Sumitomo Corporation announced on June 8 that it has acquired, through its U.S. subsidiary, U.S.-based Saconix (headquartered in Rosewell, Georgia), which is engaged in the procurement, sales, storage, and logistics services of sulfuric acid in the western United States and Gulf Coast region, making it a wholly owned subsidiary.
According to the announcement, sulfuric acid is the most widely distributed basic chemical in the world, and is considered an essential chemical for people's lives, as its applications cover an extremely wide range of fields, including agriculture, industry, mining, and the textile industry. In addition, the importance of sulfuric acid as a basic chemical is increasing due to its increasing use at mine sites for copper, lithium, rare earths, etc., which support global decarbonization, and in the agricultural and fertilizer sectors due to increased demand for food as the global population grows.
The Sumitomo Corporation Group is engaged in a wide range of logistics service businesses, including ocean transport trading, small-lot land-based sales, and storage of sulfuric acid in the United States, Chile, and other countries. Sumitomo Corporation owns and operates sulfuric acid storage tanks within the group, which ensures that customers are supplied with the necessary amount of sulfuric acid when they need it, and also leases a portion of its storage tanks as a logistics service to customers who have difficulty storing sulfuric acid.
The new subsidiary will have 19 tanks with a total worldwide storage capacity of approximately 330,000 tons of sulfuric acid, and will handle approximately 3.5 million tons of sulfuric acid per year, equivalent to about 20% of the world's marine transport transactions. The company aims to secure a leading position in the sulfuric acid industry.