Strengthening its wax emulsions portfolio, German speciality chemicals group Altana (Wesel; www.altana.com) in early February acquired PP wax emulsions technologies and customer-specific know-how from Royal DSM (Heerlen / The Netherlands; www.dsm.com). Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. The business will be integrated into Altana’s BYK Additives & Instruments division.

The purchase “is another consistent step along our path of growth,” said group CEO Matthias Wolfgruber. Last year, BYK had acquired the global rheology business of Rockwood Holdings (Princeton, New Jersey / USA; www.rocksp.com) – see Plasteurope.com of 01.08.2013.

Polypropylene wax emulsions are used, among others, to coat glass fibres, which in turn are required in the production of composites. Key application fields include the construction industry and the automotive sector.