Akzo Nobel Coatings has sold its French industrial resins business to Spanish company Derivados Forestales S.A. All 36 employees have transferred to the new business. Trading under the name Casco Industries SnC., Akzo Nobel’s resins operations in France manufactured formaldehyde and resins at the facility in Ambarés. Most of its customers were in the French particle board industry. The business had sales of E17 million in 2003.
Casco’s wood adhesives operations in France were not included in the sale. Casco Adhesives will take over the Derivados group’s wood adhesives customers in Spain and Portugal. In turn, the Derivados group will be a toll producer of wood adhesives for Casco Adhesives.
“The industrial resins operations in France had become strategically distanced from our coatings portfolio,” said Rudy van der Meer, member of Akzo Nobel’s board of management responsible for coatings. “This deal ensures the continued expansion of the Ambarés operation under an owner who is looking to grow the business, while at the same time strengthening the position of our wood adhesives sector in southern Europe.”