May 14, 2012 - Prime Polymer Co., Ltd. announced today that it has acquired a 70% equity interest in Brazilian compound company Produmaster Indústria e Comércio Ltda. and established the new company based on Produmaster which was renamed as Produmaster Advanced Composites Indústria e Comércio de Compostos Plásticos Ltda.

In its 2011 Mid-Term Business Plan, Prime Polymer positioned the automotive use polypropylene (PP) business as a growth business in which it would seek to become a world leader, and has strived to achieve early business expansion in various regions. In particular, Prime Polymer sees the strengthening of its business in the South American market, which is expected to experience high growth, as one of its key strategic challenges.

For its part, Produmaster is Brazil's third-largest compound manufacturing and sales company, and has built up a track record in the automotive use PP business for more than a decade. Produmaster supplies products to major auto makers through two sites (55,000tons/annual production capacity), its head office and production facilities located in Mauá, São Paulo, where many auto makers are located, and its 50%-owned subsidiary Produmaster do Nordeste Ltda., located in Camaçari in the northeastern state of Bahia.

The establishment of the new company will produce a synergy effect between Produmaster's business expertise across both regions and Prime Polymer's proprietary technologies. In this way, Prime Polymer will seek to enhance its presence in the South American market and further strengthen and expand its automotive use PP business.

Source: Mitsui Chem