One of the fastest growing color concentrate and additives suppliers in North America is Mosaic Color & Additives LLC of Greenville, South Carolina. Mosaic is a non-traditional color compounder with a unique business model that is driving their substantial growth. They are the industry leader in building products and wood-plastic composites (WPC’s).
“Pushing the cutting edge of technology and innovation” is how Mosaic describes their business, because in addition to their color capabilities they provide nontraditional solutions, as well as design and consultation services for the development of innovative new products. They are especially known for their realistic faux wood effects. For these challenging applications, Mosaic uses ENTEK twin-screw extruders.
Seeing “Green” in Building Products
When four industry veterans joined forces and started Mosaic, they saw that a large void existed in the WPC and building products industry for an experienced, WPC-knowledgeable supplier of color concentrates, compounds and specialty additives.
“To fill the market void, we knew we would need a versatile extrusion system to create the unique variety of formulations, polymers, additives, and high loadings that we would need to run, some of which have never been done before and are patentable,” said Mike Haubert, Partner and Director of Technology of Mosaic. “When we were looking to expand into twin-screw pelletizing technology, ENTEK was the first company we called. We have been very happy with our ENTEK extruders and are planning on buying even more in the future.”
Challenging Formulations
Mosaic’s customers process challenging formulations, from olefins with natural fillers to PVC to ASA alloys to engineering grade thermoplastics. Customized anti-microbials, UV stabilizers, antifungals, flame retardants, and other fillers are also a normal part of Mosaic’s packages. “We needed an extruder supplier that was willing to allow our own customization,” said Mike Williams, Partner and Director of Sales & Marketing. “It was imperative that we had an extrusion vendor partner that was flexible to outside ideas and willing to think outside the box, made quality components, backed up their equipment with support and service, and had parts readily available domestically. We have found all that with ENTEK.”
Not only is Mosaic’s future bright, it’s green! The company brings even more added value to its customers as it has vast experience in processes that use recycled polymers. By using specific Mosaic products customers can utilize recycled feedstocks instead of virgin materials. Some have even found it improved the quality of their products while it significantly enhanced their bottom line, made a more marketable product and helped the environment.
Customer First Attitude
In the past year Mosaic has doubled the size of their lab, expanded their building by 50% to 60,000 ft2, and purchased another ENTEK extruder well in advance of their business plan. The company attributes its fast growth and success to numerous factors, including their employees’ “customer first” attitude.
“One of our core principles is always providing a rapid response to our customers’ ever changing needs,” said Haubert. “And we define ‘rapid’ in terms of hours, not weeks or even days. A big part of our ability to respond to our customers is having a reliable extrusion system that allows us to react quickly and flexibly, in addition to giving us the confidence of providing lot-to-lot consistency.”
Williams added, “We have found the people at ENTEK to be quality individuals who truly care about our business as much as we care about our customer’s business. We are not just a number after the sale at ENTEK, and we look forward to a long-term partnership with them.