Bluestar Silicones International has announced an investment of EUR15 million to develop and modernise its elastomer production units, in particular that located on the Saint Fons site (Rhône – France). Meanwhile, Norway’s Elkem has purchased all the shares of Bluestar Silicones International. The purpose of the transaction is to create a vertically integrated silicones player and a financially robust company with the ability to grow profitably in all business segments, while maintaining the expertise and market driven organisations that have been the basis for success, say the companies.

The purchase price was not disclosed. Headquartered in Lyon, France, Bluestar Silicones is a US$650 million worldwide silicones raw material manufacturer and a fully integrated global silicones manufacturers with more than 60 years of silicone expertise.

CEO Helge Aasen will lead the company and the management team will consist of members from both Elkem and Bluestar Silicones International. The name of the company will be Elkem, however all registered trademarks will be left unchanged.

“This marks a new and exciting direction for all of us. The new company will have revenues of EUR1.6 billion and the ability to compete and grow in both new and established markets. We will benefit from the expertise and experience of 3,500 employees and have a presence in about 50 countries around the globe”, says Helge Aasen.

“This move will enable us to benefit from stronger integration and additional resources to capture the growth worldwide of this dynamic market environment.” says Frédéric Jacquin, CEO of Bluestar Silicones.

The company will have a fully integrated value chain from quartz to downstream silicone specialities as well as competing in the markets for speciality foundry alloys and carbon materials.

Meanwhile, regarding the investment in its French plant, Bluestar says it is “to help us continue to meet the increasingly stringent requirements in the various technical fields such as automobile, aviation and medical.”

“With this substantial investment on the French Saint Fons site, Bluestar Silicones reiterates its determination to consolidate its co-leadership position in Europe on Heat Cured Elastomer products and to continue development under the best possible conditions of productivity and quality at its Mix and Fix service centres throughout the world,” declares Frédéric Jacquin.

“This ensures the elastomer business will continue over the long term on our historic site and will be accompanied by additional research and development and marketing resources to prepare for the future as best we can,” says Mehdi Abbadi, Global Director of this business.