HOUSTON, July 31, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Westlake Chemical
Corporation (NYSE: WLK) announced today it has closed the
previously announced acquisition of German-based Vinnolit Holdings
GmbH and its subsidiary companies from Advent International, a
private equity firm.
The Vinnolit acquisition includes six production facilities
located in Burghausen, Gendorf, Cologne, Knapsack and Schkopau in Germany and Hillhouse in the United Kingdom. These operations have a
combined annual capacity of 780 thousand metric tons of PVC,
including specialty paste, thermoplastic specialties and suspension
grades, 665 thousand metric tons of vinyl chloride monomer ("VCM")
and 475 thousand metric tons of membrane grade caustic soda.
Vinnolit has world class technical centers including a
research and development facility in Gendorf and an applications
laboratory in Burghausen. The newly acquired business will
operate as a Westlake company
under the Vinnolit name and continue to provide products which are
suitable for a wide range of industrial and building product
applications including automotive sealants and interior trim, cable
sheathing, flooring, medical applications, pipes, film, technical
coatings, wall covering and window profiles.
Vinnolit's headquarters will remain in Ismaning, Germany, outside of Munich. The company
employs approximately 1,400 employees.
Albert Chao, President and CEO of
Westlake Chemical Corporation stated, "We are pleased to close this
important strategic acquisition and to welcome Vinnolit and its
talented team into the Westlake
family of companies. Over the last several years we have been
aggressively pursuing our strategy of integration and expanding
into new markets and specialty products. This includes the
completion of our world class chlor-alkali plant in Geismar, Louisiana, the acquisition of North
American Specialty Pipe Company from CertainTeed, and the expansion
of our ethylene capacity in Lake Charles,
Louisiana and our ethylene and PVC units at Calvert City, Kentucky, which included
converting the ethylene unit feedstock from propane to
ethane. The acquisition of Vinnolit is another major step
along our strategic path and allows us to bring new specialty PVC
products to the market, expand our technological and product
development capacity and to grow our global presence with a
footprint in Europe and
surrounding markets."
"We are proud to be a member of the Westlake Chemical family of
companies. We look forward to combining our collective resources,
technology and talented teams which will allow further growth of
the company's PVC business - based on the comprehensive product
portfolio and the extended global market coverage," commented Dr
Josef Ertl, Managing Director of
Vinnolit. "Being a part of Westlake, a global Vinyls leader, offers
numerous opportunities for Vinnolit and will further strengthen our
leadership position as a specialty PVC manufacturer."
For more information regarding this acquisition please visit the
Westlake or Vinnolit company web
site at http://www.westlake.com or http://www.vinnolit.com.
Westlake Chemical Corporation (WLK)
Westlake Chemical
Corporation is an international manufacturer and supplier of
petrochemicals, polymers and building products with headquarters in
Houston, Texas. The
company's range of products includes: ethylene, polyethylene,
styrene, propylene, caustic, VCM, PVC suspension and specialty
resins and PVC building products including pipe and specialty
components, windows, fence and decking. For more information,
visit the company's Web site at www.westlake.com.
Vinnolit
Vinnolit, a Westlake company, is one of the leading PVC
producers in Europe, and,
worldwide, is the market and technical leader in specialty PVC with
headquarters in Ismaning, Germany.
For more information, visit the company's web site at
www.vinnolit.com.
SOURCE Westlake Chemical Corporation