A Major Chemical Manufacturer for Cyanide Seeks to Further Increase Global Market Share Supported by Add-On Acquisition and Brownfield Capital Projects

Client Context

A global specialty chemicals manufacturer, specializing in hydrogen cyanide production, sought support to manage the strategic acquisition and integration of assets and sites across North America and EMEA.

Having already acquired a U.S.-based site, the company faced limited expansion opportunities at that location and explored additional site acquisitions to expand production capacity.

By acquiring and integrating a new site, the company aimed to triple its revenue within the next decade, avoiding the heavy investment required for a greenfield expansion while ensuring compliance with local regulations.

Key Challenges

• Limited footprint for expansion at the existing U.S. site.
• Need for strategic site acquisitions to increase production capacity.
• Ensuring smooth integration of newly acquired assets.
• Capital investment planning for site development.
• Identifying operational improvement opportunities across multiple sites.

Approach & Key Success Factors

EFESO conducted site visits in North America and Europe, performing interviews and observations to evaluate:

• Quality of site assets for capital investment planning.
• Operational performance vs. best practices.
• Maintenance & reliability effectiveness.

1. Acquisition Integration & Readiness Assessment

• Assessed integration progress at the previously acquired U.S. site.
• Evaluated integration readiness for the target acquisition site.

2. Site Performance & Capital Requirements Evaluation

• Conducted desktop analysis through data room reviews to assess site performance.
• Identified capital project opportunities to enhance future investment and planning.

3. Operational Efficiency & Logistics Optimization

• Recommended OEE improvement initiatives at each site.
• Identified logistics enhancements, particularly rail efficiency improvements, to increase OEE by 10%.
• Assessed Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) procedures for harmonization across sites.

Results

Implementation

Of previous acquisition recommendations led to significant site improvements.

OEE

Improvement opportunities identified across all evaluated sites.

Strategic capital projects

Identified for future investment.

increasing OEE

Logistics optimization opportunities pinpointed, increasing OEE potential by 10%.

Risk assessment completed

Across all sites, with proposed mitigation strategies.

Opportunities identified

To enhance production efficiency in response to commodity price fluctuations.