Hydrazine maker sells to private equity firm

The private equity firm AE Industrial Partners has purchased the hydrazine maker Calca Solutions for an undisclosed sum. Hydrazine is the simplest pnictogen hydride and is used as a propellant in rockets and airbags. Calca is a longtime hydrazine supplier to the US government for military and aerospace applications. It also sells the chemical and its derivatives into water treatment and chemical synthesis markets. AE plans to increase capacity at Calca’s plant in Lake Charles, Louisiana. In January, NewMarket bought Ampac Intermediate Holdings, the leading US maker of ammonium perchlorate, used in solid propellants.