Quadrant (CH-8801 Zurich; www.quadrant.ch) has agreed to acquire Poly Hi Solidur Inc (Fort Wayne, Indiana / USA; www.polyhisolidur.com), the world´s leading manufacturer of UHMW-PE semi-finished products for machining and fabrication. The acquisition price totals USD 85m (around EUR 70m). This marks the second largest acquisition in the company´s history after the purchase of the former Engineering Plastics Products (EPP) division of DSM in 2001 – see PIE 03, 2001 – and is aimed at reinforcing the company´s strategic focus on semi-finished products in high-perfor- mance plastics and composites, which began with the EPP acquisition.

While it was still a small medical technology joint venture, Poly Hi Solidur Meditech, acquired Hoechst´s UHMW-PE product division in 1994. In 1997, a globally operating group was formed through the merger of Poly-Hi with Germany´s Solidur group (D-48685 Vreden; www.polyhisolidur.de) – formerly Pennekamp + Huesker – under the umbrella of Menasha Corporation (www.menasha.com), one of the oldest privately owned companies in North America. In 2004, Poly Hi Solidur, with more than 1,000 employees, posted sales of some USD 169m. Two-thirds of the sales were generated in the US. Menasha said it believes the company has more favourable development prospects in the Quadrant group.

UHMW-PE products such as those produced by Poly Hi Solidur display high non-stick characteristics as well as strong resistance to corrosion and abrasion. They are used primarily in industrial applications, such as in transport and material handling, machinery manufacture and shipping. Quadrant has always regarded UHMW-PE – which has so far played only a minor role in the company – as “a strategically important, complementary product line,” said co-CEO Arno Schenk. He said the new products will be sold through the same distribution channels and to many of the same customers as the high-performance plastics the company already markets.