Polymer Conversions Revenue and Competitors

Polymer Conversions Inc. was organized and began production in 1979. At that time, the Company owned three 75-ton molding machines that could handle products up to maximum dimension of 25 square inches. While the Company assisted customers in mold design, all mold manufacturing, repairs and rebuilding was performed by a third party. Polymer also offered few secondary (value added) services to its customers. In 1979, Polymers's business consisted solely of subcontract molding for customers who produced their own plastic parts, but whose demand exceeded capacity. As a result, Polymer, as a secondary source to these customers, experienced significant fluctuations in production. The primary markets served by Polymer in the first year of production were the toy and houseware sectors. At its inception, Polymer had a total work force of seven (5 production, 2 office) and occupied 5,000 square feet of office and manufacturing space. In the first few years of operation, much of Polymer's production was run using "Take-over molds". These were molds manufactured by other companies, which required rebuilding or redesign as evidenced by discrepancies from desired tolerances and inefficient production. While many molders avoided take-over mold business, or utilized take-over molds in their existing condition, Polymer looked upon this type of business as an opportunity to prove its engineering and productivity enhancement capabilities to its customers. As a result, Polymer began to develop a sound reputation for evaluation, redesign, productivity enhancement and quality. Largely as a result of referrals from existing customers, Polymer began a steady and controlled growth. In 1981, the Company doubled its manufacturing space from 5,000 square feet to 10,000 square feet and purchased the building, which it partially occupied under a lease arrangement. In 1985, Polymer built an adjacent 8,460 square foot building to house its expanding operations. In 1982, a second business segment was added to the Company to provide in-house mold manufacturing and repair capabilities, which had previously been provided by third parties. The tooling department grew rapidly from an initial one-man operation with limited capabilities, to a seven-man department with the most advanced equipment available including CAD/CAM systems in 1989. In 1983, Polymer separated its secondary services into a separate department. That department grew to a five-person operation, specializing in pad printing, hotstamping and ultrasonic welding. Continued growth required more space, and construction of a new facility at a new location was completed in December 1989. The facility was designed by PCI from the ground up for injection molding and our related services. The toolroom was moved to the new location in late December 1989 and the molding and secondary operations departments were re-located and in production in March 1990. The new facility remains state-of-the-industry. All manufacturing and office areas are air-conditioned and humidity controlled. The entire building is constructed of non-flammable materials. It is sprinklered for fire protection and designed specifically for a building housing a plastics operation. Building security and fire/police protection is monitored off-site, as are process water temperature and HVAC services. In 1997 the building consisted of 35,000 square feet broken down as follows: Administration and general office 8,000 Toolroom 6,000 Secondary Department 3,500 Warehouse 6,000 Molding Department 11,500 The facility is located on a 15 acre wooded site in rural Orchard Park, New York, 20 minutes from Buffalo/Niagara International Airport. Throughout the 1990's the company concentrated on improving three major areas- people skills, system skills and technology. As examples: In 1993 we began "Total Quality Management" (TQM) training recognizing this need as a requirement for successful ISO certification. TQM training continues today and will continue into the future. ISO 9001 certification was formally achieved in February 1997 and QS 9000 certification in June 1998. In 1995 "Computer Integrated manufacturing" (CIM) was initiated in the molding department. All machines were on-line with a trained staff in mid-1996. In December 1998 PCI was one of two companies that received "Plastics Technology Magazine's 13th Annual CIM Award". This prestigious honor was given to recognize excellence in plant-wide monitoring systems. The other recipient was the Gillette Co. The average injection molding machine age is under 5 years. We continue to optimize accuracy and energy use by replacing hydraulic molding machines with electric machines. The toolroom was expanded to ten people in 1996, with full services capabilities including 5 axis wire EDM. Success with "take-over" molds remains a significant contributor to our growth. Since 1980 roughly 40% of the molds in-house were sent to us by customers downsizing or unhappy with their supplier. In January 1999 we had over 400 molds in-house. Our secondary department alternately grows or down-sizes according to customer requirements. Cell manufacturing techniques also contribute to this department's size fluctuation. Services performed by our secondary department have increased to include ultrasonic, vibration/hot-plate/spin welding, adhesive bonding, specialty packaging and sub-assembly. Further emphasis on continuous improvement through team-based systems and "prevention rather than detection" are stressed, as we continue to strive to be the best of the world class custom injection molders.