Argotec LLC Acquires Stevens Urethane


GREENFIELD, MA – Argotec, LLC, of Greenfield, Massachusetts USA, a leading producer of high performance thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) film and sheet for the international specialty films industry, today announced that the company had acquired Stevens Urethane, of Easthampton, Massachusetts. The purchase of the company is effective May 1, 2014.



Argotec president and CEO, Guy Broadbent, stated, “The two companies are an ideal fit. Our specialty is aliphatic polyurethane film and sheet. Stevens is very good at extruding aromatic TPU film and sheet.” He added that once the two companies are fully integrated, Argotec will have the necessary technical and manufacturing resources to meet the rapidly increasing global demand for both these difficult-to-extrude products.



Mr. Broadbent indicated that Stevens’ customers can feel secure in the knowledge that their application challenges will be met by a firm that is a technological leader in the polyurethane film industry and which will continue to include many of the same talented people they have been comfortable working with over the years. He concluded, “Argotec’s ownership will ensure that capital is available for continued plant expansion, organizational development, further improvements in product quality, and the ongoing innovation that is demanded by the industries we serve.”



About Stevens Urethane

Like Argotec, Stevens Urethane is a manufacturer of TPU film and sheet, as well as urethane tubing, cord and profiles. Stevens Urethane was a business unit of JPS Elastomerics Corp., which traces its history back to 1863, when the Easthampton Rubber Thread Company was founded to manufacture square-cut rubber thread for the textile industry. In 1927, ERT was acquired by United Elastics Corp., and in 1968 by J.P. Stevens Co., Inc. A 1988 buyout of J.P. Stevens resulted in the sale of the company’s industrial divisions, including Stevens Elastomerics (now JPS Elastomerics) to private investors. Today, JPS Elastomerics Corp. is a division of JPS Industries based in Greenville, South Carolina.



About Argotec LLC

Argotec is a manufacturer of custom engineered, high-performance, polyurethane film and sheet for a wide variety of critical applications. In addition to flat-die, cast-on-carrier and blown-film-extrusion technologies, the company has expertise in resin formulation, substrate design, extrusion coating, and multi-layer constructions. Argotec provides TPU film and sheet products globally to the international specialty films market, including optical interlayers, paint and surface protection, graphic films, as well as films for medical and textile lamination applications. Their primary audiences include adhesive coaters, plastics converters and fabricators, as well as OEM’s. A private company founded in 1988, Argotec was purchased in 2013 by private equity investment firm Wind Point Partners as a new platform company for the group in partnership with Guy Broadbent who joined the company as president and CEO. Further information about Argotec and its products may be obtained at www.argotec.com.



Media contacts:

Carl Sittard

Argotec LLC

csittard@argotec.com



Rob Nicoll

Nicoll Marketing Communications

rpnicoll@verizon.net

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