Bayer MaterialScience LLC (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania / USA; www.bayermaterialsciencenafta.com) on 2 July 2012 announced that it had sold its "Vivak" PETG sheet business in NAFTA to US acrylic producer Plaskolite (Columbus, Ohio; www.plaskolite.com). Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The US arm of German chemical giant Bayer MaterialScience (BMS, Leverkusen; www.bayerbms.com) said the divestiture would allow it to focus on its "Makrolon" PC sheet business, freeing up additional capacity. Earlier this year, the company expanded it's PC sheet business by acquiring the "Tuffak" business from Arkema – see Plasteurope.com of 17.04.2012.

BMS said it would retain all the employees affected by the sale. Plaskolite, which purports to be the largest US manufacturer of continuously processed thermoplastic sheet products, said the acquisition would further enhance its product offerings. A glycol-modified copolymer PET sheet, Vivak is used among a wide range of applications, from point-of-sale displays to vending machines and food packaging and containers.

Founded in 1950, Plaskolite employs over 475 employees and has manufacturing facilities in Columbus and Zanesville, Ohio; Grand Saline, Texas; Compton, California; Olive Branch, Mississippi and Monterrey, Mexico.