“Our customers value the expertise and technical resourc-
es Georgia-Pacific Chemicals provides to help them meet the
challenges of today’s marketplace,” Boyer added. “While
there’s no denying that we must all continuously improve
upon our cost efficiencies, the demand for GP Chemicals’
knowledge and service capabilities continues to grow.”
John Schierlmann, product manager at Specialty Polymers,
Inc., said customers are looking for more technical support and
personal attention from their resin suppliers.
“Throughout the industry, companies are dealing with
increased raw material prices, as well as the rising costs of
health insurance, freight and other operating expenses,”
Schierlmann, explained. “Customers want to lower their
costs, but need equal or improved performance. To help get
there, and because many customers have reduced their lab
staff, they are putting more pressure on their resin supplier
to provide technical support. Customers want this support
face-to-face with their suppliers. This involves both more customer sales and technical service calls.”
Rising Costs of Raw Materials
The pricing volatility of raw materials for resins has made planning difficult for resin makers as well as their coatings customers.
“Raw materials are a large part of our costs,” Reiser said.
“Specialty Polymers works very closely in partnering with our
suppliers to get the best raw material costs. We also look to our
suppliers to bring us new raw materials, which could provide
lower costs or better performance to our customers.”
Snider said that balancing supply and demand requirements
for manufacturing resins of all types requires cross-functional
team effort.
INNOVATIVE • RESPONSIVE • FLEXIBLE
We have the right polymer for your needs!
More than 300 polymers
for the paint and coatings industry
A 40-year track record
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www.specpoly.com • 1-800-770-7523
www.coatingsworld.com
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