WESTCHESTER, ILL. — Ingredion Inc. has acquired the operations of Western Polymer, a privately-held producer of native and modified potato starches for food and industrial applications. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 1952, Western Polymer is based in Moses Lake, Wash., and operates three U.S. manufacturing locations in Moses Lake, Wash.; Fairfield, Maine; and Grand Forks, N.D. Along with supplying native and modified potato starches for food and industrial applications, the company also produces modified tapioca starch for industrial applications and cationic starch for the paper industry.

“We’re excited to leverage the strengths of Western Polymer and Ingredion to continue developing high-quality ingredients that align with consumer trends and customers’ needs,” said Lynn Townsend-White, president and chief executive officer of Western Polymer. “By coming together now, this enables even greater reach for our ingredients and positions the business for continued growth.”

The acquisition of Western Polymer will expand Ingredion’s potato starch manufacturing capacity, enhance processing capabilities and broaden its higher-value specialty ingredients business and customer base, Ingredion said.

“This next phase of growth is consistent with other actions we’ve taken to strengthen our specialties business and deliver long-term value for our shareholders,” said James P. Zallie, president and c.e.o. of Ingredion. "This acquisition expands our higher-value specialty ingredients business, which is central to Ingredion's growth strategy. We have tremendous respect for the culture and business that Western Polymer has built, and we look forward to the future opportunities that we will create together.”