There were few surprises when it came to identifying the largest custom mixers in North America.
When ranked by sales, Hexpol takes the No. 1 spot with 2021 sales at the upper end of the $500 million-$999 million range. AirBoss ranks No. 2, with sales falling in the $100 million-$499 million range.
Both of these companies are publicly held—the only two such firms in the rankings—with Hexpol North America's parent, Hexpol A.B., based in Sweden, and AirBoss in Canada.
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Hexpol posted global rubber compounding sales of $1.74 billion in 2021, with 57 percent of that coming from its Americas unit, according to data in its annual report.
AirBoss had 2021 revenues of $171.6 million for its Rubber Solutions business, according to its annual report. The vast majority of the unit is comprised of the firm's rubber mixing business.
Dyna-Mix Inc. was ranked as the third-largest custom compounder in North America with 2021 sales between $100 million-$499 million.
To better gauge a ranking for companies reporting the same range for 2021 North American sales, global sales were considered as tie-breakers. Companies with larger worldwide sales were ranked higher on the chart.
In instances where a tie could not be broken, companies are listed alphabetically.
Most companies reporting both capacity and volumes mixed showed to be at utilization rates between 60 and 70 percent. One company, Garware Fulflex USA Inc., reported operations at full capacity (6.24 million pounds).
One thing you'll notice about this data set is that sales figures are reported differently than with previous rankings that Rubber News has published. Our sales figures don't include specific numbers, and that was by design.
To encourage participation—and protect sensitive financial data for private- and family-owned firms, which represent the largest part of the custom rubber compounding space—we decided to provide participants with the option to check which sales range best fit their companies.
In doing so, we believe we gained valuable insight about the size and scope of custom mixers across the board, and hopefully helped participating companies feel more comfortable with the information shared.
Three elastomeric materials—EPDM, CR and NBR—were ranked as the most used by custom mixers. In all, 67 percent of survey respondents indicated that they use these elastomers.
Natural rubber and BR each were marked by 60 percent of participating companies as elastomers in the mix, while FKM, IR and CPE synthetic rubber were noted as key for 53 percent of survey participants.
NBR latex was the least used of the elastomers at 7 percent.
Elastomers falling into the "other" category included silicone, conductive silicones, TPEs and TPVs, among others.
The industrial sector was the most popular end market served with 87 percent of custom mixers who responded to the survey indicating they work in this space. Food and beverage (73 percent) as well as oil and gas (67 percent) also were among the top five.
Three sectors—medical, mining and construction—were served by 60 percent of respondents, and more than half (53 percent) said they serve military and/or government end markets.
One third of custom mixers participating in this year's ranking serve the tire industry.
The transportation and automotive industries, meanwhile, were among the four sectors referenced in the accompanying chart as "other," and were, therefore, among the least-served end markets by custom mixer survey respondents. Sponge and printing also were included here.
Going into this ranking, we had a few hypotheses. Among them was the idea that the backbone of custom rubber compounding is small- and mid-sized business. Survey results indicate this is the case. Once you get past the top several firms in the business, it's clear there remains a place for the smaller, niche players in the mixing sector.
According to those companies participating in this year's survey, 60 percent have 100 or fewer employees working in North America. Further, more than half of respondents (53 percent) operate with fewer than 50 North American employees.
While we believe the results of this year's ranking show just a small snapshot of a much larger industry picture, we do believe it is an accurate one. And our hope is that we can continue to build that picture company by company.
Throughout the year, we will update the information on the rankings as more data becomes available. And that happens with your help.
Ultimately, your participation gives us a richer foundation on which to build future rankings, and it provides the industry with more resources to understand how it's growing, which trends are emerging and how businesses can best capitalize on those trends.
Companies that may not yet have participated in the survey still have the opportunity to do so. To learn more or obtain a survey for this year's data set, contact Editorial Researcher Robin Clark at [email protected] or visit rubbernews.com/mixing-survey.
Rubber News wants to hear from its readers. If you want to express your opinion on a story or issue, email your letter to Editor Bruce Meyer at [email protected].