Scapa Group buys out Chinese partner, plans expansion

By Liz White, ERJ staff

Blackburn, UK-Scapa Group plc has bought out its Chinese minority joint venture partner Mei Wei Holdings Ltd for £345 000 (E500 000).

Scapa established the joint venture, Scapa (Hong Kong) Ltd, in February 2000 with Scapa owning 75 percent and Mei Wei the rest. Scapa said the buyout will enable it to expand faster to meet rising demand in China.

The deal will allow the Blackburn, UK-headquartered speciality tapes group to, “accelerate plans for increased manufacturing capabilities within China,” and serve an increasingly broad market for its products in the People's Republic, said a statement from the firm.

Scapa makes a wide range of speciality adhesive tapes, including foam-backed types, for the medical, automotive, industrial assembly and construction uses, as well as supplying tapes and flame retardant compounds for the cables sector. The group uses a wide range of elastomers in its adhesives.

“This is a further important step in expanding Scapa's presence in China … we have created a firm foundation for profitable growth in Asia and have a strong core of customers,” said Scapa chief executive Tony Watson in the company statement.

The deal will allow Scapa to set up more manufacturing capacity in China, “to meet the demands of this rapidly growing market for specialist technical tapes and cable compounds,” Watson added.