Carbon company SGL Group has sold its 51% shareholding in the SGL Kümpers joint venture to fabric manufacturers Kümpers GmbH and its MD, Franz-Jürgen Kümpers.
SGL Group says that its production of composites and composite components will now be concentrated at five sites in Germany and Austria, while the existing business relationship with Kümpers for the supply of carbon fibers will be continued.
The joint venture was founded in early 2007 for the production of materials such as fabrics and braids based on carbon and glass fibers.
According to SGL, this move allows it to concentrate its expertise in the processing of carbon and glass fibers for composites and composite components within its Composites – Fibers & Materials (CFM) business unit at five sites. These are the three German sites in Meitingen, Wackersdorf (both Bavaria), and Willich (North Rhine-Westphalia), plus Ried and Ort in Austria’s Innkreis region.
The transaction is part of the strategy to consolidate all key activities in the value chain, from carbon fibers and materials to components , under the roof and thus under the overall responsibility of SGL Group. The company recently announced its complete takeover of the former joint ventures SGL Automotive Carbon Fibers (SGL ACF) and BENTELER-SGL with the aim of expanding its capabilities.
This story is reprinted from material from SGL, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
