Teknor Apex boosts sustainable options in portfolio with Nu-Pro acquisition

WHEELING, Ill.—Teknor Apex Co. has acquired PVC recycler Nu-Pro Polymers Inc. for an undisclosed price.

Wheeling-based Nu-Pro makes reprocessed and recycled flexible PVC compounds. In a news release, officials with Teknor Apex in Pawtucket, R.I., said that those materials "provide a reliable and new sustainable material option."

Nu-Pro works with clean post-industrial streams and converts them into new PVC compounds, which officials said perform equivalently to prime compounds. The firm specializes in clear, natural and black compounds in a range of durometers.

Under the acquisition, Nu-Pro will continue to make products for Teknor Apex under the Cycle-Tek brand as a subsidiary of Teknor Apex.

Teknor Apex Executive Vice President Lou Cappucci said that the Nu-Pro deal "will further enable us to develop innovative compounds that meet the performance and sustainability requirements of our customers."

Sunny Mahajan, senior technical manager, added that the acquisition "is another step in ensuring [PVC] continues to be a sustainable option in the plastics manufacturing market."

Nu-Pro's PVC compounds incorporate up to 90 percent post-industrial content, according to co-owner Don Brown. "Our goal is to convert PVC waste streams into products that perform for our customers," he said.

The Nu-Pro acquisition is the first for Teknor Apex since late 2021 when it purchased Lanier Color Co., a specialty compounder and color concentrates maker in Gainesville, Ga. Earlier in 2021, Teknor Apex had acquired Dorum Color, an Akron, Ohio-based materials firm that specialized in the rotational molding market.

Teknor Apex is one of North America's 30 largest compounders and concentrate makers. The firm operates 13 plants worldwide in the U.S., Belgium, Germany, China and Singapore and has annual sales of more than $1 billion.