Polykemi Inc. is a fully owned subsidiary of Sweden-based Polykemi Group and was established in 2013 to deliver customised compounds to customers in the North American market.
Now Polykemi Inc. can provide the same wide selection of customer-adapted plastic compounds in the US, Canada and Mexico as it does in the rest of the world. The company can supply pre-coloured, high-quality materials based on both virgin and recycled plastic raw materials.
In its production process, known in the industry as compounding, Polykemi prepares plastic formulations by blending polymers, additives and strengthening components in a molten state – the end product is quality-specific and homogeneous plastic pellets.
Problem solver
Over the years, the parent company based in Sweden has expanded its global reach which now stretches from Europe via America to Asia. CEO Johan Hugoson highlights the company‘s strengths that lie behind its international growth: 
“Compared to the large chemical companies, we are able to serve niche markets, and to accommodate customers’ requirements for smaller batches or specific colours.”
“We are differentiated from similar-sized companies by our highly customer-centric approach – we accompany the customer from the beginning to the end product, acting not just as a supplier but also an advisor, helping them to come up with the best solution for their specific application.”
As such, Polykemi tends to get involved in the earliest stages of a project and guides customers in choosing the right material and the right engineering level to best meet their individual requirements. “We provide technical support as well, and pride ourselves on being a problem solver for our customers, rather than just a supplier.”
Polykemi’s portfolio includes nearly every thermoplastic with the exception of PVC. These include Scancomp PP HC, a family of PP-based compounds that combine high crystallinity with state-of-the-art glass fibre reinforcements and coupling agents which are targeted to replace 30% glass-reinforced nylon 6 and PBT, and Scancomp PP HBK, a high-gloss, UV-stabilized family of PP compounds which are targeted to replace ABS.
Historic milestone
In 2023, the company reached an important milestone with the commissioning of its new production facility in North Carolina. With almost €20 million invested, this is the largest investment in the history of Polykemi Group. The new factory, geographically close to many of the company’s current customers, is located in Gastonia, outside Charlotte, and lays the foundation for further growth in the North American market.
“We fired up the extruders in the first weeks of January – a major achievement, followed by trial runs and the production of samples for our customers. The plan is to be fully up and running by the end of February,” says Mr Hugoson, adding that the commissioning in line with the schedule is even more impressive in that the plant was built during the pandemic and communication with builders and as well staff recruitment was conducted online, via Teams.
The factory, with an area of just over 6,000 square metres, is already prepared for expansion up to 10,000 square metres. It will initially include two production lines with associated laboratory and warehouse facilities. Previously, the company was delivering to customers on the North American market via US toll compounders or by direct delivery from its main plant in Ystad in Sweden,
so the new facility will significantly improve supply flow.
“The investment increases our presence and gives us many new opportunities on the American market, a highly promising territory, as the plastics industry is huge here,” says Johan Hugoson. “The new plant means we have our own manufacturing facilities on three continents, which also means we have clear quality control and can cooperate even more closely with customers whose production is split across continents.”
Furthermore, shipments to American customers will come directly from the plant in North Carolina, saving time, cost and the environment. “This investment lays the ground for Polykemi Group’s future growth and paves the way to becoming a distinctive player on the American plastic compounds market,” Mr Hugoson says.
Ahead of trends
Speaking about the target sectors, he explains that about 70% of Polykemi’s output is shipped into the automotive industry, the rest is supplied to white goods, furniture, electrical components and several other segments.
“Our customers, primarily from the automotive industry, are aiming to achieve 25% of recycled raw materials on everything plastic by 2030. That’s a strong trend that we are following. We’ve been working with recycled materials since day one, we have good knowledge and are also working with the OEMs. The solution may also involve replacing polyamides with polypropylene to minimise the environmental impact of the actual raw materials.”
He affirms that sustainability has been an integral part of the company’s operations for a long time. “We always strive to develop and produce different types of sustainable and environmentally adapted plastic materials. In addition to reducing energy consumption in our production, we work on selecting the best transport logistics to reduce CO2 emissions for our external transport.”
Speaking about the next steps for the new American facility, Mr Hugoson reveals that further investment in machinery as well as potential increased staff numbers will follow. The focus will be on automation, tracking, extruder feeding and lifting equipment. “We have already received a great response from our existing American customers and further growth is definitely in the pipeline.
In conclusion, he reflects that Polykemi traditionally aims at steady growth rather than a leap in progress, in line with the family-owned company strategy. “We’re not looking at steep business growth. We look at the company’s development from a longer-term perspective. We are happy to do a little bit every year while securing steady growth for many years to come.”
