Polymers Center seeks international ‘nesters' wanting US presence

The Polymers Center in Charlotte, N.C., is helping companies outside the United States offer their equipment to the U.S. market at a new 12,000-square-foot nesting ground that landed its first tenant in a subsidiary of Schoenberg, Germany-based Sesotec GmbH.

Established in 1999 by the state of North Carolina, the nonprofit center has a twofold mission: supporting technology development in the plastics industry and attracting business to the state.

Last year, more than 1,400 people turned to the center for testing, trials and training.

Now the expansion is adding six spaces for the nesting program, which offers office leases and a shared lab for participants' equipment starting at about $2,500 a month.

"This will provide them with an economical first step in getting a footprint in the U.S. market. And Charlotte is a very good location for a start," Bill Murphy, the center's technical associate, said in an email.

The center's nesting strategy is focused on companies with proven existing equipment and technology, in part to bolster its offerings, which currently includes six extruders, three injection molding machines (an Engel 85-ton e-mac, a Shibaura 55-ton EC55SXIII and an Arburg Allrounder 520A) and the usual auxiliary equipment, such as pelletizers, blenders, feeders, loaders, mixers and filtration equipment.

The center also has a well-outfitted analytical laboratory that can determine the physical properties, flow characteristics and composition of plastic compounds.

The nester also gets to put a spotlight on products in action near customers.

"If it relates in any way and is associated to the processes of extrusion or injection molding, it would be a perfect fit," Murphy said. "If we focus on companies making a machine, the benefit of having one running in our lab enables them to demonstrate those benefits without sending customers across the pond for a test."

The nester doesn't even have to be there.

"One key benefit we can offer here is the Polymers Center will have the expertise and personnel to test the nester's equipment for a potential customer without them being present," Murphy said.

"Having a customer see the equipment in action is and always has been a powerful sales tool," he added.

Sesotec makes sorting and detection systems for the food, plastics and recycling industries.

Although the company has a U.S. presence in Bartlett, Ill., where Sesotec Inc. is based, officials sought another site closer to East Coast and Southeastern manufacturers and OEMs in the plastics industry.

"While our Bartlett facility supports a great deal of interest in the Midwest, we felt that a major benefit would be to afford some end users with a location that can be somewhat local, eliminating the costs associated with long-range travel and ensuring that we can give valuable time and resources back to all who are involved," Patrick Sommers, Sesotec Inc. sales director, said in an email.

In North Carolina, Sesotec will offer training, trials, customer visits and seminars on metal separation, metal detection, magnetics and analysis for plastics product inspection.

Since the Polymers Center receives state funding, the staff can't show any favoritism to companies, which means a competitor could move next door. But Murphy doesn't expect any issues.

"If the companies are comfortable with their competitors being down the hall … we would be, too," Murphy said. "It would get somewhat awkward when customers come in for trials, but we currently have highly competitive pelletizing equipment in our facility, and there have been no problems at all. However, these companies are not leasing offices either."

Sesotec officials see benefits to the nesting program setup.

"The concept was extremely impressive, providing abilities to network, showcase, demonstrate, educate and work with other OEMs as a team," Sommers said.

He is looking forward to other nesting neighbors coming on board.

"We are excited to work directly with the end users and OEMs within the industry. We can provide our expertise and tailor needs to specific processes and applications. However, having the opportunity to learn from those who are experts within their own field of specialty will be inherently impressive," Sommers said.

In addition to a fully furnished 10-by-10-foot office and lab space for equipment trials, nesters get warehouse space for inventory, a sign on the property, and a 45-person conference room equipped for remote access for meetings and presentations.

To support the nesters, the Polymers Center will offer basic clerical assistance for seminars, customer visits, marketing and catering at an hourly rate. The marketing assistance also includes help with brochures, LinkedIn posts, blogs and mailers.

To fill the other five spaces, the Polymers Center is reaching out first to companies headquartered in Europe — particularly Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Italy — in part because of the ties of its staff. Murphy used to work for the Swiss Maag Group along with Director Phil Shoemaker, who was president of Germany's Automatik Inc. before that.

"This is not an incubator strategy. We are looking at existing companies that have a proven existing product but have no office in the States," Murphy said. "We are most familiar with European suppliers and personally know many companies and people … and they know us on a personal level as well. For these reasons, we felt we would have the best opportunity to focus on them. We are of course open to assisting anyone in the world that could use our help and benefit."

Established in 1998 as part of the University of North Carolina's industrial extension service program, the center began on the campus of UNCC but now occupies its own space in Charlotte.