Nalco to increase paper chemicals 30%

Nalco Holding Co. Monday said it increase prices of its paper industry chemical products in North America, effective July 1, because of higher energy and raw material costs, tightening availability of some raw materials and rising freight costs. The company said pricing for most Nalco programs will increase by up to 20%. Select programs, including the use of defoamers, gluteraldhyde, phosphate and polyphosphate chemistries, pulp mill surfactants, antiscalants, and pitch control surfactants, will increase 30%. Nalco said it plans to raise prices in other regions of the world. The amount of those increases will reflect local cost growth, the company said.