Trinseo announced it has completed the acquisition of the vinyl pyridine latex (VP latex) business from Synthomer plc. Trinseo funded the acquisition from cash on hand; the value of the transaction is not material to the company.

 

VP latex is an essential ingredient in binders for coating tire cord fabrics, ensuring a strong bond between the tire cord and rubber during the tire manufacturing process.

 

“Trinseo is a leader in latex binder chemistry, and a long-standing supplier of synthetic rubber to the tire industry,” said Frank Bozich, President and CEO of Trinseo. “This acquisition aligns well with our strategy to grow our Latex Binders business in Coatings/CASE applications, and also reinforces our position as a solutions provider to the high-performance tire segment.”

 

The transaction includes product recipes, customer lists and associated intellectual property related to the tire cord binders business; no physical assets or employees are transferring to Trinseo.  As part of the transaction, Trinseo has established agreements with Synthomer for contract manufacturing the products at Synthomer’s production facility at Marl, Germany, where the products will continue to be produced.