Ending a more than 20-year partnership, A. Schulman (Akron, Ohio / USA; www.aschulman.com) and Mitsubishi Chemical (MCC, Tokyo / Japan; www.m-kagaku.co.jp) will dissolve their 70:30 US joint venture The Sunprene Comp (Bellevue, Ohio) at the end of December 2011. The Japanese company plans to integrate the vinyl chloride compounding business into its US subsidiary Mitsubishi Chemical Performance Polymers (Greer, South Carolina).

Sunprene, established in 1988, operates two production plants for PVC-based elastomers, mostly to the North American automotive industry. While A. Schulman regards the business as no longer a good strategic fit, Mitsubishi said the additional vinyls will help round out its North American performance polymer portfolio.