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DSM (company)
Encyclopedia
DSM is a multinational life sciences
and materials science
s-based company. DSM's global end markets include food and dietary supplements, personal care, feed, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, automotive, paints, electrical and electronics, life protection, alternative energy and bio-based materials. DSM employs just over 22,000 people worldwide and delivered annual net sales of around €9 billion in 2010. The company is listed on NYSE Euronext in Amsterdam.
company. Through the years the company diversified into fertilizers and other chemicals. After 1965, when the decision was taken to phase out the mining operations, this diversification was accelerated. By the time the last mine closed (in 1973), DSM had transformed into a chemical company.
In 1989 DSM was privatized and its shares were floated on the stock exchange. In 1998 the company merged with the Dutch food products and biotechnology group Gist-brocades. In 2000 it acquired the US company Catalytica Pharmaceuticals. In 2002 DSM sold its petrochemical division (naphtha
crackers and polyolefin
plants) to SABIC
of Saudi Arabia. In 2003, DSM acquired the nutritional products business (including vitamin
s) of Roche
. In 2005 NeoResins, the coating resins business of Avecia was purchased. In 2010 the Agro and Melamine business groups were sold to Orascom Construction Industries. In February 2011 DSM finalized its acquisition of U.S-based Martek Biosciences Corporation
. In 2010 DSM reached agreement with Sinochem Group
to form a 50/50 global joint venture for DSM Anti-Infectives with effect from 1 January 2011. A formal announcement on the launch of this joint venture, named DSM Sinochem Pharmaceuticals, was made on 31 August 2011.
In Life Sciences the company is active in Nutrition and Pharma
The Nutrition cluster comprises DSM Nutritional Products and DSM Food Specialties. These nutrition and food ingredients businesses serve the food, feed, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. The nutrition cluster has customized formulation activities in more than 44 locations and a marketing/sales presence reaching over 60 countries. Manufacturing technologies in the Nutrition cluster are largely based on biotechnology
, fermentation
, chemical process technology and particle engineering. In February 2011 DSM finalized its acquisition of U.S-based Martek Biosciences Corporation
for US$1,087 million. This acquisition adds new growth platforms for natural, healthy Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs) and nutrition ingredients (Omega-3 DHA and Omega-6 ARA).
The Pharma cluster comprises the business groups DSM Pharmaceutical Products and DSM Sinochem Pharmaceuticals (formerly DSM Anti-Infectives). DSM Pharmaceutical Products is a leading independent supplier to the pharmaceutical industry. Many of today’s medicines around the world contain ingredients produced by DSM. DSM Sinochem Pharmaceuticals is one of the few penicillin
producers outside of China.
In Materials Sciences the company is active in Performance Materials and Polymer Intermediates
The Performance Materials cluster comprises the business groups DSM Engineering Plastics, DSM Dyneema and DSM Resins. The business groups’ products are used in a wide variety of end-use markets: the automotive industry, the aviation industry, the electrical and electronics industry, the sports and leisure industries, the paint and coatings industry and the construction industry.
The Polymer Intermediates cluster consists of DSM Fibre Intermediates. DSM Fibre Intermediates produces caprolactam
and acrylonitrile
, which are raw materials for synthetic fibers and engineering plastics.
DSM Food Specialties is a manufacturer of food enzymes, cultures, yeast extracts and other specialty ingredients for the global food and beverage industries. DSM Food Specialties supplies advanced ingredients for the food industry, mainly manufactured with the aid of fermentation and enzyme technology, among other technologies. These ingredients are found in well-known food brands for the dairy, baking, fruit juice, beer, wine, savory and functional food segments.
DSM Pharmaceutical Products provides custom contract manufacturing and development services to the pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical
and agrochemical industries. Customers are serviced from five manufacturing sites in the United States and Europe. These customers include pharmaceutical companies and agrochemical multinationals as well as a large number of biotech, specialty and emerging companies across the globe.
