Mergers, acquisitions & joint ventures review – 2013

The acquisition of Amber will help accelerate TenCate's thermoset composites activities in the European market, and in the industrial and automotive composites, tooling materials and aerospace market.

TenCate is a leader in thermoplastic prepregs for the aviation industry under the Cetex® brand.

Atlas Composites, located in the UK, manufactures composite structures and tooling for the automotive, defence and aerospace sectors. It employs more than 60 staff.

UK headquartered manufacturing firm Senior has 30 operations in 13 countries and a total annual revenue in 2012 of £725 million. Around 60% of the group's turnover comes from its Aerospace division, which produces components and mechanical assemblies for airframe and engine applications. Senior Aerospace Composites, located in Wichita, Kansas, USA, manufactures interior, structural, and ducting composite components.

The acquisition of Atlas will enhance Senior's composites capabilities.

Scott Bader, a UK-headquartered supplier of unsaturated polyester resins, gel-coats, structural adhesives and bonding pastes, says this acquisition makes it a global leader in the structural adhesives and bonding pastes business, with a full range of technologies and the manufacturing capabilities.

The ATC acquisition fits with Scott Bader's strategy to globalise some ot its key product technologies. Adhesives is one of these.

As a leader in technical orthopaedics, Ottobock has used carbon fibre composites in products such as prosthetic legs for many years.

Baltic Yachts focuses on the production of custom high performance yachts. Baltic employs 175 people and had a turnover of around €30 million in 2012.

Acquires Dome Carbon Magic Ltd (DCM) of Japan, a producer of carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) parts for racing cars, from Dome Co Ltd. Also acquires a 75% stake in Dome Composites (Thailand) Co Ltd (DCT), a joint venture with Saha Group. (Read the news story here.)

Japanese carbon fibre producer Toray plans to rename the new subsidiaries Toray Carbon Magic Co Ltd and Carbon Magic (Thailand) Co Ltd.

The acquisition of DCM enhances Toray’s carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) parts design expertise and also secures a manufacturing foothold for carbon fibre composites in Thailand. Toray already has CFRP manufacturing facilities in Germany: in 2008 it took a stake in ACE Advanced Composite Engineering GmbH, Germany; and in 2011 it established Euro Advanced Carbon Fiber Composites GmbH (EACC), a joint venture with car maker Daimler.

EVEN will become ANSYS Switzerland, a wholly owned subsidiary of US-headquartered engineering simulation software expert ANSYS Inc. 

The acquisition broadens ANSYS' knowledge and competencies in composites simulation.

The FIBERBOND business, located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA, is complementary to Dubai-based Future Pipe Industries, which manufactures glass fibre composite pipe for a variety of markets, including the oil and gas, water distribution, petrochemicals, and marine industries.

ITT Exelis, McLean, Virginia, USA, says the sale is part of its strategy to focus on its strategic growth platforms.

FIBERBOND will become part of Future Pipe's US division.

Element’s strategy is to become a market leader in aerospace materials testing services. Its plans call for Delsen to becoming a ‘centre of excellence’ in aerospace composite materials testing.

The acquired business employs approximately 650 people at two manufacturing facilities located in the UK and Thailand and is a supplier of composite and metallic propulsion and structural composite components and assemblies. 

Triumph says the Primus Composites business is expected to add approximately $55 million in annual revenue. It will become part of the Triumph Aerostructures Group.

Hexagon Devold (previously Devold AMT) supplies multiaxial reinforcements, primarily for wind turbine blade production.

The 50/50 joint venture was established in 2007. Hexagon Devold will continue to manufacture multiaxial and unidirectional reinforcement fabrics at PPG’s Shelby, North Carolina, fibre glass facility.

AGY

US-headquartered AGY says this divestiture allows it to focus on products produced in the US, including its fine yarns and S-2 Glass® products.

Cytec acquired Umeco in 2012 and has since been integrating the business into its operations.

Umeco Distribution will change its name to Cathay Composites Ltd. The business recorded revenues of over £31 million for the year ended 31 December 2012.

Cathay Composites joins Marpex Chemicals Ltd and Wardel Chemicals Ltd in the Cathay group and is part of UK-based Cathy Investments' strategy to expand into new markets and products.

Acquired Zyvax, a US-based supplier of release systems for the composites industry. The purchase price was not disclosed. (Read the news story here.)

The acquisition gives Howell, Michigan, USA headquartered Chem-Trend, a manufacturer of speciality release agents for a range of industries (including composites, polyurethane, rubber and thermoplastics), an expanded portfolio of products for the fibre reinforced plastic (FRP) industry.

US-headquartered private equity firms Acorn Growth Companies and The Edgewater Funds partnered to acquire UK-based Tods, which will be integrated into AGC Composites & Aerostructures, part of AGC Aerospace & Defense.

AGC Aerospace & Defense, the unifying brand of Acorn Growth Companies, supplies technologies, systems and services for commercial and military programmes. Tods specialises in the engineering, design and manufacture of composite products for aerospace and naval acoustic structures, including sonar bow domes, radomes, and aerospace interior assemblies.

The acquisition of Tods is a further step in Acorn Growth Companies' global growth strategy. Tods is the fifth business to be consolidated into AGC Composites & Aerostructures.

Carbon fibre manufacturer Toray has identified the expansion of its carbon fibre composite business in the automotive market as one of its top priorities and has been making several acquisitions/collaborations in this area.

PCC has facilities in Vermont and Michigan, USA. Its has produced parts for cars including the Corvette Z06 and the Viper ACR. It has developed a proprietary "high speed pressure press process" for carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) Class A body panels.

Announced plans to acquire Zoltek Industries Inc (Nasdaq: ZOLT), a US headquartered manufacturer of carbon fibre, for US$584 million. (Read the news story here.)

Japanese group Toray is the world's largest manufacturer of carbon fibre. The acquisition of Zoltek will expand its Carbon Fiber Composite Materials business into the large tow carbon fibre sector and the wind energy and automotive markets.

RheTech Inc

US thermoplastics manufacturer RheTech Inc formed a strategic alliance with Eco Bio Plastics Midland, Inc (EBPM) to use EBPM’s patent-protected technology that incorporates ground paper as a reinforcement in plastics.

This 'bio-composite' technology, developed by Eco Research Institute Ltd. (ERI) of Japan, the parent company of EBPM, involves dry-grinding paper and pulp into micro-sized powder. The powder can then be used as a reinforcement in polypropylene and other plastics.

SGL Group - The Carbon Company and the Gruschwitz Group

Signed a cooperation agreement to develop and market high-performance carbon fibre yarns.

Gruschwitz will market stretch-broken carbon fibre yarns developed by SGL Group and tailor them for specific customer applications.

Scott Bader

Initiated two joint ventures in Brazil and Saudi Arabia as part of its long-term global business growth strategy.

Working with Andercol SA, a business unit of Grupo Mundial and a long-term partner in South and Central America, Scott Bader has created a 50:50 joint venture company in Brazil, named NovaScott Especialidades Quimicas Limitada. This company will produce and sell a range of Scott Bader’s speciality products, including its Crystic® brand gel-coats, Crestomer®and Crestabond® structural adhesive products and Crestapol® high performance resins.

In partnership with S & A Abahsain, a privately-owned chemical company in Saudi Arabia, Scott Bader has created a 50:50 joint venture company named Abahsain Scott Bader LLC, to sell a wide range of polyester resins and other Scott Bader speciality products, including gel-coats and vinyl esters, in Saudi Arabia and other markets across the GCC region.