• Auto-titrator – percent NCO
• Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectrometer
• Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) with Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR)
• Gas Chromatography (GC) / Mass Spectrometry (MS) with Headspace
• Gloss Meter – BYK
• Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC) — Waters
• pH Meters
• Rotovapor – Buchi
• Solids Content – oven and microwave
• Tensile and Elongation – Tinius Olsen H5K-S
• Viscosity – Brookfield and Ford Cup
• Weatherometer – QUV

Click here for our Custom Manufacturing brochure

• Cowles disperser mixers; 25 H.P., 50 H.P.
• 3000 gallon mixers (4)
• 500 gallon mixer
• 250 gallon mixers (2)
• 50 gallon mixer

 Tanks

• 2200 gallon Polypropylene mix tanks (3)
• 2000 gallon Stainless steel mix tanks (2)
• 4500 gallon Polypropylene mix tanks (3)
• 1000 gallon Polypropylene tank
• 1000 gallon Stainless Hot Melt tank
• 500 gallon Stainless mix tank
• 250 gallon Stainless mix tanks (2)

Packaging

• Custom designed, automated multi-package dispensing unit
• Cuno filtration system; filter from 1 micron – 500 micron
• Tank wagon
• 250 gallon poly totes
• 57 gallon O/H poly drums

Reactors

• Four (4) 1500 gallon Pfaudler stainless steel; equipped with 10 H.P. drives. The reactors can handle products with a viscosity from 1,000 cps to 30,000 cps, and are equipped with the following:
• Unlimited Hot Room storage from 140 degrees F / 60 degrees C to 210 degrees F / 99 degrees C
• Complete modernization in 4th Quarter 2008
• Heating up to 280 degrees F / 138 degrees C
• Cooling down to 50 degrees F / 10 degrees C
• Propeller type agitation
• Load cells on all vessels
• Process accessory equipment
• Variable speed mixing in all reactors
• Automated extender dosing systems (4)

 Dispersion

• Four (4) 4000 gallon stainless steel tanks equipped with 25 H.P. lightning drives

Click here for our Custom Manufacturing brochure

Union Specialties, Inc. provides custom manufacturing of specialty polymers and packaging of materials to customers who do not posses the in-house manufacturing capabilities, or whose volume on certain products would make in-house manufacturing uneconomical. Some highlights of Union’s capabilities are:

• Custom waterbased aliphatic polyurethane reactions/dispersions
• Custom blending of waterbased compounds
• Technical staff with over 50 years experience in polymer technologies
• Secrecy guaranteed with confidentiality agreements
• State of the art laboratory and manufacturing process equipment
• Highly experienced manufacturing personnel
• Complete computerized formula generation
• State of the art computerized inventory control and customer service systems to meet the customer’s specific needs
• Computerized label printing equipment
• 50,000 square foot manufacturing and warehousing facility (electronic security with fire suppression)
• Commitment to safety, quality and environment
• ISO 9001:2008 Certified
• Thirty years of expertise in Exporting worldwide
• Central location with easy access to major highways

Click here for our Custom Manufacturing brochure

Please contact Kevin Rodden, Vice President

kevinrodden@unionspecialtiesinc.com for more details.

Waterbased Dispersions

Case Study: our customer wanted to move away from solvents and into the greener, more ecologically friendly world of waterbased products. But the problem was the customer’s customers had become accustomed to the old products, and in fact had built their businesses around these solvent-based finishes. If the new, waterbased products were going to be introduced two things had to happen: (1) they had to actually be a little better than the solvents, and (2) our client’s client needed to buy in ahead of time. Our chemists and developers worked with our customer, and in turn with the end user creating an easy transition. Tested and proven before launch, our client was totally satisfied. He told us that his customers were impressed with the state-of-the-art work. Being in waterbased product became a marketing element for our customer now… a new competitive edge.

Industry Capabilities:

Leather

Automotive Interiors

Paint and Coatings Resins

Graphic Arts

Flexible Substrates

Adhesives

Custom Manufacturing

Welcome to Union Specialties, Inc. We are the premier manufacturer of waterbased polyurethane dispersions and specialty products to the leather and coatings industries worldwide.