DSM Sinochem Pharmaceuticals produces penicillin G and penicillin intermediates (6-APA and 7-ADCA), active pharmaceutical ingredients such as semisynthetic penicillins and semi-synthetic cefalosporins (beta-lactams) and other active pharmaceutical ingredients such as nystatin
.
DSM Engineering Plastics manufactures polyamides, polyesters and extrudable adhesive resins. These materials are used mainly in technical components for the electrical and electronics, automotive, engineering and packaging industries.
DSM Dyneema is the inventor and manufacturer of Dyneema ultra-strong fiber. This fiber, based on ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), is used in many applications in various end-markets, such as life protection, shipping, fishing, offshore, sailing, medical and textiles.
DSM Resins manufactures products used in a wide variety of applications such as paints, wind mills and automotive. End-markets include building and construction, transport and industry. DSM Resins is also the world's largest manufacturer of fiber optic coatings. The business group employs over 2,400 people and has 22 manufacturing plants across the world.
DSM Fibre Intermediates produces caprolactam and acrylonitrile, which are raw materials for synthetic fibers and engineering plastics. Caprolactam is the raw material for polyamide 6, used in textiles, floor coverings, industrial yarns and engineering plastics. Other products include ammonium sulfate
(a fertilizer), diaminobutane, sodium cyanide
, and cyclohexanone
.
Life sciences
The life sciences comprise the fields of science that involve the scientific study of living organisms, like plants, animals, and human beings. While biology remains the centerpiece of the life sciences, technological advances in molecular biology and biotechnology have led to a burgeoning of...
and materials science
Materials science
Materials science is an interdisciplinary field applying the properties of matter to various areas of science and engineering. This scientific field investigates the relationship between the structure of materials at atomic or molecular scales and their macroscopic properties. It incorporates...
s-based company. DSM's global end markets include food and dietary supplements, personal care, feed, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, automotive, paints, electrical and electronics, life protection, alternative energy and bio-based materials. DSM employs just over 22,000 people worldwide and delivered annual net sales of around €9 billion in 2010. The company is listed on NYSE Euronext in Amsterdam.
History
DSM was established in 1902 as a state-owned coal miningCoal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
company. Through the years the company diversified into fertilizers and other chemicals. After 1965, when the decision was taken to phase out the mining operations, this diversification was accelerated. By the time the last mine closed (in 1973), DSM had transformed into a chemical company.
In 1989 DSM was privatized and its shares were floated on the stock exchange. In 1998 the company merged with the Dutch food products and biotechnology group Gist-brocades. In 2000 it acquired the US company Catalytica Pharmaceuticals. In 2002 DSM sold its petrochemical division (naphtha
Naphtha
Naphtha normally refers to a number of different flammable liquid mixtures of hydrocarbons, i.e., a component of natural gas condensate or a distillation product from petroleum, coal tar or peat boiling in a certain range and containing certain hydrocarbons. It is a broad term covering among the...
crackers and polyolefin
Polyolefin
A polyolefin is a polymer produced from a simple olefin as a monomer. For example, polyethylene is the polyolefin produced by polymerizing the olefin ethylene. An equivalent term is polyalkene; this is a more modern term, although polyolefin is still used in the petrochemical industry...
plants) to SABIC
SABIC
SABIC is a diversified manufacturing company, active in chemicals and intermediates, industrial polymers, fertilizers and metals. It is the largest public company in Saudi Arabia as listed in Tadawul, but the Saudi government still owns 70% of its shares...
of Saudi Arabia. In 2003, DSM acquired the nutritional products business (including vitamin
Vitamin
A vitamin is an organic compound required as a nutrient in tiny amounts by an organism. In other words, an organic chemical compound is called a vitamin when it cannot be synthesized in sufficient quantities by an organism, and must be obtained from the diet. Thus, the term is conditional both on...
s) of Roche
Hoffmann-La Roche
F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. is a Swiss global health-care company that operates worldwide under two divisions: Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics. Its holding company, Roche Holding AG, has shares listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange....
