Nine years after selling it, John Hughes has repurchased the polymer additive business he founded in 1986.
“I guess I've come full circle,” Hughes said April 21 by phone from his office in Acworth, Ga.
Hughes earlier this year repurchased the Ficel-brand chemical blowing agent product line from Lanxess Corp. of Pittsburgh. He sold the business, then known as Hughes Industrial Corp., in 2000 to Lanxess predecessor Bayer Corp. Hughes remained with the business during the nine years it was owned by Bayer/Lanxess.
Ficel is a chemical blowing and foaming agent most often used in PVC and polyolefins. The material provides weight reduction and other structural property enhancements mainly for pipe, profiles and sheet used in construction applications, Hughes said.
The deal gives Hughes' new business — now known as Hughes Polymer Additives — rights to the Ficel trade name in the U.S. and Canada. The purchase also includes product formulations, customer lists and a small amount of inventory, but does not include any machinery, real estate or other physical assets.
Ficel is produced by a number of toll manufacturers, Hughes said. The material is distributed in the U.S. by Karmax Plastics of Pipersville, Pa.; AdSpec Inc. of Loganville, Ga.; and M.F. Cachat Co. of Lakewood, Ohio. In Canada, Ficel is distributed by Matexion Inc. of Cambridge, Ontario.
Selling Ficel “reflects Lanxess' overall sustainable business strategy of strengthening core businesses,” said Rob Trozenski, functional chemicals business head for Lanxess.
Hughes has the experience and expertise to affect the future growth and success of the Ficel business, Trozenski added.