Plastics News Daily Report - May 10, 2018 - 20

20 ‹ PLASTICS NEWS DAILY REPORT ‹ May 10, 2018

Baerlocher planning for consistent growth
Baerlocher USA is pursuing a
business strategy company leaders believe will put it on a course
for consistent growth in the coming
years.
According to Edward Hall, president and CEO, that strategy allows
the company to expand its portfolio and offer extensive technical
service.
"We expect to grow our staff by
20 percent in 2018," he said.
The company is also expanding
its office space at its Cincinnati
headquarters to include a technical center.
"This is going to be a differentiator for Baerlocher," Hall noted.
The company does not release
dollar figures for the project, but
Hall said. "It is a significant investment for us."
It is expected to be completed by
the end of 2018.
Hall said the company is taking
a role in helping to train the industry, even in products that it doesn't
produce.
"We are investing in people and
the plastics industry," he said.
The company started a tech summit several years ago with about 40
participants. Today, that number
has grown to more than 100 and
Hall said it continues to expand.
"We really see this as an oppor-

Plastics News photo by David Hutton

By David Hutton
Plastics News Staff

From left, Roberto Nuñez, director of speciality additives; Edward Hall, president and CEO; Greg Andersen,
director of Baeropol Products; and Gary Conroy, head of North American strategic business unit for PVC
additives for Baerlocher USA.

BOOTH S14189
BAERLOCHER USA
tunity to educate the younger engineers and chemists," he said.
Gary Conroy, the company's
head of North American strategic
business unit for PVC additives,

said he sees people coming back
year after year for the company's
training in PVC plasticizing.
"Actually, 80 percent of what we
are reaching isn't even Baerlocher
business," he said.
The training included case studies for rigid and flexible and offered
potential problems that young engineers may encounter. They are

given the background, and instructors see how they would solve the
problem.
The company's growth also
means it has to expand its workforce. Baerlocher currently is
seeking a sales position and a tech
specialist. It also expects to add a
human resources position in the
near future.

Those are all a part of growing,
and Hall said the company has
grown by about 40 percent since
2013, though it leveled off in 2017.
"It created some stress for us,
but it uncovered some opportunities," Hall said.
Roberto Nuñez, director of specialty additives, noted that the
company has expanded its polyolefins business by about 20-25
percent.
"We need to have the capacity to
meet demand," he said, noting that
the present changes in the polyolefins industry are moving toward
new technologies.
With recycling gaining momentum in the U.S., Nuñez said, "Our
solutions are well-suited for that."
During NPE2018, Baerlocher
has been spotlighting its Baeropol
DRS 6812 antioxidant along with its
Baeropol RST platform.
The company is also globalizing
the formulation of the RST platform chemistry to provide regional
sources of supply.
Greg Andersen, director of Baeropol Products for Baerlocher, said
the company sees the RST platform
technology as a key to its polyolefins technology.
"This is the leading effort to have
our own intellectual property," he
said.
And as Nuñez was quick to add,
"Innovation is never easy. You have
to invest."

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Plastics News Daily Report - May 10, 2018