Dividing into 2 expected to multiply growth
One sector works on nylons; the other is in chemicals
AFTER restructuring the company into two separate divisions, nylons and chemicals, in 2013, Ascend Performance Materials is poised for growth.
Tom Verghese, president of Ascend’s chemical division, said the company’s chemicals business inked a number of new contracts at its Chocolate Bayou plant in Alvin last year, while its nylon division continued to grow in its core automobile and industrial segments. In April of this year, Ascend brought in Phil McDivitt, a former executive at the global technology and speciality materials company Celanese Corp., to serve as president of its nylons division.
Ascend’s chemicals are used in a wide variety of items ranging from automotive paints to herbicides to tissue paper. Its nylons are used in air bags, seat belts and under-the-hood parts in automobiles, as well as fabrics and many other products. The company brought in revenue last of year of almost $2.5 billion, about even with the prior year. It landed at No. 5 on the list of top private companies and wasn’t previously part of the Chronicle’s survey.
About 60 percent of the company’s revenue comes from nylons and the rest from chemicals. In addition to its Alvin plant, the Houston-based company has four other manufacturing facilities, all in the southeast U.S. The facilities are well positioned to take advantage of lower-cost natural gas feedstocks made plentiful by the shale boom.
Although Verghese said the company’s nylon division can be susceptible to gyrations in the housing and automobile industries, having diversity with both divisions helps keep growth steady.
“In chemicals, we are selling to a multitude of industries, so growth is never huge,” he said. “We grow like the economy grows, but that’s where having that diversity comes in. Both divisions did well last year, and both can vary.”
Ascend was formed in 2009 when SK Capital Partners bought Solutia’s integrated nylon business and established Ascend, based in Houston. The company has 2,300 employees, about 100 of whom are in its downtown headquarters, and 600 at the Alvin plant.
Creating two divisions was done to foster growth and let the company better focus on its two different sets of customers.
About half of Ascend’s sales are made outside the U.S., making it the 56th-largest exporter in the country, Verghese said.
“Our focus for 2015 is growth,” Verghese said.