CASS Polymers of Oklahoma City said Tuesday that it has acquired all of the outstanding stock of Tool Chemical Co.

Based in Madison Heights, Mich., Tool Chemical is a 48-year-old manufacturer and marketer of a complete line of polyurethane parts used in the automotive, aerospace and marine industries.

CASS Polymers owns several subsidiary units involved in the production of specialty chemicals for the composite and coatings industries. The company has appeared on the Oklahoma City Metro 50 list, which recognizes the area's fastest-growing companies.

CASS Polymers has acquired all of the outstanding stock of Tool Chemical of Madison Heights, Mich., a suburb of Detroit.

Details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Tool Chemical employs 45 people, bringing the total number of CASS employees to 120, including individuals working at CASS' other two subsidiaries, Milamar Coatings in Oklahoma City and ADTECH Plastic Systems of Charlotte, Mich.

The acquisition also includes Tool Chemical's 50,000-square-foot facility in Madison Heights.

Tool Chemical is a 48-year-old manufacturer and marketer of a complete line of polyurethane computer-numerically controlled (CNC) tooling planks for master models, patters, fixtures, jigs, autoclave and other rapid tooling applications.

The company's products are used in the automotive, aerospace and marine industries.

Gregory Edwards, chairman of Oklahoma City-based CASS, expects the acquisition will increase CASS' revenue volume by 75 percent, as Tool Chemical's product line complements the ADTECH's product line.

W. Douglas Frans, president of CASS, said that there would be "no significant near-term operational changes" implemented at Tool Chemical. The company would seek to implement a cohesive approach to product sales and marketing, accounting and administrative functions between Tool Chemical and other subsidiaries of CASS.

The addition of Diana "Dee" Haynes, general manager of Tool Chemical, also will aid CASS' future growth, Frans added.

 

CASS Polymers, Inc. Places in Metro 50 Two Years Running
Oklahoma Business Monthly - September 2000

CASS Polymers, a world-class manufacturer of epoxy, polyester and urethane systems, combines two operating units under the corporate identity, CASS, formerly an acronym for concrete, aluminum and steel surfaces. " We currently own and operate two subsidiaries, ADTECH Plastic Systems Corp. and Milamar Coatings & Adhesives LLC," says Douglas Frans, president and one of two corporate principals, with Gregory J. Edwards.

"ADTECH is a customer-focused organization specializing in formulating and blending specialty polymers for the aerospace, automotive, marine and entertainment industries," Frans explains. "For instance, we create resin-based products used in the automobile prototyping industry, such as the body of the Dodge Viper when it was initially designed. Our products are also used in building molds for the entertainment industry that create set characters such as dinosaurs in movies like 'Jurassic Park' and vintage aircraft in the upcoming movie about Pearl Harbor." ADTECH's core product line includes industrial polymers of epoxy, polyester and urethane used for industrial tooling, bonding, fabricating, prototyping, casting, encapsulating, finishing and repair. Many of these resins are also used in custom applications such as the U.S. Olympic kayak, recreational watercraft, commercial aircraft interiors, military/aerospace maneuvering flaps, automotive repair, spas and computer housing.

Milamar, through its trade name PolyMax, manufactures industrial surface overlays that protect and restore old and new concrete. The overlays have exceptional bonding and compressive strength that provides impact and abrasion resistance for abusive environments like storage areas, airplane hangars, manufacturing shops, warehouses and garages. The coatings typically outlast normal floor paints by four or five times. Milamar also manufactures a line of electrostatic conductive and non-conductive adhesives used in areas that require special attention to static electricity.

Beneath the surface of these product offerings hums a dynamo with results outstripping its rivals. "Our exceptional growth is due to several things," Frans says. "We are concentrating on actively expanding our business and product offerings on a synergistic basis, including developing or acquiring new products, expanding sales channels and adding key distribution outlets."

This business plan has effectively implemented change. "June 2000 was our largest sales month to date, due to growth from internal product lines, additions of new products and expanded sales efforts," Frans says. "For instance, late last year we acquired a significant specialty adhesive line of electrostatic dissipative products. Results from this new line have been very promising, leading us to the recent release of our first round of enhanced adhesive products. From a marketing vantage, we are filling open sales territories and are entering international markets in Europe, Canada, Mexico and South America. Consequently, we are now working in a worldwide, technology-based marketplace, feeding both high tech and conventional industries with our products."

