Kordsa Acquires Fabric Development Inc and Textile Products Inc in the US
Reinforcement technologies’ leader Kordsa, after expanding its lines of business to composite technologies in 2016, acquired Fabric Development Inc (FDI) and Textile Products Inc. (TPI), which provide advanced composite materials to the commercial aviation industry, with an investment of approximately USD 100 million. With these acquisitions Kordsa aims to follow the same path that led to leadership in tire reinforcement technologies to build a 2nd Kordsa in composite technologies as well.
Kordsa continues its organic growth with R&D and technology investments while seeking for inorganic growth opportunities in composite business globally. Recently, Kordsa announced the acquisition of Fabric Development Inc. (FDI) and Textile Products Inc. (TPI), which provide advanced composite materials to the commercial aviation industry, with an investment of USD 100 million. Kordsa sees this opportunity as a very important step towards reinforcing its composite market position in the US as well as becoming a strong player in the growing aviation industry supply chain.
Kordsa CEO Ali Çalışkan said: "Primarily producing only tire reinforcement technologies, as Kordsa, we used to reinforce every one out of three automobile tires and every two out of three aircraft tires. Over the years, we leveraged our expertise in tire reinforcement technologies into construction reinforcement and composite technologies and expanded our lines of business. As Kordsa, we touch every corner of daily life and reinforce life. In parallel to our strategic decision to focus in composite technologies, we inaugurated Composite Technologies Center of Excellence, which operates as an innovation hub combining industry and university under the same roof as well as is home to basic research, design R&D and production in 2016. Our business journey today is brought to a new level with this brand-new investment which will lead us to become a global player in the field of commercial aviation having an important presence in the commercial aviation value chain. This new step will ensure us to be a strategic supplier of key players in aerospace and civil aviation, particularly Boeing and Toray Composites Materials America Inc. With this acquisition, we also aim to strengthen our strong global leadership in reinforcement technologies. We used to reinforce the tires of the aircrafts, now we are honored to say that we will also reinforce the wings and hulls of the aircrafts with our composite technologies, as well as the landing tracks of those aircrafts with our construction reinforcement technologies. Kordsa, now operating in 10 facilities throughout 4 continents, will continue to reinforce life and take firm steps forward."