Teknor Apex Breaks Ground for Multi-Million Lb. Thermoplastic Elastomer Plant

Home > TPE - German > What's New > What's New

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., June 19, 2000: To meet increasing demand for low-modulus ("soft") thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) in automotive, medical, wire and cable, consumer products, and other major markets, Teknor Apex has started construction of a TPE compounding facility at its Henderson, Kentucky, U.S.A., manufacturing complex, the company announced today at NPE 2000 (McCormick South, Booth 11947).

When started up in third quarter 2001, the 44,000 sq. ft. (4,088 m2) plant will manufacture Tekron (Registered Trade Mark), Telcar (Registered Trade Mark), Tekbond (Trade Mark), Monprene (Registered Trade Mark), and Elexar TPE compounds. The grass roots facility will initially contain two compounding lines equipped with twin-screw extruders. More production lines will be added in the future. A Teknor Color Company color-concentrate plant is also located at the Henderson complex.

"Our decision to commission a brand new plant to produce low-modulus TPE products stems from strong growth in new applications like overmolded grips and integral gaskets, as well as steady replacement of thermoset rubber compounds in conventional end-uses," said Jonathan Fain, President of Teknor Apex. "A major reason that we chose to build the new TPE plant at our Henderson complex is its strategic location near major OEMs and the processors which supply them with molded and extruded components."

Fain noted that the new plant will use color products manufactured at the adjacent Teknor Color plant for pre-colored TPE compounds, and will rely on the color supplier to develop color concentrates specifically for Teknor Apex TPE products.

"Besides the proximity of the two plants, the operations of both facilities are based on
similar process and materials technologies," he said. "This synergy will help customers of pre-colored TPE products and those that use color concentrates because in either case colorant systems will be custom tailored."

The TPE facility will be directly linked to other Teknor Apex operations through the company's computer network to provide on-line access to its full range of customer support resources.