BATON ROUGE, LA – Chemetall, a global business unit of Albemarle Corp., has acquired the business of Chemal GmbH & Co. KG, Hamm, Germany. This transaction will enhance Chemetall's integrated portfolio for the aluminum finishing industry.

Founded in 1975, Chemal GmbH & Co. KG specializes in research and development of surface finishing chemicals for aluminum and its alloys with emphasis on anodizing and pretreatment technologies. With an extensive history of success, Chemal has become a reference point for the surface finishing of aluminum.

"Consisting of advanced pretreatment and anodizing technologies, Chemetall is one of the few players globally positioned with a comprehensive product range for the aluminum finishing industry," says Joris Merckx, President Chemetall. "This transaction will expand our expertise in this market and, combined with strong technical services offered by our wholly-owned subsidiaries around the world, will enable us to further expand our presence in a key market."

Chemetall has achieved a growing reputation in the aluminum finishing industry. With chrome-free pretreatment technologies, such as the zirconium-titanium Gardobond^® X and the silane-based, multi-metal Oxsilan^® technology, the company has taken a leading role in launching innovative and high-quality processes to the market. "Our customers expect us to deliver a full portfolio of solutions to meet upcoming environmental legislation and achieve process cost savings," says Martin Ings, Global Segment Manager Aluminum Finishing. "With the completion of this acquisition, we can offer differentiated products and services to bring true value for our customers with minimal investments," Ings added.