EuroWire July 2016

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July 2016 23
News
Corporate
Ambrell Corporation has appointed
Henk Kleef as the new managing director
for its European operations. Mr Kleef will
manage all aspects of Ambrell’s business
in Europe including the United Kingdom,
the European Union and Eastern Europe.
He brings with him more than 25
years of business experience in the
industrial, energy and aerospace
markets. His background includes
general management, sales, business
development, engineering, manufacturing
and operations. His most recent role was
managing director of Weasler Engineering
in Europe, owned by Actuant Holdings.
Weasler is a manufacturer of mechanical
power transmission products.
Mr Kleef also has prior experience with
other Actuant businesses including
positions as global business development
director and global sales director. In
addition, he has held management
positions with IHC Merwede
(shipbuilding), ENECO (energy market)
and Fokker (aircraft services).
Mr Kleef will have offices in Cheltenham,
UK, and in Hengelo, the Netherlands. He
will report directly to Ambrell’s president
and CEO, Tony Mazzullo, who is located in
the United States.
Mr Kleef will be a member of the
global executive team and will be a
representative at the company’s Board of
Directors quarterly meetings.
Mr Mazzullo said: “We are honoured and
excited to have Henk Kleef join our team.
The breadth and depth of Henk’s business
experience and leadership qualities will
be of tremendous value to our customers.”
“He will be actively involved with key
end-user clients as well as distributor and
OEM partnerships to help fuel Ambrell’s
growth trajectory. Mr Kleef will also
oversee Ambrell’s focus and commitment
throughout Europe to deliver a superior
customer experience.”
Ambrell Corporation – USA
Website:
Newmanaging director
Teknor Apex has acquired
Plastic-Technologie-Service
(PTS), a Germany-based
custom compounder of
thermoplastic elastomers
(TPEs) and engineering
thermoplastics (ETPs). The
deal, for an undisclosed
amount, became final on 31st
March.
PTS operates a
manufacturing plant at
Steinsfeld, Germany, with
more than 20,000 tons of
installed capacity, as well
as a technical support
facility. A marketing office 10km away in
Tauberzell includes facilities for training,
seminars and discussion with customers
of possible solutions for automotive,
electrical, consumer product, and other
applications. The company has more than
100 employees.
The product portfolios of PTS are diverse.
TPEs include block copolymers based
on a number of polymer chemistries,
TPVs, and polymer blends. ETPs include
several types of polyamide plus PBT,
polycarbonate (PC), and PC/ABS blends.
“PTS is well known for innovation and is
the European leader in developing ‘hard/
soft’ solutions that combine elastomers
with rigid polymers,” said Suresh
Swaminathan, senior vice president in
charge of the global TPE business of Teknor
Apex. “They will bring to
our partnership a range of
unique technologies and
service capabilities.”
Among proprietary special-
ities of PTS is a hard/
soft technology for
over-moulding TPEs onto
polar ETP substrates,
such as nylon and acetal,
and producing a durable
bond. Another speciality
is radiation-crosslinked
grades of ETPs and TPEs.
For the past year, PTS has
manufactured TPE and ETP compounds
for Teknor Apex under a tolling
agreement. Now the PTS compounding
facility at Steinsfeld becomes the second
manufacturing site in Europe for Teknor
Apex, which already compounds TPEs at a
facility in Genk, Belgium. Teknor Apex also
produces compounds at locations in the
USA, Singapore, and China.
“The acquisition of PTS is a natural fit
in the strategic vision of Teknor Apex
to support the market with a global
footprint and local presence,” said
Jonathan Fain, chairman and CEO. “It
also brings together two companies
that have shared the unique culture of
being privately owned and intensively
customer-centred.”
Teknor Apex Company – USA
Website:
▲ ▲ Jonathan Fain, chairman and
CEO of Teknor Apex
Stronger European presence for Teknor Apex