Nexeo Plastics now is distributing a wide range of engineering resins in North America for DSM Engineering Plastics.
The deal was announced Nov. 5 and includes Akulon-brand nylon 6 and 6/6, Arnite-brand PET, Arnitel-brand copolyester, EcoPaXX-brand nylon 4/10, ForTii-brand nylon/PPA, Stanyl-brand nylon 4/6 and Xytron-brand PPS.
Nexeo, based in The Woodlands, Texas, already had distributed these materials for DSM in Europe and now will do so in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, Nexeo President and CEO Shawn Williams said in a Nov. 6 phone interview.
"One of my visions for our company is to grow our global footprint and connect to our supplier base," he added. "This is another opportunity to meet our customers' expectations and leverage our North American footprint."
The DSM materials are sold into numerous end markets, including automotive, electronics and industrial manufacturing. In the release, DSM Commercial Americas Vice President Jud Gibson said that the firm's customers "require highly specified products on varied manufacturing schedules, so it's critical to have the right distribution partner in place to support their material selection requirements and timetables."
The deal also includes sustainable products based on recycled content or bio-based material, Williams said. Working with DSM "reinforces the fact that we have a market-leading portfolio," he added. "This strengthens both companies."
Nexeo Plastics in February was acquired by investment firm One Rock Capital Partners LLC for $640 million. The business had been the plastics unit of Nexeo Solutions, which was acquired by Univar Inc. in September 2018 for $1.8 billion.
Univar officials soon said they did not plan to keep the resin distribution business, which did not mesh with their existing businesses.
Nexeo Plastics now distributes resins and compounds in North America, Europe and Asia for more than 30 suppliers. "We're always looking to expand our product lines to meet our customers' needs," Williams said. "We're not done."
DSM Engineering Plastics is a unit of plastics and chemicals maker Royal DSM of Geleen, Netherlands. Royal DSM employs 23,000 worldwide and posted sales of $11.1 billion in 2018.