Twenty-one years after it first entered into a joint venture with Bühler Vermögensverwaltung, leading European masterbatch producer Gabriel-Chemie Group (Gumpoldskirchen / Austria; www.gabriel-chemie.com) has bought up all of Bühler’s shares in Gabriel-Chemie Deutschland. As part of the deal, the price of which was not disclosed, Gabriel-Chemie will acquire Bühler’s remaining 50% stake in the German company. The acquisition is to go into effect retroactively as of 1 January 2010.

Founded in 1977 under the name Bühler GmbH, Gabriel-Chemie in 1989 first acquired shares in what later became Gabriel-Chemie Deutschland. Today, the German subsidiary employs about 80 workers. With a capacity of 2,500 t/y and sales of about EUR 13m in 2009, it is the group’s second-largest production facility.

With a turnover of EUR 72.5m in 2009, Gabriel-Chemie is one of Europe’s leading masterbatch manufacturers, employing around 500 workers in production sites in Austria, Germany, the UK, Hungary, Czech Republic and Russia.