QUALITY,  SERVICE, COMMITMENT. These are three words that have summed up the core philosophies of our company since 1941.

QUALITY:  Union Specialties manufactures only the highest-quality products using state-of-the-art equipment and processes. All products must pass a rigorous quality control process to exacting specifications set under the guideline of our ISO 9001 program.

SERVICE:  Union Specialties Technical staff, as well as our worldwide network of Representatives and Technical Advisors, will show you our latest innovative technologies, systems and products.

COMMITMENT:  From our Research and Development staff to our Customer Service department, and from our Manufacturing workforce to our Technical Sales organization, the “UNION TEAM” is committed to our target of Total Customer Satisfaction.

For those customers with whom we have enjoyed many years of business relations, We thank you.  For those companies we will work with in the future that share the same philosophies as Union Specialties, we look forward to working with you as partners to realize and achieve our mutual goals.

William J. Greene, President

A Little History…

Five Generations of Innovation, Quality and “Strength in Union”

In 1848 Edward Greene immigrated from Ireland and settled in the Peabody-Salem area of Massachusetts near the whaling centers of the East Coast of the United States. The Civil War was still a decade away and James K. Polk was President. Abraham Lincoln was serving in the House of Representatives and the country was at war with Mexico. Ulysses S. Grant’s father was operating a tannery in Ohio. Edward Greene went to work as a pit tanner, operating the rotary drums filled with tanning solutions used to convert hides and skins into leather. It was hard, hard work.

In August, 1861, his son, Thomas was born.

As an apprentice in the tanning trade, Thomas learned “the art of of a brushed-kid finisher, but shortly progressed to be come a hand-shaver.” Hand shaving was considered in those days to be a timeless and “indispensable” part of crafting leather. Hand-shavers carried with them sharpening needles as badges of their prestigeous trade. Thomas Greene, unlike most hand-shavers, was far less concerned with the personal prestige of his elite position than he was with making better leather. In the 1890’s he began his experiments using chrome in a new tanning process. His laboratory was the family kitchen. And his implements of research were his mother’s pots and pans. His success was reported internationally in Leather and Shoe Reporter, 1939:

“Thomas E. Greene was credited with being among the first to produce salable leather by the chrome process in the Salem District. His efforts were crowned with success and the chrome method was quickly adopted by other tanners….”

In the years between 1860 and 1899, American tanners were busy developing new technologies. Among these pioneers was Thomas E. Greene. His innovations produced the first salable leather using the chrome process. This was the first major contribution to the tanning industry recorded by the Greene family, but certainly not the last.

Even at the advanced age, in 1939, of 78, after he was afflicted with blindness, Thomas E. Greene continued to stay abreast of the ever-changing world of tanning, utilizing the Braille system, and remained “as keen on what is going on in the world especially relating to tanning as a younger person with all his faculties could be.” This determination and compelling attachment to improvements in his chosen industry are hallmarks of his family and of the company that evolved, Union Specialties, Inc. It all began with his father working in the pit, turning the tanning drum, and has now continued for five full generations. In those “first generation” years, as Thomas Greene, grew from a boy to a man, he studied on his own from at the Salem Public Library in Salem, Massachusetts. He worked with R. H. Foerderer & Company and conducted important experiments at Rothwell Keith (Carr Leather Company). He continued working in and studying the tanning industry until his death in 1941.

Union Specialties, Inc. at our 1946 facility.

Also in 1941, his son, John B. Greene founded Union Chemical Co., Inc. in Blubber Hollow, Salem, Massachusetts. In the first ten years of operation, John created a renown and unique leather chemical company with a large, modern laboratory, producing a variety of finishes for clients all over the world. From starting in a facility about the size of a one-car garage, the company grew by leaps and bounds, with facility enlargements and renovations in 1946 and 1950. It’s commitment to technology and customer service allowed it to continue a strong record of growth in a highly competitive leather world. The slogan, “In Union There Is Strength,” was introduced during the company’s ten anniversary year. In 1952, the company was producing manufacturers leather finishes,, topcoats, binders, and dressing with a distribution system throughout the country and in all major foreign markets.

