News releases

8 December 2004 – Leading UK manufacturer buys BIP (Oldbury) Limited

West Midlands chemicals and plastics firm BIP (Oldbury) Limited, which went into administration last month (November), has been bought by the UK’s leading formaldehyde producer.

Synthite Limited purchased the business and assets of the West Brom company for an undisclosed sum on Monday November 29. Sold as a going concern, BIP’s operations and production have continued as normal.

Synthite, based in Mold, North Wales, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the chemicals distributor Tennant Group, which has an annual turnover of £170m.

BIP, which employs more than 170 people at its plant in Oldbury, is a manufacturer of speciality chemicals based primarily on amino resins and derivative technology. This includes new products such as Biodiesel, a fuel made from recycled vegetable oils.

The company will retain its famous name, and will be called BIP (Oldbury) Limited.

Synthite managing director Kevin Jones said: "We want to keep the name BIP because the company has a range of products known throughout the world, and has an excellent reputation. The company has a skilled and loyal workforce and despite having new owners it will be business as usual. I am looking forward to working with the management team and the employees in re-establishing a successful and profitable company."

Mark Orton, the joint administrator from KPMG in Birmingham, said: “We are pleased to confirm that the sale of the business was completed yesterday (Monday 29th November 2004). We believe that this deal is excellent news for the company’s creditors, customers and employees.”

Synthite has been established for more than 80 years and in the last decade has invested more than £10m into its plant in Mold, where it employs 70 people. Synthite is an important supplier of Paraform and solution grades of formaldehyde. The site also produces bulk organic acid blends and manufacture of a wide range of chemical intermediates.

BIP has suffered losses over the last two or three years and has been unable to complete a restructuring of its operations.

It was the first company to patent urea-formaldehyde resins in 1924, and produced the world’s first white commercial moulding powder in 1926.

Since then BIP has developed into a leading technology innovator, delivering moulding materials, textile and paper chemicals.