Medina, Ohio — Specialty compounder Ovation Polymers Inc. is ramping up its commercial efforts as it looks for a joint venture partner or potential buyer.
"We have a lot to offer with the specialty compounds that we make," President and Chief Operating Officer Delbert Henderson said in a July 28 interview at the firm's headquarters in Medina. "We don't compete with high-volume compounders, but there's a lot that we can do in specialties."
Ovation's focus is on electrically and thermally dissipative compounds. Its materials can be based on a wide range of resins, including polycarbonate, nylon, polyetheretherketone and glycol-modified PET.
End markets include LED lighting, heat sinks, computers and electronic packaging. The firm more recently has produced compounds that can be used in construction applications and in the wire and cable market, according to Abby Kamleh, administrative and accounting manager.
"We're moving from being a development company to one that's more about penetrating markets," Kamleh said.
Ovation currently operates five extrusion lines with total annual capacity of almost 20 million pounds. The firm posted sales of $4 million in 2016, with 2017 sales expected to be higher.
Ovation generates about half of its sales from its own products, with the remainder coming from toll compounding. It typically runs lot sizes ranging anywhere from 1,000 pounds to 200,000 pounds.
Plastics veteran Asis Banerjie founded Ovation in 2005, with funding from Cleveland investment firm Early Stage Partners LP, which still owns Ovation. Banerjie left the firm in 2014 and was replaced by Henderson, a compounding veteran who had been with Ovation since 2010.
"We look at ourselves as more of a boutique firm, taking niche products to niche customers," he said. Ovation also is seeking licensing opportunities for its proprietary compounding technology.
Ovation employs 17 at a 70,000-square-foot location that previously was used by injection molder Par Industries LLC.