In 1984, the fourth generation, Thomas E. “Tom” Greene assumed the position as President. It was during the middle 1980s and early 1990s that the American leather industry began to experience intense international competition. Under the leadership of Tom Greene the company adjusted to the new situation and in 1986, Union Chemical Co., Inc. announced that it would change its name to Union Specialities, Inc. and would relocate to a newly constructed, much larger facility in Newburyport, Massachusetts. In a press release, the company stated that it was “confident that this move will enable us to further improve service to our customers worldwide. Our commitment to introduce innovative ideas and products will remain unchanged.” And even as the American leather industry was decimated by at least 80% from its heyday, Union Specialties continued to grow steadily and profitably. A 10,000 square foot addition was built at the facility in 1991 to accommodate growth in the polyurethane resin product line.

In 1994, Union Specialties became one of the first leather chemical manufacturers to be awarded the ISO 9000 and then ISO 9001:2000 rating.

Certainly the hiring of Peter Alford, who became President in 1995, assisted in the growth of its foreign business. Currently international operations comprise approximately two thirds of all Union Specialities, Inc. production in over forty-nine countries.

In 2005, the fifth generation, William J. “Bill” Greene assumed the presidency of Union Specialties. Under his leadership the company has continued to grow and has automated the production process in many innovative ways including high technology systems and a robotic, semi-automatic bagging system that has dramatically increased the modern manufacturing facility’s capacity.

Today with agents worldwide and a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, Union Specialties continues its commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction with a dedication of which all preceding generations would approve. As Bill Greene states in his welcoming message to Union’s Internet site, “For those customers with whom we have enjoyed many years of business relations, I personally thank you. For those companies in the future, who share the same philosophies as Union Specialties, we look forward to working with you, as partners, to realize and achieve our mutual goals.”

The history of the company is long and distinguished. The future is bright and promising. And every day those philosophies of caring about customers and bringing new ideas to changing times are put into everything, every employee in the company does. “In Union there is strength,” the company slogan says it all.

High tech, cost effective, top quality polymers, resins and coatings.  These are the goals of Union Specialties’ R&D and Science teams when designing and developing new, innovative products for our customers.

Fully equipped synthesis, analytical, applications and testing laboratories are at the center of our research and development facilities.  For over 70 years our highly trained personnel have been committed to creating products proven to have the highest quality properties available on the market.

We offer three distinct ways to meet our customer’s needs:

1. Choose products from our extensive available product line
2. We will custom blend our resins to meet specific customer needs
3. Synthesize new resins for specialty areas of your business

Our Technical staff, including Polymer Chemists, Senior Scientists, Automotive and Coatings Technical Advisors will support all of our Technical Sales Managers in the field to answer questions, return feedback and provide information promptly.

We are pleased to offer these services which help to make Union Specialties the premier supplier of waterbased polyurethanes around the world.

There are decisions you can make and should make to strengthen the future for the next generation.

In business today, we know that the old ways are no longer always the right way.

Our waterbased polyurethane technology offers a safer, more environmentally friendly solution to your high-performance coatings requirements.

Our expertise creates the perfect solution you need.

Our partnership with you will be there every step of the way.

The future will always be uncertain to some degree, but using waterbased technology will make one thing far more certain … the next generation will always know that you were part of the solution.

Quality is a comprehensive concept. It must permeate every aspect of the company, no exceptions. Quality is also a clear and practical result of a company’s culture and management commitment. True customer satisfaction comes from a quality relationship. Quality also means a culture of continuous improvement, a clear management system for the environmental issues, and comprehensive effort to ensure that these principals are applied to everything the company does.

Our commitment to quality defines Union Specialties, Inc.

Great service means access, answers and dependability. Our management team works directly with our customers, and, from top to bottom, we consider every position and job responsibility in our company to have as its most important component … customer satisfaction. When a company is customer-focused then relationships deepen and prosper, projects achieve more than expected, and the future always looks bright, through good time and not-so-good times.

Commitment. Any customer who knows us will tell you that we are committed to having each project and every order achieve exactly what our customers want. We are committed to their success. Period. If you want a company that will not accept anything less than complete success for you, then it’s Union Specialities, Inc. every time.