At the beginning of February 2012, French specialty chemicals producer Arkema (Colombes; www.arkema.com) announced the closing of its acquisition of Chinese specialty biobased polyamide producer Suzhou HiPro Polymers (Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu; www.hipropolymers.com) as well as HiPro’s sebacic acid supplier Casda Biomaterials (Henshui, Hebei / China; www.sebacic-acid.com) – see also Plasteurope.com of 23.11.2011.

The deal – which Arkema CEO Thierre Le Hénaff said would offer significant growth drivers for the group’s high-tech polyamides and would help it “become the only chemical manufacturer in the world to offer the full range of polyamides 10, 11 and 12” – will strengthen the French group’s biosourced PA business, which already grows at 15-20% annually.

Not only will the deal speed up the development of Hipro Polymers, especially in the transportation, renewable energy and E&E sectors, the complementary purchase of Casda will allow Arkema to benefit from integrated feedstock, enabling it to supply to a range of global markets, including lubricants, plasticisers and additives. When announcing the acquisition’s finalisation, Arkema said that Hipro Polymers would triple its PA output in Shanghai by mid-2012. According to Plasteurope.com’s Polyglobe capacity database (www.polyglobe.net), HiPro Polymers currently turns out 5,000 t/y of PA 10.10 at the site.

Group CEO Le Hénaff said the acquisition “fits in well with the growth strategy conducted by the group in the last 5 years.” In an effort to cater to rising Chinese polyamide demand, Arkema in late 2010 announced plans to raise its PA 11 and PA 12 output in Changshu by 2013 – see Plasteurope.com of 24.11.2010.