NEWS
Benvic buys Celanese compound unit in Italy
Italian PVC and biopolymer compounder Benvic Group is to acquire Celanese’s compounding plant at Ferrara Marconi in Italy, together with certain assets dedicated to artificial grass infill and appliance PP and the European footwear business. It expects to conclude the acquisition in the coming months and start production by June. Benvic has had a pres-
ence in Ferrara since its acquisition of the Vinyloop operations on the same site in 2018. The company said this new acquisition contin- ues its plans to grow its presence in the non-PVC engineering polymer compounding sector. “With this transaction, Benvic continues to invest significantly in the creation of a centre of excellence for PVC and non-PVC com- pounding – including biopolymers – in Italy and in the Ferrara Marconi site in particular,” said Benvic CEO Luc Mertens.
Melos integrates Inhol
Above: Benvic is to acquire the former Celanese compounding site at Ferrara Marconi
Benvic said a “significant”
proportion of the plant’s workforce will be taken on, adding that it plans to make Ferrara Marconi one of Italy’s largest compounding sites. The acquisition is Benvic’s eighth since it was acquired by InvestIndustrial in 2018 and its fifth in Italy. Previous purchases include biopoly- mer manufacturer Plantura, medical compounds and tubing maker Modenplast, and medical components maker Luc & Bel, all based in Italy, and UK PVC compound- er Dugdale Compounds.
For Celanese, the sale is
part of a strategy an- nounced in July 2020 of consolidating its European compounding operations at its plant at Forlì in Italy in line with its regional models in the Americas and Asia. As well as closing the Ferrara Marconi site, the plans included merging of its activities at Kaiserslautern and Wehr in Germany into Forlì, which it acquired through its 2016 purchase of TPE specialist So.F.TER. �
www.benvic.com �
www.celanese.com
German cable compound specialist Melos merged the Netherlands-based Inhol business, which it acquired in January 2018, into its main activities at the end of last year. “We are very pleased with the successful merger. The two business fields complement each other perfectly,” said Marcus Hohlweck, Head of Cable Compounds at Melos. “In particular, we will be
able to expand our activities abroad, which will help us achieve a stronger and more competitive position on the global market for cable com- pounds,” he said. Inhol’s operation at Soest has closed. The complete Inhol line of cable compounds, including its specialties for heat shrinkable tubing and thermally and moisture- resistant insulation com- pounds, will continue to be available through Melos. �
www.melos-gmbh.com
Researchers aim for antibiotic polymers
The University of Potsdam, in Berlin in Germany, has started a research project in cooperation with the nearby Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research (IAP) to develop novel polymers capable of destroying antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Part of the German Research Foundation’s Emmy Noether Programme, the
project addresses the huge health issue of growing resistance of microbes because of the misuse or overuse of antibiotics. “The fight against antibiotic resistance is unfortunately becoming increasingly
important. If we, as a society, lose the ability to fight bacterial infections we would be facing difficult times”, said to Dr Matthias Hartlieb, who founded and heads the research group. “It is therefore essential to find new ways to effectively counter bacterial infections.” �
www.iap.fraunhofer.de
www.compoundingworld.com February 2021 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 5
IMAGE: FRAUNHOFER
IMAGE: BENVIC
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