US plastics group Trinseo (Wayne, Pennsylvania; www.trinseo.com) is selling its Mexican PMMA sheet plant in Matamoros to compatriot firm Plaskolite (Columbus, Ohio; www.plaskolite.com). Both sides reported the signing of a corresponding agreement. The transaction is expected to be completed within the next few weeks.

Related: Trinseo’s Q4 profit down in nearly all segments on weak demand

Trinseo acquired the Matamoros site in 2021 through the purchase of surface specialist Aristech. At the end of last year, however, the group announced that it would transfer production to its US branch in Florence, Kentucky, as part of cost-cutting measures. In this respect, Plaskolite would take over the buildings and the approximately 4.5 ha of real estate, but not the PMMA sheet business, Trinseo said.

Plaskolite, by contrast, speaks not only of the acquisition of land and buildings in Matamoros, but also of equipment. Apparently, this also includes machinery, because the sheet manufacturer intends to supply the North American market with sheets made of PMMA (Optix brand), polycarbonate (Tuffak), PET-G (Vivak), and ABS (Polygal) from the site, which is located in the north-east of Mexico in the immediate vicinity of the US border with Texas and the Gulf Coast, as early as the second half of 2023. The company also operates a PMMA sheet production in Gerona, Spain.