Momentive creates 'Center of Excellence' in Indiana

GARRETT, Ind.—Expansion of Momentive Performance Materials Inc.'s operations in Indiana combines the company's U.S. silicone elastomers custom compounding operations at one location.

The creation of Momentive's North American Center of Excellence at the company's longtime operations in Garrett puts that segment of the company's business under one roof, according to Tim Angle, global sales leader for specialty elastomers.

In a project that began in May and finished in October, Momentive moved former custom compounding operations in Chino, Calif., to Indiana.

"It really is to consolidate in the Americas our specialty elastomers business," Angle said. "I think it just shows that our company is continuing to invest in not only the company overall, but specialty elastomers. We believe that it's a good business.

"We have many businesses within Momentive, many industries that we serve. But the elastomers business is a key area for us, and it just shows we are continuing to do the right things for our customers to improve quality, to improve service, to have better technical capabilities," he said. "I think it just shows that we're on a positive trend here."

Combining operations allows Momentive to increase research and development efforts out of a single location. "We're continuing to invest in people and technologies to do a better job in the custom compounding market, which we call ready-to-use," Angle said.

The site in Garrett had available space to absorb equipment transferred from California. The company, based in Waterford, N.Y., made some infrastructure improvements to accommodate the added machinery.

Having more critical mass out of one location allows Momentive to improve its service and quality, Angle said.

"Really just be a better supplier to the industry and being able to respond to the technical needs out there in the marketplace," he said.

The decision to consolidate in Garrett comes during a busy time for Momentive, which came under new ownership in 2019.

"We do have a lot of exciting things that are happening. We are fortifying certain plants around the world. This move here in the elastomers business is really a continued investment in our custom compounding organization," Angle said.

Momentive will continue to maintain a technical support and sales presence on the West Coast.

"Consolidating the U.S. custom compounding expertise into a unified Center of Excellence enables us to continue our mantra of exceeding our customers' needs and expectations with regards to innovation, quality and service," said Holger Albrecht, vice president and global business leader for specialty elastomers at Momentive.

Having a single, centralized location in the U.S. also allows the company to enhance responsiveness and support for customers, Momentive said.

Changes in the U.S. come at a time when the company also is making a major investment in Italy.

This month, Momentive revealed a $13 million project to expand its existing Termoli, Italy, facility to create a manufacturing hub for its Niax brand of polyurethane additives.

"The site, which currently produces high-performance additives for rigid foam applications among other silicone-based products, will undergo a comprehensive technology upgrade to expand services to the EU slabstock foam industry," the company said.

Production is expected to be fully in place by mid-2022 to serve customers in Europe, Russia and Turkey, Momentive said.

This project is part of a larger push by Momentive to optimize the company's manufacturing footprint around the world. That involved a silicone plant closing in Antwerp, Belgium, earlier this year with manufacturing shifting to the Italy plant, the company said.

A trio of South Korean companies—KCC Corp., Wonik QnC Corp. and SJL Partners L.L.C.—acquired Momentive in May 2019 from private equity firm Apollo Global Management Inc.