Continental Compounders celebrates 20 years
IN MANY cases the official age of a business is predated by an often equally long build-up period where the team gain experience, prowess and market knowledge. That is often essential, and absolutely vital in the polymer compounding sector: you don’t get involved in compounding without significant knowledge and knowhow, not to mention the ability to raise funds to invest in plant.
This is outright the case at Continental Compounders, which this year celebrates 20 years in operation. You can add a further 20 years to that, as that is how long the founders – George Dimond and Rodger Petre – were involved in PVC compounding before the actual startup in 2005.
That year the founders changed the name of their startup venture, Reigns Trading, to Continental Compounders and rolled off the start line. At that point the company operated lines at two separate premises in Durban but consolidated those in 2008 at a site in Pinetown. It already had substantial output then, of over 1,000 tons a month, with the volumes posing a major logistic challenge in terms of consistency and quality. The company was already focused and established on exports at that point, with about a third of output going to markets in Asia and West Africa.
“The imperative is to have excellent relationships with suppliers and even stronger relationships with customers,” said Dimond at the time, “that’s commitment to a valuable supply chain.”
Upped output
To an extent, Continental filled the vacuum created by the exit of PVC Compounders from the PVC compounding market about that time, but that was no guarantee for success. There was no shortage of competition, and the challenge may have been more about the ability to manage the rapid increase in production in a reliable manner.
By 2012 output had increased to 22,000 tpa and the company had grown to become the largest PVC compounder in Sub Saharan Africa, in itself no mean feat.
In 2013 it completed the switch to heavy metal-free production.
In 2016 Continental took another plunge when it commenced with the compounding of polypropylene and nylon materials, mainly for the automotive component manufacturing sector: it now produces mineral-filled, glassfibre reinforced, impact modified, UV modified and flame retarded grades or combinations thereof.
Then, in 2019, continuing the rollout, Continental commissioned its own engineering polymers compounding line in Westmead, Durban, where it took up additional premises. The chief goal here was import substitution, to replace the need for the import of specially compounded PPs. Production capacity at the Westmead plant has been extended since with additional equipment added.
By 2021 further production capacity had been added with a new production line – comprising machinery, automation and downstream equipment – yielding another 6,000 tons a year of PVC compounds and taking total production up to around 60,000 tons a year, which is substantial. The goal here was to produce quick-to-market solutions and allow Continental the flexibility to focus on key markets. The increased capacity also assisted in meeting local demand for cable, footwear and rigid injection and extrusion grades of PVC.
By that stage the business was exporting to almost 45 countries, in Europe, South America, Australasia and Africa, but Continental also realised during the Covid pandemic shutdown how vulnerable its customers in SA and neighbouring countries were to global events and market fluctuations. It consequently strengthened its supply chain with a number of global partners and navigated through the supply constraints to supply the market.
“We believe our investment in the expansion of our production capabilities places us in the ideal position to not only supply manufacturers in our country, but also for them to export products
to the rest of the world. Our clients will now enjoy the benefits of shorter lead times, fewer disruptions and more flexibility when it comes to modifications that would better meet their needs,” said Dimond.
Further investments have been made since, with a major capex project in 2022 allowing it to supply to automotive Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers. It now supplies modified PP, polyamide 6 and 66, polycarbonate and ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) compounds.
