In the person of Ed Hall, Baerlocher USA has found a new drive, and a new self-image: since 2016, the company has been striving to play an even greater role in shaping the market, driving trends, and being a role model in the industry. All characteristics of an increasingly value-centred business.
USA
Focus on value
In the beginning, it was all about sales figures, says Ed Hall. However, new ideas made their way into Baerlocher USA, when the company started to realign in 2016. The Managing Director was on a quest for real added value. His vision for Baerlocher USA was to be more than an additive supplier, more than just an element in the value chain: "My team did a really good job in changing from a sales-focused organization to an innovation and service-focused business. In 2016, we realigned the organization and made our technical team the hub of the business. We went from just an operation-centric to a value-centric business". Hall embarked on a radical transformation in 2016. Offices were redesigned, a training center was built. His overriding message is that: "We want to be teachers, not just chemists!" The mission was not only to communicate internally, but to the entire sector. Successful industry-wide event formats such as the "Recycle Summit" and the "PVC technical summit" demonstrated this approach. In keeping with Hall's mission: "We want to drive the market, not follow it.”
Logo Recycling Summit
Technical Summit Baerlocher USA
The chemistry is right
The success so far proves the Baerlocher USA team right. Good ideas such as chemistry for sustainability solutions, an informal office dress code and, of course, striking the right chemistry with customers has helped. Because Ed Hall has a duality in thinking of the industry: "Chemistry also means a relationship between two people. Building chemistry means building relationships. Our relationships are built on chemistry - scientifically, emotionally and relationship-wise." The foundation stone for the subsidiary based in the "Silicon Valley of polymer science" was laid in 1987 with a contract for a joint venture to produce liquid mixed metal stabilizers for the USA and Canada. The special feature: Baerlocher Italia in Lodi acted as a knowledge generator. In terms of application technology, the expertise gathered there was adapted to the needs of the North American market. In this way, the company succeeded in establishing itself as a supplier of sophisticated and high-quality products. The official starting signal for Baerlocher USA, based in Dover/Ohio, was given with the signing of contracts at the "K" Düsseldorf 1989. Just eight years after the contracts were signed, Baerlocher USA took over half of Mallinckrodt's metal soap business in St. Louis and Greenville in Missouri, where products were primarily manufactured for non-PVC applications.
Aha experience in Ohio
The main factor for the company’s continued success is its international network. In particular, the cooperation with the Italian colleagues and the recipe development team based in Lodi make a significant contribution. Ed Hall is enthusiastic: "Collaboration is an example of respect. If you are collaborating it means you are willing to share your ideas and you are willing to listen to ideas. And sometimes, especially in technology companies, there are a lot of personalities wanting credit for the work that they do. But the fact that my team is demonstrating collaboration tells me that they are very humble and respectful, they are colleagues."
Already at the beginning of 1998, the production of powder mixed metal blends began in Dover. The company also acquired a license for a low-cost production process for calcium stearate, which in turn was used for the manufacture of PVC pipes and cladding. This was a milestone. In 1999 Baerlocher finally took over the remaining share in the joint venture. Since then, two companies have existed in the USA: Baerlocher USA LLC, based in Dover (Ohio), and Baerlocher Production USA LLC, with headquarters in Cincinnati. The former produces and distributes mixed metal stabilizers and trades in Baerlocher products from Germany and Italy, among others. The latter produces and distributes stearates and BAEROPOLs.
The new site in Cincinnati, the "Queen of the West", is designed as a benchmark for safety and environmental protection. The architectural goal was to create harmony between the new building, which opened in 2002, and the surrounding landscape. Production started in the same year. Three years later, the company was intensively involved in researching additives for wood plastic composites (WPC) with a focus on lubricants. In order to expand the technology and service capacities to Canada, the USA and Mexico, the company invested in process simulation and in a raw material testing laboratory for customers. In response to the ever-increasing demand from the polyolefin and PVC industries in North America, the production capacity for metal soaps was expanded by 50 percent in 2017. However, Ed Hall sees the future of Baerlocher USA primarily in the transition from pure additives to additive blends and Baerlocher RST (Resin Stabilization Technology) products. The idea being that this form of upcycling adds even more value to recyclable plastics. In conclusion, Ed Hall says: "It makes it a lot more fun to work here.”
