Date Announced: 22 Feb 2011 Akron, OH −- Shin-Etsu Silicones of America, Inc. (SESA: A U.S. subsidiary of Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd., Japan), has recently completed its 25th year as an industry leading producer of RTV, HTV, and organo-functional silanes in the U.S. From its inception as a three person sales force in a small office in Los Angeles in 1985, to today’s Akron, Ohio-based entity with approximately 150 employees and hundreds of millions of dollars in sales, SESA has charted steady growth and formulated tons of innovative silicone compounds for North America's medical, automotive, cosmetic, electronics, solar, aerospace, and manufacturing industries.A 25th Anniversary Celebration was recently held at the SESA Headquarters in Akron, OH to commemorate this growth and recognize strategic customers who were instrumental in partnering with SESA in the early years to grow their mutual businesses and remain important customers today and into the future.U.S. SILICONE INCEPTION / EXPANSION:Incorporated in 1985, SESA established a silicone Technical Service Center in Torrance, CA in 1988 and began rapid expansion by hiring local staff including sales, customer service, and R&D to support the U.S. business. In 1990, SESA formed a joint venture with Novacor, a Canadian company, and founded Shincor in Akron, OH which became a wholly owned subsidiary of Shin-Etsu Chemical. In 1995, SESA moved its headquarters to Akron, OH and has since established large RTV/ HTV production facilities and dedicated R&D centers for their Fluids and RTV businesses. Additionally, SESA has established a large scale organo silane plant in Freeport, TX and a Technology Center in New Jersey focused on the cosmetic business.According to Shin-Etsu’s North America Marketing Manager Eric Bishop, “Given 2010’s silicone demand and projected U.S. growth rate of approximately 4.2 percent to more than $3.9 billion, SESA is committed to expanding our U.S. presence via our innovative, reliable products and vast technical and capital resources.”Today, SESA continues to develop advancements in new product applications adopting a dedicated growth model of “vertically” integrated manufacturing. This has allowed the company to identify and react quickly to growth markets by introducing recently developed silicone products such as:SOLAR/PV:KE-200, KE-200F, KE-210, KE-210F / Potting Materials for Junction BoxesKE-45, KE-4828, KE-220 / Sealing Materials for Solar Panel Frames and Junction BoxesCOSMETICS: DMF-2 / High purity, low residual dimethicone fluidLED: KER SERIES / Advanced encapsulating performance for high-brightness LEDsELECTRONICS: TC-CA / Low Hardness “Soft-Pad” Thermal Conductive SeriesU.S. SILICONE CELEBRATION/CONCLUSION:Approximately 25 customers attended SESA’s 25th Anniversary luncheon coming from all over the U.S. and Italy; as well as 120 employees who have contributed to the growth and success of SESA as a dominant supplier of silicone products in the Americas. Presentations were given by Mr. Tomio Shibata, the first President of SESA; Jun Hamuro, the current President & CEO of SESA, and John Heitler, VP of Sales & Marketing for SESA.Mr. Heitler recognized key SESA customers for their contribution to mutual growth and stressed the critical importance of employees to the success of their customers in stating, “Our customers cannot make excellent products unless we deliver excellent silicone products to them each and every day. Our local staff consistently delivers world-class products, technology, and service.” Heitler, who has been with the company for over 23 years, explained SESA’s growth trajectory. “By offering the leading-edge technology that Shin-Etsu Chemical produces, we not only provide the highest quality standard products, but also develop products that the competition hasn’t even contemplated.”Attending SESA customer award honoree Trudi Leung, Vice President of Sales for Chemtec Chemical (Chatsworth, CA), noted SESA’s continued growth and value as both a supplier and as their west coast cosmetics products distribution partner in stating, “We’ve been involved with SESA for over fifteen years and sales have grown every year. We initially began with commodity items and have expanded into specialty color cosmetics and skin care. With these additions, and their continued reliability and technical support, we expect sales to double within the next three years.”A special Founding Partner Award was presented to Gary Mellema, CEO of GT Products, Inc. (Grapevine, TX), who’s previous company Gem-Tech, Inc. was SESA’s first master distributor in the U.S., and continues to use silicone intermediates from SESA in about 40% of all of their products manufactured today.Mellema noted SESA’s successful growth in stating, “Tomio Shibata was instrumental as a liaison representative from Shin-Etsu, Japan in breaking ground in the U.S. by taking a chance on Gem Tech for U.S. distribution and bringing in key talent like John Heitler to transition and establish the North American market.”Mellema was also enthusiastic about SESA’s future stating, “We make over 700 silicone-based products including RTV, defoamers, release agents, inks, primers, etc. SESA’s products are used in at least 40% of those multi-market applications–this will continue to grow because they consistently deliver quality products that are unsurpassed in the marketplace.”CORPORATE PROFILE: A U.S. subsidiary of Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd., Japan, Shin-Etsu Silicones of America Inc. offers vast technical and capital resources to formulate solutions as a major supplier of silicone materials to North America's medical, automotive, electronics, aerospace, and manufacturing industries. Shin-Etsu’s premium silicone compounds incorporate leading-edge technology, staff expertise, and value-added service; offering customers the highest levels of quality and consistency in specialty silicone materials.©2011 Shin-Etsu Silicones of America, Inc. All rights reserved.
Contact
Author Contact: Eric Bishop / Shin-Etsu Silicones of America, Inc. 513-232-8917
E-mail:[email protected]
Web Site:shinetsusilicones.com
