Cognis Opens New Zealand Office

MONHEIM, Germany—Cognis opened a branch office in Auckland, New Zealand, to expand operations across all three business units—Care Chemicals, Nutrition & Health, and Functional Products; previously, Cognis’ ingredients were distributed by Henkel New Zealand. According to Cognis, operating on the ground in New Zealand will strengthen its ties with local customers and further its ability to target growth opportunities in local consumer markets.

Roger Taylor, Cognis’ legal representative for Australia, who is also responsible for the company’s operations in New Zealand, said, “The new branch office in New Zealand will help us to understand the local market even better, and anticipate developments there at an earlier stage. A local presence will further strengthen our customers’ trust in us, and help us give them the competitive edge they need to succeed. We see a significant opportunity to profitably grow our existing business plus develop new business, and by taking direct control of sales and distribution, we hope to exploit this.”

A New Zealand Market Segment Manager was appointed for each business unit: Peter Gibson for Care Chemicals, Vinod Sareen for Functional Products, and Domnic Lobo for Nutrition & Health.