Ineos Barex USA (Lima, Ohio / USA; www.ineosbarex.com) and its Rolle / Switzerland-based parent company Ineos Barex, have signed a memorandum of understanding for the potential sale of intellectual property and production of the “Barex” line of acrylonitrile methyl acrylate copolymer latex (AMAC) resins. The proposed buyer is MSM Poly (Wilmington, Delaware / USA; www.msmpoly.com), a company founded for the “express purpose of producing AMAC for the global packaging industry.” Under the non-binding agreement, further details of which were not provided, the two companies agreed to work together to complete the proposed transaction sometime in Q3 this year.

MSM Poly said it was created specifically for the purpose of ensuring the future supply for pharmaceutical packaging and other companies that rely on Barex, production of which Ineos plans to discontinue in Q3 this year, once its physical assets have been dismantled. The Swiss group first announced the discontinuation of Barex production in late 2014 (see also Plasteurope.com of 30.10.2014), but says it has since continued to operate its plant to meet the guaranteed production volume of its contracted customers.

MSM Poly already collaborates with Tiarco Chemical (Dalton, Georgia / USA; www.tiarcochem.com), which produces latex additives and compounds at its plant in Greenville, South Carolina / USA. While the negotiations with Ineos are ongoing, the company said it is also in talks with Tiarco about the long-term production of AMAC in Greenville.