LNP (company)

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LNP (Liquid Nitrogen Processing) was an American independent manufacturer of custom engineering plastic compounds serving the automotive, mass transportation, telecommunications, electronics, healthcare, and consumer markets. After a series of acquisitions by Beatrice Foods Company (1976), Imperial Chemical Industries (1985), Kawasaki Steel Corporation (1991), and GE Plastics (2003), it was sold to SABIC in 2007.

History

LNP was founded in 1948, originally as a privately owned custom cryogenic grinding company in Malvern, Pennsylvania, and later relocated its headquarters to Exton, Pennsylvania. It established its proprietary process for PTFE compounds as a core business in 1961 and entered the thermoplastic extrusion compounding business in 1964. LNP began backward integration into producing its own PTFE, Nylon 66, and Nylon 610; however, this business plan resulted in large financial debts, nearly bankrupting the company due to its high cost of operation. The company decided to divest the upstream polymerization business and refocused on thermoplastic material compounding. In 1976, LNP was acquired by the Chemical Division of Beatrice Foods Company and eventually sold to Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) in 1985. Ownership was then transferred to Kawasaki Steel Corporation in 1991, resulting in the loss of its 24-year-old fluoropolymer business. Facing Japan's economic stagnation, Kawasaki decided to merge with another steel company, NKK (JFE Steel), to focus on its core steel business and ended up selling LNP to GE Plastics for over $310 million in 2003. At the time of acquisition, LNP employed more than 1,000 people at 11 global locations with nearly $285 million in annual sales. The entire GE Plastics subsidiary, including LNP, was acquired by SABIC in 2007 for $11.6 billion.

Key figures

Robert E. Schulz (1937–2018) joined LNP in Malvern, Pennsylvania in 1966 as an account manager after previous industry positions at American Cyanamid and Celanese. He held a variety of sales and management positions for many years until being named the company's President and CEO in 1991. Schulz held that position until retiring in 2003 after LNP was acquired by GE Plastics. During his tenure, LNP transitioned from being privately held to being owned by Beatrice Foods, Imperial Chemical Industries, Kawasaki Steel Corporation, and finally GE Plastics. Under Schulz's leadership, LNP grew from $100 million to $300 million in annual sales in the 1990s. During his career, LNP also grew from only 2 locations with 24 employees to 11 global locations and over 1,000 employees. Schulz held a B.A. in chemical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from City College of New York.

LNP (company)

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