Air Products Will Sell Adhesives Line To Ashland

Continuing to slim its chemical operations, Air Products & Chemicals has agreed to sell its business in pressure-sensitive adhesives and nonpressure emulsions to Ashland for $92 million.

The business includes plants in Elkton, Md., and Piedmont, S.C., and had sales last year of $126 million, mainly in North America. It was formerly part of a joint venture with Wacker Chemie; earlier this year, Air Products sold most of its share in the venture to Wacker for $265 million.

Air Products has been selling off chemical businesses to focus on industrial gases and high-tech materials for the electronics industry. In early January, the company sold its high-purity chemicals business to KMG Chemicals for $75 million.

For its part, Ashland says the business fits with its plan to expand in the resins field. "This transaction positions Ashland as a top-tier pressure-sensitive adhesives manufacturer," says Marcello Boldrini, vice president of Ashland's performance materials unit.

According to Boldrini, Air Products' water-based emulsion technology complements existing Ashland solution technology and the ultraviolet/electron-beam cure technology it acquired from Northwest Coatings a year ago.