WCA September 2016

Industry news

Gotex deal wrapped up

❍ Staff at Gotex headquarters near Barcelona, Spain

COATS, an industrial thread manufacturer, has acquired Gotex, a Spain-based manufacturer of high performance fibres, yarns and tapes used in industries such as telecommunications, oil and gas and power transmissions. Gotex’s fibreglass coating technology and products will complement Coats’ existing coated aramid product range. There is much synergy between the product offerings and together the companies will be able to provide an enhanced range of products to the fibre optics cable industry. The acquisition reinforces Coats’ strategy of expanding into value added engineered yarns. Gotex, headquartered near Barcelona, Spain, has three main categories of products: • Technical yarns – yarns transformed via unique and proprietary coating technologies, used in the cable industry to reinforce, insulate and protect optical fibres • Technical woven tapes – woven high technical fibres, such as fibreglass, aramid or carbon, used to protect cables from impacts, rodents, etc, and in composites • Product trading – buying and selling additional products that cannot be manufactured in-house, like mica tapes, FRP rods and plastic films Its core customer base is fibre optic cable manufacturers, although oil and gas flexible pipe producers and high tech sports equipment manufacturers are also growing areas. David Ferré, Gotex chief executive officer, said: “This offers great opportunity both for Gotex and our customers. It provides a way to accelerate our business growth and further develop our brand through significantly enhanced market strength and opportunity, as well as prospects for product collaboration with a global market leader.” Paul Forman, group chief executive, Coats, said: “Gotex is an exciting first acquisition for our speciality business that is fully aligned with our growth strategy; a global market leader in developing and producing innovative, high performance materials that complement our existing product portfolio. It is an ideal fit with our speciality business.” Gotex SA – Spain Website : www.gotexweb.com

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Wire & Cable ASIA – September/October 2016