The UK rubber group British Vita (Vitacom Ltd, Bank Street, Clayton, GB-Manchester M11 4AS) which has been expanding its compounding activities outside the field of elastomers, has agreed to buy nylon compounder Jackdaw Polymers Ltd (Stockton Street, GB-Littleborough OL15 8YS), with its associate Grosvenor Polymers and Chemicals, for a reported £ 9.36m. The move is significant for Vita, as the group chief executive Jim Mercer sees it as extending its activities from rubber, thermoplastic elastomers and PVC into the engineering thermoplastics, with the advantage that the twin-screw technology is similar to that which it already uses.

Jackdaw has about 7000 t/y of compounding capacity and has built up a significant business in engineering compounds of nylon 6 and 66. Based in Littleborough, Lancashire, it has well over £ 10m turnover and has been consistently profitable. Vita plans to keep the Jackdaw operation as a separately-run business, with former owner, Stuart Teare, continuing as managing director.