| Lion Copolymer
is a leader in the manufacture of synthetic rubber with a
solid reputation for quality products and services. Established in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1943, the company and its employees have successfully met the changing needs of its customers for over fifty-seven years. Originally known as the Copolymer Corporation, a group of seven medium-sized rubber and tire companies joined forces to operate one of the U.S. government's Rubber Reserve plants. With the onset of World War II, America was in imminent danger of losing its supply of natural rubber. These government plants were established to reach and develop a process for manufacturing synthetic rubber. The program was so successful that in 1955, when the U.S. government decided to sell these operations to private industry, the Copolymer Corporation purchased the Baton Rouge plant and began private operation. The name was changed at the time to Copolymer Rubber and Chemical Corporation and by 1983 Armstrong Rubber Company had become the sole owner. In March 1989 Copolymer became a subsidiary of DSM, an international group of industrial companies headquartered at Heerlen, The Netherlands. On November 1, 2005 DSM Copolymer became Lion Copolymer LLC and will continue to be headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Baton Rouge facility manufactures synthetic rubber: Styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR). |
PolyOne Completes Sale of Elastomers & Performance Additives Business → Excel Polymers
Excel Polymers and Mitsui Announce Joint Venture in China
Lion Closes on DSM Rubber Business
Lion Chemical to buy Chemtura's rubber chemical, EPDM businesses
2005/11/2 Lion DSM sells styrene-butadiene rubber business to Lion Chemical Capital LLC
Lion Closes on DSM Rubber Business
The closing on the DSM Copolymer SBR (Styrene Butadiene Rubber) business sale to Lion Chemical Capital, LLC took place on October 31, 2005. The new company will be called Lion Copolymer, LLC and continues to be headquartered in Baton Rouge, La. SBR is used primarily in the tire industry as well as applications for industrial uses such as belts, hoses and gaskets.
Lion Copolymer will be one of the largest SBR producers in the US with revenues over $200 million. Lion Chemical Capital Managing Director, Peter De Leeuw, said: "our intention is to be the premier supplier to our customers by emphasizing quality, reliability and focusing on meeting customer needs. We have an outstanding employee base from which to build a high performing company."
Paul Saunders, the incoming President of Lion Copolymer said: "we look forward to building a strong and growing company.. An early top priority will be to promote a safe and environmentally responsible workplace".
In 2004, Lion acquired the largest independent rubber compounding business in North America from PolyOne Corporation. The business, Excel Polymers, has over $400 million in revenues and includes eight plants located in the US, Mexico, U.K. and China. Excel Polymers provides effective solutions to both high volume and the most challenging technical rubber applications. The businesses will be operated as independent operations.
Lion Chemical Capital is a private equity firm focused on investing in undervalued businesses operating in the chemical and related industries. Lion leverages its founders' extensive experience in the chemical industry, executive management, private equity and investment banking. Target investments are highly selective and possess key attributes such as market and technological leadership and strong management.
Chemtura Announces Lion Chemical Capital as Buyer in Expected Sale of EPDM and Certain Rubber Chemicals Businesses
Chemtura Corporation announced that Lion Chemical Capital, LLC is the potential buyer of the company’s EPDM business and the Rubber Chemicals businesses associated with Geismar, Louisiana as well as FlexzoneR antiozonants worldwide. The letter of intent was signed and announced Nov. 2. The companies expect that a definitive agreement will be completed by year-end.
Lion plans to merge the two businesses into its existing Lion Copolymer sector, located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Lion Chemical Capital
Lion Chemical Capital is a private equity firm focused on
investing in premier businesses operating in the chemical and
related industries. Lion leverages its founders' extensive
experience in the chemical industry, executive management,
private equity and investment banking. Target investments are
highly selective and possess key attributes such as market and
technological leadership and strong management.
2006/12/5
Excel Polymers and Mitsui Announce Joint Venture
Excel Polymers LLC of the United States and Mitsui and Co.,
Ltd., of
Japan have agreed to form a joint venture for the production of rubber compounds in southern China. The joint
venture will be owned 61 percent by Excel Polymers and
39 percent by Mitsui. The company will operate under the
Excel name as EXLP Global (Foshan) Co., Ltd., and will be located in the
Shunde Science and Technology Industrial Park in Guangdong
Province of the People’s Republic of China. 広東省順徳
The operation will be about 40 kilometers south of Guangzhou and
about 100 kilometers northwest of Hong Kong.
This new, green field facility is expected to be completed and
begin production by the beginning of 2008. It will utilize the proprietary
state-of-the-art Spectrum/Prism(R) production and process control
technologies developed by Excel Polymers. There will be two lines
operating initially, with capacity for more than 50 million pounds per year for production of a wide
variety of natural and synthetic rubber compounds. These
compounds are converted by customers to produce products for the
automotive, printing, industrial and consumer markets in China
and the Asian region. Excel also has a wholly owned operation in
Shanghai, which was recently expanded.
John Quinn, president and CEO of Excel, stated, “This new venture will allow us to
continue to support the needs of our customers globally by
providing a world-class facility in this rapidly growing region.
We are delighted to have Mitsui as a partner in this new company.
Mitsui brings a wealth of experience in serving the regional
supply chain with a broad basket of polymers and chemicals. We
are very excited about our potential growth in Asia.”
Quinn also pointed out the extraordinary cooperation and support
provided by the team at the Shunde Science and Technology
Industrial Park in Guangdong Province.
Excel Polymers is the world’s leading provider of customized,
high-performance compounded elastomer materials, roll compounds
and efficiency-improving additives.
End-use markets include transportation, consumer goods,
industrial, construction, oil and gas, and roller markets.