PAWTUCKET, R.I.—Teknor Apex Co., a custom compounder based in Pawtucket, is expanding the production capacity of its European facility, Plastic-Technologie-Service (PTS).
Teknor Apex is building new a 161,000-sq.-ft. plant in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany, in which both the PTS and Teknor Apex production activity, now located at nearby Steinsfeld, Germany, and the sales and marketing operations, which are currently in Tauberzell will be housed.
The aim, the company said, is to create a "hub of innovation" for the European market.
Ground-breaking for the PTS/Teknor Apex facility will take place by spring of 2018 and start-up is expected by the summer of 2019.
The Rothenburg facility will produce thermoplastic elastomers and engineering thermoplastics, ranging from general-purpose compounds to highly specialized formulations. An extensive laboratory will be used for developing new compounds and providing customers with design support, application development, and product/process training.
Teknor Apex, based in Pawtucket, R.I., acquired Plastic-Technologie-Service a Germany-based custom compounder of thermoplastic elastomers and engineering thermoplastics just last year. At the time, the acquisition was described as a "natural fit in the strategic vision" of Teknor Apex to support the market with a "global footprint and local presence."
The new PTS/Teknor Apex facility will accelerate the technology transfer that has been under way since the 2016 acquisition, the company said. PTS/Teknor Apex already manufactures U.S.-developed compounds such as Monprene TPEs and Chemlon nylons, and in the U.S., Teknor Apex has begun production of German-developed products such as Creamid and Duramid nylons.
The laboratory will develop new compounds and provide design and technical support for customers.
"The new laboratory will function as a hub of innovation, serving the region as a source of customized formulations, application development expertise, and process optimization," said William Murray, president of Teknor Apex.