In a deal the financial details of which were not disclosed, flexible insulation and engineering foams specialist Armacell (Luxembourg; www.armacell.com) has acquired the Insulation business of custom engineered foam specialist Nomaco (Zebulon, North Carolina / USA; www.nomaco.com). The transaction includes an extruded PE insulation foams manufacturing plant in Yukon, Oklahoma / USA, strengthening Armacell’s North American production capacity as well as its regional distribution network.

Key management of the 100 worker-strong unit is expected to remain in place. Armacell said the purchase complements its existing PE insulation foam product portfolio and also strengthens its technical support capacity in North America. “Nomaco possesses almost four decades of PE know-how and has historically exhibited attractive growth and margin profiles, making this an attractive investment for us,” said Patrick Mathieu, CEO of Armacell International. Nomaco’s Insulation business generated about USD 28m in sales in 2016. Not included in the transaction are Nomaco’s construction, packaging as well as its fitness and recreation portfolios or its customised solutions business.

The purchase follows an exciting year at Armacell, which was acquired by investors linked to Blackstone (New York / USA; www.blackstone.com) and Lego majority shareholder Kirkbi (Billund / Denmark; www.kirkbi.com) in early 2016 (see Plasteurope.com of 05.01.2016). In the wake of that ownership change, the company bought Brazilian extruded PE insulation foams producer PoliPlex (see Plasteurope.com of 20.10.2016) and also set up a silica aerogel blankets joint venture in Asia (see Plasteurope.com of 28.11.2016). The company currently has about 2,900 workers spread across 24 production sites in 15 different countries. It posted sales of EUR 540m in 2015.