Compounder Aurora Material Solutions has acquired Lastique International Corp., a plastics recycler and reseller based in Louisville, Ky.
In a news release, officials with Aurora in Streetsboro, Ohio, said the acquisition is "a strategic move that marks a significant milestone in enhancing [Aurora's] sustainable solutions for its customers."
No purchase price was disclosed. The deal is the seventh for Aurora since 2017. Most recently, Aurora earlier this year acquired engineering resins compounder EnCom Polymers Inc. of Evansville, Ind.
Lastique will be part of Aurora's Sustainable Product Solutions platform. The firm was founded in 1983 by Bob Manouchehri and employs more than 40 at a 130,000-square-foot location.
In the release, officials said Lastique is a leading reseller of off-spec material and "a prominent recycler" of rigid PVC, polypropylene and polyethylene. They added the firm "contributes to diverting millions of pounds a year of thermoplastic scrap from landfills by putting compound back into new extrusion and injection applications."
"The Lastique acquisition creates an even stronger combined company with increased opportunities for our employees, while providing additional service and product offerings for our customers," CEO Darrell Hughes said. Officials added that the acquisition "brings significant commercial synergies."
"As one of North America's largest recyclers of rigid PVC, Lastique enables Aurora to offer both closed loop and open loop solutions to existing and new customers," they said. Synergies of the deal include bundled offerings of virgin and recycled compounds, as well as the ability to buy and source customers' scrap and to sell compounds with or without recycled content.
The deal also strengthens Aurora's commitment to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives and reduces the firm's carbon footprint. "We are now able to offer recycled solutions as well as blended or sweetened compounds," officials said.
Lastique founder Manouchehri will remain with Aurora. He said in the release that the two firms "have closely aligned company cultures, with a strong commitment to customers and employees."
In August, Aurora completed an expansion at its headquarters site in Streetsboro. In a news release, officials said the expansion "further extends Aurora's leadership" in compounding of rigid PVCs, rigid PVC alloys and chlorinated PVC. The project increased annual compounding capacity at the site by more than 140 million pounds and created several new jobs.
At NPE2024 in May, the firm launched Ecoplast materials and a number of recycled and sustainable material solutions. The firm has been majority owned since 2021 by investment firm Nautic Partners of Providence, R.I.