Teknor Apex highlights its people as it celebrates 100 years

It's taken Teknor Apex Co. 100 years to travel the five miles between Providence and Pawtucket, R.I.

Of course, the materials supplier has traveled all around the world in that time as well, becoming a key supplier of compounds and concentrates.

"We started out selling used tires at a storefront in downtown Providence," former CEO Jonathan Fain said in a video marking the firm's 100th anniversary this year. "It was one little step at a time, looking at what was available and what we could do."

Today, Teknor Apex is a global materials firm based in Pawtucket. The firm is one of North America's 30 largest compounders and concentrate makers, operating 13 plants worldwide in the U.S., Belgium, Germany, China and Singapore, with annual sales of more than $1 billion.

Teknor Apex products include PVC compounds, thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) and engineering resin compounds, as well as garden hoses. The firm remains owned by the Fain family.

Jonathan Fain retired in late 2023 after 51 years with Teknor Apex, which was founded by his grandfather, Alfred Fain, in 1924 as Apex Tire & Rubber Co. When Jonathan Fain's father, Norman Fain, went to work with his father in 1936, the firm was primarily a tire recapping company. It was renamed as Teknor Apex in 1972.

Teknor Apex recently shared a series of video interviews with employees and customers that were done to mark the firm's 100th anniversary.

Executive Vice President Lou Capucci said in a video Teknor Apex started making PVC compounds in 1949. "That launched us from being in the rubber business to being in the plastics business," he added.

In the videos, Teknor officials and employees emphasized how important the firm's people are — and how that's been a big part of Teknor's longevity.

"Pretty much every day that I come into the office, I really think that the people really are driving this," Chief Financial Officer Paul Morrisroe said.

The people "are where the ideas come from," Global Senior Vice President Paul Burke said. "That's where the hard work comes from."

Daniel Fain — Jonathan Fain's son and a mechanical engineer with the company — added that the firm "has a number of people all over the place who have been with Teknor for 20, 30, 40, 50 years. And those people have done a really good job of keeping the spirit of Teknor alive."

"I think we do a really good job of having a lot of people who really care about what they do," Daniel Fain said. "We take ourselves seriously, but we know how to have fun. We really care about each other and really care about what we're doing. We care about the products we make and about how we operate."

Mike Roberts, a Fain family member who serves as chief innovation officer, said that "you can look back over our history and you can see the hundreds and hundreds of people who have dedicated their careers to Teknor."

Tasha Trotter, a trainer in Teknor's garden hose unit, said that "I feel like the people are what makes the company. … You have dedicated workers that are coming in here every day and working the way they should work." Crew leader Freddy Moore added that "the thing I'm most proud of is going into a store somewhere and seeing my work sitting on a shelf and knowing we did that."

"One word that sums up Teknor to me is family, because we're all in this together and we appreciate one another," Corporate Controller Karen Delisle said. "I feel at home at Teknor."

One video has an exchange between product development manager Greg Anderson and his daughter Kiana, an account manager with the firm. Kiana Anderson says "Dad, what's it like having me work at Teknor?" He replies "It's wonderful," and they both laugh.

Dan Anderson then adds that Kiana "has done very well for herself, and the company does promote from within."

"I think if our people are encouraging their kids to come to work for us, it's telling you that they think that they can do better here than they can somewhere else," Jonathan Fain said.

Donald Wiseman, an industry veteran who joined the firm as CEO when Jonathan Fain retired, added that Teknor's people "have an entrepreneurial spirit and the desire to serve the customer, embrace new ideas and drive change."

Teknor's focus on customers is expressed in the videos by comments from executives at Berry Global, JL Goor Materials Ltd. and UBQ Materials.

"We partner with Teknor Apex because of the quality of service they provide, the customer service that they provide and the reliability that their technology provides," said Neil Kassenbrock, purchasing executive vice president with Berry, a global packaging leader based in Evansville, Ind.

Teknor "truly feels like Berry is an extension of them and that's something we've always valued," he added. "You can make a call and you know they're going to be there to service your needs and to answer any questions you may have."

"I think it really all starts with the products and the people and actually being able to produce something that the market needs in a timely and repeatable fashion," said Gearoid Clarke, managing director with JL Goor, a materials distributor based in Dublin, Ireland. "That's the main thing and Teknor has that in spades."

Albert Douer, chairman and co-CEO of materials firm UBQ in Tel Aviv, Israel, said that Teknor "is able to find solutions where no one else was able to, and that makes a very big difference. They're able to make difficult things possible."

According to Teknor Chief Operating Officer Suresh Swaninathan, "with the knowledge and chemistry that we bring to the table, we are able to listen to the customer, understand the application and create a product that can be commercialized into reality."

Senior Vice President Vineet Maindola added that Teknor "is there to really help our customers solve their problems and we're there to help them be successful in the markets where they operate. It's the partnership that we forged with them is the most important thing."

"If at the end of the day, a customer calls and needs something, your next thing is to find out who to call, not say you'll take care of it tomorrow," Capucci said.

"We believe in long-term strategic partnerships with our communities and with our business partners, whether they be customers or suppliers," said Ray Rockefeller, data privacy director. "It's the core of who we are and what makes us such a sustainable organization."

Teknor also has a history of community involvement in the areas where it operates. Its relationship with the United Way of Rhode Island extends almost to the start of the company. Teknor "has been a vital part of the United Way in our work in so many ways," said Courtney Nicolato, CEO of the United Way of Rhode Island.

"The employees of Teknor Apex have been unbelievably charitable and supportive through volunteer events as well as giving of their own treasures," she added. "It's just unbelievable to know that we have an almost 100-year relationship with Teknor Apex."

Along the way, Teknor Apex also has embraced sustainability for its products. "When I talk about sustainability, what I'm talking about is growing responsibility," Chief Investment Officer Edward Massoud said. "I don't want to look at sustainability as a checkbox item. My goal is to see our technology be recognized as a leader in this industry in sustainability."

Teknor "has been focusing on managing sustainability internally, in terms of reducing carbon footprint through its processes," Maindola added. He said that's being done so Teknor "can create a better environment for our future generations."

Retired Teknor officials Bert Lederer and William Murray also expressed their ideas on the firm's longevity.

"One of the things that's contributed to Teknor's strength and endurance for 100 years is the continuity of management," said Lederer, who spent 40 years with the firm in several management roles before retiring in 2015.

"I know when I've looked at our values, the one word that stands out is integrity," added Murray, who wrapped up a 42-year Teknor career in 2020, retiring as the firm's president. "There's integrity in everything that we do in our relationships, with our supplier relationships with our customer relationships and with our employees."

And the Fain family is understandably proud of Teknor's endurance. "It's exciting to know that something that was started by my grandfather, my uncles and my father is still in operation today," said Marty Roberts, who's Jonathan Fain's sister.

Teknor "is employing many people and it's making products that improve lives," she added. "The world has changed and so has the company."

"We've been innovating for 100 years, and those products that we made 50 years ago, we don't make them anymore," Jonathan Fain said. "What we do has changed dramatically.

"But we've used the same values. That part doesn't change. How we operate, how we treat our people, who we are hasn't changed. That's what we're proud of. We renew what we do, we don't renew who we are," he said.