Mergers alter line-up of fluoropolymer suppliers. (Your Business in Brief).

The January purchase of Solvay Fluoropolymers Inc. in Houston by Dyneon LLC, St. Paul, Minn., completed an international realignment of fluoropolymer suppliers. The other major element of that realignment was the acquisition of Italian-based Ausimont by Solvay Group of Brussels. The combination of Ausimont and Solvay's European fluoropolymer business is now called Solvay Solexis, whose U.S. headquarters is in Thorofare, N.J. The main effects on these companies' fluoropolymer product lines are the following:

* Solvay is now a broad-based supplier of a variety of fluoropolymers. Before, it produced only Solef PVDF. In addition to many others, Solvay Solexis now has two PVDF families produced by different methods for different application areas: Solef suspension resins for extrusion and molding, which are made in France; and Hylar emulsion resins, primarily for coatings, made in Thorofare. The only other supplier of PVDF for both types of applications is AtoFina Chemicals, Inc. in Philadelphia, with its Kynar products.

* Dyneon, which already had a varied line-up of fluoropolymers, now has PVDF extrusion and molding resins, thanks to its acquisition of a Solef production facility in Decatur, Ala. Dyneon is now selling those resins under the Dyneon brand.