Your Business In Brief - June 2009

New Venture to Fill Gap in Tech Support

Resin distributor Mitsui Plastics, White Plains, N.Y., and compounder Techmer PM, Clinton, Tenn., will announce at this month’s NPE show a new venture called Mitsui Techmer Solutions. Its purpose is to provide technical support to processors serving Japanese automotive and electronics OEMs in North America. The venture will draw on Mitsui’s close ties with Japanese manufacturers and the tech-service capabilities and analytical laboratories of Techmer’s six U.S. plants. Techmer and Mitsui have been partners since Techmer was formed in the 1980s.

“While large resin suppliers are cutting back in technical support, Techmer’s strength is in assisting customers in design, processing, troubleshooting, and problem-solving,” says Techmer CEO John Manuck. “With our engineered compounding and color and additive masterbatch capabilities, we can assist processors with everything from a carbon-fiber polycarbonate compound to high-quality colors for polypropylene.” As another example of where Techmer can help, Manuck notes that many processors are still buying precolored compounds rather than more economical masterbatch. “In this economy, more people are willing to take another look at cost-saving solutions,” he observes.