. In 2005 NeoResins, the coating resins business of Avecia was purchased. In 2010 the Agro and Melamine business groups were sold to Orascom Construction Industries. In February 2011 DSM finalized its acquisition of U.S-based Martek Biosciences Corporation
Martek Biosciences Corporation
Martek Biosciences Corporation, a component of Royal DSM NV, produces nutritional supplements from cultivated fungi and microalgae. The company's products include the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonic acid , an omega-6 fatty acid. DHA is used in foods, beverages, infant...
. In 2010 DSM reached agreement with Sinochem Group
Sinochem Group
Sinochem Corporation , founded in 1950, is China's largest trading company and its first multinational conglomerate. Sinochem deals primarily in petrochemicals distribution, but also in rubber, plastics, and agrochemicals. It operates through more than 100 subsidiaries in China and abroad in...
to form a 50/50 global joint venture for DSM Anti-Infectives with effect from 1 January 2011. A formal announcement on the launch of this joint venture, named DSM Sinochem Pharmaceuticals, was made on 31 August 2011.
Name
The name DSM is the acronym of the English translation of the company's original Dutch name, De Nederlandse Staatsmijnen (Dutch State Mines). In 1973, after the last mine was closed, the company decided to carry the acronym as its name.Company information
DSM's end markets end markets include food and dietary supplements, personal care, feed, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, automotive, paints, electrical and electronics, life protection, alternative energy and bio-based materials. DSM has annual net sales of around €9 billion and employs some 22,000 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in the Netherlands, with locations on five continents. The company is listed on NYSE Euronext.Activities
DSM's activities are grouped into four clusters: Nutrition, Pharmaceuticals, Performance Materials and Polymer Intermediates.In Life Sciences the company is active in Nutrition and Pharma
The Nutrition cluster comprises DSM Nutritional Products and DSM Food Specialties. These nutrition and food ingredients businesses serve the food, feed, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. The nutrition cluster has customized formulation activities in more than 44 locations and a marketing/sales presence reaching over 60 countries. Manufacturing technologies in the Nutrition cluster are largely based on biotechnology
Biotechnology
Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
, fermentation
Fermentation (biochemistry)
Fermentation is the process of extracting energy from the oxidation of organic compounds, such as carbohydrates, using an endogenous electron acceptor, which is usually an organic compound. In contrast, respiration is where electrons are donated to an exogenous electron acceptor, such as oxygen,...
, chemical process technology and particle engineering. In February 2011 DSM finalized its acquisition of U.S-based Martek Biosciences Corporation
Martek Biosciences Corporation
Martek Biosciences Corporation, a component of Royal DSM NV, produces nutritional supplements from cultivated fungi and microalgae. The company's products include the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonic acid , an omega-6 fatty acid. DHA is used in foods, beverages, infant...
for US$1,087 million. This acquisition adds new growth platforms for natural, healthy Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs) and nutrition ingredients (Omega-3 DHA and Omega-6 ARA).
The Pharma cluster comprises the business groups DSM Pharmaceutical Products and DSM Sinochem Pharmaceuticals (formerly DSM Anti-Infectives). DSM Pharmaceutical Products is a leading independent supplier to the pharmaceutical industry. Many of today’s medicines around the world contain ingredients produced by DSM. DSM Sinochem Pharmaceuticals is one of the few penicillin
Penicillin
Penicillin is a group of antibiotics derived from Penicillium fungi. They include penicillin G, procaine penicillin, benzathine penicillin, and penicillin V....
producers outside of China.
In Materials Sciences the company is active in Performance Materials and Polymer Intermediates
The Performance Materials cluster comprises the business groups DSM Engineering Plastics, DSM Dyneema and DSM Resins. The business groups’ products are used in a wide variety of end-use markets: the automotive industry, the aviation industry, the electrical and electronics industry, the sports and leisure industries, the paint and coatings industry and the construction industry.
