Thailand’s Indorama Ventures (IVL), the world’s leading PET producer, has agreed to buy the Glanzstoff Group, a manufacturer of tire cord fabrics and single-end cords (SEC), for an undisclosed sum. 

Part of Austria’s CAG Holding, Glanzstoff has three production sites in Luxembourg, Italy and the Czech Republic, offering rayon, aramid, nylon 6.6 polyester and hybrid filament yarns for high-growth and high-performance automotive applications.

Aloke Lohia, IVL’s CEO, said the acquisition is a unique opportunity for IVL to consolidate its leadership position in the tire cord business, describing Glanzstoff as a strategic fit which will help grow the Indonesian group’s portfolio. “We continue to pursue a transformational journey to consolidate our leadership position and pursue profitable growth opportunities in the high value-added segment. The Glanzstoff platform will expand our footprint beyond polyester and nylon 6,6 by entering into rayon technology,” he said

IVL entered the tire cord business in 2014 with the purchase of Germany’s PHP Fibers, which was followed in 2015 with the acquisition of China’s Performance Fibers Asia. IVL said the combined pro forma revenues of PHP Fibers, Performance Fibers and Glanzstoff in 2016 totalled $602 million.

In January, IVL announced it would invest in a “sizeable” expansion of its tire cord production at Performance Fibers in Kaiping, China. The additional capacity is expected online in 2018.