Specialty compounding firm Polymer Technology & Services LLC (PTS) has opened a sales and logistics office in Guadalajara, Mexico.
The new office “aims to broaden the global efforts of the organization as a whole by reaching new customer bases via local representation,” officials with Murfreesboro, Tenn.-based PTS said in a Nov. 16 news release.
“It's a logical extension for us,” international development and marketing director Jonathan Guevart said in a Nov. 16 phone interview. “Our customers are moving production there. Some of them are moving production back from Asia to Mexico and the U.S.”
Mexico now accounts for 20 to 25 percent of total PTS sales, according to Guevart. The firm's materials have been available there for more than 20 years. Companywide, PTS is on track to post “high single-digit” sales growth in 2016, he added.
The Mexican location “supports the PTS business model of expert product knowledge while being an integral part of a growing country,” country manager Gerardo Lopez Kuri added in the release.
The new office will allow PTS to create new jobs while offering customer service, short lead times, and more than 200 UL listed engineering resins to the area.
“Mexico's economy has excelled relative to other Latin American economies in recent years, largely due to flourishing manufacturing sectors, including electronics manufacturing, aerospace, and automobiles,” sales and business development vice president Eddie Oropeza said in the release.
PTS also recently reached a technical collaboration and licensing agreement with Formulated Polymers Ltd. (FPL) of Chennai, India. The agreement will expand the availability of PTS compounds in Asia, particularly South East Asia. FPL Joint Managing Director Sekar Venkateswaran and PTS President Tom Hooper signed the agreement in April. Some PTS compounds are already made in China.
On the new product front, PTS has extended its Tristar-brand family of polycarbonate-based materials with four halogen-compliant types certified by Underwriters Laboratories. The new grades are intended for electrical and telecommunication devices, business machines, and small and large appliances. They will be available in Europe, North America and Asia.
