Wesel, Germany -- Elantas Electrical Insulation has expanded its position in electronic and engineering materials, initially by buying a business making polyurethane and epoxy and systems for casting, potting and encapsulating from the Indian company Shimo Resins Private Ltd.
Elantas, a division of the speciality chemicals Group Altana, announced the deal at the "productronica 2009" trade fair in Munich, along with a more recent purchase in the last few days of certain assets of the formulated products business of US business, Quadrant Chemical Corp.
In future, Elantas said, it is going to strongly focus its research activities in this area, which offers "excellent growth potential" due to increasing use of electronics and automation in all areas of life.
Electronic and engineering materials encapsulate electrical components, such as complete circuits or circuit boards, with insulating resins to protect them from all kinds of environmental influences .
The deal in India was carried out in September 2009, with Elanta acquiring a business with sales of about Euro 2.0 million ($3 million), with activities in the regional markets of India and South Asia.
The business bought from Quadrant posted sales of $4.7 million in 2008 and supplies OEM companies in the automotive, aerospace, electrical/electronics, and transport markets around the world, with emphasis on the NAFTA and European markets, said Eltana.
The German group will integrate the new units into its existing activities, "expanding our strategic positioning," and growing the business's global potential, said Dr Wolfgang Schutt, president of Elantas.
"Alongside our traditional business lines -- primary and secondary insulation -- we will increasingly turn our attention to ... Electronic & Engineering Materials, since this segment still holds a significant growth potential," Schutt continued.
Schutt also emphasised that Elanta would increase its research and development focus. As an example, he referred to printed electronics -- printed circuits that could be used, among others, for tags for RFID (radio frequency identification devices) in the future.
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