Advanced Polymer Compounding Announces Toll-Compounding Services for Specialty and Engineered Plastics; Division of Ferro Corporation caters to custom thermoplastic materials manufacturers

CARPENTERSVILLE, Ill. - Manufacturers of engineered plastic compounds have a new ally in the battle to control product development and production costs. Advanced Polymer Compounding (APC), a division of Ferro Corporation, has launched new compounding services to assist manufacturers in bringing new materials to market while minimizing costs.

The services, which guarantee client confidentiality, allow plastics manufacturers to tap into APC's 15-years of specialty compounding expertise and extensive resources that include unique blending and compounding operations, testing labs, packaging and an 80,000-square-foot warehouse for inventory storage and direct shipping.

APC's toll-compounding service offers manufacturers the opportunity to:

• Test new products without excessive capital expense
• React quickly to market demands
• Build market volume prior to in-house production
• Establish a safety valve for research and development activities

Among the materials that can be developed, tested, and manufactured at APC are reactive, grafted, and highly filled engineered polymers - including PVC, PP, TPE, carbon black, color batch, and others.

"APC's toll-compounding service reduces the risk that material manufacturers take when introducing a new product," said APC's commercial business manager, Tom Pugh. "If a manufacturer has limitations or needs assistance to produce a product for whatever reason, we can be their silent partner and help meet their customer demands."

The APC facility, run by operations manager Steve Rust, has the capacity to develop up to 30-million pounds of material and store and ship the product, all from one location.

"We offer full-service solutions to a select group of customers," said Rust. "Our centrally located facility also enables us to receive, process, and ship materials quickly and efficiently."

"When you look at where the marketplace is heading, it's definitely into niche compounds and custom compound production," Pugh said. "You can no longer get by with off-the-shelf materials. Instead, you have to look at developing advanced materials, and that is where APC enters the picture."

Some of the equipment and services available at APC include:

• Multiple compounding lines with capacity of 50 to several thousand pounds per hour
• Buss continuous kneaders and W & P twin screw extruders
• Full service analytic labs and A2LA accredited testing lab
• Inventory management and logistics services
• ISO 9002 certification

Additional peripheral equipment include blenders, high-speed mixers, feed systems, dryers, liquid injection, vacuum extraction, die-face/strand/underwater pelletizing and Gala spin dryers, bagging, boxing and labeling.

About Ferro
Ferro Corporation is a major international producer of performance materials for industry, including coatings and performance chemicals. The company has operations in 20 countries and recorded sales of $1.5 billion in 2001.