Owners Chris Bishop and Mary Hyde remarked, “Pexco’s scale and expertise in custom extrusion creates an excellent opportunity for our organization and our customers, providing a robust platform for future growth. We are excited to begin this new chapter for Altaflo and look forward to continuing our mission of offering the highest quality fluid-handling products on the market.”

Since 2009, Pexco has executed on multiple acquisitions as it has grown into the largest custom industrial extrusion company in North America. Pexco was acquired in 2018 by global private equity group AEA Investors. The purchase of Altaflo Inc. represents Pexco’s eighth acquisition under its new ownership. Patel stated, “This acquisition is an important step in our continued efforts of diversifying our capabilities and knowledge base as a diversified supplier of critical polymer products to a variety of industries.”

C.R. Onsrud received the 2020 Governor’s Export Award, presented by the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina. C.R. Onsrud was among one of the Top Small Business Exporters recognized. “It is a great honor to be recognized for our work bringing American-made products to the rest of the world. Our CNC machinery is used in industries from aerospace to furniture manufacturing to marine, automotive and many more. Our team and their hard work and dedication made it all possible. We have a great group of talented people here in North Carolina that work hard every day to do all facets of the manufacturing process: from welding to machining to machine assembly, support and sales,” said Jeff Onsrud, director of sales for C.R. Onsrud.

When North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper announced the winners of the award, he said, “These diverse companies raise the profile of North Carolina-made products around the world, promoting excellence in goods and services made possible by the exceptional workforce in our state. Today, we honor these companies for the way their exports promote the North Carolina economy, their grit during tough economic times and the more than 412,000 jobs they support statewide.”

Arkema had joined the S&P Global Sustainability Yearbook 2021. This ranking recognizes the best performing companies in terms of corporate social responsibility among their industry peers. Arkema also received the bronze award, making it one of the six leaders in the sector. Arkema Chairman and CEO Thierry Le Hénaff said, “This latest tribute recognizes Arkema’s commitment to corporate social responsibility and the inclusion of sustainability within the group, in the service of a transition to a more sustainable world. Arkema’s expertise and innovation, in collaboration with our stakeholders, are its main assets. We are very proud to have received this award, which confirms Arkema’s standing as a CSR leader in the chemical sector.”

Plaskolite LLC was awarded the 2020 3M Supplier of the Year Award in recognition of the company’s contribution to improving 3M’s competitiveness. This year, 3M recognized 20 suppliers supporting the United States and Canada, among thousands in its global supply base, for world-class performance in providing products and services. These suppliers were identified and rated based on actions taken to improve 3M’s competitiveness and overall supplier performance.

“We’re honored and grateful to receive this recognition from 3M, a company that shares our dedication to using innovation to solve the world’s problems,” said Plaskolite CEO Ryan Schroeder. “When the pandemic hit, Plaskolite met the massive global demand for virus safety shields and barriers while providing uninterrupted service to 3M. Reliable relationships and collaboration have been critical to our success and to the success of our customers, and they always will be.”

“Supplier collaboration is critical to supply chain success,” said Debora Fronczak, vice president, 3M Strategic Sourcing. “We are fortunate to work with great suppliers who are committed to fostering a relationship with 3M. These collaborative relationships help us to serve our customers with innovative and valuable solutions. It’s important that we recognize our most outstanding suppliers, and that’s what this award is all about.”

Braskem announced the first international shipment of polypropylene from their new Global Export Hub in Charleston, SC, USA. This facility provides packaging, warehousing and export shipping services to support Braskem’s six U.S. polypropylene (PP) production facilities. The hub has the capacity to support export shipments of up to 450 million pounds (204 kilotons) of polypropylene and specialty polymers annually.

Alexandre Elias, vice president, olefins and polyolefins North America, said, “Given the current tight North American market, we are prioritizing our domestic clients. Over time, the hub will allow us to leverage our feedstock advantaged, polymer production assets in the U.S Gulf Goast, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, to best meet our international clients needs. With excellent access to national rail and highway networks this important new logistics and distribution facility in the South Carolina port region significantly enhances Braskem America’s international export capability.”

Construction activity to support Braskem America’s new Global Export Hub in Charleston has positively impacted the economic activity in the region with approximately 150 development and construction workers contracted throughout the process to design and build the facility. Approximately 60 new permanent jobs have been created in the Charleston region to support the facility covering on-site operations management, packaging, logistics and more. The total economic impact that comes about through the SCPA yields a statewide employment multiplier of 2.4. This implies that, on average, for every 10 new jobs that are directly supported by SCPA port operations or port users, an additional 14 jobs are created elsewhere in South Carolina.

Cope’s growth has continued over the decades, expanding to 19 locations across the United States. Cope remains the supplier of choice for more than 8,000 companies and OEMs in numerous industries. The company now employs more than 370 people nationwide.

“We are thrilled and blessed to be celebrating our 75th year in business,” said Jane Saale, president and CEO. “The plastics industry has changed drastically over the past 75 years and Cope Plastics has become one of the premier distributors and fabricators across the nation. Now in its third generation, the Beem family ownership is proud of what Cope has accomplished over the years. A big part of our success is our dedicated, hardworking and skilled employees. We will continue to advocate our core values in all aspects of our business because we recognize that our best asset is our valued Cope team members.”

Celebrating this milestone, the company has announced several investments that are supporting their growth. The company’s Vadnais Heights, MN, USA branch is undergoing its second expansion in 12 months, including a 5,000 square foot addition that will be used for fabrication and inventory growth. The new space is complete with floor-to-ceiling racking, high efficiency LED lighting and an additional dock door to handle extra incoming and outgoing shipments. Cope’s Huntsville, AL, USA branch has also announced an expansion that will triple their office and warehouse space, allowing the branch to stock more local inventory to support customers in the southeast region of the country.

In 2019, the company officially announced the opening of the Goodyear, AZ, USA sales branch, introducing a brick-and-mortar location to the West Coast. As of January 2021, the company now owns CNC Routing AZ, a high-production routing company in Chandler, AZ, USA. “The acquisition of CNC Routing AZ is in perfect alignment with our corporate strategic plan to add fabrication capacity in growth markets,” said Alex Cannon, director of business development for Cope.

After 75 years in business, the owners of Cope Plastics have committed to investing back in the business to help support controlled growth. Recent fabrication equipment purchases have added 20 percent more lathe capacity and 20 percent more routing capacity to the company’s nationwide fabrication offerings. Additions and upgrades of company saws across the country have been completed over the past couple of years. Delivery trucks have been added to the company’s fleet to support distribution growth. Upgrades have been made to shop and office lighting, vacuum and air systems throughout the company’s manufacturing footprint. In 2020, Cope upgraded all forklifts in their corporate location to increase operator safety and to improve the speed and accuracy of shipments.

“I have never been more proud of our business and our people,” said John Lee, vice president of sales and marketing. “During 2020 we kept our blinders on, we continued to serve our customers and Cope Plastics’ outlook has never been brighter,” said Lee. “Our recent CAPEX expenditure and expansion of multiple facilities ensures we meet the increased demand of our current and prospective customers.”