Star Plastics Inc. will work with Lati Industria Termoplastici SpA to distribute Lati's compounds in North America.
The deal will service customers and broaden the sales network of Lati materials further into North America and will enhance both companies' specialty product lines, officials with both firms said in a Dec. 15 news release.
Star is an engineering resins compounder based in Ravenswood, W. Va. Lati is a compounding firm based in Vendano Olona, Italy.
"We had a need for those products and were looking for the right fit," he said. "Our customers already buy polycarbonate and PC/ABS materials from us for electrical and housing applications, and we saw a market opportunity for nylon," Star Sales Director Chuck Hoop said in a Dec. 23 phone interview.
"The alliance with Lati will extend new opportunities for our customers and our companies, driving growth and increasing exposure with markets in which we already exist," Star founder and President Doug Ritchie said in the release.
The partnership aligns strategically with Star's North American and Asian customer base in the electrical, electronics, and appliance markets, as well as other applications that require engineering grade plastics, officials said.
Lati compounds that will be available through Star include flame-retardant, lubricated, antistatics and conductive materials. Hoop added that the two firms have complementary product lines in parallel markets, and that the partnership will let the Star sales team offer new solutions to its customers and target applications in expanded markets.
Lati's compounds based on nylon and other specialty resins are a complementary fit with Star's polycarbonate, ABS and FR PC alloys, officials said. This creates an opportunity for both companies' customers to expand their reach with new applications in existing markets, they added.
"We found in Star Plastics a perfectly complementary product offering to that of Lati and the same approach to the market," Lati CEO Michela Conterno said in the release. Under the agreement, Lati compounds will be available through Star, with a focus in the U.S. and Canada.
Lati operates almost 90 million pounds of annual compounding capacity and has annual sales of about $175 million. The 75-year-old firm sells into electrical/electronics, appliance, automotive and other industries.
Star does compounding work in PC, ABS and other engineering resins, with a focus on flame-retardant grades. In addition to custom compounding, the firm also offers toll compounding services. Star employs about 175 worldwide. Star operates compounding plants in Ravenswood and Millwood, W. Va., as well as two in China.