Plastics sheet leader Plaskolite LLC has acquired an acrylic sheet plant in Matamoros, Mexico, from materials firm Trinseo.
It's the 22nd acquisition in 16 years for Columbus, Ohio-based Plaskolite. No purchase price was disclosed in an April 5 news release announcing the deal.
The deal includes almost 11 acres as well as buildings and equipment. The plant specializes in production of cell cast acrylic sheet for display, signage, construction, marine and sanitary products.
Officials with Plaskolite said that "the advantageous location of [the plant] enables Plaskolite to better serve the North American market and offer a full suite of acrylic sheet technologies — extruded, continuous cast and cell cast."
They added that the plant complements Plaskolite's existing cell cast operations in Girona, Spain. Plaskolite will offer its cell cast acrylic sheet as Optix-brand cell cast sheet. Product shipments from the Matamoros plant are expected to begin in the second half of 2023.
"We look forward to expanding our North American footprint with the acquisition of this highly strategic facility," President and CEO Ryan Schroeder said. "This facility will strengthen our product offering for our customers, who value an extensive range of manufacturing methods."
Thomas Chadwick, principal of manufactured products at Plaskolite owner Pritzker Private Capital, added that the acquisition of the Matamoros plant "represents a compelling opportunity for Plaskolite to expand its existing North American acrylic sheet business into new technologies and better serve existing customers."
The deal is the first for Plaskolite since June 2022, when it acquired plastics processor MXL Industries. MXL is a mold maker, injection molder and coatings maker based in Lancaster, Pa.
Plaskolite has been majority owned by investment firm Pritzker of Chicago since 2018. Based on sales, Plaskolite is North America's 12th-largest film and sheet maker in Plastics News' ranking. The firm has annual estimated sales of more than $850 million.
Trinseo has struggled financially recently, posting a loss of almost $431 million in 2022, even as sales grew to almost $5 billion. Officials with Trinseo in Wayne, Pa., had warned investors of the substantial loss. Most of the increased loss came from the fourth quarter, when Trinseo lost $365 million.
That loss includes an impairment charge of $297 million related to the firm's PMMA and Aristech Surfaces reporting units. The impairment charge was attributed to "a challenging macroeconomic environment, including significantly lower demand for building and construction and wellness applications."
In December, Trinseo had already announced plans to close the Matamoros plant, as well as a styrene monomer plant in Germany. The firm already had planned to move acrylic sheet production that had been done in Matamoros to a continuous sheet plant operated by the firm's Aristech Surfaces unit in Florence, Ky. Trinseo also is closing a polycarbonate resin line in Germany and reducing styrene butadiene latex production in Finland.
During 2022, Trinseo attempted to sell its styrenics business, but it ended those efforts in July because of unfavorable economic conditions.