US compounder and distributor A. Schulman (Akron, Ohio; www.aschulman.com) has expanded its agreement with Italy’s API (Mussolente; www.apiplastic.it) to include the UK and Ireland, effective from 1 October. A. Schulman distributes API’s thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs), thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs) and biopolymers. The two companies have been working together for the past 20 years in several European and Asian countries.

Horst Klink, vice president, Engineering Plastics Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) at A. Schulman, said that in addition to distributing API’s portfolio, the two companies also collaborate closely on a number of R&D projects. He commented: “The move to Ireland and the UK enables us to fill a gap in our comprehensive product range in these two important countries.” API’s vice president, sales & marketing, Lorenzo Brunetti, added that the agreement was a natural move to expand co-operation.