NEWS Kafrit adds to US colours business


Masterbatch producer Kafrit Industries has acquired Badger Color Concen- trates, a manufacturer of colour concentrates and liquid colourants with locations in Mukwonago, WI, and Kings Mountain, NC, in the US. The acquisition marks a significant milestone in Kafrit Group’s growth journey by adding a complete line of specialty colour and additive concen- trates to its already differentiated poly- mer solution portfolio. The group now employs more than 550 people in


New lab for BYK


Additive producer BYK is constructing a new laboratory building at its site in Wesel, Germany. The 5,100m² project is set to cost around €25m with the aim being to provide a suitable environ- ment to allow the company to work closely with customers to generate new innovations. In the planning, particular importance is being attached to efficient energy consumption and other green measures. “BYK is networked with its customers worldwide and, with this innovative laboratory complex, it will be creating space for effective communication as well as for developments and cooperation with our customers and distribu- tors,” said BYK Division President Jörg Hinnerwisch. Part of the Altana Group,


BYK has a global network of subsidiaries. � www.byk.com


10 COMPOUNDING WORLD | April 2024


eight companies and has an annual turnover of more than $300m. Daniel Singer, Kafrit Group’s CEO,


said: “This acquisition aligns with our strategy to strengthen our position as a service and technology leader to the global plastics industry. We see signifi- cant opportunities to enhance the depth and breadth of our service offering to our existing and future customers in North America.” �www.kafritgroup.com �www.badgercolor.com


Bondalti makes bid for Ercros


Portuguese chlor-alkali/ aniline chemicals group Bondalti has made an unsolicited offer to buy Ercros, a Spanish PVC, chlorine derivatives, and pharma ingredients manu- facturer. The offer from Bondalti values the Spanish company at €329m. Family-owned Bondalti has a long-standing pres- ence in the Spanish market, where it employs more than 200 people. It currently has production units in Tor- relavega and Alfaro, as well


as a logistics centre in Vigo and four offices in Barcelona, Madrid, Pontevedra and Logroño. Provided the transaction is completed, Bondalti will maintain a headquarters in Barcelona, as well as a presence in the regions where Ercros operates (Catalonia, Valencia, Aragon, and Madrid).


Bondalti said its objec-


tive, once the transaction is completed, is to delist Ercros shares from the stock exchanges, after which it will


become part of a group with sales of around €1.3bn. João de Mello, Bondalti’s chairman, said: “The partner- ship with Ercros allows the creation of a group with the scale and financial strength required to meet the challenges facing the European chemical industry. This will strengthen the company’s growth strategy and competitiveness in the markets, enabling it to gain scale.” � www.bondalti.com � www.ercros.es


Chris Smith retires from AMI


Chris Smith, the long-serving Editor of Compounding World and Editor-in-Chief at AMI Magazines, has retired from the AMI group. He has been succeeded by David Eldridge. Smith had an unbroken career working in connection with the plastics industry, from


starting in injection moulding through a transition to journalism and progressing to being a highly regarded editor of plastics magazines and chair of plastics conferences. After writing for plastics publications at EMAP and Crain Communications, he joined AMI Magazines in 2011 and became the launch editor of Injection World. In 2017, Smith took over as editor of Compounding World. Andy Beevers, Head of Events and Magazines at AMI, said: “With his trademark encyclopaedic knowledge about plastics materials and processes, Chris has been a highly-valued member of the AMI team. We will greatly miss him but wish him the very best in his well-earned retirement.”


www.compoundingworld.com IMAGE:


BADGER COLOR CONCENTRATES


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