Compounding success Teknor Apex

COMPOUNDING SUCCESS

Engineering thermoplastics compounder Teknor Apex is bringing its solutions-based broad material offerings to worldwide customers. Emma-Jane Batey spoke to Strategic Marketing Director Automotive, Ger Vroomen, to find out more.

Privately held, family-owned engineering thermoplastics compounder of advanced polymer materials Teknor Apex was founded in Rhode Island, USA in 1924. With eight production sites across America as well as facilities in the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, Singapore and China, the company has steadily built its reputation as a solutionsfocused custom compounder for a wide range of international customers.

Respected as a diversified material science company that offers complementary techniques to serve a common market, Teknor Apex’s family-owned status ensures that it is able to work closely with customers on their long term goals. Strategic Marketing Director Automotive, Ger Vroomen, told Industry Europe, “Anyone can sell compounded products. What we do is listen to our customers’ specific needs and develop solutions that are backed up by our extensive application development. The support we provide starts right from the initial development of the product up to the point of commercialisation, which means we build up a mutually-reliable, trusting relationship that benefits us all.”

The family-owned status also allowed Teknor Apex to continue to perform well throughout the global recession, thanks to not needing to please shareholders and being

able to continue with ongoing investment. As a result, the company is stronger than ever, with exciting plans for growth worldwide.

Communication and growth

Mr Vroomen said, “We primarily work with tier one customers and we pride ourselves on knowing their industries and specific markets inside out. Communication is key throughout the organisation, both internally and with our customers, and we’ve found that this has enabled us to grow in a sustainable manner. We expect to continue our upward trajectory and we have strong targets for growth – we believe we will be in double digits in the coming years as we continue to push forward with our targetfocused approach.”

Teknor Apex’s most recent acquisition has seen it expand further into Europe. In 2010, the company bought renowned thermoplastic elastomeric compounds company Sarlink which, with its ‘feels like rubber yet processes like plastic’ promise and strong brand awareness across the European automotive sector, is already enabling the company to grow in new markets.

Further recent investment has been made in equipment, people and additional acquisition. In Q4 2011 Teknor Apex opened a new

TPE production plant in the UK, joining its first line which opened in 2009, with customers now being sampled.

Broad range of customised solutions

Developing a variety of materials including PVC, nylon, speciality compounds, TPE and TPV, Teknor Apex is primarily focused on offering customised solutions. The company has some standard products in each of its ranges, but Mr Vroomen pointed out that it is very rare that a customer can simply use a product ‘off the shelf’. He explained, “The fact that we are committed to listening closely to the demands and application requirements of our customers’ means that it is unlikely that a standard product will be the exact right fit. We prefer to see if there is a standard product that can be used as a base for their customised solution, which saves them time and money, or create a new product from scratch if required. Either way, the customer gets a product that is tailormade for their and their customer needs.”

This customised offer is supported by Teknor Apex’s unique account management model. With separate market managers and account managers dedicated to specific material and sector groups, such as medical or automotive, and geographical areas

respectively, the company has found that it can deliver a truly added value service.

Mr Vroomen continued, “Our market and application managers are highly knowledgeable about their particular material and sector group which allows them to be right at the forefront of any developing trends. This is a key aspect in our technical development as well as guaranteeing that the customer’s product is targeted to their precise demands. The account managers are in touch locally, so they know everything about their territory. There is some crossover of course, and we find that this strategy, which has evolved over the last 10 years or so, gives us and our customers the best understanding of the ideal thermoplastic solution for each project.”

Expansion across Europe

With Teknor Apex working across diversified markets including medical, automotive, food packaging, industrial and personal care, its strong position throughout the recession has been supported by the fact that it is not reliant on any one sector. This, along with its account management model, will continue to play a part in its expected continued success.

Mr Vroomen concluded, “We see potential growth across a number of our existing market sectors and also geographically, particularly in Germany, Spain, the Czech Republic, France and Poland. We will be building a state-of-the-art development centre with sampling capabilities and pilot lines somewhere in the Benelux region within the next 12 to 18 months, as well as a considerable amount of coaching, training and investing in the latest equipment throughout our global facilities.” n