Speciality chemicals producer Arkema (Colombes / France; www.arkema.com) and composites specialist Barrday (Cambridge, Ontario / Canada; www.barrday.com) have announced the founding of a joint venture named Barrflex TU. The new enterprise is to produce carbon fibre-reinforced tapes for the oil and gas industry as well as pipe manufacturing customers. Arkema says the tapes will deliver improvements in weight reduction and corrosion resistance for flexible pipes used in onshore and deep offshore operations.

Barrday's expertise in prepregs processing and Arkema’s speciality polymers and resins that include PVDF, PEKK, PA 11 and PA 12 will enable Barrflex TU to "fully capitalise on the growth of the oil and gas market." An Arkema spokesman told Plasteurope.com the new jv will be based at Barrday's composites site in Milbury, Massachusetts / USA. Lead by CEO Michael Buckstein, the Canadian company operates three plants in North America and has a sales office in the Netherlands.