Polymer Resources Ltd., a U.S. compounder of engineering resins, has announced a significant, multi-faceted expansion of its signature custom color capabilities that includes two new, fully dedicated Arburg injection molding machines and the addition of new color specialists. By investing in new resources for precision color matching and relying on its many years of expertise, the company aims to boost its customer service capacity and flexibility; accelerate the process of formulating, testing and delivering custom-colored resins; and optimize the appearance and size of color plaques for more-accurate customer visualization and testing. Polymer Resources’ latest capital project demonstrates its commitment to helping customers get to market faster while achieving the highest level of color-matching precision and consistency. 
 
“Trends such as mass customization are driving demand for custom-colored resins,” said Bill Galla, vice president, Sales, Polymer Resources Ltd. “Yet manufacturers face challenges because major suppliers are limiting or eliminating the availability of color-matched resins, and color consistency can suffer when colorants are added at the machine during production. Our expanded custom color service offers consistent high quality from batch to batch, flexibility in lot size and delivery plans, and fast turnarounds from color matching to shipping production orders.” 
 
New Equipment for Faster Service, Optimal Quality
Polymer Resources installed the first of the two new injection molding machines in 2018, and the second machine was operational in Q2 2019. With this new equipment, the company will be able to increase the quantity and quality of the color plaques it produces for customer qualification and testing. Expanded molding capacity, combined with an increase in staffing, will mean shorter lead times for the company’s standard color-matching services. 

The newest Arburg injection molding machine will double capacity for molded color plaques. Its updated tooling will produce clean, attractive plaques that present an accurate representation of the chosen color and surface finish in different thicknesses. The new tooling also allows plaques to be made with and without grain to see different finished looks of the final product. Further, the machine can mold plaques in a range of sizes, including larger plaques that make it easier for customers to see special effects and flow lines, and conduct testing.
 
To ensure color consistency across different lots of material, Polymer Resources will use these additional resources to maintain its practice of producing chips from each batch of resin at the beginning and end of pellet production. These test chips are compared with master color plaques to detect and remedy any variation. The color chips are inspected with the latest Spectrophotometer equipment as well as with a trained eye. This rigorous quality assurance process illustrates the company’s focus on its quality management system, anchored by certification under ISO 9001:2015, the latest version of the standard. 
 
For the fastest response, Polymer Resources offers its Express Color Matching Service, which provides precisely matched color chips for approval by the customer within one week. The process begins as soon as the part, pellets or Pantone color is received, along with the application requirements.
 
“Speed is critically important to many manufacturers as they strive to meet tight deadlines or gain a competitive advantage by being first to market,” Galla noted. “Our express services for accelerated delivery of compounds and expedited color matching help customers win in today’s fast-paced environment.” 
 
Headquartered in Farmington, Conn., Polymer Resources is a privately owned U.S. supplier of customized specialty engineering resin compounds, color-matching services and related materials technology solutions for the electrical, medical, consumer goods, business equipment and automotive industries. Operating with an extensive list of UL approved products it is one of very few polymer suppliers that backs its compounding and color match services with a quality guarantee. The company’s commitment to customer service, financial discipline, and foresight for over 42 years has made it a reliably steady resource for specialty compounds in the often volatile plastics industry. With operations in Farmington and Rochester, N.Y., Polymer Resources continues to fuel its growth through ongoing investments in its manufacturing assets and its workers.