TenCate announced at last week’s JEC  show that it has reached an agreement for the strategic acquisition of Performance Materials Corporation Baycomp from Camarillo (California), the US and Canadian producer of composite materials moulding and thermoplastic unidirectional tape materials.

No financial details were provided but TenCate said it expects the purchase of Performance Materials Corporation Baycomp to be completed this week.

As a result of its global market base and presence in high-end composite markets, TenCate intends to expand the revenue potential of Performance Materials Corporation Baycomp (PMC Baycomp) in the near term, especially in its rapidly growing new market opportunities, such as the oil and gas sector and the mobility sector.

TenCate says PMC Baycomp’s technology is one of the critical entry keys to new high volume markets for affordable composite materials and is a strategically significant acquisition.

Sufficient capacity is said to exist at PMC Baycomp to support its near term growth, and at the same time TenCate will also start production of similar unidirectional (UD) tape materials in Europe, in order to prepare itself for new market opportunities in European industrial markets.

 The acquired company is the result of a merger between PMC and Baycomp, founded by Saint Gobain in 1985. PMC produces moulded parts and components from thermoplastic composite materials for a wide range of applications including medical, sporting goods, transportation, automotive and electronics.

Baycomp is one of the very few specialized manufacturers of thermoplastic UD-tape materials and its materials are especially suitable for applications in the automotive sector, oil and gas industry and other high-end industrial applications. Besides the manufacturing facilities in the US and Canada, PMC Baycomp has a representative office and R&D capability in Taiwan and a manufacturing (moulding) facility in China.

 Thermoplastic high performance materials

“TenCate is leading in thermoplastic composites for applications in the aerospace industry. The need for economical thermoplastic high performance composite materials outside these areas is rapidly expanding. This acquisition will broaden the activity base of TenCate in composite materials, especially in industrial applications such as the automotive sector and in the oil and gas industry,” said Dave Clarke, Group Director TenCate Advanced Composites.

“The great advantage of thermoplastics is that their rapid processing enables industries to use these materials in high volume industrial manufacturing processes, wherein they can provide large cost benefits. With rising oil prices and CO2 emission restrictions, the automotive industry has a need to use these types of materials in their new generation vehicles. TenCate is well equipped to support this development, as we've already demonstrated in the aerospace industry for the last two decades,” Mr Clarke added.