Ascend Acquires California Plastics Recycler
US nylon giant Ascend Performance Materials has acquired an undisclosed majority stake in compatriot Circular Polymers, a recycler of post-consumer high-performance polymers including PA 6 and 6.6, polypropylene and PET.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The California-based recycler founded in 2018 has been renamed Circular Polymers by Ascend. The company that reclaims and processes post-consumer carpeting, using what it says is a unique technology, has annual capacity to process 15,000 of nylon carpeting from post-consumer waste.
Ascend said the deal provides it with a consistent supply of high-quality PCR materials for the sustainable formulation of its ReDefyne-brand polyamides, which it launched at the recently concluded K 2022 international plastics exhibition in Düsseldorf, Germany.
David Bender, founder and CEO of Circular Polymers, will hold the unspecified remaining equity and will continue to lead the company as CEO. Having Ascend on board he said, will accelerate its growth and ensure that the waste materials go back into new long-term, high-performance applications.
By its own account, since its creation six years ago, the California firm has recycled 40,000 t/y of waste from landfills into new goods.
Ascend CEO Phil McDivitt, commenting on the acquisition, said demand for the ReDefyne circular products has been significant across all segments of business, including automotive, consumer, electronics and high-performance fibers and textiles.
Author: Dede Williams, Freelance Journalist