The Polymer Intermediates cluster consists of DSM Fibre Intermediates. DSM Fibre Intermediates produces caprolactam
Caprolactam
Caprolactam is an organic compound with the formula 5CNH. This colourless solid is a lactam or a cyclic amide of caproic acid. Approximately 2 billion kilograms are produced annually...
and acrylonitrile
Acrylonitrile
Acrylonitrile is the chemical compound with the formula C3H3N. This pungent-smelling colorless liquid often appears yellow due to impurities. It is an important monomer for the manufacture of useful plastics. In terms of its molecular structure, it consists of a vinyl group linked to a nitrile...
, which are raw materials for synthetic fibers and engineering plastics.
Business groups
DSM Nutritional Products is the world's largest supplier of nutritional ingredients, such as vitamins, carotenoids (antioxidants and pigments), enzymes, other biochemicals and fine chemicals and premixes for humans and animals. Its main customers are feed, food, beverage, dietary supplement, pharmaceutical, personal care and flavor/fragrance companies.DSM Food Specialties is a manufacturer of food enzymes, cultures, yeast extracts and other specialty ingredients for the global food and beverage industries. DSM Food Specialties supplies advanced ingredients for the food industry, mainly manufactured with the aid of fermentation and enzyme technology, among other technologies. These ingredients are found in well-known food brands for the dairy, baking, fruit juice, beer, wine, savory and functional food segments.
DSM Pharmaceutical Products provides custom contract manufacturing and development services to the pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical
Biopharmaceutical
Biopharmaceuticals are medical drugs produced using biotechnology. They include proteins , nucleic acids and living microorganisms like virus and bacteria where the virulence of viruses and bacteria is reduced by the process of attenuation, they can be used for therapeutic or in vivo diagnostic...
and agrochemical industries. Customers are serviced from five manufacturing sites in the United States and Europe. These customers include pharmaceutical companies and agrochemical multinationals as well as a large number of biotech, specialty and emerging companies across the globe.
DSM Sinochem Pharmaceuticals produces penicillin G and penicillin intermediates (6-APA and 7-ADCA), active pharmaceutical ingredients such as semisynthetic penicillins and semi-synthetic cefalosporins (beta-lactams) and other active pharmaceutical ingredients such as nystatin
Nystatin
Nystatin is a polyene antifungal medication to which many molds and yeast infections are sensitive, including Candida. Due to its toxicity profile, there are currently no injectable formulations of this drug on the US market...
.
DSM Engineering Plastics manufactures polyamides, polyesters and extrudable adhesive resins. These materials are used mainly in technical components for the electrical and electronics, automotive, engineering and packaging industries.
DSM Dyneema is the inventor and manufacturer of Dyneema ultra-strong fiber. This fiber, based on ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), is used in many applications in various end-markets, such as life protection, shipping, fishing, offshore, sailing, medical and textiles.
DSM Resins manufactures products used in a wide variety of applications such as paints, wind mills and automotive. End-markets include building and construction, transport and industry. DSM Resins is also the world's largest manufacturer of fiber optic coatings. The business group employs over 2,400 people and has 22 manufacturing plants across the world.
DSM Fibre Intermediates produces caprolactam and acrylonitrile, which are raw materials for synthetic fibers and engineering plastics. Caprolactam is the raw material for polyamide 6, used in textiles, floor coverings, industrial yarns and engineering plastics. Other products include ammonium sulfate
Ammonium sulfate
Ammonium sulfate , 2SO4, is an inorganic salt with a number of commercial uses. The most common use is as a soil fertilizer. It contains 21% nitrogen as ammonium cations, and 24% sulfur as sulfate anions...
(a fertilizer), diaminobutane, sodium cyanide
Sodium cyanide
Sodium cyanide is an inorganic compound with the formula NaCN. This highly toxic colorless salt is used mainly in gold mining but has other niche applications...
, and cyclohexanone
Cyclohexanone
Cyclohexanone is the organic compound with the formula 5CO. The molecule consists of six-carbon cyclic molecule with a ketone functional group. This colorless oil has an odor reminiscent of peardrop sweets as well as acetone. Over time, samples assume a yellow color due to oxidation...
.