CHELMSFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--FRX Polymers, Inc. (“FRX” or the “Company”) announced today that it has officially signed a long term lease agreement with Bayer Antwerp for 3,000 square meters of land on Bayer’s Antwerp site, allowing FRX to build its first commercial plant on the leased property. FRX expects to break ground during August of 2012 and commission the plant during the 4th quarter 2013.
FRX is the manufacturer and marketer of a new, environmentally friendly family of inherently flame retardant plastics. Currently in the growth phase of commercializing its unique family of polyphosphonate homopolymers, copolymers, and oligomers, FRX produces plastics polymers that are tough, transparent, and possess high melt flow. FRX’s products are being sold in consumer electronics, building and construction, and transportation markets as polymeric flame retardant additives, flame retardant engineering plastics, and as reactive flame retardant additives for thermosetting resins.
FRX’s portfolio includes an extensive and growing patent estate. To date, FRX has 20 granted patents and 58 patent applications. FRX was the 2008 recipient of Frost and Sullivan’s “Innovation of the Year” award for flame retardant materials and received the first-place award in the Clean Technology Business Forum. FRX was also featured in The Economic Report, which aired on CNN and Fox Business News in 2009. FRX operates two pilot plants in Chelmsford, MA and a third larger polymer pilot plant in Switzerland. The Company is currently producing at capacity and will use part of the Series B investment to finance its first commercial plant.
“The selection of Bayer’s Antwerp site is a strategic one for FRX,” said Marc Lebel, President and CEO of FRX Polymers. “Not only is the site equipped with state of the art infrastructure, but two key raw materials important for FRX are also produced by Bayer on this site. Moreover, Antwerp Port is at the heart of European chemical manufacturing, which ensures access to a highly skilled workforce and to world class logistics”.
Dr. Uwe Arndt, Managing Director at Bayer Antwerpen NV, said, “We are pleased to welcome FRX to our site. At Bayer, our mission is to improve the quality of life with sustainable and innovative materials and solutions. We believe that FRX fits that mission and that its products are a strong fit for our site”.
About FRX Polymers
FRX Polymers, Inc. was founded in 2007 following over five years of intensive research and development in the field of inherently flame retardant plastics. The company operates two pilot plants in Chelmsford MA and a polymer pilot plant in Switzerland recently commissioned in mid 2010. FRX is in the growth phase of its evolution and is commercializing a novel family of non-halogen, transparent, high melt flowing, fire resistant plastics. FRX Polymers is headquartered in Chelmsford MA. For more information about its products, visit their website at www.frxpolymers.com.
About Bayer Material Science
With 2011 sales of EUR 10.8 billion, Bayer MaterialScience is among the world’s largest polymer companies. Business activities are focused on the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. The main segments served are the automotive, electrical and electronics, construction and the sports and leisure industries. At the end of 2011, Bayer MaterialScience had 30 production sites and employed approximately 14,800 people around the globe. Bayer MaterialScience is a Bayer Group company.