New Houston manufacturing plant to create up to 25 jobs

United Soft Plastics (USP), a manufacturer and custom compounder of ThermoPlastic Elastomers (TPEs) has announced the opening of a new 10 million lb production facility in Houston.

The Houston facility will consist of new compounding equipment to enable the company to expand the production of its portfolio of TPEs which includes traditional Styrene-Ethylene-Butylene-Styrene block copolymer (SEBS)-based TPE, ThermoPlastic Olefin (TPO), ThermoPlastic PolyUrethane (TPU), and also products such as acrylic-based TPE compounds.

“This investment reaffirms our continued commitment to the engineering TPE plastics market in the United States, Mexico, and also outside of the Americas”, said Benedict Herbst, executive vice president of USP. “The expansion of our manufacturing assets will play a key role in meeting the application development needs of our customers and further unlock new business opportunities and maintain our superior customer response time.”

The company’s product line includes standard grades adhering to PolyPropylene (PP) and special adhesion grades for non-PP overmoulding applications with substrates such as Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), PolyCarbonate (PC), PA6, and PolyMethylMethAcrylate (PMMA). The range of products also includes new acrylic-based TPEs which offer an ultra-transparent profile and a smooth dry surface with improved oil and chemical resistance. Other innovative materials have been developed to meet special regulatory requirements within the FDA too.

The new facility will reportedly create up to 25 new production jobs. Additionally, the opening of the Houston plant will enable the company’s facility in Georgia to focus on specialised product development for its customers.