news Schulman to acquire Citadel Plastics
International plastics and compounds group A. Schul- man is to buy specialty engineering plastics group Citadel Plastics Holdings in a US$800 million deal that will see it near double its US revenues. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of this year. Chicago-headquartered
Citadel, currently owned by US-private equity firms HGGC and Charlesbank Capital Partners, is a leading supplier of thermoset composite and specialty thermoplastic compounds in the US market. The company generated sales of around US$525 million in 2014. “Today’s announcement marks a significant strategic milestone as we continue to transform the company beyond plastic compounding into a premier specialty plastics organisation,” said Bernard Rzepka, president and chief executive officer of A. Schul- man. “Citadel enhances our thermoplastics platform and
Citadel’s Mike Huff (below) expects the transition to be seamless for existing customers
Schulman with a second growth platform. “Citadel has enjoyed
Schulman’s Bernard Rzepka (above) says Citadel’s thermoset activities provide another platform for growth
will create a more attractive and sustainable business by regionally extending our thermoplastic portfolio in areas such as flame retardants and thermoplastic blends,” said Rzepka. “With significant revenue in the US, Citadel enhances our regional scale and efficiencies, as well as balances our current geo- graphic footprint.” Established in 2007, Citadel
employs around 1,200 people and operates 21 manufactur-
ing locations. It has developed through a series of acquisi- tions, including Lucent Polymers, Matrixx, Aclo Compounders, Fiberfil, BMC, QTR and Tetra-Dur. In North America it has 10 thermoplas- tic and seven thermoset facilities. It also has thermoset operations in Germany and Brazil and two plants in a Chinese joint venture. Rzepka said Citadel’s position in thermoset compos- ites would also provide
long-time relationships with an impressive and diverse list of blue-chip OEM customers,” said Rzepka. “Their product offering not only enhances our existing portfolio, but presents attractive expansion opportu- nities in other fast-growing sectors such as aerospace, medical, LED lighting and oil & gas.”
Mike Huff, chief executive
officer of Citadel, said, “We are excited to become an impor- tant part of A. Schulman and expect the transition to be seamless for customers. Over the years, A. Schulman has proven itself to be a preferred industry leader that under- stands how to unlock the growth potential of strategic assets through effective integration and marketing. We look forward to maximizing our full potential as an integral part of A. Schulman.” ❙
www.aschulman.com ❙
www.citadelplastics.com
AGC adds pilot production of fluoro compounds
AGC FluoroCompounds has opened a pilot production plant at Thorndale in Pennsylvania, USA, to provide short lead- time supply of small batches and samples of PTFE com- pounds to the North American customers. The new plant is located within the company’s full-scale production unit and uses the same production technologies. Compounds manufactured on the pilot line will match the
www.compoundingworld.com
properties of those made in full-scale runs and will meet the production part approval process (PPAP) testing standards for automotive parts. “Now we can easily produce
compounds in small batches for testing and application development,” said Gary Eckrote, business director of AGC FluoroCompounds. “Our customers often request samples, and we are pleased
to have a facility dedicated to filling these requests with shorter lead times.” AGC FluoroCompounds is
part of AGC Chemicals and exclusively develops fluoro- polymer compounds. In addition to its custom com- pounding operations, the company offers a wide selection of off-the-shelf compounds based on its AGC Fluon resins. ❙
www.fluorocompounds.com
March 2015 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 5
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100
