Teknor Apex maintains that its status as the most dependable material science company in the industry is due to its ‘talented Teknor teammates’, as well as our ‘unique infrastructure’ that offers unrivaled material testing and quality control. With six specialty divisions and almost a century of expertise, it has the capability to deliver highly tailored solutions. Teknor Apex offers a distinct advantage through a comprehensive portfolio of UL-recognized, EU CPR and REACH compliant thermoplastic insulation and jacketing compounds, Mr. Mike Patel, the company’s Director of Marketing, shares with Wire and Cable India.
Journey & Inspiration
Teknor Apex has been in the thermoplastics compounding business since 1949. A wire and cable company producing house wiring located next to our rubber compounding business in Pawtucket, RI needed PVC compound to make a house wiring product – that was what initiated our company to investigate and start the thermoplastic compounding business. This year our company is celebrating its 100-year anniversary from when it started as a tire re-treader.
Product Properties & Distinct Results
Teknor Apex offers a distinct advantage through a comprehensive portfolio of UL-recognized, EU CPR and REACH compliant thermoplastic insulation and jacketing compounds. Our brands like Apex® PVC, Fireguard® low-smoke, plenum-rated PVC, Flexalloy® PVC elastomers, and Halguard® low-smoke, halogen-free compounds cater to diverse needs and have delivered:
- Enhanced performance that meets the demands of cutting-edge applications like power over ethernet, fibre optics, and data centers.
- Excellent processing characteristics that enable easier and more efficient manufacturing for wire and cable companies.
- Low smoke and flame retardancy for enhanced safety.
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Technology & Challenges
Teknor Apex leverages advanced compounding technology and formulation know-how to develop customized solutions based on specific application requirements. Continuously innovating to meet the rapidly evolving global regulatory requirements and performance targets of the wire and cable industry can be a challenge. Additionally, as we explore new technology and continue to develop even higher-performing compounds, it can be a challenge to balance performance while ensuring products are still economical for manufacturers.
Sourcing top-notch raw materials is crucial and we’ve established a strong network of reliable suppliers across the globe. One major hurdle is mitigating potential disruptions to the supply chain. We constantly work to build redundancy and flexibility into our sourcing strategy to minimize the impact of unexpected events. Another challenge is finding the perfect balance between cost-effectiveness and maintaining the exceptional quality of our products. Finally, compliance with the ever-evolving global regulatory landscape is another layer of complexity we face. We invest heavily in staying up to date on all the latest regulations to ensure our products meet the highest standards.
Perhaps the most interesting challenge is finding suppliers who share our vision for innovation. An ideal supplier isn’t just reliable; they’re actively pushing the boundaries alongside us. This synchronized approach allows us to bring the most advanced cable solutions to market as quickly as possible.
Mechanism to Ensure Quality
Teknor Apex prioritizes quality through a multi-pronged approach:
- On-site testing facilities: Rigorous testing ensures our compounds meet relevant standards like UL Recognition, EU CPR and REACH.
- Stringent quality control measures: Consistent product quality throughout the manufacturing process.
- Global regulatory knowledge: Compliance with international safety and environmental regulations.
Target Markets
We work with some of the world’s largest producers of fibre optic and copper cables for data centers, 5G antenna cables, EV charging cables, building wires, robotics and control cables.
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Sustainability and Ensuring it
Teknor Apex prioritizes sustainability through:
- Efficient manufacturing processes that minimize waste and energy consumption.
- Developing halogen-free compounds that reduce environmental impact and comply with regulations like EU CPR and REACH.
- Continuous research for sustainable materials, whether that be through raw materials or formulation and development expertise.
A few examples of this include our BioVinyl® flexible PVC made with DOW ECOLIBRIUM bio-based plasticizers and CycleTek™ – a family of flexible PVC compounds that include PCR or PIR. We measure and ensure our products are sustainable by partnering with industry ESG programs such as +Vantage Vinyl, Operation Clean Sweep and others.
Growth Target
We work with a diverse range of customers across many different cable application segments, which allows us to stay on top of the latest innovations and ensure we’re delivering the best possible solutions. Because we cater to such a wide variety of applications, the composite growth for the wire and cable segment tends to be higher than the average across the other industries we serve.
