Palm Commodities, based in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, generated US$75 million turnover (metal included) in 2012 and employs 52 people. It transforms nickel and cobalt into plating chemicals and will be integrated into Umicore’s cobalt & specialty materials business unit. This will enable Umicore to expand its reach into the important North American plating market where customers serve a variety of industries including automotive, construction and electronics.
“[This] underlines our commitment to further expand our activities geographically, to strengthen our product portfolio and to add an additional step in the overall value chain,” said Joris van Hove, global business director Umicore.