It's Not Just Pellets In A Box

Often times I have discussions with customers about compound requirements, quantities and pricing.  Once we have satisfied the performance requirements, inevitably the conversation boils down to one question – what’s the price per pound. 

I know that the person I’m talking with likely has no visibility into what happens behind the scenes, and what truly goes into a box of pellets.  What’s more: Each person in the customer organization has their own stake in those pellets, and the requirements will vary for each role.

Many purchasing agents view a box of pellets as a commodity. They know their job is measured by tough negotiations and getting a better price than fair market and the competition. It’s an endless effort…

Most process engineers will view the same box entirely differently –with an expectation that the supplier has matched the right product to meet the process needs of the customer’s equipment, as this can vary significantly from customer to customer. They know a potential crisis erupts if, say, a part has surface defects or lacks dimensional stability, potentially costing down time on their equipment.  Can they get the right level of technical support from the manufacturer to solve the problem, they wonder?   

A regulatory or safety manager will view the box in yet a different light: as a subset of ingredients that meet compliance requirements to Proposition 65, RoHs or REACH.  Are they able to pick up the phone and connect with an expert to provide information regarding compliance?

And the plant manager views the box another way: A resource to fill orders, an asset, which the company will use to convert into sellable product and ultimately profitability.  The safe and efficient conversion of this material is paramount to their role of maintaining a cost effective operation. 

What about the production manager who helped to qualify the product months ago?  Thet are counting on the supplier to produce and supply the same compound that was initially qualified, expecting it will arrive on the scheduled delivery date, and meet all the requirements provided at the beginning of the project. 

So, in support of what many consider “commodity materials” across the manufacturing spectrum, we offer a glimpse into what happens here at Teknor Apex to stand behind each and every role:

Compliance with all essential regulations is an integral component of the custom compounding process – that starts in the earliest stages of customer requirement mapping. On behalf of all Teknor customers, our regulatory team stays ahead of ever-changing regulatory requirements to provide:

• EPA, CPSC and Proposition 65 regulations guidance
• Harmonized global SDS
• UL/NSF listings
• RoHS/REACH support

Our regulatory team also extends their deep technical expertise to work with regulators and legislators at the national and state levels, to help ensure that regulations are grounded in good science.

Providing the basic criteria for an application, customers rely on over 100 years of application and compound development experience across our technical service team whose strength is in understanding the end product use and performance requirements.  These same customers typically have unique processing equipment, with potentially hundreds of dies that require Teknor to manufacture vinyl compounds which provide a broad processing window. Teknor will formulate to meet the performance requirements, while tailoring the manufacturing to meet the most challenging process needs. 

As a custom compounder with such a broad portfolio of products, applications, markets and manufacturing techniques, quality systems are incorporated into every aspect of our processes – across the entire value chain and across all global regions. Our quality team engages regularly with our suppliers, employees and customers to strengthen our systems and promote an environment of continuous improvement.

We source materials from 55 different countries. Some supplier relationships go back 45 years, and yet we continually seek and vet new sources of innovative materials. We leverage the strength of our global supply base and the sophistication of our procurement department for a singular mission: To operate a truly customer-centric supply chain.

So much goes into this mission behind the scenes: supplier performance metrics, forecasting, and contingency planning as well as risk mitigation for uninterrupted supply of raw materials. Our supply chain team has an integral voice on every business team, to achieve the quality and agility that today’s manufacturing environment requires.  

With over 90 years in business under the same family ownership – now in its 3rd generation – we know a lot about stability and continuity of relationships. Often, that means that our employees know their customers and their respective histories as well as they themselves do. It also shows up as a corporate culture that runs through every division and every function, unified by a singular mission of innovating to solve customer problems, while building long term relationships, without the need to be concerned about Wall Street’s response to the next quarter.

Teknor Apex is a technically strong, financially stable and an unparalleled ethical manufacturer of vinyl compounds.  Every box of compound produced is more than pellets in a box, being the culmination of a coordinated effort among multiple teams to ensure the customer is getting the right material, produced the correct way, on time and in specification, with the right support.  We look forward to building long-term relationships with our customers and helping them establish a successful business.  

The next time you grab a handful of pellets, know that there is more to it than meets the eye.