INEOS & MSM Poly Announce MOU for Barex Production Support
- Published: July 19, 2016
Rolle, Switzerland | INEOS Barex AG, INEOS Barex USA LLC, and MSM Poly LLC announced on July 15, 2016, that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the potential sale of intellectual property (IP) and production support related to the Barex product line. The non-binding agreement would allow for MSM to purchase all existing IP from INEOS as well as specific physical assets, commercial/operational support and a supply of Barex resin.
Paul Overment, CEO of INEOS Barex said, “This MOU allows both groups to move forward in the process while providing some assurance to current Barex users that the brand could be made available post the exit of INEOS.” Barex resins have been produced by INEOS since 2005 following its acquisition of the Innovene business from BP. No further details have been released; however, both parties are working towards completion of the transaction sometime in Q3 of 2016.
Patrick Mickle, CEO of MSM Poly indicated that “a core group of pharma packaging and other companies approached us through the consultancy Montesino Associates to seek an alternate, ongoing supply of acrylonitrile methyl acrylate copolymer latex (AMAC) following INEOS’ announcement in late 2014 of their plans to discontinue production of their AMAC formulation marketed under the trade name of Barex. We formed for that purpose and are moving rapidly to commercial production.”
INEOS is a global manufacturer of petrochemicals, specialty chemicals, and oil products and comprises 18 businesses with over 65 manufacturing sites in 16 countries. INEOS Barex AG, a Swiss-based company, is wholly owned by INEOS and is the parent of INEOS Barex USA LLC, which currently manages the Barex production site. INEOS Barex AG announced closure of the Barex business on October 28, 2014 but has continued to operate in an effort to meet guaranteed production volume for contracted customers. It is expected the production period will conclude in Q3 of 2016 followed by dismantling of the physical assets. INEOS operates two additional businesses at the Lima, OH, manufacturing site both of which are unaffected by this closure.
MSM POLY, a newly formed Delaware LLC, was created for the express purpose of producing (AMAC) for the global packaging industry. MSM POLY is financed and led by Patrick Mickle, who in 1982 created and led Kelcourt Plastics, Inc., a leading supplier of custom extrusions to the medical device industry. MSM POLY is working with Tiarco Chemical at their Greenville, SC, facility, which is claimed very experienced in producing latex additives and compounds. Tiarco Chemical is a wholly owned subs. of Textile Rubber & Chemical, Inc. Tiarco Chemical is a basic chemical manufacturer supporting four key segments of the chemical industry: latex additives, process water & wastewater treatment polymers, grease & lubricant additives, and contract manufactured chemicals. MSM Poly and Tiarco Chemical are in negotiation for long term production of AMAC at the Greenville facility in parallel with current development efforts there.
In considering the significance of this news to converters, PFFC's Thomas Bezigian, polymers expert and author of his "Poly Ploys" blog, comments: "The announcement that MSM is buying Barex resin intellectual property from Ineos Barex will bring a big sigh of relief to those who relied on the resin for its outstanding chemical resistance properties. Barex polyacrylonitrile-methyl methacrylate-butyl rubber polymer is able to contain the most aggressive chemicals for years. There are several major companies that are desperately searching for a Barex replacement that simply cannot find a suitable alternative, which in turn means that they are unable to supply the marketplace with their products. This is good news for the high barrier industry."
