The BASF group (D-67056 Ludwigshafen) is to sell the glass mat-reinforced thermoplastic (GMT) semi-finished sheet business of subsidiary Elastogran GmbH (D-49448 Lemförde) to Symalit AG (CH-Lenzburg), part of the Quadrant holding. The products marketed by BASF under the trademark “Elastopreg” are manufactured at Lotte, near Osnabrück, where capacity totals more than 10,000 t and sales more than DEM 70m annually. Symalit, which will expand production capacity both at Lenzburg and Lotte, plans to retain all employees.

Most important customer is the automobile industry, which uses GMT sheets to manufacture engine covers, supporting parts in the engine compartment, spare-wheel wells, fender mounts and seat shells. For BASF, this is not a core activity, said Werner Prätorius, vice president of the division. For Quadrant, the acquisition is a “logical and necessary step” in its corporate strategy. Arno Schenck, president of the holding´s governing board, said he believes “the technical and commercial potential of GMT materials is still far from being exhausted”.