FINNISH pultruder Exel Oyj has acquired 100% of the shares of Australian company Pacific Composites Pty Ltd, establishing itself as a global pultrusion company.

Pacific Composites is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lemarne Corp Ltd, a publicly listed company on the Australian Stock Exchange. Its business is mainly focused on pultrusion and it has manufacturing operations in Melbourne and Brisbane in Australia,Runcorn and Clacton in the UK, and Nanjing in China. It had net sales of 12 million Euros for the period July-December 2005, an increase of 25% on the corresponding period of last year.

The acquisition extend Exel’s product range and strengthens its position in the Pacific Rim/Far East. It also enables Exel to start production in China ahead of its planned schedule since Pacific Composites has new production facilities in Nanjing, China.