Grace Acquires Concrete Admixture Business of Perstorp Peramin AB, in Sweden; Expands Grace's Presence in Europe
COLUMBIA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 31, 2005--W. R. Grace & Co. (NYSE:GRA) today announced that its Swedish subsidiary, Grace AB, has acquired certain assets relating to the concrete admixtures business of Perstorp Peramin AB ("Perstorp") located in Sweden. Perstorp Peramin AB is a leading supplier of specialty chemicals and materials to the construction industry in Sweden and other Northern European countries. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Perstorp's concrete admixtures are sold to ready mix and precast concrete producers and civil contractors in Sweden and other Northern European countries. The acquisition expands Grace's presence in this region and will be integrated into Grace Construction Products, a business of Grace Performance Chemicals.
"This investment underscores our commitment to grow geographically enabling us to best serve our customers," said Fred Festa, President and Chief Operating Officer, W. R. Grace & Co. "Perstorp's strong concrete admixture position in the ready mix and precast segments in the region provides us with the platform we need to accelerate our growth there. We are committed to growing Grace through both internal development and acquisitions, such as this one, that create economic value for all of our stakeholders."
"Grace is dedicated to providing the industry with quality products and the highest level of customer service globally," said Fabio Tegiacchi, General Manager, Specialty Construction Chemical, Europe. "This acquisition complements our recent acquisitions in Germany, France, Poland and Belgium and enables us to better serve our customers throughout Europe."
Grace is a leading global supplier of catalysts and other products and services to petroleum refiners; catalysts for the manufacture of plastics; silica-based engineered and specialty materials for a wide-range of industrial applications; specialty chemicals, additives and materials for commercial and residential construction; and, sealants and coatings for food packaging. With annual sales of more than $2.2 billion, Grace has over 6500 employees and operations in nearly 40 countries. For more information, visit Grace's web site at www.grace.com.
Headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., Grace Construction Products, a division of W. R. Grace & Co. Conn., (NYSE:GRA), is a leading worldwide manufacturer of concrete admixtures, cement-processing additives, masonry products, products for architectural concrete, fire protection, and waterproofing products. The company has more than 125 plants and sales offices around the world. For more information about Grace Construction Products, please visit www.graceconstruction.com.
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