Barentz International has acquired Distribuciones Industriales Variadas, S.A. (Divsa), a value-adding distributor of life science ingredients and specialty chemicals in Central America. With locations across Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Panama, Divsa reportedly represents the ideal fit to bridge Barentz’ presence in North and South America. The team will continue to be led by Mario Mena, Divsa’s president and founder, and the headquarters will remain in Guatemala City.  

Highlights:

• Dedicated commercial and technical teams serving targeted end-markets, including personal care, flavors and fragrances, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, coatings, and polyurethanes  
• Value-add operational services, including in-house blending and repackaging and transportation assets
• Coverage across Central America bridges Barentz’ positions in North and South America
• Multiple in-house laboratories and technical service teams are complementary to Barentz’ global network of more than 30 laboratories across four continents
• Portfolio of blue-chip product lines provides the opportunity for further expansion of strategic supplier relationships

“We are thrilled to welcome Mario and his team to the Barentz organization and immediately establish a market leading presence in the Central American region,” said Hidde van der Wal, CEO of Barentz. “Divsa has an impressive track record of delivering results for its key stakeholders and we are excited to leverage our combined capabilities to create better solutions that enable sustained success for our customers, principals and employees across LATAM.”  

According to Mena, “From the beginning, our goal was to establish Divsa as a scalable, differentiated distributor that would be a sustainable home for our employees, customers, and suppliers. Given Barentz’ global footprint, entrepreneurial culture, and proven track-record of successful partnerships with independent businesses, I saw a combination with Barentz as the best way to ensure and continue Divsa’s mission long into the future.”

For more information, visit www.barentz.com and www.divsa.com/en.