Shortly before the end of 2016, Ferro (Cleveland, Ohio / USA; www.ferro.com) wrapped up its purchase of inorganic and organic pigments producer Cappelle Pigments (Menen / Belgium; www.cappelle.be/en). The EUR 50.5m deal was first announced in October last year.

The acquisition of the privately owned Belgian group with production sites in Belgium, France and China, complements Ferro’s portfolio of complex inorganic coloured pigments as well as ultramarine blue pigments. The purchase will significantly expand the US group’s pigments market, and is expected to increase by USD 70m the sales of its Pigments, Powders and Oxides business.

Founded in 1889 as a paper production company, Cappelle entered the pigments business in 1919. The company set up its first foreign sales office in the US in 1984 and today has a distribution network spanning more than 80 countries. A specialist in Bismuth Vanadates – offering yellow, orange and red shade pigments – Cappelle’s product portfolio can be used in inks, paints and plastics, specifically PVC, PO, technical polymers and PP fibres.

Ferro already has a strong European footprint, some of which it acquired when it purchased Spanish pigments producer Nubiola in mid-2015 (see Plasteurope.com of 14.07.2015).