Northfield, Illinois - Stepan has completed the purchase of Bayer Material Science's polyester business in North America and will start debottlenecking the ex-Bayer site at Columbus, Georgia site on three of five reactors, Stepan said in a press release.
The Columbus, Georgia facility is designed to allow seven more reactors. A project to add a sixth reactor to expand the site's capacity and capabilities has also begun, said Stepan.
The Columbus facility will become the lead plant for Stepan's CASE - Coatings, Adhesives, Sealants, and Elastomers - polyester polyol business in North America, said the firm.
Stepan has bought the powder resins and liquid polyester polyols sold by Bayer as Rucote and Desmophen brands. As part of the deal, Stepan said it bought the Rucote brand but Desmophen materials will be renamed as Stepanpol while retaining the same alphanumeric Desmophen designations.
Customers for the acquired businesses should continue to place orders and contact Bayer for customer service until 1 September, when these functions will taken over by Stepan.
