DuPont Protective Coatings has agreed to sell its Protective Coatings product lines and related assets to the Switzerland-based Sika group. DuPont Pro­tective Coatings develops, produces and sells products designed to protect concrete, steel and other materials from corrosion, water, fire and environmental forces. In addition to products sold under the brands Unitherm, Permacor, Epiter, Asplit and Betonol, Sika will acquire the DuPont manufacturing site at Vaihingen, Germany, where the coatings are made. Sika will employ approximately 150 DuPont Protective Coatings employees, primarily locted at Vaihingen.
“The Protective Coatings portfolio features an excellent product line, but it no longer presents a strategic fit for DuPont,” said Terry Caloghiris, group vice president, DuPont Coatings & Color Technologies. “Since Sika specializes in these kind of products, it offers a strong future for the business and its employees.
DuPont has also agreed to sell its Special Adhesives business to Bostik GmbH, based in Borgholzhausen, Germany.
“We looked for synergies within DuPont that would allow this business to deliver the financial results to which we have committed for our entire portfolio, but a viable option was not identified,” said Caloghiris.
Under the sale agreement, DuPont will continue to produce adhesives for Bostik until its own manufacturing facilities are established.
These divestitures are part of the transformation strategy announced by DuPont Performance Coatings in March 2006. The strategy is designed to allow the unit to focus more effectively on global growth in refinish, automotive OEM, transporation, powder and liquid coatings for industrial markets, according to the company.