A Cassopolis silicone manufacturer is under new, international ownership.

ICM products, based in Cassopolis, has been sold to a German chemical conglomerate CHT group. The sale was finalized on Aug. 28.

“This is an exciting time of change in our company,” said CEO of ICM Levi Cottington.

ICM Silicones Group was founded in 1989 by former Dow Chemist Ken Charboneau consists of five separate operating subsidiaries including ICM Products in Cassopolis, QSi LLC in Richmond, Virginia,  ACC Silicones Ltd in Bridgwater, United Kingdom, Treco Srl in Milan, Italy and ACC Silicones in Tianjin, China.

The acquisition came after ICM’s private owners, Century Park, sought to sell the company.

“We had a lot of interested parties,” Coddington said. “CHT really was the best company, the best fit.”

CHT Group, as the company that acquired ICM, is a leading silicone manufacturing group that is strong in textile and textile treatment. Based in Europe, the group has been seeking a U.S. presence for a long time, according to CHT officials.

One of the biggest things CHT Group will gain from the new partnership with ICM is an ability to re-enter and tap into the U.S. Market, Cottington said.

“If you look at [CHT’s] global footprint and [ICM’s] global footprint, they match up very well,” Cottington said. “And in the technology, where they are strong, we have things that they do not have, and where we are strong, they have things that we don’t have. From two different aspects, it was a very nice fit.”

Cottington said that since its beginning, ICM has grown and now produces more than 800 product lines, including gels, gums, emulsions, antifoams and elastomers.

These product lines, as well as ICM’s multiple U.S. locations, are what made ICM seem like a worthy investment to CHT Group.

“We’re excited to combine the silicone specialty businesses of ICM and CHT,” said CHT CEO Frank Naumann in a recent press release. “The acquisition doubles our current silicone business and positions us as a leading silicone specialties supplier globally. We look forward to continuing the strong business development by building on the combined strength of technical innovation and customer service both companies offer. Furthermore, this transaction brings CHT Group back to the ever important U.S. market.”

Despite the ICM’s new international ownership, Cottington doesn’t believe that workers at the Cassopolis branch of ICM will be affected and that their day-today work will be roughly the same. If anything, he believes that the acquisition will have a positive impact on the Cassopolis community.

“I think we will continue to add employment. If you look back to how many workers we had in 2014, we have quite literally doubled the workforce here since that time,” Cottington said. “We still have room to grow and we will continue to be a strong employer in the community.”

All in all, Cottington said the acquisition will prove to be a good deal for all involved.

“[The acquisition] is really quite positive for the whole group,” Cottington said. “This will allow us to take [the business] to the next level, the next step. This opens up a whole new area for us, from a regional standpoint to a more global one.”