Teknor Apex Co. is a local company with a big punch. Based in Pawtucket since 1924, Teknor is in the business of plastics … sort of. It’s a polymer technology company and one of the world’s leading custom compounders of plastics, selling in 90 countries through eight different business units.
The company employs 415 people at its Pawtucket offices and 1,300 globally.
It seems that even recent economic woes can’t keep the company down. Teknor recently announced the acquisition of Royal DSM N.V.’s Sarlink thermoplastic vulcanizate elastomer business for an undisclosed amount. Sarlink’s 90 employees, along with its offices in Detroit, Sittard (Netherlands), Shanghai and Singapore will now be a part of Teknor.
Providence Business News spoke with Teknor Apex Executive Vice President Bertram M. Lederer about the recent acquisition, the secret to surviving the recession and what the future holds for the company.
PBN: Before we start talking about thermoplastic vulcanizate elastomers (TPVs) and thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs), what does Teknor do in layman’s terms?
LEDERER: Teknor Apex has long produced TPEs, which are compounds that are elastic like rubber but can be processed into finished products at much higher rates than rubber. TPVs, which Sarlink produces, are TPE compounds for high-performance applications.
Teknor Apex has three areas of manufactured products: 1) custom formulations of plastic materials, which are raw materials used by other manufacturers to produce plastic parts, 2) garden hose, which uses the materials we make and sell to others, and 3) specialty chemicals.
Sarlink will become part of our custom formulations business of thermoplastic elastomers. Custom formulations of plastic materials, have a wide range of properties, some materials are very soft some and some very hard, some are good electrical insulators, some will dissipate static electricity, some are very flexible at low temperatures and some will withstand high temperatures such as under the hood of a car.
Examples of applications for our products are medical tubing or oxygen masks that you see in hospitals, automotive airbag covers, sealing systems and engine covers, wire insulation, consumer products, such as soft material on kitchen appliances, tool grips or tooth brushes. One segment of our formulation business is supplying color to plastic processors.
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PBN: After the recent economic downturn, many businesses are content with just surviving. Teknor has gone a step further and expanded – why now?
LEDERER: We certainly were affected … but we have a balance of markets. Some [markets were affected] considerably, such as automotive and building, while others – like medical and garden hose – held up quite well. We did sell of one segment of our business where we had considerable excess capacity, consolidated some operations and were very prudent in containing expenses.
[Eds. note: Teknor sold its vinyl color concentrate business to a competitor in March 2009 for an undisclosed price.]
PBN: How will the Sarlink acquisition affect Teknor’s operations locally, nationally and worldwide?
LEDERER: Sarlink expands our presence in the U.S. with an organization and a plant in Leomister, Mass., adds a strong European organization to our subsidiary based in the U.K. along with production in Belgium, and an organization in Asia that fits with our China and Singapore operations. Strengthening our company outside of the U.S. enhances our ability to supply customers that need global suppliers.
Overall, Sarlink is very complementary to our existing business. Sarlink will expand our product offering to our existing customers and bring new customers both for Sarlink products and our existing Teknor Apex products.
PBN: Teknor Apex has been headquartered in Pawtucket since 1924. How do you see Rhode Island as a place for manufacturers to do business?
LEDERER: We are quite happy in Rhode Island. We have a very good work force here. It’s an excellent place for our executive, marketing, finance, R&D and IT operations. As a manufacturing site, Rhode Island is a little more problematic for us because of its distance from our raw material sources and the markets for finished products.
PBN: What does the future hold for Teknor?
LEDERER: The majority of our growth has historically come from internal investment. We have a consistent practice of investing in our business each year. This year we are starting a new production line which was approved during the economic downturn. Additional investments are underway for added capability and capacity to maintain our competitive advantages. Acquisitions are important opportunities to complement our growth with new product or geographic expansion.
