By David Reed, UT EditorWesel, Germany-Two of the world's leading release agent suppliers are combining forces, in a move which will see an organisation of almost 1000 people active in the business-part of which is concerned with release agents for the polyurethanes industry.Acmos Chemie KG, Bremen, Germany-based maker and supplier of release agents for a variety of industries, is to combine forces with BYK-Chemie GmbH of Wesel, Germany, to develop new release agent technologies. Under the deal, announced 26 Aug., Acmos will market the new products globally, with BYK-Chemie being responsible for their manufacture.About 85 percent of BYK-Chemie's products are exported across Europe and into the US and Asia, the statement indicated, while Acmos has a global sales organisation with subsidiaries in France, the United Kingdom, the US and Brazil.Materials for the polyurethanes sector are part of the portfolios of both firms, both of which have been involved in the release agents business since the 1960s.BYK-Chemie, a subsidiary of the Altana Chemie AG group based in Wesel, employs over 880 people worldwide, making a variety of chemical additives for various processing industries including coatings, inks and plastics. Acmos is a privately owned firm with about 100 employees making, developing and selling a wide ange of barrier-layer products for diverse industries including metalworking and plastics. Acmos recently expanded its facilities in Bremen to give it over 10,000m2 of laboratory, production and administration space. The firm supplies more than 1000 products designed tohelp wherever contact between two materials must be prevented or minimised."
