Performance Materials Corp. has diversified into unidirectional reinforced thermoplastics by acquiring BayComp of Burlington, Ontario. BayComp makes tapes, sheet materials, pellets and components from thermoplastics reinforced by long, unidirectional fibers. Performance Materials of Camarillo, Calif., has focused on woven-fabric-based materials, including broad carbon- and glass-fiber sheets impregnated with thermoplastics.
Thomas Smith, Performance Materials president and chief executive officer, said the two businesses complement each other in terms of technology and markets. BayComp's products are used in a range of industries, including aerospace and furniture. Performance Materials is heavily into athletic applications, Smith said in a telephone interview.
BayComp makes its materials by impregnating unidirectional fibers with melted thermoplastics, including polypropylene, nylons 6 and 12, polycarbonate, polyurethane and polyphenylene sulfide. Performance Materials impregnates woven materials with thermoplastics by using solutions of the resins.
Smith said Performance Materials and BayComp each will continue running their facilities. Each plant has enough near-term production capacity to capitalize on growth Smith foresees as a result of the acquisition. He did not disclose the size of his firm or BayComp, but he said Performance Materials' sales are higher. Terms of the deal, which was finalized in mid-April, will not be disclosed, he added.
BayComp was a division of Bay Mills Ltd. Corp., a fiber business based in Midland, Ontario. Bay Mills is a subsidiary of Saint-Gobain Group of Paris.
