Milacron subsidiary Cimcool Industrial Products on Friday acquired the Starchem metalworking fluids business. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Starchem was a metalworking fluid and industrial chemical company headquartered in Mason, Ohio, near Cincinnati. According to its web site, Starchem marketed its products throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico through local and regional industrial distributors, supported by sales and service personnel at its southwest Ohio facilities where it developed its product formulation science and related technologies.
Starchems four owners were seeking to retire so they were looking to sell the business, which was started 10 years ago, Cimcool President Robert McKee said.
McKee noted that Starchem had its products toll blended. Where were going to make our money is by pulling that manufacturing into our facility here [in Cincinnati] between now and the end of the year, McKee told Lube Report.
The two companies were a good fit, McKee pointed out. They were pretty much across all the metal removal, cleaning, and rust preventative marketplace, which is essentially what our business is also, he observed.
According to McKee, Starchem has more than 100 products and had about 70 distributor locations, primarily in the U.S. and Mexico. Cimcool will retain the Starchem name and its accompanying brand names. Examples include StarCool synthetics, StarBright semi- synthetics and StarSol soluble oils. The formulations are all going to stay the same, he asserted.
Starchem had signed technology and licensing agreements with some European companies, he said, which Cimcool will assume as part of the asset purchase.
We look forward to working with our new Starchem licensees and metalworking customers throughout the world, McKee stated. The acquisition provides new opportunities by increasing the reach of our business while enhancing the value we can deliver to both Cimcool and Starchem customers.