Saint-Gobain Buys Danfeng Silicon Carbide

France's Saint-Gobain has officially sealed its acquisition of Chinese silicon carbide (SiC) manufacturer Danfeng. The deal was signed during a visit to Paris by China's Trade Minister Bo Xilai. Danfeng is China's largest fine SiC powder producer. The company has an output of 15,000 tonnes and has achieved sales of around $20M. The purchase reinforces Saint-Gobain's position as the world's leading SiC producer (global capacity approx. 170,000 tpa) and makes its High Performance Materials division the market leader in SiC technical powders in Asia. These high performance ceramic products are used in grit or grain form in such applications as semiconductor parts, refractory products and abrasives.