BASF AG has snapped up another engineering plastics business, agreeing to buy nylon maker and compounder Leuna-Miramid GmbH.
Ten-year-old Leuna-Miramid of Leuna, Germany, which employs 140, operates one plant producing nylon 6, nylon 6/6 and nylon compounds. The site has a capacity of about 66 million pounds per year. Miramid-brand materials are used in automotive, electrical, machinery, construction, furniture, sports and leisure applications.
The proposed deal, for an undisclosed sum, is to conclude before the end of September, following final approval by European competition authorities, according to Thomas Schumann, Leuna-Miramid managing director.
BASF of Ludwigshafen expects the European engineering plastics market to grow more than 5 percent per year in the next few years. The firm also is capitalizing on the market potential for engineering polymers in Asia and North America.
The deal marks the third such acquisition by BASF in the past three years. In 2003, the company bought Honeywell International's global engineering plastics business and the nylon 6/6 business of Ticona GmbH.
BASF can produce 860 million pounds of nylon per year in Europe, while in North America its capacity stands at 617 million pounds. Its global nylon compounding capacity amounts to 772 million pounds, a BASF spokeswoman said.
