Process paramount to Edge's success

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa.—Edge Rubber L.L.C., a Chambersburg-based manufacturer of fine-mesh rubber powders for various industries, said it is a frequent supplier of material for custom compounders.

"Edge Rubber's wet production process produces material for custom compounding," said Sam Kauffman, Edge Rubber CEO and co-owner.

"The proprietary process uses a unique technology that creates more surface area on the particle than any other known process, and therefore blends very well in the customer mixes and compounds," Kauffman said.

Founded in 2003, Edge Rubber has provided more than 10 million pounds of rubber powders to custom compounders in the last decade, according to Kauffman.

Edge Rubber offers both wet and ambient grinding processes at its plant in Chambersburg, and powders from both processes can be used for custom compounding, according to Kauffman.

"Both products offer a fair amount of surface area, but the wet-process material offers more," he said.

The powders Edge Rubber supplies to custom compounders ranges from 30 to 200 mesh, Kauffman said.

Edge Rubber has two custom compounding customers, according to Kauffman. Although he was not at liberty to name his customers or the corporations they serve, he said Edge Rubber supplies material for just about every auto part that contains either rubber or a rubber-plastics mix.

Kauffman, Edge Rubber's former vice president and chief operating officer, joined with Anzu Partners, a Washington-based investment firm, to purchase the assets of the bankrupt company in November 2016.

Kauffman and Anzu paid about $2 million for Edge Rubber's assets on Nov. 10, and the Chambersburg plant was back in production before the end of the month.