PARTNER CONTENT
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new chemistries for emerging applications. For Shenton, stewardship is handson. He and his team lead commercial strategy, and champion growth initiatives through customer relationships and projects, all during a time of global supply chain shifts, and fluctuating industrial and regulatory priorities.
Shenton’ s connection to the company runs deep.“ I officially started working here in 2002, so I’ m coming up on 25 years. But really, I got my start as a teenager, painting fire hydrants and safety railings for summer work in the maintenance department, which led to other jobs in the warehouse and production floor – so, I’ ve basically grown up here at the plant. We all did – all five of my siblings, it’ s just what we did as kids – we came to the plant with Dad.” And now, Shenton couldn’ t be happier with his three children often accompanying him to work.
During his career, Shenton has seen King Industries expand into new technologies, markets, and regions, all while staying family-owned. It started with sulfonic acid chemistry for the rubber industry, moved into corrosion prevention and lubricant additives, and then into coatings, electronics materials, and other specialty applications like composites and foam chemistry. Instead of growing by acquiring other companies, King Industries develops new opportunities from the expertise it already has or simply makes the decision to invest in a new area to explore.
Shenton elaborates:“ We always explore new outlets or applications, and not just for our existing chemistry in adjacent markets, but also in new previously unknown or untapped applications. In development, one of the most effective strategies is to take what you have into new applications by spotting chemistry related challenges that speak to your technology’ s potential – mechanistically. That’ s what we do and what we stick to – it’ s in our DNA.”
Expansion
In Waterbury, King Industries is building new manufacturing capacity to meet growing demand for advanced lubricant technologies, industrial, and automotive markets for synthetic applications.“ Expanding our capabilities in Waterbury is about addressing the opportunities we see ahead for our NA- LUBE ® series of alkylated naphthalenes,” Shenton explains. Geography matters a great deal in King Industries’ growth strategy.“ Our commitment to manufacturing in the United States has been a blessing when considering the sensitivity around IP theft and competition. It also allows us to hyper focus and dial in processes – ultimately delivering that specialty niche function and quality directly to the customer. If business continuity, consistency, and growth are in your vision – for a technically driven company like King – staying stateside is what works, and having good distribution partners who understand your value in their product mix is key.”
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