Guthrie Latex Inc. and Guthrie Symington Ltd., two members of the Malaysian-based Kumpulan Guthrie Bhd. group, have been merged by the parent company to expand their presence globally.
The merger ties together the strengths of England-based Symington, which concentrates on the dry rubber side of the industry, and Guthrie Latex, which is strong on the latex side, Dean Chirempes, vice president of Tucson, Ariz.-based Guthrie Latex, said at the latex conference.
``This basically creates a unified structure, unites our strengths and expands our presence in the global market,'' he said. ``However, while we now report to Symington, we each manage our own operations.''
The alliance will benefit performance and services to customers not only in latex and rubber marketing and distribution, the company said, but in the near future could have an impact on the edible oils and furniture markets, too. It gives both firms stronger rubber and latex marketing and distribution bases in Europe, North America and Latin America, Chirempes said.