TPE compounds producer United Soft Plastics (USP, Lawrenceville, Georgia / USA; www.unitedsoftplastics.com) has opened a new plant in Houston, Texas / USA. The new location is primarily to supply customers in Asia and Europe as well as Mexico, says Michael Bodmann, who heads the group’s activities in Europe. He says the company’s European business has developed better than planned in recent years, making this expansion a necessity. Production at its headquarters in Lawrenceville are then to mainly serve the US and Canadian markets.

USP was founded in 2005 and manufactures TPE compounds for the automotive, medical, packaging and consumer goods sectors, among others. The new facility will increase the compounder’s total capacity by about 5,000 t/y to about 15,000 t/y. In Europe, USP established a sales office in Rosenheim / Germany in 2012.