Ascend acquires Eurostar Engineering Plastics

Ascend Performance Materials has acquired Eurostar Engineering Plastics, a France-based compounder with a broad portfolio of flame-retardant engineering plastics and expertise in halogen-free formulations.

John Saunders, Vice President Europe at Ascend, said, "Eurostar's expertise in compound polyamides aligns very well with our own portfolio and production capabilities," and added "Starflam® materials enable transitions to cleaner energy and transportation with smarter devices."

Last year, Ascend also acquired Italian companies Poliblend and Esseti Plast, as well as a compounding facility in China.

Phil McDivitt, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ascend, said, "We are pursuing our strategy of becoming a more global, diversified and reliable supplier for our customers." "While the past 10 months have been challenging, we have focused on providing our customers with the solutions and support they need to continue growing."

Ascend, the world's leading fully integrated polyamide 66 resin producer, obtained through the acquisition a complete portfolio of engineering plastics, including UL yellow card-certified flame retardants as well as water-contact and thermally conductive materials. The company said these materials will play an integral role in e-mobility as well as in smart devices, industrial automation and consumer electronics.

Steve Manning, Senior Manager responsible for engineering plastics at Ascend, said, "Combining our portfolio and application development expertise with Eurostar's portfolio immediately provides our customers with a significantly broader selection to produce safer, more reliable parts at higher and more stable voltage loads." "Across sectors, we are seeing increased demand for higher-performance materials, and Eurostar's portfolio already meets not only today's technical specifications but also many of tomorrow's."

Neither company disclosed the acquisition cost.