A responsive business requires responsive partners
Despite the ever looming concern about high fuel prices, there is still booming interest in many motorsports vehicles and products. Over the past several years, Sportech, Inc. – a plastics thermoformer that specializes in the design and construction of products for the powersports industry – has experienced an explosive increase in demand for their Thermoplastic Polyolefin (TPO) parts for original equipment manufacturers of motorcycles, snowmobiles, ATVs, and other off-road vehicles. Included in this growth has been an increase in the number of clients with unique requests of Sportech, which has provided increased uncertainty in their TPO needs. In search of a supplier that could keep up with their growth and handle this unpredictability, Sportech turned to Rowmark’s Premier Material Concepts (PMC).
A Growing Business
Sportech started 19 years ago as the home-based, family business of Owner and CEO Chris Carlson. Originally, the company sold aftermarket accessories for snowmobiles and quickly experienced success selling to dealers and distributors. Their innovative products caught the attention of manufacturers, and soon demand became high enough that, in 1998, Sportech opened its first manufacturing facility.
Carlson’s passion for snowmobiling and motorsports, in addition to Sportech innovations, continued to garner interest from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and Sportech began producing plastic parts, panels, and accessories almost exclusively for these manufacturers. Today, 100% of production and design is focused on OEM products and growth is continuing. Over the past two years, Sportech has doubled in size and their TPO consumption has increased by about 600%.
This extreme rate of growth required a dedicated supplier that could expand alongside Sportech, and forced Carlson to deeply consider the various options.
PMC Steps Up
Beyond just the ability to handle growth, Sportech had other requirements that needed to be met by their TPO supplier:
“We needed consistent quality, good customer service, and we needed them to respond in a timely manner” says Carlson. Choosing the right supplier was an important decision for the CEO. Carlson is committed to developing true relationships with Sportech’s partners. As he explains, “We tend to work with the same people for years and years.”
One of the companies Carlson considered was the Premier Material Concepts division of Rowmark, LLC – a supplier of custom extruded sheet, roll stock products, laminated sheets, and decorative film. PMC is dedicated to saving customers’ time and money, providing leading technical support, and developing creative solutions. And backed by Rowmark’s 20 years of experience, PMC has a steady manufacturing base.
“Our 89,000 square foot facility in Findlay has the capacity to meet their demands,” explains Duane Jebbett, President and CEO of the company. “Rowmark has experienced the type of growth Sportech is going through in the past, and so we were confident we could manage their needs.”
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