(BRK.A), (BRK.B)
To support rapid growth in surface protection applications, Berkshire Hathaway’s Lubrizol has made a variety of investments in its thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) business globally. These investments extend the company’s capabilities in surface protection and paint protection film (PPF), providing additional benefit to PPF manufacturers, brand owners and their supply chains.
PPFs are used to maintain the long-lasting beauty of vehicle surfaces. With more than 30 years of proven experience, Lubrizol’s ESTANE® TPU is recognized as the benchmark material for performance in PPF, a reputation carefully developed through years of strategic investments in capacity, acquisitions and technology innovation.
The company’s most recent investments include:
• TPU capacity expansion through state-of-the-art manufacturing and processing technology at its Montmelo, Spain facility to serve growing demand
• Application resources and testing capabilities in its Brecksville, Ohio; Montmelo, Spain and Songjiang, China technical centers to develop the next-generation innovations
• Expansion of its consumer and market insights platform to stay ahead of the evolving needs in PPF and other surface protection end uses
This integrated combination of investments uniquely positions Lubrizol to collaborate with customers and partners across the value chain to support their growth and accelerate speed to market with new product innovations, while providing additional security of supply across the globe.
This focused growth also supports the company’s recent launch of its “Made with ESTANE TPU” branding initiative, designed to promote alignment with PPF brand owners to help them specify Lubrizol’s ESTANE TPU material in their products, bringing the assurance of quality and reliability expected by their installers and end-use customers.
“Our strategic focus is on markets and applications where we can deliver value-added solutions to our customers, while helping the industry advance,” says Viviana Wilson, Director of Global Industrial Marketing, Lubrizol. “This, in turn, fuels our investment in technology, market and applications know-how, and manufacturing.”
“We’re at our best collaborating with customers across the value chain. We aim to create smarter, and this investment in TPU capacity, testing and process technology enables us to do more, and more quickly, to meet the growing demands of this dynamic market. All of this is backed by reliable, world-class manufacturing and strong technical centers, close to our customers,” states Gabe Rhoads, General Manager, Lubrizol Engineered Polymers.
© 2020 David Mazor
Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.