Costa Mesa-based Ceradyne Inc., a maker of ceramics for military armor, dental braces and automotive products, is paying $27.5 million to buy a supplier of powders to one of its divisions.
Ceradyne is buying Tennessee’s Minco Inc., which has yearly sales of about $20 million. Minco is profitable, according to Ceradyne, and should add to the company’s profits.
Minco makes fused silica powders that are used to make other products. The company supplies powders to Ceradyne’s thermo materials unit in Georgia, which makes solar power cells.
The acquisition fits in with Ceradyne’s effort to diversify beyond its mainstay business of supplying military armor. The company has yearly sales of about $660 million.
Last month, Ceradyne said it was paying $69 million for Oklahoma’s EaglePicher Boron LLC, a maker of isotopes used to contain nuclear waste.
Last year, Ceradyne bought a Quebec plant and product line for $14.1 million to make material to contain nuclear waste.
