The Urethane Blog
April 2, 2021
Repi: Acquisition of Novosystems
On 30 March 2021, Repi, a leading supplier of liquid colour and additive solutions for polyurethanes and thermoplastics, announced that it has acquired Novosystems GmbH, one of the few independent European players in the field of liquid colours and additives for thermoplastic materials. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
According to Repi, with the acquisition of the German-based company, it will strengthen its position in one of the key polyurethanes and plastics markets in the world, as well as improving the group’s geographical footprint in Central and Northern Europe, with the aim of providing better and faster response to the market. Novosystems will also contribute with interesting complementary technology platforms, which can be leveraged by Repi’s global presence, and will accelerate value creation through superior level of expertise in liquid formulation and dispersion technologies.
“Welcoming a private, family-owned company in our group is another exciting milestone for Repi, as both companies shared a common history in liquid colourants for plastics, and we are looking forward to shape our future together based on common values and a long-term vision and strategy. Germany has long been one of the most important markets for Repi, and this investment strengthens our commitment to a country served by Repi for over 40 years”, said Filippo Angiolini, Repi Group CEO.
Repi Group operates since 1973 as a supplier of liquid colours and additives for plastics and thermoset resins that find applications in a variety of industries, including packaging, furniture, building and construction, footwear and automotive. Today, Repi is a Swiss based global supplier, with own facilities in the USA, Italy, the UK, Russia and Thailand.
https://www.gupta-verlag.com/news/technology/25076/repi-acquisition-of-novosystems
April 2, 2021
SWD Urethane Names Alison Scott Bull To Senior Vice President Of Construction Products
Apr 1, 2021 | News
MESA, Arizona – SWD Urethane announced that Alison Scott Bull has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Construction Products.
“Alison has been a significant contributor to our growth from a regional manufacturer to one of the top tier manufacturers in the spray foam industry,” Jim Perkins, President & CEO said. “She is a proven leader with deep understanding of the industry and strategies which enabled SWD to become a major supplier in this industry.”
Scott Bull served as the Vice President of Sales at SWD since 2013. Under her leadership, SWD experienced substantial and rapid growth, setting the stage for future expansion. In her new role, she will be responsible for the overall performance of the Construction Products Business.
“The largest asset that we have is our people and collaborative environment. Our team is committed to delivering solutions that add value for all of our stakeholders,” Scott Bull said. “It has been a true pleasure to have had the opportunity to build and lead the commercial organization to this exciting new phase in our company’s growth journey.”
Brandon Cantrell Appointed Vice President of Sales
Brandon Cantrell will succeed Scott Bull as the Vice President of Sales. Cantrell will be responsible for the leadership of SWD’s commercial organization. Before joining the team at SWD, Cantrell served as Adhesive Sales Leader for Eastman Chemical Company where he was responsible for North America and Latin America regions. In addition, Brandon has held several senior level roles across multiple business units.
“We are thrilled to have Brandon join SWD and provide the leadership, vision and structure to deliver outstanding performance.” Scott Bull said.
SWD continues to pursue excellence in providing unique products, systems and solutions across multiple channels in the building materials industry.
About SWD Urethane
SWD Urethane is a leading supplier of spray polyurethane foam, manufacturing insulation, roofing, and industrial products. SWD’s expansive research and development team enables us to make continuous innovations and additions to our product line. We believe our consistent delivery of top-of-the-line products and newest technologies provide real, lasting value to our customers. This commitment to research and development helps in furthering our goal of growing the polyurethane foam industry.
For more information, please visit https://swdurethane.com/
April 2, 2021
SWD Urethane Names Alison Scott Bull To Senior Vice President Of Construction Products
Apr 1, 2021 | News
MESA, Arizona – SWD Urethane announced that Alison Scott Bull has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Construction Products.
“Alison has been a significant contributor to our growth from a regional manufacturer to one of the top tier manufacturers in the spray foam industry,” Jim Perkins, President & CEO said. “She is a proven leader with deep understanding of the industry and strategies which enabled SWD to become a major supplier in this industry.”
Scott Bull served as the Vice President of Sales at SWD since 2013. Under her leadership, SWD experienced substantial and rapid growth, setting the stage for future expansion. In her new role, she will be responsible for the overall performance of the Construction Products Business.
“The largest asset that we have is our people and collaborative environment. Our team is committed to delivering solutions that add value for all of our stakeholders,” Scott Bull said. “It has been a true pleasure to have had the opportunity to build and lead the commercial organization to this exciting new phase in our company’s growth journey.”
Brandon Cantrell Appointed Vice President of Sales
Brandon Cantrell will succeed Scott Bull as the Vice President of Sales. Cantrell will be responsible for the leadership of SWD’s commercial organization. Before joining the team at SWD, Cantrell served as Adhesive Sales Leader for Eastman Chemical Company where he was responsible for North America and Latin America regions. In addition, Brandon has held several senior level roles across multiple business units.
“We are thrilled to have Brandon join SWD and provide the leadership, vision and structure to deliver outstanding performance.” Scott Bull said.
