Two more dominoes have fallen in the North American resin distribution market, with Bayer MaterialScience LLC signing a supply agreement with M. Holland Co., and Ineos ABS Corp. forging a similar link with PolyOne Corp.
The Bayer-M. Holland deal was announced March 27, less than two weeks after Sabic Innovative Plastics linked with Ashland Distribution in a similar arrangement. Many market watchers also expect Bayer to end its relationship with Ashland as a result, since both Bayer and Sabic are major suppliers of polycarbonate. But the Bayer-Ashland partnership remained in place as of April 2, according to representatives of both firms.
Northbrook, Ill.-based M. Holland now will distribute Makrolon-brand PC, Apec high-heat PC, Makroblend PC/polyester and Bayblend PC/ABS for Pittsburgh-based BMS.
“This gives us a domestic supplier of well-known, well-specified, high-quality products,” M. Holland President Ed Holland said in an April 1 telephone interview. “In the past, we've had customers ask for these products, but we weren't able to supply them.”
M. Holland will continue to distribute PC for Mitsubishi Corp. of Tokyo and Chi Mei Ltd. of Taipei, Taiwan. Holland said most of his firm's PC business with Chi Mei is in spot sales.
This marks the fourth time that M. Holland has expanded its distribution lineup since late 2007. The firm previously added rotational molding-grade PE resins from Nova Chemicals Corp., ABS and styrenic block copolymer resins from BASF Corp. and nylon 6 and 6/6 resins from Rhodia SA.
Ed Holland said his firm “is looking at more suppliers, and some are looking at us.”
M. Holland distributes a variety of commodity and engineering resins from more than 70 warehouses, as well as packaging and bulk terminals across the U.S.
In an April 2 e-mail, BMS spokesman Bill Allan said Ashland “is still an authorized distributor of Bayer MaterialScience LLC.” Ashland spokesman Ken Gordon confirmed that status, but declined to comment further.
The Ineos-PolyOne deal was announced April 3 and will make Avon Lake, Ohio-based PolyOne the sole national distributor for Ineos ABS. As a result, Ineos will end its ABS supply agreement with Ashland on June 30. The move was expected, since Sabic IP is a major producer of ABS as well.
In a news release, officials with Addyston, Ohio-based Ineos ABS said the firm will continue to work with several regional distributors — including Chase Plastics Services Inc. of Clarkston, Mich. — as well as with PolyOne.
PolyOne ranks as one of North America's largest plastic resin distributors and compounders.
Sabic IP's deal with Ashland is believed to be the first time Sabic IP — formerly GE Plastics — has worked extensively with an independent resin distributor. GE Plastics for several years operated Polymerland, a resin distribution unit that handled material for GE Plastics and several other resin makers.
The firm began de-emphasizing that business and phasing out the Polymerland brand name several years ago. Saudi Basic Industries Corp. of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, then bought GE Plastics from General Electric Co. for $11.6 billion in 2007.