Materials firm Saco AEI Polymers is growing in the U.S., Mexico and India.
At the start of 2024, Sheboygan, Wis.-based Saco bought a former furniture plant three miles away from its headquarters site. The firm paid $7 million for the 222,400 square-foot building, which had been vacant for about a year, CEO Luca Saggese said in a recent phone interview.
Saco now plans to install four twin-screw extrusion lines at the site in the next three years, adding 100 million pounds of annual capacity, Saggese added. Saco now employs 20 at the site, but that number is expected to grow to 100. The site also will be used for application development and for warehousing.
Saco makes compounds based on cross-linked polyethylene and other specialty resins. The firm also distributes flame retardants and other plastics additives and offers toll compounding services.
In Monterrey, Mexico, Saco in January opened a 180,000 square foot compounding plant. That $25 million site operates three large extrusion lines and employs 25, with plans to eventually employ 100. Saggese said the Monterrey plant will make compounds for automotive and wire and cable markets.
And in Pavi, India, Saco in March will open a compounding plant through a joint venture with Bihani Group, a compounder and concentrates maker based in New Delhi.
Prior to the expansions, Saco already had manufacturing sites in Sheboygan; Aurora, Ohio; and Sandwich, England, employing a total of 250.
Saggese said the three recent expansions have been fueled by "stellar growth" in demand for cross-linked PE compounds, particularly in wire and cable applications. Saco posted sales of $320 million in 2024, up 20 percent from the previous year.
Growing needs for electrification also have played a big role in Saco's growth, according to Saggese, who joined the firm in 2012 after almost 13 years with GE Plastics and Sabic Innovative Plastics.
"Everyone needs power," Saggese said. "Our materials are being used in AI, cryptocurrency and electric vehicle infrastructures."
"It's been a good ride," he added. "We're going in the right direction with the right products and the right people."