Gainesville, Ga.-based geotextiles manufacturer Lumite Inc., a 50-percent subsidiary of The Thrace Plastics Group, Greece, has agreed to acquire the Yonah plant from Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Propex Inc., also a manufacturer of geotextiles.

The 226,200-square-foot Yonah facility, located on 42 acres in Alto, Ga., manufactures specialty man-made fabrics such as geotextiles, monofilament filtration fabrics, protective nets and recreational fabrics. The acquisition will enable Lumite to grow and strengthen its geotextile products distribution capabilities in order to better serve the expanding global geosynthetics market; as well as provide US-made monofilament woven fabrics, improved cost efficiency, shortened lead time and a range of value choices.

“The acquisition of the Yonah plant directly supports our objectives to increase production capacity and to further expand the company’s US market,” said Ron Rooks, president, Lumite. “The purchase is in perfect accordance with Lumite’s and Thrace Plastics’ mutually ambitious pursuit of an evolving geosynthetics industry. This is an excellent example of how we plan to meet the evolving global market demand with a unified, aggressive approach.”

July 1, 2008