Ascend grows in Europe with Eurostar deal

Materials maker Ascend Performance Materials has made its fourth acquisition in less than a year, this time buying French compounder Eurostar Engineering Plastics for an undisclosed price.

Fosses-based Eurostar has a broad portfolio of flame-retardant engineered plastics and expertise in halogen-free formulations, according to Houston-based Ascend.

Eurostar employs 60 and operates 12 extrusion lines. The firm makes compounds based on nylons 6 and 6/6 and polybutylene terephthalate, primarily for electrical/electronic uses, Ascend CEO Phil McDivitt said in a Jan. 4 phone interview.

"We needed a fuller line in e-mobility," he added, "and Eurostar makes very high-specialty materials."

Ascend Europe Vice President John Saunders added in a news release that Eurostar's experience in compounded nylons "fits well within our own portfolio and manufacturing capabilities." Eurostar's Starflam-brand materials "are enabling the transitions to clean energy and transportation, and smarter devices," he said.

Ascend is acquiring Eurostar for an undisclosed price from French distribution firm Groupe Gazechim. Eurostar was founded as an independent compounder in 1972 and later went through a series of owners including Ferro Corp., LNP Engineered Plastics, GE Plastics and Saudi Basic Industries Corp. It was bought out by management in 2010 and has been owned by Groupe Gazechim since 2017.

In February 2020, Ascend — a leading maker of nylon 6/6 resins and compounds — acquired Italian materials firms Poliblend and Esseti Plast GD. The deal included a plant in Mozzate, Italy. Esseti Plast is a producer of masterbatch concentrates. Poliblend makes compounds and concentrates based on virgin and recycled grades of nylon 6 and 6/6, PBT and acetal.

Ascend followed that deal in June by entering Asian manufacturing with the acquisition of a compounding plant in China. The firm bought the plant from Chinese firms NCM (Changshu) Co. Ltd. and Tehe Engineering Plastic (Suzhou) Co. Ltd. The plant is located about 60 miles outside of Shanghai. It operates two twin-screw extrusion lines and covers about 200,000 square feet, including warehousing space.

McDivitt said Jan. 4 that Ascend will continue to look for acquisitions in the U.S. and China that fit the firm's criteria and strategy.

"Our goal was to come out of [COVID-19] as a different and better company," he added. "We've given ourselves the framework to do that, and I'm really excited about 2021."

Ascend also continues to develop its Acteev technology, which attacks and deactivates microbes in fabrics and engineered plastics. Lab tests have found Acteev to be more than 99 percent effective against viruses, including the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, officials said.

On Dec. 22, McDivitt appeared via Zoom on CNBC's Mad Money with Jim Cramer to discuss Ascend's work to earn Food and Drug Administration approval for Acteev, as well as McDivitt's "vision of an Acteev world," with the technology protecting not only face masks but also medical scrubs, air filters, bedding, clothing and high-touch surfaces such as light switch plates and cellphone covers.

Ascend is working to gain approval for Acteev from FDA and the Environmental Protection Agency. McDivitt said Jan. 4 that the firm hopes to have those approvals by the end of the first quarter. Ascend made its first submission to FDA in June for clearance to market Acteev technology in the U.S. in a surgical mask.

Acteev technology has been tested in multiple end forms, including knit and woven fabrics; engineered plastics; and nanofiber, meltblown and spunbond nonwoven materials. McDivitt said the firm already has made and sold 600,000 masks with Acteev nylon fiber and has more than 100 companies lined up to use the technology after approvals are received.

Ascend employs 2,600 and operates nine global locations, including five fully integrated manufacturing facilities in the southeastern U.S. and a compounding plant in the Netherlands.