Akron Ohio — While Hexpol Silicone Compounding did not move its North American mixing operations far, the transition from Mogadore, Ohio, to Akron will have far-reaching benefits for the company's operations.

The roughly 10-mile move nearly triples the space for Hexpol, increasing from about 14,000 square feet to 40,000 square feet.

With the lease up on the Mogadore facility, the building has been turned back over to property owners.

"Hexpol Silicone had outgrown the previous space in Mogadore," Ken Bloom, president of Hexpol North America, told Rubber News, a sister publication of Plastics News. "Our business continues to grow in this segment as customers see the value of Hexpol as a supplier, as new products require the higher performance offered by silicone."

A specific investment in the move was not disclosed, though Bloom called the capital expense "significant."

Hexpol will lease space in the larger Akron facility, which the company retrofitted for its operations. The Akron location represents the primary silicone compounding site for Hexpol in North America, Bloom said.

"This was not a greenfield project," said Jerry Saxion, director of operations for North America for Hexpol. "There were many advantages to using an existing facility — such as the time to execute a project from start to finish, as well as having an existing infrastructure ... that made the regulatory process more streamlined."

Between 50 and 60 workers are expected to be employed at the facility once it is fully staffed. The Akron facility is led by General Manager Steve Hersey.

The space is split between 3,000 square feet of office space, including space for customer service, human resource and purchasing teams. The balance (37,000 square feet) is split between manufacturing and warehouse operations.

The facility now is operational.

"The new Akron location provides much more capability," Saxion said. "The investments into the lab equipment allow for a wider range of testing and development research."

With three new mixers, Hexpol will be able to mix "whatever volume our customers desire," Bloom said, from three-pound lab batches to 150-pound trials, all the way up to large volume batches.

"We have also increased additional capabilities in packaging as well as other post-mixing operations," Saxion said.

With the expanded space, Hexpol added the additional three mixing lines to complement the existing line that was moved from Mogadore.

The four mixers now comprise a 150-gallon sigma blade mixer, used for mixing high viscosity liquids such as adhesives, silicone and rubber; a 200-gallon sigma blade mixer; a 200-gallon Battaggion mixer; and a 50-gallon sigma blade mixer.

The Battaggion mixer — manufactured by Italy-based Battaggion SpA — is a "state-of-the-art" sigma blade bottom discharge mixer with an in-line gear pump for straining, according to Saxion.

Saxion noted that this mixer "mirrors" what Hexpol Mesgo (a subsidiary of Hexpol) operates in Europe and "allows global customers to receive consistent technology and product globally."

The addition of the three new mixing lines in Akron does not triple the silicone capacity for Hexpol North America, as the mixers are of different volumes and sizes.

Capacity at the Akron location will increase, however, to about 12,000 metric tons per year, Bloom said.

"Production will not [increase] because of the different sizes of the mixers and the different product mixes and processes required," Saxion said. "The extra mixers allow for greater flexibility to produce custom products for our clients."

A new additive weighing machine at the Akron facility will add precision to the silicone compounding process as well, Saxion said, as Hexpol is adding a Northfield, Ohio-based Cami Impianti bulk handling system.

"This, along with the Hexpol proprietary Spectrum control system, will improve the ... quality and consistency of our compounds," Hexpol said in a July 25 release announcing the move.

In addition to the mixers, Hexpol has upgraded its laboratory equipment with the addition of an Alpha Technology Premier Mooney and MDR.

"All of the new laboratory equipment will be integrated to allow for seamless communication, record retention and analysis," Saxion said.

Finally, the new Akron location will allow faster time-to-market for Hexpol customers, as the facility includes a small-batch production room with two lab mixers at four liters and 10 liters; a 40-inch mill; a 75-liter twin screw extruder; and a Sagitta granulator.

"At all Hexpol mixing locations we focus on the core tenets of people, product and process," Bloom said. "We will have the most talented employees in the industry who focus every day on providing the highest quality products on time with the highest quality levels. We will leverage our deep understanding of materials and process to provide the best solutions to the industry.

"(And) we will invest in the best mixing and control technology available to assure that our products work consistently day in and day out, with minimum variation."

Hexpol Silicones provides hundreds of custom and standard compound formulas used across the transportation (automotive, bus and rail mass transit, and aircraft), energy, building and construction, wire and cable, and medical technology industries.

Specifically, Hexpol supplies materials for cables, insulators, spark plug boots, glazing, O-rings, rollers, stampers, grommets and food packaging seals, among many other end-use applications.

Fortunately, Bloom said Hexpol has been able to avoid supply chain problems that have beset other companies in the industry, and procuring raw materials has not been a major issue for the company.

"Due to our continual market research, our knowledge from our European counterparts within Hexpol and our strategic partnerships with key suppliers, Hexpol continues to have strong supply chain lines for procuring monomers," he said.

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