Mallinckrodt Baker changes its name to Avantor Performance Materials

PHILLIPSBURG, USA: Mallinckrodt Baker will now be known as Avantor Performance Materials, company officials announced as they unveiled a new name and identity following the recent acquisition by an affiliate of New Mountain Capital, a New York-based private equity investment firm.

Avantor (pronounced 'ah-VAHN-tor'), formerly Mallinckrodt Baker, manufactures and markets high-performance chemistries and materials around the world under two well-known and respected brand names, J.T.Baker and Mallinckrodt Chemicals. These products are widely used in biotechnology and pharmaceutical production; microelectronics and photovoltaic manufacturing; and in research, academic and quality control laboratories.

Headquartered in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, Avantor was acquired from Covidien in August 2010. New Mountain Capital is providing Avantor with significant financial and strategic resources to support future growth initiatives, which include expansion in current markets and growth through acquisitions.

Under the terms of the acquisition agreement, the Mallinckrodt name will remain with Covidien. Products sold under the Mallinckrodt product line brand name will continue to be manufactured and marketed by Avantor, but will eventually be transitioned to a new brand name which will be announced in the near future. Avantor intends to continue using the J.T.Baker product line brand name.

“Our new name conveys several very important ideals,” said Raj Gupta, executive chairman at Avantor and senior advisor at New Mountain Capital. “We chose Avantor because of its relevance to leadership. The word ‘Avant’—as in avant-garde—evokes the bold ideas, energy, innovation and passion that we have as a company. The word ‘Tor’ means mountain, and represents our aspiration to achieve new heights of performance and quality as well as our affiliation with New Mountain Capital.”

Ron Harding, president of Avantor, added: “It’s a new day for us and our new name sets the tone for our mission to enable customers to soar to new heights, take on new challenges and achieve new breakthroughs. We have a new name, but our commitment to delivering high quality, consistency and service that customers have come to expect will not change.”

Harding emphasized that the company’s name is changing, but not its manufacturing process. “This transition will not impact any GMP documentation beyond what might be considered a level one name change,” he said.

Gupta, who was also the former chairman and CEO of Rohm and Haas, added: “We’re proud of our long history in the performance chemistries business, but now we’re poised to do and become so much more. Our goal is to become a leading global supplier of performance materials. The new name Avantor signifies the next step as we up our game and enhance our activities.”