Sumitomo Bakelite Co. Ltd. of Tokyo has bought thermoset compound producers Vyncolit NV and Vyncolit North America Inc. for about $106 million.
SB made the purchase April 29 from Perstorp Group of Perstorp, Sweden. Vyncolit NV, based in Ghent, Belgium, employs 170 and had sales of about $48 million last year. Vyncolit North America, based in Manchester, Conn., employs 140 and posted sales of about $40 million in 2004.
In a news release, SB officials said the firm made the deal because it ``had been lacking an operational base for phenolic molding materials.'' SB also valued Vyncolit because of its reputation in supplying phenolics to the automotive part industry, the release said. The combined SB/Vyncolit business will target metal substitution markets for auto parts.
SB also owns Durez Corp., a Dallas-based phenolics maker that operates nine plants worldwide, including North American plants in Kenton, Ohio; Niagara Falls, N.Y.; and Fort Erie, Ontario. The release did not say how Durez would be affected by the Vyncolit purchase, and Durez officials could not be reached for comment.
Vyncolit North America operates a phenolic molding compound plant in Manchester and a technical center in Farmington Hills, Mich. The unit's last big move came in late 2002 when it bought the moldable composites division of Rogers Corp. for $40 million. Vyncolit NV produces phenolic resins and molding compounds in Ghent.
SB has been producing phenolic resin under the Bakelite brand name in Japan for almost 100 years. The firm employs 2,300 and has annual sales of about $1.6 billion. In Japan, SB operates phenolic resin plants at four sites.