German synthetic foam manufacturer Armacell (Münster; www.armacell.com) has agreed to sell its European PE technical foam business to Belgium’s NMC (Eynatten; www.nmc.eu). The deal, whose financial terms were not disclosed, is to take effect on 1 September 2011. Comprised in it are Armacell’s PE packaging, industrial and leisure foam activities as well as the relevant staff and machinery currently operating at the German group’s plant in Thimister / Belgium. Armacell’s PE Insulation and PET Core-Foam units as well as its North American PE technical foam business and its global synthetic rubber foam business are not part of the purchase.

The 20 employees affected by the sale are to transfer to NMC headquarters in Eynatten by 31 December at the latest. NMC plans to move two of the four extrusion lines operated by Armacell in Thimister to its headquarters in the next couple of months, while the remaining two lines are to be relocated to other NMC sites in Europe at some point in the future. Commenting on the sale, Armacell’s Karl-Paetz Lauter said: “This divestment is part of a rearrangement of our group’s priorities and allows us to better focus our resources on strategic growth initiatives in Insulation and Core-Foams.”

A specialist in foam extrusion, NMS has factories in 11 and sales offices in 19 different countries. Its portfolio comprises technical insulation, interior and exterior decoration, packaging, sport and industrial solutions. The Begian group generated sales of EUR 175m in 2010.

According to own company estimates, Armacell is the world leader in the market for flexible technical insulation materials. The group operates 18 plants in 12 different countries, and its 2,500 employees generated sales of EUR 427m in 2010.