Chemguard’s Lodyne™ Connection

Chemguard acquired the Lodyne™ fluorosurfactant and foam stabilizers business from Ciba Specialty Chemicals in 2003, including 13 fluorosurfactants and fluoropolymers. This business – which represented about 50% of the total volume of fluorosurfactants and foam stabilizers sold into the firefighting business worldwide – became part of Chemguard’s new Specialty Chemicals Division.

The following year, we acquired the specialty Lodyne™ fluorosurfactant business from Ciba Specialty Chemicals and added this business – which included eight fluorosurfactants with excellent wetting and leveling properties and surface-tension reduction – to the Specialty Chemicals Division..

Since the acquisitions, Chemguard has become a major worldwide supplier of fluorosurfactants and fluoropolymers. In addition to manufacturing and marketing the high-performance Ciba Lodyne™ products, Chemguard is now developing and producing a rapidly expanding selection of proprietary fluorosurfactant specialty chemical products for manufacturing and coatings applications, applications in oil and gas fields and in fire fighting. Current manufacturing and coatings applications include adhesives, caulks, cleaners, fluxes, hard surfaces, inks, paints, polishes, polymers, waxes, stains, sealers, strippers, and etching and plating chemicals.

Why Lodyne™?

In the late 1990s, Ciba developed an effective new synthetic method of making paper sizes and textile finishes without using perfluoroalkylethyl mercaptan. After the new paper sizes and textile finishes were successfully introduced, no more perfluoroalkylethyl mercaptan would be produced. Without perfluoroalkylethyl mercaptan – a key intermediate necessary for manufacturing Lodyne™ fluorosurfactants – Ciba would either sell or discontinue the product line.

Chemguard Research and Development Vice President, Kirtland Clark, Ph.D., the former director of corporate research at Ciba-Geigy Corporation, had developed and introduced many of the Lodyne™ products while at Ciba. With Clark’s familiarity with the Lodyne™ formulations, Chemguard believed it could effectively develop the Lodyne™ fluorosurfactants business and offered to purchase the Lodyne™ fluorosurfactants.

Lodyne™ Today

Ciba retained the trademarked Lodyne™ name for its paper size and textile business. Lodyne™ products marketed by Chemguard were made by Ciba and acquired by Chemguard. Lodyne™ fluorosurfactants manufactured by Chemguard do not carry the Lodyne™ name; no products developed by Chemguard carry the Lodyne™ label.

Chemguard Versus Lodyne™

The chart below lists the Chemguard name for Ciba Lodyne™ fluorosurfactants currently being offered: