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The Benvic Group, a thermoforming company headquartered in Chevigny-Saint-Saveur, France, has acquired Chemres, a supplier of polymers and custom compounds. 

A specialty compounder with a strong position in the US contact lens market, Chemres also has long-term customer relationships in the medical, wire & cable, and packaging industries. Chemres has its headquarters in Princeton, NJ, with operations in Chesapeake, VA.

The acquisition of Chemres will give Benvic a foothold in the US market and strengthen its exposure to the medical sector, said the company in making the announcement on Aug. 5. It currently operates eight production sites in France, Italy, Spain, Poland, and the United Kingdom, and exports to more than 60 countries.

This is the ninth add-on acquisition for Benvic since it joined the Investindustrial portfolio in 2018. Investindustrial was founded in 1990 and is focused on investing primarily in the success of Southern European medium-sized companies that are leaders in their fields.

In 2019, Benvic acquired Modenplast Medical, an Italian compounder, specializing in medical-grade vinyl compounds and tubing extrusion. This was followed in 2020 with the acquisition of Luc & Bel, an Italian manufacturer that designs and manufactures medical device components, and in 2021 with the acquisition of selected TPE and PP compounding assets from Celanese.

Benvic CEO Luc Mertens said in a prepared statement that the shared culture with Chemres in terms of performance and innovation provides a strategic opportunity for the company to broaden its geographic footprint and deepen its expertise. “We look forward to working closely with the management team of Chemres in the coming years to expand our operations in North America and grow our polymer expertise across sectors and, in particular, in the medical sector,” said Mertens. “This acquisition is an important step forward in Benvic becoming a global leader in compounding.”