SGL Group completes 100% acquisition of acrylic fiber company Fisipe

20 October 2012

Carbon-based products and materials company SGL Group has completed the acquisition of the Portuguese acrylic fiber company Fisipe—Fibras Sintéticas de Portugal S.A. Following the conclusion of the compulsory offer and squeeze-out, SGL Group now holds 100% of the shares in Fisipe. Fisipe’s listing on the Lisbon Stock Exchange has been discontinued as a result.

For organizational purposes, Fisipe’s activities are allocated to the Carbon Fibers & Composite Materials (CF / CM) Business Unit in the Carbon Fibers & Composites Business Area.

As previously announced, with this transaction, SGL Group is expanding its production network for the supply of raw materials for carbon fiber production by including an additional production facility for precursors. For precursor production, the textile fiber production lines already in place are being gradually converted and expanded. The existing production and marketing of acrylic fibers for specific textile and technical applications will be continued. Fisipe has an well-qualified workforce of more than 330, its production capacity has scope for expansion and it offers state-of-the-art R&D facilities and well-developed logistics. Due to the company’s size and own energy supply, Fisipe also stands out for its high cost efficiency, according to SGL.

With this backward integration, SGL Group—the only European integrated manufacturer of carbon fibers—is bolstering its technology base along the entire value chain, from raw materials to carbon fibers through to the finished composite.

The quality of the precursor—the carbon fiber raw material based on polyacrylonitrile fibers (PAN)—plays a significant role in both the material properties of the carbon fibers and the cost of their manufacture. Depending on the fiber bundles, a distinction can be made between heavy tow, with 24,000 filaments per fiber bundle or more (24K), and low tow, with up to 12,000 filaments per fiber bundle (12K). Standard carbon fibers for industrial use (industrial grade) are made up of fiber bundles containing 50,000 filaments (50K).