Hexpol stands out in custom mixing ranking; small, mid-sized firms make big impressions

If you're expecting surprises, you won't find them on this year's custom mixing ranking.

The industry is just as you'd expect—defined by giants in their respective spaces and bound together by the small- and medium-sized companies who have carved out their respective niches.

That said, there is no doubt that, when it comes to custom mixing, Hexpol easily stands alone, leading the global and North American industries in terms of both sales and volume mixed. It was the only company on our ranking to post North American sales between $500 million and $999 million last year.

Globally, Hexpol A.B.'s footprint is even more impressive. The company posted global sales of $1.98 billion in compounding related sales last year, down just slightly from the $2 billion recorded in 2022.

Hexpol Compounding Americas, which operates 16 sites across North America and employs more than 1,600, saw automotive-related sales hold fairly steady throughout 2023. Sales to building- and construction-related end markets dropped off as those sectors cooled.

Four companies fall into the second tier of North American sales—those ranging from $100 million-$499 million. They are AirBoss Rubber Solutions, American Phoenix Inc., Chem Technologies Ltd. and Dyna-Mix Inc.

Fourteen of the 27 companies on this year's ranking show 2023 sales below $20 million, while 43 percent had fewer than 100 employees.

Six companies reported 2023 sales between $20 million and $99 million, while four reported sales between $100 million and $499 million.

Take a step back and look at the industry through the lens of capacity and we begin to see a clearer picture of the landscape.

When grouped by capacity, Hexpol again stands alone. The company reports a North American mixing capacity of 1.3 billion pounds—more than double that of No. 2 AirBoss at 500 million pounds.

In addition to Hexpol and AirBoss, three companies reported mixing capacities of more than 100 million pounds—American Phoenix at 400 million, Chem Technologies at 165 million and Dyna-Mix at 100 million.

Four custom mixers reported a North American capacity between 10 million and 99 million pounds. Of those, Quanex Custom Mixing was the largest with 60 million. Mountville Rubber reported 44 million pounds of mixing capacity, while Elite Advanced Polymers Inc. and Pinnacle Elastomeric Technology shared mixing capacities of 18 million pounds and 10 million pounds, respectively.

Four companies reported North American mixing capacities at less than 10 million pounds. They were led by Reiss Manufacturing at 5.25 million pounds. Gumena L.L.C. has 2.6 million pounds of capacity, while silicone specialty firms International Silicone Tech Inc. and Kri-Color L.L.C. show capacities of 1 million and 500 thousand pounds, respectively.

For those companies that also reported volume mixed, the story is rather interesting. Because while American Phoenix trails AirBoss in total capacity, it reports a higher volume mixed—300 million pounds to AirBoss' 263 million pounds.

Worth noting also are Mountville Rubber, which reports a volume of 40 million pounds and a capacity of 44 million. International Silicone Tech shows it is operating at 1 million pounds of volume and capacity.

Regardless of size, companies are investing and restructuring as they look to grow in the industry.

Most notable is AirBoss, which recently restructured its business into two segments—AirBoss Rubber Solutions (which includes compounding) and AirBoss Manufactured Products. The transition reflects the company's intention to focus more readily on its core rubber compounding capabilities and strategic growth opportunities.

Hexpol is doing some growing of its own. The Malmo, Sweden-based company purchased Star Thermoplastics in November for about $26.5 million, on a cash and debt-free basis. The move gave Hexpol A.B. a foothold in the TPE market, where it sees greater opportunities for growth.

And each year, Hexpol maintains a strategy of continuous improvement and investment. The Americas branch maintains a capital expenditures budget of between $20 million and $25 million per year.

Typically the highest amount goes to manufacturing and equipment (more than $5 million for 2024).

But as the company looks to standardize and harmonize its operations across its North American locations, the IT portion is increasing (about $5 million for 2024).

"Industry 4.0 weighs heavily on IT infrastructure, standardization, connectivity and integration with business systems," said HCA President Gary Moore. "We are already looking toward what Industry 5.0 is and planning accordingly."

Kri-Color, a 16-person company based in Sanford, Maine, is making some investments of its own after purchasing the building it had previously rented. And the silicone specialty firm also is investing more than $200,000 to increase capacity and add lab equipment.

On its 2023 survey, Middlefield, Ohio-based Chem Technologies noted that it has plans for new equipment and plant expansion as well as a new R&D center. The company employs around 130 at two North American sites.

Meanwhile, Mountville Rubber, a 120-employee company based in LaGrange, Ga., is eyeing expanded warehouse space and upgraded capacity, according to its 2023 survey.

Andrew Schunk, Rubber News staff, contributed to this report