Greenfield, Massachusetts -- Argotec Inc., a US maker of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) film and sheet, has bought 100 percent of its joint venture Omniflex llc, as well as the firm's Transport, Vacuflex and Natural Elements brands.
The move will extend Argotec's custom-engineered, precision-extruded products, allowing it to offer a complete line of speciality film products, the company said. It also supports the company's strategy of building greater dominance in its primary markets and boosts the company's existing brands, said Greenfield-based Argotec's 15 April statement.
"This will not only open up new opportunities within our core businesses, but will better serve existing Argotec customers by making the broadest range of polyurethane films available under a single corporate umbrella," said president and ceo, Bruce Wilby, in the statement.
Omniflex specialises in waterproof and breathable films for performance clothing and footwear, and also offers thin films for automotive interior fabric laminations and foam-in-place seating. The company also make films which form an antibacterial and viral barrier for medical devices and wound care use.
Its clothing and footwear films can also be formulated with antimicrobial technology to create waterproof-breathable, odour-control textile composites with just a single film lamination.
"We have shared resources with Argotec since the joint venture was formed in 1994," said Mike Mosher, Argotec's vice president of sales. "It will be a natural transition as Omniflex personnel are blended into the Argotec team."
Privately-held Argotec claims to be the world leader in optical TPU film for security glass lamination and paint-protection film for the automotive aftermarket. Additional products include films for use in medical textiles and wound care applications, for textile lamination, advertising, sign and transport graphics, and speciality films for a wide variety of other critical applications where vinyl will not perform.
Argotec can make precision films from polyurethane and other difficult-to-extrude polymers in thicknesses ranging from 0.2 - 125 mils (0.005 - 3.175 mm), widths up to 86 inches, and lengths up to 1000 unspliced yards. The company's technologies include flat-die, cast-on-carrier, and blown-film extrusion, and it also has expertise in extrusion coating and multi-layer constructions.
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