Portuguese Respol Group acquires Forchem
Funds managed by MB Funds and other Forchem Oy shareholders have sold the entire share capital of the company to the Portuguese Respol Group.
Forchem’s new owner is the Portuguese family-owned business Respol Group, whose annual turnover totals approximately €200 million. The company’s industrial operations are focused on Respol Resinas, S.A., established in 1993, which is one of the leading rosin upgraders in Europe. Respol has been Forchem’s customer throughout the existence of the company.
Through the acquisition of Forchem, Respol’s strategy is to make the entire rosin upgrading capacity supply chain more efficient, diversify into new product areas and expand its customer base, especially in Northern Europe. With the acquisition, Respol’s position as one of the leading suppliers of renewable and sustainable rosins will strengthen considerably.
Forchem Oy is an industry leader, with the most modern biorefinery in Europe, processing tall oil for upgrading special chemical industry products, biofuels for energy production and raw material for traffic fuels.
Of the company’s products, rosin is used as raw material in adhesives and tackifyers (glues) , fatty acids as raw materials of e.g. paints, coatings and detergents, and the by- product tall-oil pitch is used as biofuel and raw material for biodiesel. The company’s customers include several leading companies in the chemical, energy and wood processing industries in almost all European countries. Forchem’s turnover totalled approximately €130 million in 2012.
Forchem was established in 2002. Its production plant is located in Rauma, Finland, and its annual distillation capacity is approximately 175,000 tonnes. The company has recently commissioned a €13 million strategic investment to improve product quality and increase its production capacity. The new tall rosin additional distillation column increases the quality of the rosin to a level that meets the demand in the most rapidly growing market segments, such as adhesives and glues. A new heating boiler increases the operational reliability of the process and facilitates increasing the production capacity in the future. Forchem generates all of the energy required in the process using fully renewable energy sources from the by-products of its production.
“We are pleased that with Respol, Forchem now has an owner with industrial logic in the arrangement that can further develop Forchem’s operations in the future. I believe that Forchem’s operations in Rauma will expand from the present level,” says Risto Näsi, C.E.O. of Forchem.
Forchem Oy will continue operations and provide goods and services to its customers and suppliers as before.
The parties to the transaction have agreed not to publish the sale price.
Share on social media