Polymer Composites Inc., known as PCI, produces Celstran fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite materials, which combine long fibers of glass, aramid, carbon or stainless steel with resins such as nylon, polyethylene and polyphenylene sulfide. PCI is strong in technical development and uses a proprietary continuous-fiber process that allows fiber concentrations of up to 60 percent of the total weight of the material.
In addition, PCI markets Celstran as an additive, or blending concentrate, in conventional, commodity and recycled resins.
PCI was founded in 1980 to develop the technology of impregnating long fibers with thermoplastics and licensed its manufacturing technology to Celanese Engineering Resins in 1986 and Polyplastics Co. Ltd. in Fuji City, Japan, in 1987.
In 1988, PCI became a subsidiary of Hoechst Celanese Corp. of Summit, N.J., itself a unit of Germany's Hoechst AG.
PCI employs about 75 at a 48,000-square-foot Winona, Minn., facility that opened in 1991. PCI works closely with a sister research and manufacturing facility in Kelsterbach, Germany.
LNP Engineering Plastics Inc. manufactures Verton long-fiber structural composites of nylon, polypropylene and polyphthalamide along with lines of lubricated, statically conductive, and reinforced thermoplastics and compounds.
LNP went from private owners to Beatrice Foods and then, for six years, to ICI plc. Tokyo-based Kawasaki Steel Corp. acquired LNP in November 1991, when ICI sold most of its Verton long-glass-fiber business except for the European nylon glass product. That portion was sold to DuPont Co. in July 1993 and, in turn, to LNP in June 1994.
Capital spending increased. LNP enlarged a Columbus, Ind., facility 155 percent to 115,000 square feet and installed new Verton capacity in a $9.1-million project completed in late 1994. Columbus employs 50, up from 27 in 1993.
On Feb. 17, LNP dedicated a 35,000-square-foot facility in Thornaby-on-Tees, England. The site employs 30 and makes long-fiber material formerly produced at a DuPont facility in Billingham, England.
LNP is installing equipment in a newly constructed, 30,000-square-foot plant in Seremban, Malaysia, and expects operations to begin by Aug. 1. The plant employs 20 but initiallywill not make Verton.
LNP also manufactures in Thorndale, Pa., and maintains U.S. headquarters in Exton, Pa.; European headquarters in Raamsdonkaveer, the Netherlands; and Southeast Asian headquarters in Singapore.
DSM Engineering Plastics Inc. uses modified pultrusion to manufacture Fiberstran long-glass-fiber-reinforced thermoplastics using nylon, polypropylene, thermoplastic polyurethane, polycarbonate, styrene acrylonitrile, polystyrene and polysulfone.
DSM manufactures Fiberstran and three other lines of long-fiber-reinforced conductive, lubricated and flame-retardant thermoplastics in a 160,000-square-foot headquarters facility in Evansville, Ind. DSM employs 262.
The business was founded as Fiberfil Corp. in 1952 in Warsaw, Ind.
The business was moved to Evansville and had a succession of operators including Dart Industries, Dart & Kraft, Plastics Specialties & Technologies and Wilson Fiberfil.
In 1992, Akzo Nobel NV sold the business to DSM NV, which structured it within the polymers division, a giant that reported 1994 sales of $1.48 billion, up 22 percent from $1.21 billion in 1993.
DSM NV is a chemical and material company based in Heerlen, the Netherlands. The Dutch government owns 30 percent of the firm.
