Ensinger Industries, Inc. acquires Penn Fibre Plastics, Inc. and A. L. Hyde Company

Ensinger Industries, Inc. recently finalized its acquisition of the Penn Fibre & Specialty Company and the A. L. Hyde Company. Penn Fibre is a leading U.S. producer of thin section engineering thermoplastic sheets, strips, coils and punched parts. The A. L. Hyde Company acquisition includes its subsidiary companies - World Plastic Extruders and Plastifab Industries. Ensinger Industries is the U.S. affiliate of Ensinger GmbH & Co., with headquarters in Nufringen, Germany.

"Ensinger is pleased that by gaining Penn Fibre we will acquire a company with a rich history and a tradition that closely mirrors our own," said W. Rick Phillips, President of Ensinger Industries. "Penn Fibre has prided itself on cultivating customer loyalty through flexible and dependable service."

Phillips also stated that A. L. Hyde is one of the world’s best established plastics processors with a strong reputation among engineering plastics manufacturers and long-standing customer relationships. Hyde’s expert craftsmanship and state-of-the-art technology blend well with Ensinger’s commitment to excellence.

Penn Fibre was founded in 1937, while Ensinger has been a worldwide leader in engineering plastics production for 34 years. Ensinger’s dedication to providing quality materials has been validated through the achievement of ISO 9002 certification at its Washington, PA, facility since October 1995. Penn Fibre has been ISO 9002 certified since October 1996.

Penn Fibre has a product line that compliments Ensingers. "The thin gauge engineering thermoplastic and thermoset coils and sheets offer a broad range of industrial applications, enhancing the current product offering we provide to our channels of distribution. The punch parts line of products augments our injection molding business located in Putnam, CT", Phillips said.

A. L. Hyde Company extrudes many different grades of engineering thermoplastic stock shapes in its Grenloch, NJ, manufacturing facility along with proprietary products such as Hydex 4101 PBT Polyester, Hydlar ZF Kevlar reinforced nylon, and the Hydel family of anti-static and conductive plastics.

Ensinger Industries, Inc. and its subsidiary companies; Ensinger Inc., Ensinger Vekton, Inc., Putnam Precision Molding, Inc., Ensinger Special Polymers, Inc. and Ensinger Indústria de Plásticos Técnicos Ltda., are major producers of engineering plastic stock shapes, high performance injection molded parts, compression molded shapes, custom cast nylon parts and precision extruded engineering plastic profiles for the window and door fabrication industries. Typical markets served include semiconductor equipment, chemical processing and industrial equipment, medical, wastewater treatment, fenestration, business machinery, petro-chemical and food processing.

Penn Fibre serves many markets including the automotive, appliance, aircraft and marine markets. Their plastic materials and fabricated parts applications include coils, washers, bushings, strips, gaskets, insulators, standoffs and custom shapes. Also included are specialty converters serving the snowboard, ski and skateboard markets with composite materials. Its manufacturing facility is in Greenwood, DE; its main sales office is located in Fort Washington, PA.

In an effort to make the transition in acquiring Penn Fibre appear seamless to its valued customers, Ensinger plans to conduct "business as usual" for the near future.

With regard to Hyde, "Ensinger is excited by the opportunity that the acquisition of Hyde will bring in offering our valued customers even greater product capability and technical know-how," Phillips said. "This will provide our company with a tremendous increase in production capacity and provide our customers with a source of one-stop shopping for all their engineering plastics needs."

The acquisition of Montreal-based Plastifab Industries demonstrates Ensinger’s commitment to the Canadian market. Plastifab has been producing extruded plastic tubes, plates and rods along with plastic profiles in Canada for over 20 years.

World Plastic, located in Moonachie, NJ, is a precision manufacturer of point of purchase displays and plastic profiles.

Separately, Ensinger has launched a fully transactional e-commerce Web site for its elite distributors. The site, www.shopforplastics.com, offers a fully transactional storefront where distributors can access inventory and their contract pricing, download product data sheets and material safety data sheets, find a selection of materials to fit a given need, submit RFQs and place orders. The e-commerce site also offers engineers, fabricators and designers access to product data specifications, MSDSs and the product advisor function available to partner-distributors. The detailed information will assist individuals in selecting the appropriate engineering plastic for an application.

For more information, contact Astrid Cook, Ensinger, 365 Meadowlands Blvd., Washington, PA., 15301, 724-746-6050 x136, Fax: 724-746-9078, E-mail: acook@ensinger-ind.com.