FRANKFURT, Germany – Rohm and Haas Co., a supplier to the specialty materials industry, announced Wednesday that it will its European Automotive Coatings business, including its manufacturing site in Strullendorf, Germany, to the Mäder Group, a manufacturer of industrial paints and coatings based in Lille, France.
Financial terms were not disclosed and the transaction is expected to be completed by the end of 2007.
This transaction completes Rohm and Haas’ divestiture of its Automotive Coatings business, which began with the sale of the its Automotive Coatings operations in North America (United States, Canada and Mexico) and the Asia Pacific region to Nippon Paint Co., Ltd., in October 2006.
The European Automotive Coatings business also produces specialty coatings for the general industrial and optical media markets. The business had sales of $25 million in 2006 and sales of $7 million in first quarter 2007.
The Coatings business will be integrated into a new company, Mäder Plastilack GmbH, with a focus on the manufacturing of plastic coatings.
“We expect to maintain the present organization of the Strullendorf site and look forward to a smooth transition from Rohm and Haas to Mäder and see strong synergies with our automotive, industrial and optical markets and strategic growth plans. We will have, with the Strullendorf site, two companies involved in the coatings business in Germany : Walter Mäder Aqualack GmbH, in Dusseldorf for metal coatings and Mäder Plastilack GmbH in Strullendorf dedicated to plastic coatings ” said Jean Le Guern, CEO of the Mäder Group.
About 125 Rohm and Haas employees will be part of the acquisition
