Talk:Imerys

Removal of information

Please would the person who is removing this not do it. The information is valid. It comes from the references provided.It is useful as it gives a clear idea on the size and activities of the company. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.153.70.31 (talk) 12:41, 29 September 2007 (UTC)

The information may be "valid" but it needs rewriting in a more encyclopaedic form and NOT copied and pasted from the Imerys website. You have provided no references other than external links to the Imerys website. Teapotgeorge 16:18, 29 September 2007 (UTC)

External links modified

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A Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion:

• Locked out workers at Imerys Talc.jpg

Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 23:36, 8 April 2019 (UTC)

Proposed changes: Adding more information to History section

• Explanation of issue: Current History section could use some more information, especially considering the 2020 context. Proposal to replace the current section with the text below.

• Information to be added or removed:

History section implemented. The COVID-19 response sounds like advertising and provides no relevant information about the company as a whole. Per WP:PROMO, we can’t implement this section. Furthermore, significant portions of this article need to be completely re-written or removed, for the purpose of WP:NPOV.

History

The company was first founded in 1880, when the Rothschild family combined some of their metals and mining interests into Spanish company Peñarroya. Over the next century it specialized in extracting and processing non-ferrous metals, becoming one of the world leaders in mining extraction.

After operating as a stand-alone company, in 1970 Peñarroya branched out and merged with the Société Le Nickel (now Eramet) and Mokta (now Société Mokta El Hadid) and created a new holding company called Imétal to manage the new business. By the end of the 1990s, the company became entirely focused on industrial minerals processing, following more acquisitions and a few divestments. In 1999, Imétal changed its name to Imerys. The company continued to expand its product lines, geographic reach and markets. In 2018, the Imerys group sought to simplify its structure through a transformation plan named Connect & Shape, aiming to be more customer and market focused, organized around two segments and grouping five newly created business areas.

Covid-19 crisis response

During the Covid-19 pandemic some operations were negatively affected, first in China then in other parts of the world including Europe, where the group temporarily shut down multiple plants.

Imerys CEO Alessandro Dazza and Chairman Patrick Kron proposed a 25% salary reduction for the period of time during which Imerys employees remained partly unemployed. On 6 April 2020, Imerys’ management presented an action plan to the Board of Directors to limit adverse impacts on its performance and cash flow and to preserve its current strong balance sheet.

During the crisis, Imerys’ solutions were still facing a strong demand by essential industries to continue producing consumer goods, specifically in the food industry, agribusiness and pharmaceuticals.

References

MayaVR (talk) 14:57, 29 December 2020 (UTC) ({{reflist-talk}} inserted in several places for clarity. davidwr/(talk)/(contribs) 🎄 23:34, 29 December 2020 (UTC))

This request edit has been rewritten, streamlined and clarified. I'm re-submitting this request edit. I'm separating History content from Acquisitions, which I am submitting in a separate request edit. MayaVR (talk) 15:45, 8 January 2021 (UTC)

Proposed changes to section: Imerys Talc America worker lockout

• Information to be added:

(at end of second paragraph) This bill has no co-sponsors and has not received a hearing in the Finance Committee during the 119th Congress.

References

• Explanation of issue:

More recent information about the current state of the bill.

• References supporting change:

https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/1548?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22PICKET+act%22%5D%7D&s=1&r=1

• Information to be removed:

On 11 October 2018, the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers released a video on a website they created, http://www.WeWantToWork.org detailing the locked-out workers' issues and calling for Imerys Talc to go back to the negotiating table to find a fair solution and end the lockout.[28]

• Explanation of issue:

The last paragraph on the Brotherhood of Boilermakers is adding unnecessary details about the case that skews the tone, including the external video. It is not an objective external source and represents a conflict of interest regarding the events and the parties involved.

• Information to be added:

On 31 October 2018, after three months of negotiations, union workers approved a new three-year contract with Imerys, effectively ending the lockout and allowing workers to return to the plant. Randy Tocci said that “Imerys brought some different people to the table on Oct. 25 which helped move the negotiations forward”. About the contract, Tocci further said that it “protects seniority while also considering skills in applying for jobs and will continue to provide health benefits to retirees who leave the company through 2019. Workers will get a 3 percent increase in base pay, but their pensions will be frozen.”

References

• Explanation of issue:

The section lacks objectivity and needs more information about what happened after the facts. The section reads biased from the point of view of workers and unions, and does not include the actions on the part of the Imerys company.

