Sekisui Chemical has joined together Kydex and Allen Extruders to form Sekisui SPI.

Sekisui Chemical purchased Kydex, a manufacturer of thermoplastic sheet design, back in 1990. In 2007, the Tokyo-based chemical giant acquired Allen Extruders. Sekisui SPI will be headquartered at Kydex's location in Bloomsburg, PA, with a second location in Holland, MI, where Allen Extruders is based.

Lydia Swan, VP of sales and marketing for Sekisui SPI, told PlasticsToday that this news represents a long-term strategy to invest in the future of its companies.

"Even though we have operated as two separate companies, our individual DNAs are the same," she said. "Our shared values, commitment to continuous improvement, and the world-class performance of our products, and our combined product portfolio make this an asset for our customers."

The newly formed company will feature the collective power of Kydex and Allen thermoplastics product brands. The key markets the company will serve is aviation interiors, transportation, agriculture and heavy equipment, marine and industrial equipment housings. Swan said the company has a number of positions open across its operations and sales markets.

"By bringing Kydex and Allen together we are setting a new standard of excellence for the plastics industry to think, design and create," said Ronn Cort, Sekisui SPI president and COO. "The combined research and development capabilities and products of the many Sekisui companies will continue to result in better solutions for our customers."

Cort was previously the president of Kydex.

"The name is new," Cort continued, "but you know us. We are the same people you have relied on in the past, with the same commitment to create safer, lighter products that exceed the demanding aesthetic requirements of the markets, industries and businesses we help build."