Conair Forms New Extrusion Business Unit; Acquires Michigan Plastic Machinery
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Conair Extrusion Process Engineers Brian Hilton (left) and Dave Czarnik examining microbore medical tubing in the Conair Technical Center. |
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Conair Extrusion Product Manager, Bob Bessemer (left) and Process Engineer Brian Hilton, checkdimensions of extruded pipe in the Conair Technical Center. |
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Conair has formed a new business unit — called Conair Extrusion — to focus exclusively on helping extruders find total process solutions for their application requirements. At the same time, the company has acquired Michigan Plastics Machinery (MPM), dramatically enhancing its capability to produce downstream extrusion equipment, especially large-scale pipe and profile lines, as well as systems that are highly customized.
“Conair has always been more than a supplier of downstream extrusion equipment,” says Chris Keller, president of Conair. “With a staff of highly knowledgeable and experienced extrusion specialists and the Conair Technical Center, we’ve been the company that people looked to for process development assistance as well as advanced equipment. Now, with the addition of MPM and an expanded extrusion operation, we are even better positioned to provide total customer application support.”
Keller says this new alignment allows Conair to provide a higher level of service at all phases of the customer relationship. This includes early-stage process consultation, site evaluation, Tech Center trials and development of a total extrusion system, including both up-stream and downstream equipment. During specification and purchasing, Conair can help examine the application, determine the best equipment layout, optimize dimensional tolerances, and provide faster delivery, flexible pricing and a process guarantee. After the sale, extrusion technicians can provide on-site installation, start-up and fine-tuning of the process, followed by ongoing 24/7 service and parts availability.
Conair expects the purchase of MPM to result in an immediate 50% increase in sales. In addition, with the two companies’ combined manufacturing and sales capacity, business is expected to continue growing significantly over the next few years. The MPM brand name will remain active and the MPM product line will continue to be available.
Existing alliances with major extruder manufacturers and extrusion tooling suppliers, plus the MPM product line, now allow Conair to provide a complete downstream solution for almost any pipe, profile or tubing application anywhere in the world. The company fully supports the production of wood-plastic composite deck and railing, PVC fence and windows, medical applications and pipe up to 36 inches in diameter. Besides its North American activities, Conair has installed — in this year alone — downstream extrusion systems in France, Belgium, Greece Saudi Arabia, India and Qatar. A demonstration line is now running at the new Conair facility in China and there are plans for similar installations in Europe and Mexico in 2008.
SOLIDIFYING DOWNSTREAM EXTRUSION SYSTEM LEADERSHIP
Conair entered the downstream extrusion market almost 20 years ago, when it acquired Gatto Machinery. Gatto was founded in 1962 and, even today, its name is synonymous with extrusion. In 1997, manufacturing operations in Michigan and Long Island, NY, were moved to an expanded plant in Franklin, PA, and sales and administration functions transferred to Conair headquarters in Pittsburgh. The new Conair Extrusion unit will continue to manufacture downstream products in Franklin and in the MPM facility in Kawkawlin (near Bay City), MI. All key MPM employees are expected to remain with the business.
Besides offering customers a single point of contact for parts and service, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, Conair Extrusion provides access to significantly expanded engineering and process development capabilities in the Conair Technical Center in Pittsburgh. There, three extrusion lines are now available not only for full system run-offs of Conair and MPM downstream equipment, but also for product development and tooling trials.
Supporting these activities is an all-star team of extrusion experts. Among them is Ernie Preiato, former president of Gatto Machinery and a 35-year extrusion veteran who has directed sales of Conair downstream equipment for the past 10 years. There are two full time process-based product managers — Bob Bessemer, who has 25 years of experience in downstream extrusion, and who is generally acknowledged as the inventor of most modern downstream cutting systems, and Steve Sickles, founder of MPM and a specialist in pipe and large profile applications with 28 years in the business. In the Technical Center, customers are supported by two full-time process engineers — Dave Czarnik, a tooling expert with 15-years Conair downstream-extrusion experience, and Brian Hilton a downstream application expert with 22 years in the plastics industry and 14 years with Conair. Ed Phillips, who joined Conair in 1993 and became Conair extrusion after-market manager in 1997, will relocate from Pittsburgh become vice president & general manager of the Michigan operation.
COMPLEMENTARY CAPABILITIES
“By joining together, Conair and MPM have become a formidable supplier of downstream solutions,” Keller explains. “Conair excels in systems for smaller profiles and tubing commonly used in medical applications, as well as fast-delivery standardized products. We also have been very successful in supplying lines for producing wood-plastic composite. At the same time, MPM excels in designing and delivering lines for larger pipe and profile applications as well as highly customized products.
“Customers of both MPM and Conair benefit immediately," Keller concludes. "All can enjoy a new level of combined product expertise, 24/7 service and parts backup, technical sales expertise, innovation and manufacturing/engineering resources unmatched in the downstream extrusion industry."
Steve Sickles, a longtime Conair employee, founded MPM seven years ago. Since then, MPM has been a specialty supplier to Conair and has developed capabilities that are very complementary to Conair’s. “I started my career in plastics with Conair,” Sickles notes. “When MPM first started doing business in 1999, Conair was our biggest customer. For years we’ve quoted and built larger and custom work for Conair. Now, while the MPM brand will continue, we are one organization and this means good news for our customers: one number to call for quotes, parts, service, sales and support.”
