US specialty polymers producer PolyOne has acquired IQAP Masterbatch Group, a Spanish supplier of specialty colorants and additives to high-growth markets such as transportation, packaging, consumer, wire & cable and textiles. Financial details were not disclosed.

“IQAP is a fantastic addition to our longstanding and growing expertise in color and additives innovation,” commented Robert Patterson, PolyOne’s chairman, president and CEO. “The end markets that IQAP serves are perfectly aligned with areas PolyOne knows very well and together we will advance the possibilities for our European customers working to meet demanding new standards for design, functionality and performance.”

The Barcelona-headquartered firm, which puts its turnover at €40 million, employs 160 people and has a total production capacity of around 15,500 t/y. IQAP has a laboratory and two manufacturing plants in Spain, including a 10,000 t/y facility in Barcelona and another in Alicante with a capacity of about 2,500 t/y. A third plant in Sezimovo Usti, Czech Republic, produces 3,000 t/y.

This latest deal follows several acquisitions made by the Ohio-based group in the past couple of years. PolyOne bought US companies Mesa Industries, Rutland Holding and Silcotec as well as Germany’s Comptek Kunststoffverarbeitung in 2017, following the purchase of Kraton’s thermoplastic elastomer assets and two composites business from Gordon Holdings in 2016.

In April 2017, PolyOne sold its Designed Structures & Solutions (DSS) unit to private equity group Arsenal Capital Partners for $115 million. The DSS business was part of Spartech, which PolyOne acquired in 2013.