CLARKSTON, MICH. (March 7, 12:15 p.m. ET) — Resin distributor Chase Plastic Services Inc. has added two new bulk packaging lines and a new computerized blender at its warehouse in South Bend, Ind.
Those moves are part of an overall effort by Clarkston, Mich.-based Chase “to offset industry consolidation and provide customers with value-added services once offered by thermoplastic resin producers,” officials said in a Feb. 15 news release.
“Following recent mergers and acquisitions, the big have gotten bigger, and many of the value-added services that once differentiated independent distributors from mega-corporations have vanished,” President Kevin Chase said in the release.
“As one of North America’s largest remaining independents, and a company that is built on providing outrageous customer service, we have a unique ability to provide flexible, value-added services that have become increasingly rare in the shadow of rampant corporate mergers and acquisitions,” he added.
Chase stocks more than 6,400 grades of specialty, engineering and commodity resins in South Bend. The firm caters to small-to-medium sized applications and can ship orders ranging in size from 50-pound samples to 40,000-pound truckloads.
The new bulk packaging lines will allow Chase to handle larger material volumes and dedicate specific lines to specific types of pellets, officials said. The firm - founded in 1992 by Kevin Chase and his wife Carole - now has six bulk packaging lines in South Bend. The new computerized blender is its second there and gives Chase more flexibility and the capability to produce larger capacity blends, officials said.
Chase, which will exhibit at NPE2012 in Orlando, Fla., also recently began integrating its front-end sales quoting system with Prophet 21 inventory and supply chain management software. The software allows Chase’s sales team to more efficiently manage quotes and to access pricing, order history and real-time inventory data in the field via tablets equipped with high-speed Internet access.
Since mid-2010, Chase has added three new sales reps and 15 other warehouse and office positions. In a recent interview with Plastics News, Kevin Chase said that the firm’s sales for 2011 were “pretty terrific from a volume standpoint,” with growth in the automotive and electrical/electronic sectors.
