Bayer Buys Source Of Blowing Agents.

Bayer Corp., Pittsburgh, has acquired Hughes Industrial Corp. of Kennesaw, Ga., said to be the leading U.S. supplier of chemical blowing agents for foam-core rigid PVC profiles, pipe, and sheet. Hughes' HRVP exothermic blowing agents and FlowCell line of exothermic and exothermic/endothermic blends will now be marketed under Bayer's Ficel name. Bayer is already the largest worldwide producer of azodicarbonamide. Its Ficel modified azo blowing agents are now produced in the U.K. Hughes gives Bayer its first U.S. production of blowing agents. Bayer now will expand its U.S. marketing efforts to other polymers such as XLPE.