Nickel City Polymers Inc. of Buffalo, N.Y., is distributing specialty compounds for Silon, a materials firm based in the Czech Republic.
Silon products available from Nickel City are Taborex-brand cross-linked polyethylene compounds, Taboren-brand industrial compounds and Tabocab-brand cable compounds. Taboren and Tabocab compounds both can be based on PE or polypropylene.
In an email to Plastics News, Nickel City owner Larry Welnowski said that, as partners, his firm and Silon "can use the marketing channels and sales team of [Nickel City] to target the correct applications and extended the product lines into areas needed."
"We both believe that this partnership will help grow Silon's sales in the U.S.," he added. Adding Silon's compounds to Nickel City's product line also will help Nickel City "provide plenty of options for current and potential customers," Welnowski said.
Silon opened a $20 million compounding plant in Peachtree City, Ga., in 2017. The site includes manufacturing, warehousing and storage. Silon was founded in 1950 and is based in Prague.
Silon employs 400 and has annual production capacity of more than 200 million pounds. The firm sells to customers in 45 countries and has annual sales of almost $240 million.
Officials said Taborex is ideal for sanitary and heating pipework. The material offers high durability and resistance to chlorination of potable water. It can be used in pipework systems, hydronic radiant heating and cooling systems and domestic water piping.
The Taboren product range includes polyolefin-based materials with mineral and fibrous fillers. These compounds were designed for automotive interior applications and also have found customers in construction, the food industry, household products and electrical appliances.
Tabocab compounds offer solutions for low-voltage applications in construction, automotive, railway, renewable and industrial cables. The line includes compounds that are cross-linkable, halogen-free and flame-retardant.
Welnowski founded Nickel City in 2003. The firm offers several grades of nylon, acetal, polycarbonate, ABS and other engineering resins. Nickel City also has done some work in commodity resins PP and PS.
Nickel City serves as a distributor for compounders Pier One Polymers of St. Clair, Mich., and Plastics Group of America in Woonsocket, R.I. The firm also offers toll compounding services through Pier One.
In addition to distribution and compounding, Nickel City buys and sells recycled material in scrap or regrind form. Nickel City operates a sales office in Buffalo and uses public warehousing nationwide.
In early 2023, Nickel City added several types of reprocessed material to its product line. That expansion included high-impact polystyrene (HIPS), copolymer polypropylene and ABS in reprocessed black pellets. The firm also added HIPS and copolymer PP in reprocessed natural pellets.