Innospec Partners With Huntsman To Launch TAURANOL SCMI-85, New Water-Soluble Surfactant

Newark, DE - Innospec Inc. announced that its Innospec Finetex business has partnered with Huntsman Corporation to launch TAURANOL SCMI-85 (Sodium Cocoyl Methyl Isethionate), a new surfactant for the personal care industry.

TAURANOL SCMI-85 provides the same mildness and foaming attributes of other Innospec Finetex Isethionate surfactants, but with a dramatic improvement in solubility to facilitate "crystal clear" liquid systems. The product is expected to be of particular interest to manufacturers of specialty (sulfate-free) shampoos, as well as face and body cleansers.

"This is one of the most exciting new surfactants developed for the personal care industry in recent years," said Philip Matena, President of Innospec Performance Chemicals U.S. Co., the Innospec Inc. subsidiary which owns the Innospec Finetex business. "We are delighted that Huntsman selected Innospec Finetex to commercialize this new molecule. Our expertise in Isethionate chemistry enabled us to efficiently scale up for production in commercial quantities, and our sales and marketing teams have already generated significant interest in this breakthrough product."

Dave Parkin, Vice President at Huntsman, said, "TAURANOL SCMI-85 is a great example of Huntsman's continued innovation across a wide variety of end markets, as well as our discipline in pursuing different approaches to commercializing new technologies in markets outside our strategic focus. Given Innospec's technical capabilities and marketing strengths in the personal care arena, this partnership was a natural fit."

SOURCE: Innospec Inc.