Swedish compounder Hexpol (Malmö; www.hexpol.com) has started up TPE production and product development in North America. The facilities have been installed at the company’s RheTech Colors plant in Sandusky, Ohio / USA, and will be marketed under the "Hexpol TPE" name. The initial focus for the North American operation will be the “Dryflex” family of TPE compounds.

Craig Dunaway, general manager RheTech Colors and Hexpol TPE in North America, said: “The investment in our new TPE capabilities is driven by customer and market demand. We are working with a number of global customers that we already supply from the Hexpol TPE operations in Europe and China, we can now also provide local supply and support in North America.”

The company has also embarked on a global rebranding exercise under which the Elasto and Müller Kunststoffe sites in Sweden, the UK and Germany will be renamed Hexpol TPE. Its production and R&D business in China as well as its sales subsidiaries in France and Belgium will also be marketed under the Hexpol TPE name.

The company will also restructure its TPE product brands with the aim of creating a portfolio of three distinct product families. For existing customers nothing will change, but for new developments and projects, the “Dryflex”, “Lifoflex” and “Lifoprene” product ranges will be consolidated under the “Dryflex” name, to be marketed alongside the “Mediprene” (medical grades) and “Epseal” (sealings) TPE families.