#Composites
Kordsa acquires Axiom Materials with an investment of USD 181 million
Kordsa, a subsidiary of Sabanci Holding and a global player in the reinforcement technologies market, acquired US-based Axiom Materials. This acquisition of USD 181 million paved the way for Kordsa to be the only worldwide qualified manufacturer of Oxide-Oxide ceramic matrix composites.
Kordsa has stepped into the advanced composite materials industry with Composite Technologies Center of Excellence, conjointly established with Sabanci University. Kordsa has expanded its area of operations and competencies with its 2018’s acquisitions of Fabric Development, Textile Products and Advanced Honeycomb Technologies providing advanced composite materials to the aerospace industry. With the acquisition of Axiom Materials, Kordsa has completed the first phase of its goal to build a second Kordsa in composite technologies. Widely used in aircraft engines, the value-added materials produced by Axiom Materials have different applications in various industries and are considered as the material of the future. This acquisition, which is critical to develop Kordsa’s competencies in strategic and high growth areas, strengthens Kordsa’s potential to develop new products.
Pointing out the position of Kordsa in the Holding’s vision, as Sabanc? of New Generation, Mehmet Göçmen, Sabanci Holding CEO, said: “Dynamic portfolio management and high technology-oriented investments are critical areas of focus in the transformation process of Sabanci Group. Kordsa, the flagship of our vision to grow in high value added industries, transforms into a company capable of producing advanced material technologies with its investment of approximately USD 300 million in composite technologies in the last two years. Following the acquisition of four US-based major companies, Kordsa built a business line with annual gross revenue of over USD 150 million. With this new investments, Kordsa as the supplier of leading global companies, now becomes the only worldwide qualified manufacturer of Oxide-Oxide ceramic matrix composites. This key acquisition, which is a clear sign of our mindset to manage our business based on universal standards, will also support the development of our country in international markets”
Cenk Alper, Sabanci Holding Industrials Group President and Chairman of Kordsa, regarding the acquisition of Axiom Materials stated: “We continue to support our organic growth in the composite technologies market with inorganic growth investments. We took the first step of our growth strategy with the Composite Technologies Center of Excellence, one of the few integrated production centers in the world. Our journey went ahead in aerospace industry with Fabric Development and Textile Products, which produce highly-engineered structural materials; our competency has expanded with the acquisition of Advanced Honeycomb Technologies, which produces advanced materials for cabin interior parts. With this investment, we will create a growth platform in North America, the aerospace hub. ”
Ali Çaliskan, Kordsa CEO, regarding the purchase of Axiom Materials, which leads the composite market through its R&D studies, stated: “We took a very important step that reinforces our vision ‘Inspired from life, we reinforce life’. With the acquisition of Axiom Materials providing advanced technology composite materials to the next generation transportation vehicles as well as the aerospace industries and leading the composite market through its R&D studies, we have expanded our expertise in the field of composites and finalized the portfolio of advanced composite intermediates. With the acquisition of Axiom, we completed the first phase of our goal to build a second Kordsa in composite technologies. Today, we are the only worldwide qualified manufacturer of Oxide-Oxide ceramic matrix composites. I am both proud and excited for the days ahead. After the tires, wings, hulls and the interior of the aircrafts, Kordsa will also reinforce aircraft engines. "
