Our pool of LSR processors

This week's print issue of Plastics News has our fourth annual directory of LSR processors.
While we don't rank LSR processors we do list company locations, websites, contact names, end markets and more. And for the 61 companies tracked this year, we also gather information that helps us track the industry. The complete details are online at www.plasticsnews.com/rankings/lsr-processors.

We ask our respondents to fill out a survey about their operations. Not all firms respond and not everyone answers every question. But still, we get an idea of players in the market and what products they produce, that's the list you'll see in print.

The survey highlight is how much material was processed. For 2019 is was 4.2 million pounds, enough to fill 60 Olympic-sized swimming pools, or the equivalent of 2.25 million boxes of Quisp cereal. (Who knew when you clicked on this blog link you'd find a cereal reference?)

That output is reported from 23 percent of the respondents, not too bad for a rookie project, but we think we can find even more obscure information with your help.

Visit www.plasticsnews.com/survey-lsr-processors to get listed, it's free. Our big picture goal is to report on changes in the market year over year.

Not surprising at all is the material grade at the top of the list, where 76 percent use medical grade LSR, followed by high tear strength. Injection molders make up the majority of our directory and a total of 65 plant locations were reported — 47 of them in the United States — followed by Austria, Canada, China and England as the countries with the most facilities.

If you work for a company that is missing from the ranking and prefer not to use the online survey, just sent a note to Hollee Keller at [email protected] or mail your information to Plastics News, P.O. Box 790, Tallmadge, Ohio 44278.