• References supporting change:

https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/montana-imerys-lockout-election-tester/ https://nbcmontana.com/news/local/locked-out-union-workers-reach-agreement-with-talc-plant/

MayaVR (talk) 15:46, 29 December 2020 (UTC) ({{reflist-talk}} added in several places for clarity. davidwr/(talk)/(contribs) 🎄 23:37, 29 December 2020 (UTC))

I've made the above changes and have rewritten a few sentences to remove biased language. I have also replaced certain sources with more neutral media sources. The resolution of the lockout has been clarified and detailed. I have taken out some details about the proposed bill that can be read on the Congress website page. I've also included more politicians who got involved in the lockout, to avoid possible political bias. The chronology of events remains otherwise unchanged. MayaVR (talk) 20:39, 3 January 2021 (UTC)

Removing the edit request template, as this seems to have already been tackled. Ferkijel (talk) 19:46, 29 March 2021 (UTC)

I've trimmed some unnecessary detail but more needs to be done

I removed a couple sections that belong in company press releases but not in an encyclopedia article.

It would be okay to add back the name of the current CEO, the founder(s), and if applicable, any CEOs over the company's history that were "much more impactful than the average CEO" either to the company or to society as a whole.

I also removed the "minerals" section. If the company is the industry leader in 1 or more minerals, it would be fine to list a small number of those, probably no more than 3. If it is not the industry leader in any mineral, then it might be appropriate to list the one or, if it's a virtual "tie," the two most important minerals that the company brings to the market.

I "tagged" some other sections for trimming down. Trimming these will require some thought. For a company like this, too much detail is a bad thing.

@Mayariebel: I saw your edit requests above. Bearing in mind that Wikipedia is an general-audience encyclopedia not a complete compendium of the company's history or a corporate-produced piece, please reconsider your edit requests above. What WOULD be encyclopedic if the article had much more content from the 19th and 20th centuries. Probably over 1/3 to 2/3 of the article was about the company before the 21st century, while not being too much larger than its current size. If the company was much larger in the past than it is now, either in headcount, inflation-adjusted revenue, or share of the market, then perhaps the pre-21st-century parts can be higher than 2/3 of the text. davidwr/(talk)/(contribs) 🎄 00:48, 30 December 2020 (UTC)

@Davidwr: Hello David, thank you for the advice, it's very helpful and much appreciated. Following your recommendations we are going to rework the content and reconsider the History, Corporate and Mineral sections. As for the sections tagged for trimming, what's the process to do this correctly? Can I ask to remove text when it is unnecessary to comprehension? And do I have the account status to do so? --MayaVR (talk) 16:33, 30 December 2020 (UTC)

With respect to your existing edit requests, just put a note at the bottom saying you are going to re-do them and to ignore the existing ones.

With respect to future changes, do them the same way as above: Refer to the existing text and say "please change this to that." As an editor with a conflict of interest, you should not directly change material.

Be aware that others may be doing "trim down and cleanup" work as well, so you may need to constantly adjust your requests.

While changes to factual situations are welcome, they must include some kind of reference. Changes to facts about a company, such as its current leadership, are one of the few times when the reference can be a "non-independent" source, such as a company publication.

Be aware that Wikipedia is NOT written for the benefit of your company. Edits which sound "promotional" in tone or which add information that is, by its very nature, going to be the type of information that the company would likely want out there will be looked at more carefully if not rejected outright. This means the edit request you make may be completely re-written before it is made if they are accepted at all. With that in mind, keep any proposed changes simple and, in a word, boring or at least completely absent of anything "attention-getting" beyond the mere facts themselves. davidwr/(talk)/(contribs) 🎄 18:27, 30 December 2020 (UTC)

Attention paid and COI editors

@Mayariebel: in particular:

Please use Template:Requested edit rather than making content additions, as you (Mayariebel) did with this edit and possibly other edits made in early January 2021.

