Halocarbon (River Edge, NJ), a privately owned fluorochemicals manufacturer for the fine and specialty chemicals sectors, has disclosed strong financial results for its fiscal year in 2011 and says it is optimistic for its prospects in 2012. “We’re expecting another year of double-digit growth,” says Halocarbon CEO Peter Murin.
 
Worldwide supply of hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP), a compound used in photoresists for semiconductor manufacturing as well as in the anesthetic sevoflurane, is very tight. To meet the increase in demand Halocarbon has upgraded its plant to increase capacity and “fill the void,” the company says. The shortage is caused by demand for HFIP raw materials being used for other products, namely R1234yf refrigerant and fluoroelastomers, the company says. 

“We continue to see significant demand for our HFIP and HFIP-derived compounds. With the increasing number of applications and end-products that incorporate HFIP, we expect this trend to continue,” Murin says.
 
Halocarbon also has continued to grow on other fronts. Advancements and recent pilot plant scale-ups have focused on electronics chemicals and its existing trifluoro-based line, which remains strong worldwide. “We continue to see strong sales of our TFA, TFAA, and TFAC to the pharmaceutical, agriculture, and industrial areas,” says Ron Epstein, director/sales. “We have upgraded our TFA and TFAA production, which has given us additional capacity to meet our customers’ requirements. We’re also experiencing strong worldwide sales of our inert oils, greases, and waxes.”
 
Halocarbon has also grown in the coatings area, supplying HFA monomers to the semiconductor and specialty coatings market.
 
Looking further ahead, the company has started research into direct fluorination projects and is pursuing collaborations with other companies to explore opportunities for additional high-value products.