Japanese Buy Two Chemical Firms : Acquisitions: Mitsubishi Rayon has merged two manufacturers in Fountain Valley to make and market carbon fiber products in the U.S..

Mitsubishi Rayon Co. Ltd. of Tokyo has created a wholly owned subsidiary in Fountain Valley to manufacture and market carbon fiber products in the United States.

Mitsubishi Rayon, which is one of the top acrylic fiber manufacturers in the world, said it has acquired and combined two small Orange County chemical companies--Newport Adhesives Inc. of Fountain Valley and Newport Composites Inc. of Santa Ana--into a single firm to be called Newport Adhesives and Composites Inc.

The acquisitions are part of Mitsubishi Rayon’s attempt to gain a foothold in the U.S. composite materials and carbon fiber industries, said Yozo Hayashi, a Mitsubishi Rayon executive and vice president of the new company. Newport Adhesives makes materials used in manufacturing aircraft interiors and electronic products, while Newport Composites makes light, plastic-like material used in making sporting equipment such as golf clubs and tennis rackets.

Mitsubishi paid more than $10 million in cash to acquire the two firms from Jim Burnett, former president and owner of both companies. He will be president of the combined company, which is expected to post sales of about $20 million in 1990.

Company officials said they expect the new firm to benefit from an infusion of technical support from Mitsubishi Rayon.

Some of the firm’s major clients include McDonnell Douglas Corp.’s commercial aircraft division in Long Beach and Brunswick Corp.’s aerospace division in Marion, Va.

Tadashi Kataoka, managing director of the parent company, will serve as chief executive of Newport Adhesives and Composites and will be based in Tokyo.

The Fountain Valley firm will employ 50 people and no staffing changes are anticipated, Hayashi said. He said he expectes the new company to compete eventually in the U.S. market with Hercules Inc. and E.I. duPont de Nemours & Co., two large chemical manufacturers both based in Wilmington, Del.

U.S. consumption of carbon fiber has been growing by more than 10% a year, Hayashi said, and the market is expected to grow by at least that much during the next five years.

Mitsubishi Rayon began courting Burnett nine months ago through a Boston investment bank.

Lisa Kitsuta, a Newport Beach attorney who specializes in Japanese acquisitions of U.S. companies, said she expects more Japanese purchases of U.S. technology and chemical companies in the 1990s.

“Mitsubishi Rayon is not just acquiring the real estate and the buildings of these companies,” Kitsuta said. “Part of the reason why many Japanese companies are interested in acquiring Orange County companies is because of the abundance of talented engineers, managers and professionals in the area.”