#casting moulding

project TANKER - LOTUS, commercial

special effect tools; making moulds from original pieces, casting them in resin, finishing it with an old warn-out look

Toneelhuis - FC-Bergman - Land NOD

project ZONE BLANCHE

Icelandic-owned plastics processor Promens has sold off four French businesses designing and producing mainly passenger car components to the US industrial turnaround specialist American Industrial Acquisition Corporation (AIAC).

Operations involved include technical part injection moulders Promens Villefranche in Villefranche-sur-Sa?ne;  Promens Vendée of Les Herbiers and Promens Charlieu in Charlieu, France as well as CD Plast, a designer and developer of industrial products based in La Roche-sur-Yon.

The disposals, for an undisclosed sum which took effect on 1 April, resulted from the Promens group’s strategic decision “to refocus its vehicles segment”.

“These operations are well-established businesses with a strong customer base; however, they are not aligned with Promens’ growth strategy and therefore we believe they will have a better future with AIAC," said its president and chief executive Jakob Sigurdsson in a statement.

The Villefranche plant, which also serves the electronics sector, has 48 injection machines ranging from 25 to 650 tonnes and offers technologies including thermoset casting moulding, insert moulding and in mould decoration.

Promens Vendée unit operates 36 injection machines with a clamping force range of 50-1,000 tonnes and offers overmoulding and two component moulding. At Charlieu, the plant has 33 injection machines, those for thermoplastics with a clamping force from 25–250 tonnes and those moulding thermosets ranging from 65–165 tonnes.

Earlier this year, Promens, based in Kopavogur, Iceland, signed up for a five year €170m revolving credit facility arranged by Sweden’s Nordea Bank and DNB Nor, Norway’s leading financial services group.

In parallel, another €6m credit facility was signed with the plastics group’s key bank in Iceland, Landsbankinn, replacing similar facilities maturing in December 2011 and February 2012. 

The credit agreements “illustrate the positive expectations the financial and investment community has for Promens”, the group’s CEO said at the time.

“We have made good progress towards strengthening our operations in the past year. We have seen a great turnaround since the recession in 2008 and 2009, and 2011 has been a good year for us,” he stated.

AIAC, based in New York, has a portfolio of 35 manufacturing plants employing 5,322 in 12 countries in Europe, Asia and North America. It has bought and turned round troubled industrial units from groups such as Boeing, Siemens, Kodak and Lockheed Martin. Its companies include US prototyping and injection moulding firm Arnprior Rapid Manufacturing Solutions of New York and Flextraco, a composit hose and hose assembly maker of Bleiswijk, the Netherlands.