Please limit yourself to removing unreferenced, disparaging material and to making clerical edits that do not change the meaning. Changing "10" to "ten" is fine, changing "10" to "11" generally is not unless it's reverting someone else's unsourced change. If the original said "10" and the reference says "11" and "10" results in a sentence that could reasonably be seen as disparaging - not just false but disparaging - you can remove "10" but not replace it, you need to request that "11" be inserted. Please do not remove disparaging or false information if it is backed by a reliable source - use the "requested edit" template and provide strong evidence that the source is out of date (e.g. "Dewey defeats Truman" is backed by a "reliable", but in this case incorrect, source: The Chicago Daily Tribune, November 3, 1948. page 1). davidwr/(talk)/(contribs) 🎄 18:44, 5 January 2021 (UTC)

My changes have focused essentially on parts that were unreferenced and/or have replaced them with more appropriate sources. No disparaging information has been removed. If anything, I am adding material that is unflattering to the company - see Talc business section. As for the Sustainability section, it was my own addition to the page and we've rewritten it to be better more streamlined, sourced and less promotional in tone. The rest is minimal. I have also updated the Talk section with my request edits however its says there are "145 edits awaiting" - I don't know what these are - and I'm not sure how long it will take to publish my proposals... Please understand that I need to show published results fairly quickly as I will not spend months on this page and am aiming to finish a basic page in the next weeks. For incoming History and Products sections I will follow the Template:Requested edit. MayaVR (talk) 16:48, 6 January 2021 (UTC)

Proposed changes: Adding a subsection on mineral applications

• Information to be added or removed:

Examples of Mineral Applications

Mineral solutions contribute new properties and enhance performance for a multitude of products in end markets.

Talc is used as a filler in bioplastic compounds and in compostable bioplastic, complying with European regulations. </ref>

Perlite, a derivative of volcanic rock, is used as a mechanical insecticide. Perlite acts to cause dehydration in mosquitoes. Perlite can also be an eco-friendly and alternative replacement for plastic microbeads which are commonly used in hygiene products such as toothpaste, scrubs and shower gels. Perlite is used as a matting agent for wood clear coats.

Diatomite is used as a type of filter aid to produce biofuels from various feedstocks blends. Diatomite is also used to provide a physical mode of action against a broad range of insect pests to mitigate chemical insecticide resistance.

Calcium carbonate, talc, kaolin or mica are used as mineral fillers to enhance some intrinsic properties of plastics and to impart entirely new effects. Talc & carbonates are used to enable compatibility between polyethylene and polypropylene, 2 forms of plastic that are not normally mutually compatible. Talc is also used as a filler in bioplastics compounds to increase its final properties (by heat deflection temperature, dimensional stability, barrier properties and stiffness)

Engineered calcium carbonates are used to modify properties of sealants

• Explanation of issue:

Proposal to add a subsection underneath Heading "Business Organization and Operations" and after sub-header "Locations", called "Examples of mineral applications" (or something similar). The goal of this subsection is to give more scientifically-based information on Imerys solutions and products, without promoting specific solutions, and in a neutral tone. All sources are from scientific journals or media. Please note that when possible, we are providing links to journals and magazines but some are unavailable online or require subscriptions.

• References supporting change:

https://content.yudu.com/web/1rl19/0A1rl2p/CWSept20/html/index.html?page=20&origin=reader

https://entomologytoday.org/2020/09/02/volcanic-rock-yields-new-kind-of-insecticide-for-mosquitoes/

https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/11/5/322/htm

https://flickread.com/edition/html/free/5fabd37b918f5#42

http://www.biodieselmagazine.com/articles/2517056/technology-tools-of-the-trade

https://flickread.com/edition/html/free/5f5b40fa42011#30

References

MayaVR (talk) 14:29, 8 January 2021 (UTC)

This article is about the company Imerys, not a an encyclopedia about Imerys. The mineral applications for each of the products listed in your request can be found in the respective Wikipedia articles (e.g. Diatomateous earth, Perlite). Ferkijel (talk) 19:52, 29 March 2021 (UTC)

Proposal to add subsection on Acquisitions

• Information to be added or removed:

Acquisitions and subsidiaries

Imerys’ growth strategy consists in multiplying acquisitions, integrating local industry leaders into its group structure in order to become a world leader in the minerals industry.

In 1980 Imétal absorbed the Société Mokta El Hadid, which was renamed Compagnie française de Mokta (CFM).

In 1985, the company acquired France’s Damrec, its first significant investment in refractory minerals and ceramics. This led the group to switch its main activities from non-ferrous metallurgy to industrial minerals.

In the 1990s, Imétal intensified its focus on industrial minerals, buying companies in markets including in Brazil, France, Canada, Switzerland, South Africa, the UK and the US, and transforming more materials such as kaolin, calcium carbonate, refractory minerals, monolithic refractories, ball clay, ceramics, graphite and white pigments, through the acquisition of English China Clay, many of which were managed by Imétal subsidiary KPCL (Kaolin, Pâtes et Céramiques du Limousin).

