The BEWiSynbra group (Solna / Sweden; www.bewisynbra.com), which so far has been focused on EPS, is now expanding its operations by acquiring an XPS plant in Sweden. The company announced that it had reached an agreement to take over XPS production in Norrköping / Sweden. The press release did not disclose the seller’s identity. However, the only likely seller is the Ravago group (Arendonk / Belgium; www.ravago.com), which had acquired an XPS plant in Norrköping by taking over the European insulation business of then-named DowDuPont – see Plasteurope.com of 07.02.2019.

The production unit in the Swedish province of Östergötland generates annual sales of around EUR 12m. BEWiSynbra will pay EUR 5.6m for all shares. This corresponds to around EUR 7.3m less adjustments for liabilities and net working capital. For an additional EUR 4.5m, BEWiSynbra’s largest shareholder KMC Family is also buying the property where the Norrköping plant is located. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of February.

“The plant in Norrköping is strategically important to achieve further growth in the Scandinavian insulation market,” said Jonas Siljeskär, CEO of BEWiSynbra. “The acquisition gives us access to large volumes of extruded polystyrene.” The target market for the volume produced will be the Northern European construction industry. BEWiSynbra announced that it will invest in new technologies and machinery at the site, including for XPS recycling. The company also plans to transfer EPS production from its plant in Norrtälje / Sweden to Norrköping by the end of 2020. The production unit in Norrtälje will then be closed at the beginning of 2021.