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Aug 10, 2023

Bakelite Synthetics buys LRBG Chemicals

Specialty resin maker Bakelite Synthetics has acquired LRBG Chemicals Inc. for an undisclosed price. The acquisition "allows Bakelite to expand its footprint into Canada and to better serve the

Specialty resin maker Bakelite Synthetics has acquired LRBG Chemicals Inc. for an undisclosed price.

The acquisition "allows Bakelite to expand its footprint into Canada and to better serve the northeastern regions of Canada and the U.S.," J.P. Aucoin, president and CEO of Atlanta-based Bakelite Synthetics, said in a new release.

LRBG is a specialty resin maker based in Longueuil, Quebec, near Montreal. The firm's materials are used in a wide variety of applications in the building and construction, transportation, industrial and chemical intermediate markets. Its products include melamine and urea powders and phenolic liquids.

Officials said the 86-year-old firm "is closely aligned to the Bakelite Synthetics business model." In addition to Langueil, LRBG operates a plant in Toledo, Ohio.

The combined Bakelite/LRBG will employ about 1,500 at 21 plants worldwide. The transaction is expected to close in August. Bakelite's product mix includes thermoset phenolics, melamine and urea and engineered thermoset molding compounds.

Bakelite, an iconic plastics material, was included in a $425 million deal between thermoset resins maker Hexion Inc. and two financial firms in 2020. Columbus, Ohio-based Hexion sold its phenolic specialty resin unit – including Bakelite – and two other businesses to Black Diamond of Greenwich, Conn., and Investindustrial of London.

Bakelite, the first man-made thermosetting plastic, was synthesized by Leo Baekeland in 1907.

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