(Umeco) -- In its first acquisition since divesting its Supply Chain activity to focus on its higher growth advanced composites business, Umeco plc (Umeco') announces today that its German subsidiary Umeco Composites GmbH has purchased certain of the assets of Fenotec Ges.i.L (Fenotec') from the administrator for the cash sum of ┬2.2 million.
The assets purchased, which are located in Beelitz near Berlin, comprise freehold buildings and high quality production equipment which will be used to manufacture Umeco's range of prepreg advanced composite materials. Umeco will employ eleven of the former employees of Fenotec.
Fenotec was placed into administration in December 2010 shortly after investing ┬5 million in new buildings and machinery in a failed attempt to enter the prepreg market. Its failure was caused by a shortfall in sales revenues due to the lack of an industry recognised range of products. Umeco expects to quickly add much needed additional volume by manufacturing in Beelitz its own established range of prepreg materials. It will also distribute from this facility its wide range of structural and process materials for the advanced composites industry.
Umeco's existing European prepreg facilities are in the UK and this acquisition provides both additional prepreg manufacturing capacity, and a distribution base in Continental Europe that will significantly reduce lead times to its customers in Germany and Southern and Eastern Europe.
Umeco also announces today that it has been awarded ┬1.2 million of new business by a customer in Germany. This contract, which is for prepreg materials used in the manufacture of advanced composites components, is expected to be fulfilled over the next 12 months.
Perspectives of development of polymer markets, pricing issues and other important aspects will be discussed at The Polymers Summit-2011, which will be held in Moscow on November 30, 2011 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. The Summit will be organized by MRC with the support of ICIS. The main idea of the Summit is to find a "the golden mean" between producers and converters. When producers receive exactly such margin of production, which helps them to invest in production expansion in order to substitute polymers imports, and the converters receive such price of feedstock that helps them to compete imported finished products. The Summit site gives an access to the live video of the Summit, speakers" presentations, as well as opportunities to ask questions or make appointments to any Summit partcipant.