Frans recognizes the turbulence that an over-heated economy and rising cost of money can have on the business. "We expect and hope to see a fundamentally strong U.S. economy supporting most facets of our business through 2000," he says. "The rising interest rates imposed by the Federal government are having a short-term impact on our growth through acquisition strategies. Target companies must be both strategic and economic fits, with economic becoming a more key factor, due to the cost of investment funds," Frans says. "Inflation is also an issue since many of our raw materials are impacted by the cost of petroleum-based products. However, we do not expect rampant increases in the near term that will significantly impact development of our businesses."

As the second fastest-growing company on last year's Metro 50 list, CASS Polymers accomplished a remarkable feat of landing amongst the top three winners for two years in a row. That high level of sustained growth from year to year is rare.

 

Durochers's Oklahoma City Business, 9/10/1999
By Melissa Davis

For CASS Polymers Inc., market research has paid off handsomely.

Three years ago, W. Douglas Frans and Gregory J. Edwards were principals in CASS Corporation, a company specializing in both specialty industrial polymers and portable surface preparation equipment. They were looking to grow and had a decision to make. Market research told them to focus their attention on polymers.

They listened.

A year later, the newly formed CASS Polymers Inc. posted record-setting revenues — a full 500-percent increase over revenues posted by their polymers business the year before the change. Today, CASS Polymers easily ranks among the fastest growing companies in Oklahoma City.

"The polymer industry is an $85 billion industry," Frans explained. "There are several very large players that are consolidating the larger portions of the polymer industry. We saw a huge opportunity for a company like ours to acquire smaller operations that fall below the radar of the larger companies.

"We also saw this industry as very profitable. The gross margin is good. It is not subject to rapid technological change. There is no overwhelming capital investment in equipment. And it is not highly labor-intensive.

"We have implemented a growth strategy to develop a much larger and more diverse polymers operation, building from what we already had and acquiring other operations related to our business… We have a very aggressive acquisition campaign."

At present, CASS Polymers is the parent company of two operating subsidiaries. The first, Oklahoma City-based Milamar Coatings, LLC, is the polymer company originally owned by CASS Corporation. Founded in 1987, Milamar Coatings manufactures epoxy-based products that are primarily used as seamless industrial floor coatings. According to Frans, the coatings are superior to conventional paint in a number of ways. They last longer. They are more durable. They require less maintenance. And they are better suited for high-traffic areas or places with special requirements, such as electrostatic conductivity.

More recently, Milamar has also introduced a new water-borne epoxy coating suitable for the consumer market. "The new coating, designed primarily for garage floors, is more user-friendly and easier to apply than the industrial type," Frans said.


"For the first time, a homeowner can install an industrial floor coating," he said.

In addition to Milamar, CASS Polymers owns ADTECH Plastics Systems Corp. Acquired by CASS in 1998, Ad Tech is a composites company, which develops products for use by the marine, automotive, aerospace and specialty molding industries. Ad-Tech is experiencing particularly rapid growth in the first category, Frans said, selling to many national yacht manufacturers and pursuing international opportunities as well.

To meet heightened demand, CASS will expand plants at both Milamar and AD-Tech over the next few months, Frans said.

Meanwhile, CASS Polymers is looking for outside growth opportunities as well. At present, Frans and Edwards are discussing acquisitions with roughly half a dozen companies.

"We expect to complete one, if not two, acquisitions before the end of 1999," Frans said. "And we should complete another two or three acquisitions in the year 2000."

Far from startups, the companies CASS looks to acquire are all mature and profitable organizations-just like CASS itself.

Five years from now, Frans predicts that CASS Polymers will be a $100 million company. And five years from now, he said CASS will still be headquartered in Oklahoma City.

"Oklahoma City is a very good location for distribution," he said. "We can deliver by truck in a matter of days to either coast, plus north and south, too. We don’t have a significant need for highly technical employees, and we do have a good employee base.

"We see a huge opportunity for CASS Polymers, and we are happy to be based here in Oklahoma City.