Ashland Inc. Company Profile

Company Overview:

Ashland Inc.  is a manufacturer of specialty chemicals, and a distributor of chemicals and plastics. The company also provides automotive lubricants, car-care products, and quick-lube services. Ashland has operations in more than 100 countries.

The company operates through three business segments: Ashland specialty ingredients; Valvoline; and Ashland performance materials.

The specialty ingredients segment offers products, technologies and resources for solving formulation and product-performance challenges. Using natural, synthetic and semisynthetic polymers derived from plant and seed extract, cellulose ethers, vinyl pyrrolidones, acrylic polymers as well as polyester and polyurethane-based adhesives, Specialty Ingredients offers comprehensive and innovative solutions for consumer and industrial applications.

The specialty ingredients is composed of two divisions: consumer specialties and industrial specialties. The consumer specialties division includes the oral care, hair care, skin care, home care and pharmaceutical and nutrition portfolios. The industrial specialties division includes coatings, construction, energy, adhesives and performance specialties. The specialty ingredients segment markets and distributes its products and services directly and through third-party distributors in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. In FY2016, the Specialty Ingredients segment reported revenues of $2,089 million, which accounted for 42.2% of the company's total revenue.

The Valvoline segment delivers premium-branded automotive, commercial and industrial lubricants and automotive chemicals. It operates and franchises approximately 1,068 Valvoline Instant Oil Change centers in the US. It markets Valvoline lubricants and automotive chemicals, MaxLife lubricants for cars with higher mileage engines, SynPower synthetic motor oil, and Zerex antifreeze. In North America, Valvoline comprises the following business groups: do it yourself (DIY); installer channels; and Valvoline instant oil change (VIOC).

The DIY business group sells Valvoline products to consumers who perform their own auto maintenance. These products are sold through retail auto parts stores such as Autozone, O'Reilly Auto Parts, Advance Auto Parts, mass merchandisers.

The installer channels business group sells branded products and services to installers (such as car dealers, general repair shops, and quick lubes) and to auto auctions. This is done through a network of independent distributors and company-owned and operated 'direct market' operations as well as national accounts such as Goodyear, Monro and Sears.

The Valvoline Instant Oil Change (VIOC) chain is the second largest U.S. retail quick lube service chain by number of stores. VIOC centers offer consumers a quick and easy way to maintain their vehicles, utilizing trained technicians and proprietary computer-based point-of-sale technology system. Moreover, as of September 30, 2016, 342 company-owned and 726 franchised VIOC centers were operating in 44 states.

Valvoline International conducts business outside North America. It markets Valvoline, Valvoline™ and other branded products through wholly-owned affiliates, joint ventures, licensees, and independent distributors in 140 countries. Valvoline International operates joint ventures with Cummins in Argentina, China and India. In addition, it has joint ventures with local entities in Colombia, Ecuador, and Thailand. Valvoline International markets products for both consumer and commercial vehicles and equipment and is served by company-owned plants in the US, Australia and the Netherlands and by third-party warehouses and toll manufacturers around the world.

The Valvoline International business group sells branded products and services to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) through company-owned and operated 'direct market' operations, national accounts, and a network of distributors. The Valvoline International business group also has a strategic alliance with Cummins to distribute heavy duty lubricants to the commercial market, as well as smaller alliances with other global OEMs. In FY2016, the Valvoline segment reported revenues of $1,929 million, which accounted for 39% of the company's total revenue.

The Ashland performance materials segment provides unsaturated polyester resins and vinyl ester resins. The segment also offers gelcoats, maleic anhydride, butanediol, tetrahydrofuran, N-Methylpyrrolidone and other intermediates and solvents. The performance materials’ composites division helps customers create stronger, lighter, more resistant substitutes for traditional materials through higher performing, cost-efficient resin technologies that improve the manufacturing, fabrication and design process. The intermediates and solvents division provides butanediol and its derivatives to the chemical process industry, plastics manufacturers, and electronics markets, among others.

The performance materials segment operates throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific. It has 27 manufacturing facilities in eight countries. Composites has manufacturing plants in Huntsville, Alabama; Wilmington, Delaware; Dalton, Georgia; Calumet City, Illinois; Calvert City, Kentucky; Freetown, Massachusetts; Chatham and Parlin, New Jersey; Columbus, Hilliard and Ashland, Ohio; White City, Oregon; Piedmont, South Carolina; Kenedy and Texas City, Texas and Hopewell, Virginia within the United States and Doel-Beveren, Belgium; Cabreuva, Brazil; Jiangmen and Nanjing, China; Alizay and Sophia Antipolis, France; Memmingen, Germany; Zwijndrecht, the Netherlands and Kidderminster, Newton Aycliffe and Poole, United Kingdom. Specialty Ingredients currently operates two production facilities through a joint venture in Luzhou and Suzhou, China. In FY2016, the Performance Materials segment reported revenues of $930 million, which accounted for 18.8% of the company's total revenue.

Geographically, the company classifies its operations into two segments, namely the US, and International. In FY2016, the US segment accounted for 51.8% of the company's total revenues, followed by International with 48.2%.

Scope of the Report

• About the Company - Historical Details, Current Ownership Structure and basic overview of Ashland Inc. in terms of revenue, net income, and operating income.
• Financials - Details about Ashland Inc. listing status, annual financial reports (for the past 5 years), key financial highlights and region wise and category wise breakdown of their net revenue.
• Products / Services - Listing of the company’s entire portfolio along with description of individual products / services providing a clear picture of their target audience.
• Company SWOT Analysis - Outlines Ashland Inc.’s strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities and threats facing the company.
• Recent Developments - Showcases Ashland Inc.’s recent developments including mergers, acquisitions, partnerships, collaborations, new product launches, investment and divestment plans.
• Strategic Evaluation - Provides an overview of Ashland Inc.’s corporate goals and strategic initiatives and evaluates their outcomes along with outlining any persisting legal issues and outlook of our in-house analyst panel on the particular company.
• Technology Landscape - Details how the company allocates its IT budget across the core areas of its business, CIO/CTO Profile, Key IT Initiatives and Deals undertaken buy the company at present along with outlook.

Key Questions Answered

• What domain does Ashland Inc. operate and what are key points about it?
• What is the product / service portfolio of Ashland Inc.?
• How has Ashland Inc. performed financially from the 2013?
• How does Ashland Inc. rank among its peers in terms of revenue and market share?
• What are Ashland Inc. strengths and weaknesses and what opportunities and threats does it face?
• What are Ashland Inc.’s main growth strategies and how successful has the company been at implementing them?
• What is the in-house technical capability of Ashland Inc.? Where does it procure / outsource it?

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