Covestro discontinues thermoplastic fibre composites line; closes German site

As part of its ongoing, group-wide portfolio optimisation efforts, German materials firm Covestro says it will increasingly focus the Engineering Plastics business entity on its core business. As a result, the Maezio product line with specialised fibre-reinforced composites and the associated production at the Markt Bibart site in Germany are to be discontinued in the course of the current year.

Covestro started working in the field of continuous fibre-reinforced thermoplastic composites in 2015 with the acquisition of TCG Thermoplast Composite GmbH.

Following the strategic decision to discontinue the Maezio product line after almost eight years, Covestro searched intensively for a buyer for the Markt Bibart site. As this attempt was ultimately not successful, Covestro decided to close the site later this year.

Most recently, 48 of the approximately 7,600 employees in Germany were employed there.

"We have initiated an extensive sales process, which, unfortunately, was not successful. Our focus on the ground is now on providing the best possible support to all colleagues. To this end, we will be working closely with the local employee representatives to find fair solutions for all those affected and to ensure that the closure process is socially responsible," emphasises Site Manager John Bauer.

Thermoplastic fibre composites are a highly specialized and competitive niche business. Covestro has invested in building up the business since taking over the site in 2015 and has made very good technical progress in production.

Nevertheless, the company has not succeed to scale business with sufficient success in the market. There are only a few synergies with the core business of the Engineering Plastics business entity and the vast majority of key account business.

In addition, the typical customers for thermoplastic composites only order on the basis of joint, complex and time-consuming technical application development, and then only in very small quantities. This is in marked contrast to the far predominant distribution model and key account business in the Covestro Group.

Covestro is thus sharpening its focus on its core Engineering Plastics business by discontinuing the Maezio products. Major customers in the automotive, electronics and healthcare divisions, among others, use these high-quality polycarbonates for further processing in a wide range of products.

(PRA)

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