Color and additive concentrates maker Americhem Inc. has acquired Infinity Compounding LLC, a producer of filled and reinforced engineering resin compounds based in Swedesboro, N.J.
No purchase price was disclosed in the acquisition, which closed Dec. 28.
For both Infinity and Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio-based Americhem, the purchase broadens the technology base, opens new markets and expands geographical reach, said Americhem CEO Rick Juve.
Infinity “has a great management team and equipment similar to ours — the difference is in their products and applications and markets,” Juve said in a Jan. 4 telephone interview.
Markets served by Infinity include medical, electrical/electronics and business machines. The firm will continue to operate independently under existing management, including President Carlos Carreno, who — along with sales and marketing vice president Tim Carroll — founded Infinity in 2005.
Carreno and Carroll owned a majority of the firm, with five employees owning smaller stakes.
As part of Americhem, Infinity will be able to offer new products and technologies, including color capabilities, Carreno said.
The deal with Americhem “happened pretty quickly,” Carreno added in a Jan. 4 phone interview. The two sides began talking in late October and Americhem “came up with the right offer at the right time, and the fit was right for us,” he said.
Becoming part of Americhem “gives us global reach and makes us a bigger player,” Carreno added.
Juve said Infinity compounds could be made at Americhem's plant in China. That's important to Infinity, Carreno said, because the firm currently exports about 30 percent of its production to customers in that country.
Infinity compounds also might be made at Americhem's plant in Liberty,N.C., Juve added.
During 2012, Infinity added its fifth production line — a twin-screw extruder — and added six jobs. The firm now employs 35 and has annual production capacity of about 7 million pounds. Sales for 2012 were between $10 million and $20 million, and were up more than 25 percent vs. 2011. A sixth extrusion line should be installed in Swedesboro in the second half of 2013.
Officials previously said Infinity has room for two more production lines at its plant in Swedesboro. Infinity's product mix includes reinforced, internally lubricated and electrically active compounds based on nylon and polycarbonate, as well as on more- specialized engineering resins such as polysulfone and polyetheretherketone.
Americhem ranks as one of North America's 30 largest compounders and concentrate makers. In 2012, the firm struck a distribution deal for flame retardants in Western Europe with FRX Polymers and commercialized a new line of black concentrates.
Americhem also in 2012 introduced four new color families for 2013 and 2014 and installed a new production line at its plant in Mansfield, Texas.
The acquisition is Americhem's first since 2005, when it bought materials firm Color & Additive Technologies Inc. of Dalton, Ga. Americhem employs about 500 and operates seven plants worldwide.
“We've been looking for acquisitions and will continue to do so,” Americhem's Juve said.
