PQ Corp. and Akzo Nobel N.V. announced recently that PQ has acquired 100% of Akzo-PQ Silica (APS), PQ's 50-50 joint venture with Akzo Nobel, which manufactures silicate and silica gel products in Europe. PQ also announced that the silicate and silica-related operations involved in this purchase will be known as PQ Europe. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The APS business that PQ is acquiring includes operations that produce a variety of silica-based products, ranging from spray-dried silicate for making consumer detergent tablets to soluble silicates for numerous industrial applications. Included in the purchase are nine manufacturing operations located in Winschoten and Maastricht (the Netherlands), Oslo and Glomfjord (Norway), Karlstad (Sweden), Naantali (Finland), Dehnitz and Worms (Germany), and Vienna (Austria). Research and development facilities in Maastricht have also been acquired. All employees currently working for the joint venture (some 260 people) will transfer to PQ Corp.