Canada’s Superior Plus Corp. has agreed to buy International Dioxcide (IDI) from Lanxess for an undisclosed sum. IDI provides sodium chlorate-based solutions, including small-scale chlorine dioxide generation technology, for biocidal and oxidative applications in a variety of industries.

Lanxess bought IDI from DuPont spin-off Chemours for $230 million in 2016.

The Toronto-headquartered group said the purchase is a “natural evolution” as IDI has been a key customer of ERCO Worldwide, Superior’s Specialty Chemicals business, for more than 25 years.

“The acquisition of IDI enables our Specialty Chemicals business to vertically integrate its sodium chlorite production with the end-customer applications and solutions that IDI offers,” said Luc Desjardins, Superior’s president and CEO. He added that the deal is Superior’s fifth purchase so far this year and the company will continue to evaluate opportunities to grow both its energy and chemicals businesses through “tuck-ins.”

The acquisition is expected to close before the end of 2017, subject to customary conditions.

In separate news, Lanxess’s Urethane Systems business has joined the Center for UMass/Industry Research on Polymers (CUMIRP) at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, USA, in order to enhance research on next-generation materials.

CUMIRP acts as a platform to leverage resources and foster collaboration between the university and industrial partners in polymer materials, engineering and processing.

Lanxess has joined the Flammability Cluster (Cluster F) and the Mechanical Properties & Additive Manufacturing Cluster (Cluster M). The collaboration, which started this month, is focused on developing novel urethane materials. “As members of Cluster M and F, we expect to gain potential cost savings and business growth through new product innovation,” said Polina Ware, head of global research and development at Lanxess Urethane Systems.

An earlier relationship between the university and Chemtura, which Lanxess acquired in April this year, targeted research in flame retardants and urethanes structured foams.