Harke Group buys two UK firms

The Harke Group, a chemical distributor based at Mülheim-an-der Ruhr in Germany, has acquired Chemlink Specialities and Addi-Tec, which are both part of the Chemlink Group from Manchester, UK. Terms were not disclosed, but Harke, one of Europe’s 50 largest chemical distributors, said that it expects sales of over €150 million this year.

Company president Thorsten Harke described this buy as “another important step in our strategy to offer to our customers and principals an excellent, innovative commercial, logistical and technical service throughout Europe, Russia and Turkey.” Harke also plans to invest in new laboratory facilities at the Manchester site.

Founded in 1994, Chemlink Specialities is a speciality distributor of chemicals across the UK and Ireland, particularly for the personal care, household and industrial, and pharmaceutical industries. It also has formulation development, reformulation, micro and performance testing, regulatory advice, sourcing and sample provision capabilities. Addi-Tec was founded in 2005 to extend the model to the paints, coatings and plastic processing.

Harke’s products go mainly into the life sciences, cleaning, water treatment industry, raw materials for coatings, plastics and polymers, industrial chemicals and electronics industries. It also offers technical and regulatory advice, custom development and formulations, compatibility testing, tools, equipment and software, plus blending, contract filling and packing of finished products at sites in Germany and Hungary.