Mocom celebrates ‘a good first year' at Fakuma

Friedrichshafen, Germany — As its new name hits the one-year mark, Mocom Compounds GmbH & Co. KG continues to grow.

"We've had a good first year," CEO Ian Mills said Oct. 14 at Fakuma 2021 in Friedrichshafen. "The level and speed of the recovery in the last 12 months has surprised everybody, even if it created some supply chain problems."

Hamburg, Germany-based Mocom was spun off from Albis Plastics, a leading European resin distributor, in October 2020. Both of those businesses — along with recycler Wipag — are part of Otto Krahn Group.

Mills said Mocom's sales for 2021 are ahead of pandemic-affected 2020 and of 2019 as well. The firm's booth at Fakuma is its first major public appearance in Europe.

At Fakuma, Mocom was focused on compounds for sustainability, lightweighting and lighting, including e-mobility.

"Interest is really growing in sustainability," Mills said. "We've used recycled material for more than 20 years and have a lot of expertise in that area." Mocom uses both post-industrial and post-consumer content in its compounds.

Mocom's compounds use a wide range of resins, with more of a focus on engineering materials. Nylons are among the firm's most-used resins, Mills said. Mocom also makes compounds based on polycarbonate, ABS, polypropylene, polystyrene, thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPVs) and other materials.

In January, Mocom installed a new twin-screw extrusion line at its plant in Obernburg, Germany. The new line increased the site's capacity by almost 30 million pounds per year.

At its plant in Duncan, S.C., Mocom may increase production by adding additional shifts in early 2022, Mills said.

Overall, Mocom employs 750 at three sites in Germany, as well as its plant in South Carolina and one in China. The firm operates a total of 63 production lines at those sites, making 4,000 products for more than 5,000 customers.

At its plant in China, Mocom has added a new warehouse as part of an expansion that will allow the site to operate seven days a week. The project will increase the site's annual production capacity by about 22 million pounds.

Mocom also is involved along with several other materials suppliers in Positive Plastics, a new initiative to encourage designers and engineers to work with plastics. The project includes a sample kit showing the advantages of various types of resin.

Positive Plastics "is a really fresh approach that the industry needs," Mocom spokesman Lennart Meyer said. He added that Mocom already has seen business opportunities generated by the new program.