Born to Be a Teacher

July 15, 2019 The Rubber Industry’s International Newspaper $99 per year. $4.50 per copy Born to be a teacher Charles Goodyear Medalist Quirk combines academia and industry By Bruce Meyer spend all his time in the classroom and Rubber & Plastics News Staff laboratories. He made sure his research INDEPENDENCE, Ohio—Roderic Quirk and—therefore that of his students—had knew he wanted to be a teacher as early as a grounding in practical applications in he can remember. industry. After all, it was his teachers that he most And as one of the most relevant authori- admired and respected growing up. “Plus, I ties in the field of anionic polymerization, always had a thirst for learning,” said the Quirk was named the 2019 recipient of the professor emeritus at the University ACS Rubber Division’s Charles Goodyear of Akron. “I loved to study and Medal, the highest honor awarded learn new things.” by the Akron-based technical asso- He recalls how the instructor ciation. Quirk received the medal for his first freshman chemis- during the Rubber Division’s re- try class just loved what cent Spring Technical Meeting Quirk called “real chemistry.” in Independence. “I loved chemistry, “He’d talk about cold tar Quirk’s research in anionic po- I loved the lab and chemistry. Acetylene chemis- lymerization used alkyllithium try. How it was made and manu- initiators in hydrocarbon solution, it just kind of fell factured, and how sulfuric acid technology used to make butadiene, into place.” was made,” Quirk said. “I just found it isoprene and styrene homo and block fascinating.” copolymers, solution SBR, polyisoprene, Roderic Quirk Of course, in a career that has spanned polybutadiene and its hydrogenated deriva- more than a half-century, Quirk didn’t See Medalist, page 19 Suppliers joining forces Hexpol buys Preferred, merging Synergies bring chemical firms N.A.’s biggest custom mixers Synthomer, Omnova together By Bruce Meyer tion was completed July 1 on a cash and By Miles Moore year after the acquisition is completed. Rubber & Plastics News Staff debt-free basis, and was funded by a Rubber & Plastics News Staff “For our investors, the transaction hits the MALMO, Sweden—Hexpol Group, the combination of cash, existing bank facil- LONDON—Synthomer P.L.C., a United sweet spot in respect to size and strategic world’s largest rubber com- ities and a new credit facility. Kingdom-based manufacturer of elasto- alignment, supported by a conservative- pounder, is getting even bigger “Preferred Compounding has mers and specialty chemicals, is acquiring ly financed approach,” MacLean said. as it has closed a deal to pur- a legacy of technical excellence Beachwood, Ohio-headquartered Omnova Omnova has about 1,900 employees chase Preferred Compounding with a product suite of over Solutions Inc. for $10.15 per share. with 13 manufacturing facilities across Corp. from private equity firm 7,500 compounds designed for In announcing the acquisition North America, Europe and Asia, Audax Group in a deal worth the most critical applications,” July 3, Synthomer said strong eight of which are in the U.S., as $232 million. Tracy Garrison, president of synergy potential, a natural well as sales representatives in Copley, Ohio-based Preferred Hexpol Compounding Ameri- strategic fit and an extended more than 90 countries, accord- was the No. 2 compounder in cas, said in a statement. “Fur- geographic footprint dictated ing to Synthomer. North America, trailing only ther, approximately 70 percent the deal. Omnova is a manufacturer of Hexpol, and posted 2018 sales of of the compounds are derived “Omnova has been on our ra- polymers, dispersions and elasto- about $240 million, according to a Picard from proprietary or enhanced dar for several years,” Syntho- mers, giving it a strong alignment news release from Hexpol Group. co-developments serviced by high- mer CEO Calum MacLean said with Synthomer, MacLean said. Preferred employs about 540 and has six ly strategic relationships.” in a webcast announcing the Sixty percent of Omnova’s sales factories, five in the U.S. and one in Mexico. Garrison added that the purchase acquisition. “We have been pa- are in North America, and the At Malmo-based Hexpol, compound- leverages Hexpol’s global supply chain tient in waiting for the right Noonan acquisition will give Synthomer a ing revenues accounted for $1.46 billion and provides the firm with added capa- time and price to acquire it.” much greater presence in the re- of the firm’s $1.58 billion in 2018 sales. bilities, application technology and cus- In a press release, Synthomer valued gion, as well as its first manufacturing The compounding unit did 63 percent of tomer base. the purchase of Omnova’s outstanding presence in China, he said. its business in the Americas, 33 percent Preferred Compounding supplies rub- shares at $473 million with an implied Synthomer’s key activities include in Europe and 4 percent in Asia, accord- ber compounds to such markets as gen- enterprise value of about $824 million, aqueous