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A recently installed Davis-Standard sheet system
has Advanced Plastic Extrusion, LLC (Apex), up and
running with excellent results. Apex, based in North
Carolina, is a new company focused on processing
high-quality sheet with a “class A” surface for speci-
alty and laminated sheet applications. Since starting
production in September, Apex has been processing
sheet using acrylic, ABS, HIPS, PC/ABS and TPO resins
in thicknesses ranging from .010 to .187 mil and in
widths up to 54 inches. The Davis-Standard system,
extruder through roll stand, has been an integral part
of Apex’s successful launch from the perspective of
both technology and service.
The APEX team also appreciates Davis-Standard’s R&D
capabilities. Prior to purchasing the system, Buck sent
two of his most critical resins to Davis-Standard’s tech-
nical facility in Pawcatuck, Conn. Davis-Standard was able to
test the resins on a full-scale sheet line, successfully running both
resins in various thicknesses and to the exacting quality require-
ments. For Buck, this was confirmation that his new company
would have exactly what it needed prior to making such a large
investment.
“My business has very specific goals and the lab trial was crucial.
The line has performed as advertised and the training my ope-
rators received from Davis-Standard’s engineers was invaluable,”
Buck explained. “Specific to the technology, I appreciate the au-
tomatic nip control for quick guage adjustment and changeovers
as well as the customized screw design, which enabes us to pro-
cess all resins using the same screw.”
Apex Launches High-End Sheet Operation with Davis-Standard System
Buck may be new to the sheet extrusion business, but he is no
stranger to extrusion. Prior to starting Apex, he spent 35 years
in the decorative laminating industry, as the owner of a com-
pany that manufactured high-gloss sheet products for the au-
tomotive, marine, heavy truck and signage industries. His biggest
frustration was finding a vendor who consistently supplied high
quality extruded sheet, critical to sheet applications demanding
perfection. To fill that void, Buck founded Apex and took on his
former company as his largest client. He is steadily building his
client base and looks to add another Davis-Standard system in
the near future as production grows. Apex offers sheet in both
rolls and sheet and with custom color matching.
By recently founding the Gabriel-Chemie Ibérica S.L. subsi-
diary, the Austrian family-owned company is expanding into the
Spanish, Portuguese and North African markets, and is there-
fore pursuing its consistent growth strategy. Spain is Europe's
seventh largest plastics market with an annual consumption of
approximately 2.7 million tonnes of polymers (2015). Gabriel-
Chemie Ibérica is solely owned by Gabriel-Chemie Spain Hol-
ding GmbH, whose Managing Director is Ms Elisabeth Sommer.
The well-connected industry expert Jose Luis Santamaria Pala-
cios has been appointed for the operational management of Ga-
briel-Chemie Ibérica S.L., whose registered office is in Madrid.
Together with the Sales Director, Rafael Becedas Diez, he will be
responsible for developing the business in Spain, Portugal and
North Africa; both managers have shares in Gabriel-Chemie
Ibérica S.L. As a first step, the company will invest in a laboratory
and production facilities for colour masterbatches.
Over recent years, Gabriel-Chemie GmbH has successfully ex-
ported colour and additive masterbatches to countries on the
Gabriel-Chemie expands its plastics business on the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula. It is hoped that opening a new sales and pro-
duction subsidiary will help generate further growth in this im-
portant market.
Ms Elisabeth Sommer, Managing Director of the Gabriel-Che-
mie Group, is delighted to see this step towards expansion: "Our
growth potential in this economic area has been limited by our
current structure. By having our own sales and production sub-
sidiary, we are able to react better and faster than ever before to
the market needs of Iberian industries. By building on our repu-
tation for high quality, we believe there is great potential for us
to successfully establish ourselves in this large plastics market".
The Austrian plastics company already has six subsidiaries ab-
road and, by founding a new subsidiary in Spain, it is signalling
healthy growth.
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