In the year 2000 Imerys added new minerals – clays, feldspar and halloysite – to its portfolio and consolidated its position in other minerals, such as corundum, which is fused alumina (acquisition of Treibacher Schleifmittel), and bauxite. Imerys also expanded its market reach across Asia, the Americas and Europe.

In 2005 the group made multiple significant acquisitions. First, Lafarge Réfractaires Monolithiques, an acquisition that enabled the group to create its subsidiary Calderys, and led Imerys to become the European leader in monolithic refractories. The group also acquired World Minerals in the US, a global leader in filtration and performance minerals such as diatomite and perlite. It also bought Denain Anzin Mineraux headquartered in France and providing Imerys with feldspar, mica, quartz and kaolin deposits across Europe.

During the years 2008-2010 Imerys continued its acquisitions, with the addition of calcined clays, extensive reserves of high-quality white marble in Malaysia, Vietnam and China, feldspar mines in the US, India and Turkey. High quality mica was added to the portfolio through acquisitions in the US and Canada.

In 2011 Imerys bought the Luzenac Group and became the world leader in talc thanks to the Trimouns mines, while a joint venture, The Quartz Corp, allowed Imerys to meet increasing demands for high purity quartz in the semiconductor and photovoltaic markets.

Further acquisitions included S&B in 2015, a global player in bentonite, continuous casting fluxes for steel, in wollastonite and perlite-based solutions; and Kerneos in 2017, the world leader in calcium aluminate-based high-performance binders. Imerys also completed several bolt-on acquisitions which enabled the group to broaden its speciality offering and continue developing its presence in countries such as Brazil, India and China.

In 2018-2019 Imerys continued to reshape its business portfolio to position itself as a specialty minerals company and to improve its growth profile, notably by acquiring EDK in Brazil and Vimal Microns in India, leading producers of Ground Calcium Carbonates, and selling its roof tiles business.

Since 2020, Imerys has pursued more acquisitions such as Cornerstone in the USA, a leading perlite producer for the agriculture market, Hysil in India, a leader in calcium silicate boards for insulation, a majority stake in Turkish company Haznedar, and Shandong Luxin Mount Tai Co in China. Imerys expanded capacity for synthetic graphite production in their plant in Bodio, Switzerland, to meet the rising demand for Lithium-ion batteries mostly dedicated to electric cars.

• Explanation of issue:

Imerys' recent 20th century history and growth strategy up until now consists in a series of acquisitions. It's of public interest to detail these corporate moves to explain how Imerys became a world leader in the minerals industry. What's more, it also explains Imerys' complex corporate structure made of many subsidiaries. I'm basing this section off of what appears on the page for Cisco Systems.

• References supporting change:

References

MayaVR (talk) 19:59, 8 January 2021 (UTC)

Oppose: I think this is overly detailed and not relevant for a broad audience. Like previous sections and older versions of this article, it reads like a long advert for the organization. Per WP:MOS and WP:NPOV, we must avoid turning the article into a list of corporate achievements. Your comparison with the Cisco article, although a fair point, only highlights the unnecessary long list of acquisitions that the 50-billion-revenue company executed since the late 1990s. In my opinion, this would only make the Imerys article more advertising-like, and would attract other editors to try to clean it up. Let’s work together to keep the article neutral and objective. Ferkijel (talk) 20:30, 29 March 2021 (UTC)

How to get the template messages removed

Can any contributors (without COI) help to review the text and requested edits, so we can possibly remove the template messages about sections written as advertisement? Some changes have already been implemented and we've hit a wall. As an editor with COI I can't do it myself but I'm available to help rewrite if needed. Thank you! MayaVR (talk) 11:24, 3 February 2021 (UTC)

Definitely still feels like an ad. There's a sense of sensationalism. I don't edit these types of articles, so maybe I'm not the best person to opine on this, but that's just how I feel. VersaceSpace is wondering why you would request an article when you could just make it yourself... 04:52, 4 February 2021 (UTC)

Mayariebel, the easiest way to get the template removed is to request changes that would address the issue in an 'X to Y' format with a reasoning, using the template {{edit COI}}. Giraffer ^{(talk·contribs)} 15:03, 4 February 2021 (UTC)