AKRON, OHIO — Ferro Corp.'s response to challenges at its annual meeting are featured in this week's Material Insights video.
Mayfield Heights, Ohio-based Ferro is looking to recover from a loss of almost $400 million in 2012. At the annual meeting, shareholders approved two board candidates who had been nominated by investors who were unhappy with the firm's financial performance. Board Chairman William Lawrence was asked at the meeting what Ferro would do if A. Schulman Inc. increased its takeover attempt from $6.50 per share to $9 0r $10 per share. Lawrence responded that Ferro would evaluate the offer and decide if it's in the best interest of shareholders.
Four global compounding expansions also are featured in this week's video. Two of the expansions will be in Brazil, where Lanxess AG will build a plant in Porto Feliz making compounds based on nylon and PBT, and PolyOne's GLS unit will add thermoplastic elastomer compounding capacity in Sao Paulo. In China, A. Schulman will add almost 70 million pounds of capacity for masterbatch concentrates and engineering resin compounds in the next 18 months. And finally, Ascend Performance Materials Inc. by June 1 will open a new line in Pensacola, Fla., making compounds based on nylon 6/6 resins. That new line will have annual capacity of almost 70 million pounds.
