(PlasticsToday) -- Lubrizol has acquired Merquinsa in a move the creates a global thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) powerhouse, joining the Estane and Pearlthane brands and market strength in several key sectors, including medical tubing. Lubrizol spokesperson Julie Young told PlasticsToday that her company targeted Merquinsa for three primary reasons: broadening its product portfolio, increasing global reach, and boosting manufacturing capacity. The company declined to comment on its total TPU capacity after the acquisition, or its global market share as a combined entity.
Headquartered in Barcelona, Spain and established in 1964, Merquinsa is a family-owned company with its strongest market penetration in Europe and Asia. Merquinsa's TPU chemistry is based on polycaprolactone, which it says results in a faster cycling, lower weight polymer. In addition to some proprietary production technologies and formulations, the company also brings a partially biobased TPU into Lubrizol's portfolio through its Pearlthane ECO. That product line, which has three grades and originally launched at K 2007, has renewable content of up to 60%, according to ASTM D6866 methods for determining bio-based content.