Bayer AG's Bayer MaterialScience LLC has bought composite materials specialist Thermoplast Composite GmbH based near Nuremberg, Germany. The price of the acquisition was not revealed.
As part of the acquisition, BMS plans to expand TCG's production capacity, the first step being to expand production in the Nuremberg region. The company states that capacities in other regions will be added subsequently.
Bayer said it will market composites made from continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastics through TCG. The thin and lightweight materials have properties which offer superior performance in existing solutions based on aluminum, Bayer noted, particularly suited to light-weighting applications for sectors such as automotive and electronics.
BMS says all employees at TCG are to be retained and that the takeover gives it access to innovative technology knowledge as well as key patents and facilities.
"We are seeing significant demand and growth opportunities for composites made from thermoplastic materials such as polycarbonate," said Markus Steilemann, a member of BMS' executive committee and head of the polycarbonates business unit, in a statement.
"By getting into the development and production of the corresponding composites, we want to become one of the driving forces in this industry. We expect promising opportunities above all in the information technology, automotive and transportation industries, as well as in consumer goods, which would further strengthen our position," Steilemann added.
For 2014 Leverkusen, Germany-based Bayer MaterialScience had sales of 11.6 billion euros ($13 billion), 30 production sites and employed approximately 14,200 people worldwide.