Whitford Purchases HP Polymers of Guelph, Ontario


10 January 2011, Elverson, PA. Whitford Worldwide has just completed the purchase of 100% of the shares outstanding of HP Polymers, a leading Canadian manufacturer of a variety of polymer resins, effective 1 January 2011.

Whitford, previously one of the investors in HP Polymers, agreed to buy the shares of Tom Peta, formerly general manager of HP, who retired from the company as of 31 December 2010.

Mr. Peta will remain as a part-time consultant to the new management of HP. With Mr. Peta's retirement, Whitford has announced the appointment of Dr. David J. Senior as general manager. Dr. Senior, a PhD of Chemistry, has 25 years of experience in the manufacture of chemicals, the last 6 in resins for the paint and coatings industries, most recently with Mancuso Chemicals and the SI Group of Canada.

Whitford has also appointed Joseph M. Petipas as head chemist of HP. Mr. Petipas adds another 25 years of experience in the development, processing and use of polymers, most recently with Mancuso Chemicals and the SI Group of Canada, where he worked closely with Dr. Senior.

These two form the new all-Canadian management team along with Glenn Beaton, who has been working at HP Polymers as operations director and continues in that capacity.

Whitford, no stranger to the polymer field, is the manufacturer of the world's largest, most complete line of fluoropolymer coatings. Whitford has full manufacturing facilities in eight countries, Whitford offices in twelve more, plus a network of agents in an additional 25 countries. Whitford sells in more than 50 countries.

Fluoropolymers are high-performance plastic materials used primarily in performance-critical applications in defense-related industries and in automotive, aerospace, electronics, telecommunications, chemical, medical and many other industries. In spite of their diverse uses, the average consumer knows these coatings primarily as the "nonstick" part of a fry pan.

Dr. Senior says, "HP Polymers now has the resources of a large, worldwide organization behind it, so we expect growth to accelerate as we add Whitford's extensive R&D strengths to our own."

Says David P. Willis, Jr., president of Whitford, "Having HP Polymers as part of the Whitford group of companies adds to the kind of synergy we have always used to grow our business. We see an extremely bright future for our Canadian colleagues."

For more informationn, please contact Whitford Corporation, 47 Park Avenue, Elverson, PA 19520. Telephone: (610) 286-3500. Or email us at: sales@whitfordww.com. For additional information on Whitford, please go to our website: whitfordww.com.

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