Our Business
ICL is a leading global specialty minerals company that operates a unique, integrated business model. ICL extracts raw materials and utilizes sophisticated processing and product formulation technologies to add value to its customers in the agriculture and industrial markets. ICL’s operations are organized under four divisions: Industrial Products (Bromine), Potash, Phosphate Solutions and Innovative Ag Solutions. \
ICL Industrial Products (Bromine)
Demand for the products manufactured by ICL Industrial Products, which include solutions based on bromine and phosphorus, is driven by population growth, increased standards of living, higher environmental awareness and increased focus on cost-effective production. These trends drive demand for more environmentally-friendly and safer industrial products, as well as efficient and reliable service suppliers.
ICL’s products serve a diverse number of industries including construction, electronics, energy (including renewable energy), water purification and pharmaceuticals.
Increased regulation and environmental awareness also result in greater demand for flame retardants, including polymeric and reactive flame retardants, mercury emission control solutions, bromine‑based biocides for water treatment, bromine, magnesia and potassium chloride‑based intermediates for the pharmaceutical industry and oil additive solutions.
The largest commercial use of bromine is in the area of bromine‑based flame retardants, which, based on ICL’s internal estimation, accounts for approximately 40% of demand for bromine. To meet fire-safety requirements, flame retardants are used as inputs in manufacturing processes and end products, such as plastic enclosures for consumer electronics, printed circuit boards, insulation materials for construction, furniture, automobiles and textiles.
ICL Potash
Potash, the main product of this division, is a key fertilizer in the global agriculture and food chain. Potash helps to regulate the physiological functions of plants and improves plant resilience, providing crops with protection from drought, disease, parasites and cold weather. Potash does not require additional chemical conversion to be used as a nutrient fertilizer.
The Potash division also markets Polysulphate™, a unique organic fertilizer containing four key plant nutrients (sulphur, potassium, magnesium and calcium). In 2017, the Company’s Polysulphate™ sales reached approximately 300 thousand tonnes, and they are expected to continue to grow.
The ICL Potash division also includes ICL’s Magnesium business. Magnesium is considered to be the lightest structural metal. One of the main characteristics of magnesium is a higher strength‑to‑weight ratio compared with other metals – mainly steel and aluminum.
ICL Phosphate Solutions
Phosphate is an essential fertilizer for a plant’s root development and is required for photosynthesis, seed germination and efficient usage of water. ICL has a unique integrated phosphate value chain, from phosphate rock mines in the Negev Desert in Israel and in China to our value‑added downstream production in Israel, Europe, the United States, Brazil and China. Our specialty phosphates serve the food industry by providing texture and stability solutions to the meat, poultry, seafood, dairy and bakery markets and many industrial markets such as metal treatment, water treatment, oral care, carbonated drinks, asphalt modification, paints and coatings and more.
The ICL Advanced Additives business line uses phosphoric acid, which is incorporated as a raw material into industrial-grade product solutions, to serve the needs of many industries including the water treatment, cleaning materials, paints and coatings, metal treatment and other industries.
The ICL Food Specialties business line is aimed at meeting consumer demand for varied food products. This demand has changed dramatically over the last several decades driven by several trends and processes including increased income per capita, demographic shifts and lifestyle changes. Increased awareness of nutrition and health issues and access to a broader variety of food products have resulted in growing demand for more sophisticated protein-enriched, unprocessed and non-allergenic food products with longer shelf lives.
This changing pattern has also increased demand for processed food products with enhanced nutritional value and balance along with improved flavor, texture and appearance. These trends act as long‑term drivers of demand for food additives.
ICL Innovative Ag Solutions
The ICL Innovative Ag Solutions division mostly produces advanced specialty fertilizers. Specialty fertilizers allow for more precise application of the critical foundations for the development of the plant (phosphorus acid, potassium and nitrogen) and micro‑nutrients. In addition to reducing environmental impacts, specialty fertilizers contribute to a more efficient and effective fertilization of different types of agriculture products (fruits, vegetables, etc.). Increased demand for food is expected to give rise to an increased use of specialty fertilizers. These fertilizers include, among others, “enhanced efficiency fertilizers” which include controlled release fertilizers (CRF), which allow for precision in the release of nutrients over time, and delayed/slow release fertilizers (SRF), which allow for a very slow release of nutrients (nitrogen and potassium only), liquid fertilizers integrated into irrigation systems, and in herbicides and fully water-soluble fertilizers, which are most commonly used for fertilization by drip irrigation systems and foliar spraying.
Over the past few years, we have developed a unique coating technology for CRF’s that enables controlled release of nutrients more effectively.
As a leading global specialty minerals company, research and innovation are the cornerstones of ICL’s business. Over the years, ICL has developed and marketed many innovative products and solutions and has accumulated major expertise in the range of areas in which it operates. ICL aims to continue to grow by expanding its core businesses, as well as, accelerating its involvement in Ag Tech. In the coming years, we intend to further cultivate our relationship with farmers by offering a wide range of products and solutions, as well as by promoting innovation via the growing use of precision agriculture. We will consider investing tens of millions of dollars in new technologies and solutions.
