Charlotte-based DAK Americas LLC — a manufacturer of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin,
polyester staple fiber, terephthalic acid and purified terephthalic acid monomers, and specialty
polymers; and a subsidiary of Mexico-based conglomerate Alfa S.A.B. de C.V. — has agreed to acquire
the PET resin business of Wellman Inc., Bay St. Louis, Miss., for approximately $185 million
including cash and the assumption of certain liabilities. The acquisition includes Wellman’s PET
resin manufacturing facilities in Bay St. Louis, which produce some 950 million pounds of PET resin
annually and employ some 165 workers.
The Wellman transaction comes on the heals of DAK’s acquisition earlier this year of
Kingsport, Tenn.-based Eastman Chemical Co.’s PET and purified terephthalic acid (PTA) business and
the related Performance Polymers assets and technology
(See ”
DAK
Americas Completes Acquisition Of Eastman’s PET, PTA Business,” www.
TextileWorld.com, February 9, 2011). That acquisition increased DAK’s PET
resin production capacity to more than 3.3 billion pounds annually from its PET operations in the
United States, Mexico and Argentina. The addition of the Bay St. Louis capacity will bring DAK’s
total annual PET resin capacity to about 4.3 billion pounds, and its share of capacity in the North
America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) region to some 37 to 39 percent — making DAK one of the
leading regional producers of PET resin, according to Ricky Lane, DAK’s director of corporate
communications.
DAK has begun the process with the appropriate regulatory agencies to receive approval for
the acquisition and expects to close the transaction in the second half of this year. The Bay St.
Louis plant produces PET resin for use in bottles and other container applications, and Lane said
DAK plans to continue the operation as is, with no plans for consolidation or other changes.
June 21, 2011
