More expansion on horizon for Lehigh

TUCKER, Ga.—Lehigh Technologies Inc. has made significant gains in the market on both the tire and non-tire sides of its business during the last few years.

In order to handle that growth, the specialty materials manufacturer has expanded regularly during that span.

As it preps for the future, two officials with the Tucker-based company said the firm will need to expand further, extending its reach globally in the process, to handle future growth. That likely will mean additional plants in Europe and Asia, they said.

Founded in 2003, the company would like to add a factory in Asia with a goal of launching construction in 2016, according to Kedar Murthy, vice president and general manager of tire and rubber for the company. But at this point, that is only in the planning stage, he said.

“We have identified an area, but that's all I can say at this point,” he said during a recent interview where he and Tom Rosenmayer, vice president of technology, discussed growth initiatives implemented by the company in the last year and some plans it has in the future.

It is also in the process of building a second factory as part of a joint venture in Spain.

Lehigh, which transforms tires and other post-industrial rubber into sustainable micronized rubber powders, operates a manufacturing facility in Tucker, located about 10 miles from Atlanta. It has a work force of about 77 employees.

In 2014, the company, which started commercial production of its products in 2007, expanded its facility in Tucker, principally for a technical center along with additional storage and logistical space, in response to increased demand for the firm's micronized rubber powders in the U.S., Murthy said. The plant grew to 210,000 square feet from 145,000 square feet.

Lehigh's micronized rubber powders are used to replace oil- and rubber-based feed stocks in a wide range of industrial and consumer applications, including high performance tires, consumer and industrial plastics, consumer goods, coatings and adhesives, and construction materials.

It tailors its PolyDyne and MicroDyne MRP brands to fit its customers' needs, Murthy said.

Lehigh's growth initiatives are two-fold: geographic and market specific, according to Rosenmayer.

“Our market specific growth initiatives moving forward will be focused on expanding our presence in the tire and asphalt markets,” he said, “and introducing our MRP products for polyurethane application and the oilfield segment.”

Geographically, its main focus during the next few years will be on plant additions or expansions in Europe and Asia, he said. “With customers in 15 countries across the globe, it is more cost-effective to build factories in our target markets.”

Lehigh's main internal focus continues to be the development of functional materials, Rosenmayer said.

In September 2014, the firm closed on an $8 million financing deal with JSR Corp. to help the company grow globally and in its research efforts, according to Murthy.

“JSR is the leading global supplier of solution SBR for low rolling resistance tires,” he said. “JSR's strategic investment in Lehigh has two purposes: to expand MRP technology research and to support geographic expansion into Asia with the building of a new MRP plant.”

Some of the firm's growth initiatives have occurred on the non-tire side of the business during the last several months, Rosenmayer said.

It is expanding in the polyurethanes and oilfield markets, he said, with emphasis on products, technical sales and marketing that ties in with the company's application and development center for polyurethane, rubber, plastics and asphalt products in Tucker.

Lehigh's MRPs have been used in more than 70 million components, the two officials said.

To help further build that business, the company established a dedicated polyure-thane technical team, headed up by 30-year industry veteran Rick Speas, in 2014. The team's initial focus has been on urethane applications in the automotive, flooring and apparel industries.

“We do a very good job of developing technical solutions at our center,” Rosenmayer said.

He noted that the firm is developing MRP as a performance additive for rubber sidewall compounds because incorporating it into the tire sidewalls improves key durability results in laboratory tests.

“Lehigh's new renewable functional compound, EkoDyne, is still in the research and development stage,” he said. “However, our research thus far indicates EkoDyne improves properties and processability in tire treads and rubber applications. EkoDyne is manufactured through a patented process.”

A supplier to six of the world's 10 largest tire manufacturers, the firm continues to expand that end of its business regularly. Murthy said there has been a trend in the marketplace to produce and utilize smaller sized MRPs. Lehigh has been in the lead to develop and produce the smaller powders, he added.

“Smaller micronized rubber powders allow customers to increase the amount of material within each application, which drives greater cost savings, equal or better performance and increases the sustainability profile of the product,” Murthy said.