dispersions, both acrylic and ing to data in Hexpol’s annual report. eral industry, automotive, power and based on current exchange rates. vinyl; performance elastomers including The business area employs about 3,200 infrastructure. Synthomer also estimated the target NB rubber latex, SB rubber latex and worldwide, the report said. Further, Preferred will help Hexpol run-rate pre-tax cost synergies of $29.6 high-solids SB rubber; and industrial Hexpol said the $232 million acquisi- See Hexpol, page 22 million annually by the end of the third See Synergies, page 22 ©Entire contents copyright 2019 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved. CREATING TOMORROW’S SOLUTIONS SILMIX SILMIX® custom silicone compounds are the preferred materials when your cable application requires a high standard of electrical, mechanical and safety properties. Our compounds for fire safety cables help maintain circuit integrity where other materials may be unable to withstand exposure to fire and very high temperatures. SILMIX® delivers. • Ceramifying silicones that act as insulators up to a temperature of 1,100 °C • Forms a hard ceramic protective layer • Cables made with SILMIX® compounds are highly flexible and install quickly and easily • Short lead times • No minimum order quantity Manufacturing cables using SILMIX® custom silicone compounds o er processing benefits: • Ready-to-use compounds, preformed to fit your process, no mixing necessary • High-speed extrusion It pays to get connected. Speak with our technical experts about WACKER’s fire safety cable solutions TODAY. Wacker Chemical Corporation, SILMIX® Tel: +1 833 4 SILMIX, www.silmix.com, [email protected] @wackerchemcorp www.rubbernews.com Rubber & Plastics News • July 15, 2019 3 Goodyear plans to expand Fayetteville tire facility Kaman to sell distribution unit By Kyle Brown FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.—Goodyear is plan- Rubber & Plastics News Staff ning to expand capacity for larger rim-di- BLOOMFIELD, Conn.—Kaman ameter passenger tires at its 50-year-old Corp. will sell its distribution seg- Deal details Fayetteville plant following the approval ment to affiliates of Littlejohn & Co. Includes Kaman’s distribution business. of a 10-year jobs incentive package by L.L.C. for total cash consideration of • the North Carolina Department of Com- $700 million. • Sold for total cash consideration of $700 million. merce. The transaction, which is subject to Purchased by Littlejohn & Co. L.L.C. The incentive package, a renewal of a Job • customary closing conditions and work- Close is expected for third quarter of 2019. Maintenance and Capital Development grant, ing capital adjustments as well as regu- • is valued at $30 million, Goodyear said. latory approvals, is expected to close in • Segment generated about $1.1 billion in net revenue in 2018. These funds will be used to “modernize the third quarter of 2019, according to a • Unit distributes more than 6 million items, including belting and improve operations” at the Fayetteville Kaman news release. The deal is not and rubber fabrication, hose assemblies and components for plant, Goodyear said, including expanding subject to shareholder approval. power transmission and fluid power components, among others. capabilities to produce high-value tires The total price is worth a value of with rim diameters 17 inches and greater. 10.4 times trailing 12-month segment-adjusted EBITDA for the distri- neered products and increase its margin ing forward will remain strong as the Vibracoustic adds center bution segment, Kaman said. The profile. While diversification has its core aerospace product offerings gener- for material development segment reported GAAP operating merits, the greater opportunity for val- ate significant cash flows, Keating said. income of $12.7 million for the quar- ue creation comes from investing in “For Kaman, this transaction rep- WEINHEIM, Germany—Vibracoustic ter-to-date ending March 29 and highly engineered solutions across the resents an important milestone in our A.G. has opened a new material develop- $52.4 million for the trailing 12-month aerospace, medical device and industri- portfolio transformation and the cul- ment center at its Weinheim location. period, which also ended March 29. al markets, Keating said. mination of a thorough stra- The firm said 25 material experts will Kaman expects its remaining aero- Current market conditions tegic review undertaken by work closely with its engineering team to space segment to generate between create favorable timing for the our board of directors,” Keat- support new prototype compounds and $730 million and $760 million in rev- sale, and it provides flexibility ing said. conduct comprehensive testing. The site enue for 2019, it said. It will continue to pursue both growth oppor- The company will further spans about 23,700 square feet. Investment to design and manufacture critical tunities and increases of scale strengthen its balance sheet details were not disclosed.

Load more