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Armacell continues to expand. After various acquisitions in the USA, Armacell is now greatly strengthening its position on the European market for technical foams by acquiring Belgian Fagerdala Benelux S.A. The subsidiary of the Fagerdala World Foam Group (Sweden) is specialized in the development of thermoplastic foams. The products are an excellent addition to the Armacell portfolio: the foams will either be integrated into the existing range or sold as innovative new Armacell brands. Armacell will take on the approximately 70 employees of the plant in Thimister-Clermont, situated between Liège and Aachen. Following this acquisition, Armacell now produces at 9 factories in Europe and 19 worldwide.
“With the purchase of Fagerdala Benelux we are continuing to expand our Technical Foam Division. After various acquisitions in North America, we are now greatly strengthening our position on the European market and resolutely pursuing our worldwide growth strategy,” comments Ulrich Weimer, President of Armacell International GmbH. “The technical foam sector has tremendous potential for growth. The global market for polymer foams is estimated to be more than 50 billion euros. The technical expertise and innovativeness of the Fagerdala employees together with our strengths in sales and marketing will result in extraordinary value creation,” adds Dr. Karl Paetz-Lauter, Managing Director of Armacell International GmbH, who is responsible for the Technical Foam division.
Since the management buyout in 2000, Armacell has increasingly pushed forward into new market segments. Armacell’s technical foams are used in numerous applications in the automotive, construction, packaging and furniture industries, as well as in the sport and leisure sector. They are marketed under the brands ArmaSport (sport and leisure products), ArmaFoam (sound absorption products and PE edge protectors), Ensolite (technical foams for industrial applications) and Monarch (closed-cell bun foams). The products manufactured at the new plant in Belgium will be integrated into the existing Armacell range or sold as innovative new brands.
The new Armacell location was founded in 1997 by the internationally active Fagerdala Group. On a factory area of approximately 25,000 m², technical insulation materials, polyethylene packaging profiles, dyed polystyrene beads (the basis for particle foams used as protective padding in the leisure sector, for example) and polypropylene foams for applications in the automotive industry are produced. In addition, Fagerdala Benelux has developed a proprietary process for manufacturing PET foams. These foams which have a unique ratio between density and firmness are used in shipbuilding, in wind power plants and in composite foams which are used as an alternative to PVC foams and balsa wood. The 70 employees at the Thimister-Clermont plant will be taken on by Armacell. The current management will retain its responsibility and will report directly to Armacell Managing Director Dr. Karl Paetz-Lauter.
Armacell is the world’s leading manufacturer of flexible technical insulation materials with a consolidated annual turnover of around €300 million. The group has 19 factories in 12 countries, including China, Australia and North and South America, and is headquartered in Münster, Germany. The company’s approximately 2,200 employees produce ARMAFLEX, the leading brand in the field of flexible technical insulation, thermoplastic insulation materials, jacket and covering systems for pipe insulation, and special foams for a wide variety of industrial applications and the sport and leisure sector.
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