The international polymer, fibre and fabric business British Vita PLC (Oldham Road, Middleton, GB-Manchester M24 2DB), has announced a number of acquisitions and investments for its industrial and cellular polymers divisions. It recently made a move into masterbatch production with the acquisition of Silvergate Plastics Ltd (Unit 53, Clywedog Road South, Wrexham Industrial Estate, Wrexham, GB-Clwyd LL13 9XN). This follows other purchases in recent years which has seen British Vita expand in technical compounds through the acquisition of Jackdaw Polymers (Stockton Street, Littleborough, GB-Lancashire OL15 0YJ) and RMP (35 route de Paris, F-69210 L'Arbresle). Silvergate Plastics was a privately owned business set up some 13 years ago by ex-Ferro employees supplying colour compounds and masterbatch for bottles and injection moulding. The existing management will remain in place. British Vita has also recently opened a new facility at its Middleton site for the production of TPE compounds at a cost of GBP 3.5m.

Within its cellular polymers division the group has purchased a specialist foam producer, Crest Foam Industries (Moonachie, NJ /USA), and is in the final stages of establishing a joint venture in Shanghai. Further expansion in Eastern Europe has also been achieved with the establishment of a manufacturing facility in Lithuania.

The group reported significant improvement in first half 1997 results with pre-tax profit up by 21% to GBP 32m on turnover of GBP 416m. 1996 turnover was GBP 873.5m with pre-tax profit of GBP 57.2m (see Plasteurope.com 8).