news
Wind Point buys Aurora Plastics
Aurora Plastics, a producer of customised rigid PVC compounds based at Streetsboro in Ohio, US, has been acquired by the Chicago-based private equity firm Wind Point Partners in partnership with the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. Terms were not disclosed. Founded in 1997, Aurora
is active across North America and runs two automated compounding operations for extrusion and injection moulding grades in Ohio and North Carolina. The units are claimed to be the newest PVC-dedicated compound- ing sites in North America and have a combined capacity of around 220,000 tonnes/year. Mike Fitzpatrick, the
former chairman and CEO of Citadel Plastics Holdings and an executive advisor partner at Wind Point since 2005, will become chairman of Aurora’s holding company. ❙
www.auroraplastics.com
Europe’s PP compound demand ahead 6.7%
European demand for PP compounds grew by 6.7% in 2015 on the back of strong demand from the automotive and appliance industries, according to a new market report by Compounding World publisher Applied Market Information (AMI). According to report author John Nash, PP compounds are increasingly used in place of PA, styrenics and metal in the drive to lightweight vehicles. Glass fibrereinforced (GFR) PP, in both short and long- fibre formats, is also in particularly strong demand. It is used in semi-structural applications such as front-end modules, instrument panel carriers and door modules.
The European market for PP compounds
Northern Europe
Southern Europe
Central and Eastern Europe
vehicles and appliances across the region. The European market is
Germany, Austria.
Switzerland Source: Applied Market Information Ltd 2016
The report identifies Germany as the powerhouse in PP compound demand, but there has also been rapid demand growth in in Central and Eastern Europe, because of the increasing production of
served by three types of supplier: PP producers with compounding capacity; local compounders; and those with production capacity outside of Europe. LyondellBasell is the largest PP producer in Europe also selling compounds, ahead of Borealis, ExxonMobil, Sabic and Total. Leading compound- ers include Sirmax and So.F.Ter, while extra-regional suppliers include GS Caltex, Mitsui, Washington Penn and more recently Kingfa. For more information about
the report, contact John Nash:
jsn@amiplastics.com ❙
www.amiplastics.com
Elix invests in North America
Spanish firm Elix Polymers, which claims to be one of the world’s leading suppliers of high-performance ABS and PC-ABS blends, is expanding its business and physical presence into North America.
The company is establish-
ing a warehouse in New Jersey to facilitate shorter lead times for customers in the US and Mexico and, by the end of year, its main office in Florida will house four people.
Elix said the expanded US
operation will cover the full product portfolio made at its 180,000 tonnes/year facility in Tarragona, including coloured and high heat-resistant grades. ❙
www.elix-polymers.com
Littleford Day lab renovation completed
The processing lab of Littleford Day, a producer of industrial mixers, dryers and reactors which was acquired by B&P Process Equipment in June 2015, has seen its renovation completed after six months of work and the new owners have claimed it is already “producing positive results for new and existing customers”. The Technology Centre is located at Saginaw, Michigan, US, and includes a range of equipment, most notably five jacketed plough mixers from 5-150 litre capacity. The largest, a KM150 continuous mixer, has also been converted from volumetric to gravimetric control. ❙
www.bpprocess.com
10 COMPOUNDING WORLD | September 2016 An upgraded mixing test bay at Littleford Day
www.compoundingworld.com
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