Lord Corp. Expands in Latin America

Cary, North Carolina-based Lord Corp. is expanding its activities in Latin America on several fronts as it builds a new, larger capacity production plant in Itupeva, in Sao Paulo state, Brazil, at a cost of $25 million and with a completion date of 2013, according to Fernando Siqueira, Lord’s project leader for the plant, in nearby Jundiaí. The diversified company’s existing plant in Jundiaí produces structural adhesives and high performance coatings, targeted at the automotive and industrial sectors, among other products.

Receipts for privately-held Lord are up a reported 10% this year, progress toward a corporate goal of doubling sales in five years. Lord global sales were $825 million in 2011. The new plant, said to have double the capacity of the older facility, will provide sufficient capacity for 20 years growth, according to Siqueira. Lord brands include: water-based Chemlok adhesives, free of heavy metals and low in the emission of volatile organic compounds; Autoseal coatings for synthetic rubbers used in the automotive segment; and heat reflective coatings used in the automotive and aeronautical industries.

Within Brazil, Lord also has technical centers and/or offices in Rio de Janeiro, in Rio de Janeiro state; Sa São José dos Campos, in Sao Paulo state; Curitiba, in Pernambuco state; and Caxias do Sul, in Rio Grande do Sul state.
Among third-party distributors of Lord products in Brazil are All Metal; Comfibras; Fragon; Grid; Macrosul;  Mapribor; and Redelease. The company is also widely known for its advanced Fusor and Versilok adhesives, for its SolderBrace coatings for electronics substrates, and for vibration mitigation technology, used in the automotive and other transportation segments.

While the company maintains offices and sales associates throughout Latin America, within expansion plans is a new office in Colombia to serve the northern tier countries of South America. Lord now has a representative office and a distributor in Bogota, Esquim de Colombia.

In Mexico, Lord moved into larger facilities in Queretaro, in Queretaro state, in 2009, where it serves the automotive, electronics and industrial coatings segments. It still has offices in Toluca and Monterrey. In Central America, Lord has a joint venture with Terramix S.A., of San Jose, Costa Rica, to market MetalJacket brand pipe coatings for potable and wastewater.

Elsewhere in Latin America, Lord also has distributorships in Buenos Aires and Santa Fe, Argentina; Santiago, Chile; Quito, Ecuador; Callao and Lima, Peru; Montevideo, Uruguay; and Caracas, Venezuela.

Lord Brasil won the 2011 Top of Mind Award in the Brazilian composites industry from the Brazilian Composite Materials Association (ABMACO), for brand quality and recognition. And in 2005, Lord Brasil published its first health and environment sustainability report, building upon its adoption of industrial stewardship principles of the national Brazilian chemical association, Abiquim. One of its achievements in that report indicated a reduction of 10% in total waste generation, compared with a 20% increase in production for the period.

According to a recent company note, Lord CEO Rick McNeel, will retire at the end of this year and Ed Auslander, Lord’s vice president of global business management, will take his place. McNeel was quoted in the “Charlotte Business Journal” in July saying, “Last year’s approval of free-trade agreements with Colombia, Korea and Panama will open the door for manufacturers to sell products in those markets.”