Lehigh Technologies Expands Polyurethane Technical Team

ATLANTA, Sept. 10, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Lehigh Technologies, a leading specialty chemicals company that produces micronized rubber powders (MRP), today announced that it has bolstered its best-in-class research and development capabilities with the appointment of Ian Wheeler as technical manager for polyurethanes (PU). The 30-year industry veteran will lead the customer-facing polyurethane application development team at Lehigh's Application and Development Center (ADC) to expand uses for low-cost, sustainable and high-performance MRP across a range of PU markets.

"The global polyurethane market is projected to expand significantly over the next five years, and Lehigh's MicroDyne™ rubber powders are ideally suited to meet the industry's growing needs," said Alan Barton, CEO of Lehigh Technologies. "Lehigh's MicroDyne™ products have been used to manufacture more than 70 million PU components-reducing cost, delivering high performance and improving the sustainability profile of the product. Our customers are market leading companies in a range of industries, from automotive to consumer. Ian brings deep expertise to the technical team to drive further adoption into this important and large global market"

Wheeler joins the company with extensive experience developing PU systems applications across many market segments. Previously, he worked in technical and sales executive roles at some of the world's largest PU suppliers, including Dow Chemical, ICI/Huntsman and Arkema. In addition to leading the polyurethane application development team at Lehigh, Wheeler will be responsible for close collaboration with our customers supporting our commercial team around the world.

"Lehigh is leading the industry in providing sustainable and cost-saving technology for polyurethanes with a wide range of potential applications," said Wheeler. "I'm looking forward to helping Lehigh expand its technical collaboration with major component producers to further advance this key market segment." 

Lehigh is focusing on developing PU applications for the automotive, flooring and construction industries. This hire builds on last year's ADC expansion, when Lehigh added Chad Jasiunas as technical manager for functional materials and Glenn Denstaedt as technical director for tire & rubber applications.

About Lehigh Technologies
Lehigh Technologies is a leading specialty chemicals company that produces high-performance micronized rubber powders (MRP), a sustainable raw material that reduces costs by up to 50%. Lehigh's cryogenic turbo mill technology converts post-industrial rubber into MRP used in a wide range of consumer and industrial applications. With a state-of-the-art advanced development center, Lehigh technical experts collaborate with customers to quickly optimize products for each application. Customers include more than 60 leading tire, asphalt and plastics companies around the world. To learn more, visitlehightechnologies.com

SOURCE Lehigh Technologies