Resin distributor Osterman & Co. Inc. has formed a joint venture company with Industrial Mafra SA de CV, a distributor of polyethylene resin.
The JV will operate as Osterman Plastics de Mexico S de RL. It is expected to help both firms grow their presence in the Mexican market. In a July 30 news release, officials with Cheshire, Conn.-based Osterman said that the JV is “creating a fast, direct line between supply and demand.”
“We look at this as a business gateway that combines world-class logistics, strong relationships and resin choices Mexico has never had available before,” they added.
Industrial Mafra was founded in Morelos, Mexico, in 1991. The firm supplies high density, low density and linear low density PE for injection molding, blow molding and rotational molding uses.
The formation of the JV is Osterman's third move into Latin America in the last six years. In 2009, the firm founded its Latin American Polymers unit, followed by its 2013 purchase of resin distributor Quimtec LP of San Jose, Costa Rica.
Osterman President John Dwyer told Plastics News in late 2013 that his firm planned to add a Latin American supplier in 2015. The firm also added nine sales reps in 2014 and has added 20 since 2011. Osterman distributes 1 billion pounds of resin each year from 14 suppliers and from its own brand of prime generic resins.
The Osterman-Industrial Mafra JV is also the second Mexicam expansion move made this year by a U.S.-based resin distributor. In May, M. Holland Co. of Northbrook, Ill., formed a partnership with Mexican distributor Grupo Solquim SA de CV.