SWD continues to pursue excellence in providing unique products, systems and solutions across multiple channels in the building materials industry.
About SWD Urethane
SWD Urethane is a leading supplier of spray polyurethane foam, manufacturing insulation, roofing, and industrial products. SWD’s expansive research and development team enables us to make continuous innovations and additions to our product line. We believe our consistent delivery of top-of-the-line products and newest technologies provide real, lasting value to our customers. This commitment to research and development helps in furthering our goal of growing the polyurethane foam industry.
For more information, please visit https://swdurethane.com/
April 1, 2021
Luxury furniture maker Wesley Hall suspends production due to foam shortage
By Robert Dalheim April 01, 2021 | 11:39 am EDT
HICKORY, N.C. – Luxury upholstery furniture maker Wesley Hall has suspended all production for the week of March 29 – April 2 due to the ongoing foam shortage. The company will also operate on a reduced schedule for the two weeks following April 2. Wesley expects the foam shortage to ease after the next three weeks. “Late last week, it became apparent that our foam and cushion supply was no longer in a position that would allow us to continue that strategy,” the company wrote in a letter to customers. “Our largest cushion supplier has been forced to close for two weeks, and our second largest supplier is currently working a very abbreviated schedule.”
“We believe that once we weather the next three weeks, we will begin to see improvement.” The shortage comes at an unfortunate time for Wesley and other furniture makers – many of whom have been seeing a sharp increase in demand. Residential furniture orders saw a 27 percent rise in December 2020 from the same month in 2019, and a 15 percent increase for entire year of 2020 over 2019. The shortage began early March.
The two chemicals used in foam production are primarily produced at plants in Texas and Louisiana. Many of these facilities were forced offline by the deep freeze that slammed the region late February. It has forced cutbacks for many furniture makers, including Craftmaster, Century Furniture, and Mississipp-based Affordable Furniture. High Point Furniture Industries announced it would raise all its prices by 6 percent.
Chemical manufacturer EverChem explains the shortage in a blog post. Here’s a snippet: “Because foam is light and bulky, it is not efficient to ship very far to the various end users such as furniture manufacturers, bedding, seating and other customers. Consequently the many foam plants are located close to the end use markets and are spread around North America. “Foam is made using a number of chemicals, but the main two are polyol and toluene diisocyanate (TDI). It takes roughly two parts of polyol and one part of TDI to make foam. Foam plants buy these raw materials and have them delivered by either railcars or tank trucks. A typical foam plant will have storage tanks that are big enough to offload a few railcars (180,000 lbs each) or tank trucks (45,000 lbs each). They don’t carry a large inventory of these raw materials, but depend upon a steady and timely supply of railcars and trucks in order to produce the foam for their customers.
See the full post here: https://everchem.com/flexible-foam-shortages-explained/
April 1, 2021
Luxury furniture maker Wesley Hall suspends production due to foam shortage
By Robert Dalheim April 01, 2021 | 11:39 am EDT
HICKORY, N.C. – Luxury upholstery furniture maker Wesley Hall has suspended all production for the week of March 29 – April 2 due to the ongoing foam shortage. The company will also operate on a reduced schedule for the two weeks following April 2. Wesley expects the foam shortage to ease after the next three weeks. “Late last week, it became apparent that our foam and cushion supply was no longer in a position that would allow us to continue that strategy,” the company wrote in a letter to customers. “Our largest cushion supplier has been forced to close for two weeks, and our second largest supplier is currently working a very abbreviated schedule.”
“We believe that once we weather the next three weeks, we will begin to see improvement.” The shortage comes at an unfortunate time for Wesley and other furniture makers – many of whom have been seeing a sharp increase in demand. Residential furniture orders saw a 27 percent rise in December 2020 from the same month in 2019, and a 15 percent increase for entire year of 2020 over 2019. The shortage began early March.
The two chemicals used in foam production are primarily produced at plants in Texas and Louisiana. Many of these facilities were forced offline by the deep freeze that slammed the region late February. It has forced cutbacks for many furniture makers, including Craftmaster, Century Furniture, and Mississipp-based Affordable Furniture. High Point Furniture Industries announced it would raise all its prices by 6 percent.
Chemical manufacturer EverChem explains the shortage in a blog post. Here’s a snippet: “Because foam is light and bulky, it is not efficient to ship very far to the various end users such as furniture manufacturers, bedding, seating and other customers. Consequently the many foam plants are located close to the end use markets and are spread around North America. “Foam is made using a number of chemicals, but the main two are polyol and toluene diisocyanate (TDI). It takes roughly two parts of polyol and one part of TDI to make foam. Foam plants buy these raw materials and have them delivered by either railcars or tank trucks. A typical foam plant will have storage tanks that are big enough to offload a few railcars (180,000 lbs each) or tank trucks (45,000 lbs each). They don’t carry a large inventory of these raw materials, but depend upon a steady and timely supply of railcars and trucks in order to produce the foam for their customers.
See the full post here: https://everchem.com/flexible-foam-shortages-explained/
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