Company Highlighted for Transformative 3-D Printing Partnership with Oak Ridge National Lab
CLINTON, Tenn., January 9, 2015 – Today U.S. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden visited the Clinton, Tenn.-based Techmer PM, LLC, manufacturing site. After touring a portion of the facility, the President made a major announcement about the creation of a $250 million manufacturing innovation hub aimed at strengthening U.S. leadership in next-generation composite materials.
The Knoxville, Tenn.-based Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI) is a consortium of the Department of Energy and 122 company partners and members, including Techmer ES, a wholly owned subsidiary of Techmer PM, LLC.
The Institute, which is part of a larger plan to boost manufacturing, foster innovation, and create jobs for the middle class, will focus on cutting-edge research on advanced composites, such as carbon fiber compounds, which Techmer ES developed. The composite was recently used to bring to life a 3-D printing project with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).
“We are very excited to help introduce the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation to Tennessee,” said John Manuck, chairman and CEO of Techmer PM, LLC. “It will add significantly to our regional manufacturing activity, paving the way for further innovations, manufacturing job opportunities, and products in the marketplace. Our successful work with Oak Ridge National Laboratory was the genesis for the President’s visit and a prime example of composite materials advances achieved through a transformative technical partnership.”
Techmer ES recently partnered with ORNL, contributing its high-performance materials expertise to help the U.S. Department of Energy laboratory develop a large-scale additive manufacturing system, also known as 3-D printing. Techmer ES created a unique carbon fiber-based formula to help meet ORNL’s goal of building a 3-D printing system that is 200 to 500 times faster and can print components ten times larger than what was previously possible.
An early success of this partnership is the first full-size 3-D printed electric car, the body of which was printed with materials formulated by Techmer ES. The fully functioning Shelby Cobra was unveiled during the tour. The President and Vice President also toured the company’s production facility, receiving a behind-the-scenes look at the well-established manufacturer.
Techmer PM, LLC, was founded by Mr. Manuck in 1981. It is a privately held, family-owned business that employs over 600 people in seven U.S. manufacturing facilities. Many of Mr. Manuck’s family members participate with him in leading the company, including Ryan Howley, president. The company’s suite of additives and colorants provides manufacturers with custom color, special effects, flame retardance, UV stabilization, and other desired properties for a variety of consumer and industrial product applications.
The Techmer ES subsidiary was launched in 2004 to address the rapidly growing engineered plastics industry, producing products designed to operate at extreme environments of temperature and stress.
“From a new carbon fiber technology to the exciting frontier of large-part additive manufacturing—3-D printing—our working relationship with the National Lab has been a model of cooperation and innovation,” said Tom Drye, managing director of Techmer ES.
About Techmer PM, LLC
Techmer PM, LLC, is a major producer of value-added masterbatch and engineered compounds for the plastics and fiber industries. The company manufactures and sells masterbatch under its Techmer PM brand and engineered thermoplastic compounds through its Techmer ES subsidiary. The company has worldwide manufacturing capabilities focusing on high-performance applications where quality, technical support, and problem solving are critical. Techmer PM was recognized by Plastics News on its “Best Places to Work 2014” list. Learn more by visiting techmerpm.com and techmeres.com.