Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

US: Huntsman Corporation has announced that it has completed the acquisition of Oxid, a manufacturer and marketer of specialty urethane polyols in Houston, Texas, for an amount of up to US$75m. According to a press release, Oxid generated revenues of US$86m in 2012.

Oxid's polyols are a key component in the production of polyurethane-based insulation products. The polyols are combined with methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) in which Huntsman's Polyurethanes division is a producer to create polyurethane foam insulation. Oxid markets its product line of specialty polyols under the trademark Terol and distributes products worldwide from its manufacturing facility in Houston.

Commenting on the sale, Anthony P Hankins, President of Huntsman's Polyurethanes division, said, "We are very pleased with the acquisition of Oxid. In the past 18 months we have strengthened our downstream capabilities with the acquisition and establishment of new systems houses in Turkey, Russia and Indonesia; acquired a 20% stake in Nippon Aqua, a Japanese spray polyurethane foam insulation company; we've commissioned a new, state-of-the-art MDI splitter and downstream manufacturing unit in Rotterdam, the Netherlands; and we've invested in the expansion of our world-scale MDI manufacturing facility in Geismar, Louisiana, USA." He added that the acquisition would strengthen Huntsman's presence in insulation markets in North America and globally.