WINONA, MINN. (March 13, 5:40 p.m. ET) — RTP Co. has acquired a line of conductive compounds from Clariant International Ltd. for an undisclosed price.
Winona, Minn.-based RTP will move manufacturing equipment from a Clariant site in Ahrensburg, Germany, to a plant in Ladenburg, Germany, that RTP opened last year. The two sites are about 300 miles apart. The deal also includes technology and product formulations.
The acquisition will require RTP to lease an additional 40,000 square feet of space in Ladenburg and will create 15-20 new jobs, Jean Sirois, RTP's Europe managing director, said in a March 13 phone interview. The transferred equipment is expected to be in place by early 2013.
Products and technology involved in the deal will be added to RTP's extensive family of conductive thermoplastic compounds, Sirois said.
Conductive compounds acquired in the deal primarily are based on polypropylene, polystyrene and PVC — materials that Sirois said RTP did not typically use in its conductive compounds. He estimated that there was only a 10 percent overlap in conductive compounds made by the two firms, and that they did not compete for many applications.
The compounds being acquired are used in electrical/electronic markets, as well as in wire and cable, extrusion, shapes and construction applications, Sirois added.
“We wanted to expand our footprint, and conductive compounds are a strategic market,” he said, adding that RTP will continue to look for additional deals in conductive compounds and in the compounding market in general.
The 40,000-square-foot Ladenburg plant makes numerous RTP products, including structural compounds, very-long-fiber composites and conductive compounds.
RTP specializes in compounds based on nylon and other engineering resins. The firm ranks as one of North America's 30 largest compounders and concentrate makers.
