

MANILA, Philippines—Newly listed food and plastic input manufacturer D&L Industries has signed a deal to roll out to the local market a range of products made by Swiss industrial mineral producer Omya.

In a press statement, D&L said it recently signed an agreement with Omya Mineral Philippines Inc. to be the latter’s authorized distributor in the Philippines for its wide range of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) products.

Calcium carbonate is one of the world’s most popular mineral fillers used in the plastics industry. It is widely available around the world, easy to grind or reduce to a specific particle size, compatible with a wide range of polymer resins and economical.

As an additive in plastic compounds, CaCO3 helps decrease surface energy and provides opacity. In addition, when the particle size is carefully controlled, CaCO3 helps increase both impact strength and stiffness.

D&L expects this deal to further enhance its marketing reach particularly in the field of plastics. “This will also benefit our local industries as they will now have an easier access to the supply of world-class calcium carbonate that was processed in the Philippines using Omya’s patented technology,” the company said.

Omya is a leading global producer of industrial minerals, mainly fillers and pigments derived from calcium carbonate. Founded in 1884 in Switzerland, Omya is now the market leader and has global presence extending to more than 100 locations in over 50 countries and over 7,000 employees.

Omya Mineral Philippines was established in 2010 and is manufacturing coated and uncoated ground calcium carbonate distributed locally.

The company is currently operating with two plant facilities, one of which is located in Quezon City and the other in Dasmariñas, Cavite.

This plant facility is seen to become the largest manufacturing plant in the Philippines with a rated capacity of 60,000 tons per annum.

Commercial operations for the coated products are expected to start this first quarter of 2013.

D&L is engaged in product customization and specialization for the food, plastics, and chemical industries. It is involved in the manufacturing of customized food ingredients, specialty raw materials for plastics and oleochemicals for personal and home care use.