In March of this year, Ube, Japan, through its subsidiary Ube Corporation Europe S.A.U. (UCE), acquired a majority stake in Spanish composite manufacturer Repol. Repol was founded in 1975 and operates a plant in Almazora, in the province of Castile, Spain, with 61 employees.
Ube's acquisition of Repol gives the company a strong presence in PA injection molding
Repol uses PA 6, PA 66, PP, acetal, PC, PBT and other resin raw materials in Europe to operate composite business. These composite materials are mainly used in automobiles, but are also widely used in industrial materials and electronic and electrical fields. The company's brands include Dinalon PA, Dinaplen PP, Dinanax PC and Dinatron PPS.
Ube positions its PA6 business as an actively growing business, and is currently strengthening its activity in the extrusion application market, where the company has a competitive advantage in this area. At the same time, Ube is expanding the scope of its PA 6 business in the injection molding application market.
The acquisition establishes a complementary relationship in the PA6 business, and also enables Ube to acquire Repol's composite technology and development capabilities for non-PA resin products. In addition, with the tightening of environmental protection regulations for plastic packaging materials, Repol's recycling technology is expected to become an important asset for future business development.
UCE operates an existing compounding plant, and through the acquisition, Ube has acquired an additional operating base in Europe, which is a world leader in the use of lightweight automotive plastics. Ube will also seek synergies with its existing manufacturing operations in Japan and Thailand. This will further accelerate the development of the company's composite business, injection molding applications in the automotive industry and other industries, not only in Europe, but also in trans-Atlantic regions and Asia.