Eka Boosts Prices on Bleaching, Paper Chemicals in Europe

Eka Chemicals, Sweden, the AkzoNobel Pulp and Paper Chemicals business, will increase prices across its entire European Paper and Bleaching Chemicals product range immediately, or as contracts permit. Depending on the product type, increases will range from 5% to 30 %, as raw material availability and costs dictate, the company notes.

"Dramatic increases during the past year in basic raw materials have impacted Eka Chemicals' cost structure. The impact to margins over the past year leads Eka to have to take more than just raw material cost into future pricing considerations," said Jay Hunsberger, European marketing director. "It is no longer a matter of properly managing our supply chains; raw material cost increases in 2010 have often been faster and higher than the speed at which we can implement a strategy to minimize the impact to our finished goods cost."

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