The deal continues Evonik’s drive to focus on sustainability as part of its portfolio transformation that has already seen future production at Care Solutions move to Essen, Duisburg, and Steinau in Germany.
“With Wilshire’s unique products which replace animal origin ingredients and intermediates, we are moving another step forward with our development of a more diverse portfolio of sustainable active ingredients," says Dr Tammo Boinowitz, head of the Care Solutions business line at Evonik.
"This latest acquisition allows us to continue our efforts in fortifying the flexibility of our products and technology platforms, while providing our customers with the bio-based products their markets demand,” he adds.
US presence
While financial terms of the agreement are not disclosed, Evonik says that Wilshire Technologies’ ten employees will join its workforce ranks.
Headquartered in Princeton NJ (USA), the company supplies phytochemicals and derivatives to the global cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.
Its acquisition will enable Evonik’s Care Solutions business to expand its product range into phytochemicals, such as plant derived cholesterol, as a replacement for animal originated ingredients in cosmetic active ingredients.
“We are looking forward to expanding the presence of our products across these global industries," says Joe San Filippo, CEO and founder of Wilshire Technologies Inc.
“Wilshire’s expertise, portfolio and technologies will provide opportunities for Evonik’s competences in phytochemical ingredients and intermediates for developing cosmetic and health care industries.”
Along with operations in Germany, Evonik’s reposition in personal care markets with its Care Solutions business also sees operations move to Mapleton, Janesville/Milton, Reserve, and Hopewell (all in the US) and Asia (Shanghai and Bekasi Timur (Indonesia)).
The set-up also means the firm ended its involvement in Milton Keynes (UK) last year and Granollers (Spain, expected in 2020.
The Care Solutions business will also withdraw from current German sites in Hanau and Schlüchtern.
Academia agreement
“The new Care Solution business line will further strengthen the growth agenda of the nutrition & care segment”, said Dr Hans-Josef Ritzert, board management member of the nutrition and care segment back in September 2018.
The new unit, which has roughly 1,250 employees and combined sales of approximately €900m, was launched on January 1, 2019, under the leadership of Dr Boinowitz.
Since then the business has gone on to form a partnership with the University of California San Diego Center for Microbiome Innovation.
The three-year agreement aims to provide insights about the composition of microbial communities on the skin, improving the function of existing cosmetic raw materials and develop new ones for promoting a healthier skin microbiome.
“Although research on the skin microbiome is still in its infancy, it’s of enormous interest for consumers as well as from the scientific viewpoint,” said Dr Peter Lersch, Vice President of Evonik’s Cosmetic Solutions, in August 2019.
“The microbiome supports the epidermal skin barrier and plays also a role in the aging process of the skin. The development of microbiome-friendly cosmetic products is therefore a highly promising application area,” added Jan Wolter, head of the Sustainable Business unit at Creavis, the strategic R&D unit of Evonik.
“To be able to find an effective cosmetic ingredient, a profound knowledge of the role of the individual microorganisms is essential.”
