CECA, Arkema’s Specialty Chemicals business unit, has today announced the acquisition of the Italian company Winkelmann Mineraria. This company’s main activity is expanded perlite manufacture for the agro-food market, and its annual sales are of the order of € 6 M.
"This acquisition enables us to expand our filter aid range for the markets of Southern Europe and the Mediterranean Basin through perlite as well as cellulose, the latest line in our product portfolio. It will therefore further bolster our European leading ranking in the filtration markets" states Christophe Villain, CECA Managing Director.
This deal reflects CECA’s desire to boost its standing in the filtration markets for the agro-food and wine-making industry, in which perlite is widely used. Cellulose is used in particular to prepare precoat filtration prior to the perlite-based process.
Headquartered in Milan (Italy), Winkelmann Mineraria currently employs 23 people and operates two production lines at its Foggia site (Italy), one for the manufacture of perlite marketed under the tradename Randalite, and the other for the manufacture of cellulose marketed under the tradename Randacel.
Perlite is a siliceous volcanic rock which can be expanded through heating at temperatures of the order of 1000°C. This expansion process significantly increases its porosity in particular, making it an excellent fiter aid for liquids with a high concentration of solids.
|
