New horizons for expanded Synthos rubber group

London - Synthos has now mostly completed the integration of Trinseo’s synthetic rubber business, just eight months on from its acquisition, according to group senior officials.

Completed 1 Dec 2021, the €400-million deal added Trinseo’s styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) production site in Schkopau, Germany, with 440 employees, to Synthos’ rubber production facilities in Poland and the Czech Republic.

With the addition, Synthos’ overall synthetic rubber capacity increased to around 820 kilotonnes per annum (ktpa) – rising to 870ktpa when two new butadiene rubber (BR) projects (see below) come on stream.

The main driver for the acquisition was Synthos’ ambition to access higher-margin markets and expand its geographic footprint – as offered by Trinseo’s solution SBR (SSBR) portfolio, including functionalised grades for use particularly in high-performance tires.

“We are putting together two organisations that were strong in product ranges that were non-overlapping,” said Matteo Marchisio, director, BU synthetic rubber and tire materials, who likened the merger to “two tectonic plates” coming together.

Read the full report in the July/August issue of European Rubber Journal magazine – also available online in the Featured Content section under the Focus tab on the ERJ website homepage.