Materials firm A. Schulman Inc. has purchased Brazilian compounder and concentrates maker Mash Compostos Plasticos for almost $17 million.
In an Oct. 18 news release, Schulman Chairman, President and CEO Joseph Gingo described Brazil as “a highly attractive market,” adding that the country offers “a large, diversified market with strong macroeconomic fundamentals.”
São Paulo-based Mash was founded in 2004 and produces color compounds and concentrates based on a variety of resins. No sales total was available. The firm employs about 50.
The acquisition is the third of the year for Fairlawn, Ohio-based Schulman. In April, the firm paid almost $200 million for compounder ICO Inc., a Houston-based firm that specialized in products for the rotational molding sector. The ICO deal included two Brazilian plants.
Gustavo Perez, Schulman Americas general manager and chief operating officer, added that the Mash deal adds masterbatch concentrates and engineering resins to the firm's Brazilian lineup. The former ICO facilities produce rotomolding compounds.
In addition to the ICO deal, Schulman earlier this year bought color concentrates maker McCann Color Inc. of North Canton, Ohio, for less than $10 million in cash. McCann makes high-end color concentrates and other specialty materials. As a result of the McCann move, Schulman closed its 140,000-square-foot color concentrate plant and technology center in nearby Sharon Center, Ohio.
For the nine-month period ended May 31 — the first nine months of Schulman's 2010 fiscal year — the firm posted sales of more than $1.1 billion, an increase of 14 percent from the same period in fiscal 2009.
Profit for that nine-month period was $36.2 million — almost seven times profit posted in the 2009 period.
Schulman is one of North America's 30 largest compounders and concentrates makers, according to a Plastics News estimate.