The Hoechst (HQ: D-65926 Frankfurt) and 3M (St. Paul, Minnesota / USA) groups, two of the leading manufacturers of fluoropolymers, plan to bring their interests into a joint company ranking second worldwide, behind DuPont. The as yet unnamed jv, in which 3M will hold an unspecified majority, will start business in mid 1996 with $ 350m in sales and 600 employees. Headquarters will be at St. Paul, Minnesota. Along with the production, sales and marketing, the new jv will also pool the partners' research and development activities, but no opposition is expected, due to the largely complementary portfolios.

Hoechst, which is strongest in PTFE, with a 16% share of the more than 40,000 t/y world market, has production facilities for its "Hostaflon" PTFE, PFA, FP and ET monomer and copolymer at Gendorf, Germany, where almost all of its activities, including R & D, are located. Marketing is handled from Kelsterbach, near Frankfurt. Hoechst will also bring its US-based PTFE compounding affiliate, Custom Compounding Incorporated (CCI), into the jv. 3M's "Fluorel" and "Dynamar" fluoroelastomer manufacturing facilities, as well as its R & D activities, are concentrated in the US at St. Paul and at Decatur, Alabama, for Europe at Zwijndrecht, The Netherlands. There is also a small facility in Belgium.

The German and US groups have cooperated in fluoropolymer compounding since 1993, with Hoechst producing the THV materials at its Gendorf works and 3M handling worldwide marketing. Most of these products are sold to the US automobile industry. Combining their interests would help both partners to "accelerate development and commercialisation of new high-performance fluoropolymers for applications in the automotive, chemical processing and electrical sectors," Hoechst and 3M said in a statement. The merger comes at a time when the fluoropolymers market is beginning to pick up again. After two years of losses, the Hoechst business has moved back into the black again in 1995.