PAWTUCKET, R.I. (Oct. 10, 3:20 p.m. ET) — Victor J. Baxt, chairman of Teknor Apex Co., died Oct. 7 at age 95.
In an Oct. 10 news release, officials with Pawtucket, R.I.-based Teknor described Baxt as “a key figure in transforming Teknor Apex into a leading polymer company.”
Baxt “played an important role” in the development of Teknor Apex Co. into one of the world’s leading custom compounders of plastics, they added. He also was esteemed in his native Rhode Island as a philanthropist and civic leader, officials said.
Baxt was a college friend of Norman Fain — son of Teknor founder Alfred Fain — and joined the firm in 1946. Teknor entered the plastics market in 1949, when it first produced PVC compounds.
Fain, Baxt and Herbert Malin — who joined Teknor in 1956 — “were partners in leading the transformation of the company from a business focused on the tire and rubber market to a diversified plastics enterprise,” officials said. Teknor today employs more than 2,000 worldwide and has annual sales of more than $600 million.
Baxt served on the board of trustees of Miriam Hospital in Providence, R.I., and on many committees for that institution. He was a longtime supporter of the University of Rhode Island and established an endowed scholarship there for undergraduate students of chemistry and chemical engineering.
Also at URI, Baxt founded the Victor Baxt Chair in Polymer Engineering, and supported construction of new facilities at the university, which awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2011. He was an active member of the Jewish community in Providence, serving on the boards of a number of organizations.
Baxt was a graduate of URI and of Duke University. He is survived by his wife Gussie, two sons, three grandchildren, and five great grandchildren.
