EDI Press Release

Following five years of strong growth initiated by a management buyout, Extrusion Dies Industries, LLC (EDI) has appointed a new team to direct its worldwide operations, and promoted to chairmanship positions the four executives who led the buyout, EDI announced today. The company also promised a strategy of expansion that will include geographic and technological diversification and possible acquisitions of new businesses.

The new president of EDI is John A. Ulcej, who was one of the participants in the management buyout. He also assumes the position of vice chairman in charge of technology. Until now Ulcej has been the company’s executive vice president in charge of engineering and technology and in addition has been directly involved in the management of EDI’s manufacturing operations.  Dennis S. Paradise, who until now was EDI’s North American sales manager, has been named vice president of sales and marketing. Assuming the position of technology manager is Sam G. Iuliano, previously the company’s product manager.

EDI has also promoted Scott G. Smithto the position of global aftermarket manager, in charge of rework and spare part sales worldwide; and Greg J. Raleigh has been promoted to operations manager, with responsibility for manufacturing activities in Chippewa Falls.

In May of 2003, three executives besides Ulcej led the buyout of EDI, purchasing the company in its entirety from a Minneapolis-based bank: Timothy C. Callahan, who has been president and CEO of EDI, now becomes chairman and CEO and will be responsible for strategic growth initiatives. Christopher W. Curtin, until now executive vice president of sales and marketing, becomes vice chairman in charge of developing strategic market and commercial opportunities. Ronald J. Kuhnen, the company’s CFO, retains this title while also assuming that of vice chairman.

After Five Years of Sales Growth, EDI Seeks ‘New Ways to Add Customer Value’

Founded in 1971, EDI has specialized in building and reworking flat dies, coating heads, feedblocks, and related equipment for use by extrusion processors and web converters. Between the buyout in 2003 and the end of 2007, the company’s average annual sales growth percentage was in the double digits, according to EDI president John Ulcej, and growth continues in 2008.

“The secret to EDI’s growth has been a three-fold strategy of stringent quality assurance, technological innovation, and helping customers to expand productivity by finding new ways to increase extruder ‘up-time,’” said Ulcej. “One of our most prominent innovations has been the Contour Die™, whose unique shape is the key to reducing the downtime for lip adjustment required with each new product run, enhancing gauge profiles, and yielding a uniform layer structure in coextrusion. It is now in great demand worldwide and has become our standard design for all cast film dies.”

Further evidence of EDI’s dynamism is the undertaking of three major initiatives in the past year, according to Ulcej. Early in 2007, the company established EDI Precision Dies (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., a Chinese subsidiary to provide rework, technical support, and spare parts.  Soon after, EDI purchased Liberty Coating Systems, a well-known builder of slot coating dies, and incorporated the Liberty® range of dies into its slate of offerings. Then in December 2007 EDI purchased a 19,600 sq.ft (1,820 sq.m) facility from Quality Machine of Chippewa Falls, Inc. (QMI) and transformed it into a Technology Center, including three process laboratories that companies can rent for cast film, slot die coating, and extrusion coating and laminating trials.

These moves are a sign of things to come, according to chairman and CEO Tim Callahan: “EDI will pursue a strategy of expansion with an emphasis on finding new ways to add customer value,” Callahan said. “The future for EDI is likely to include more acquisitions, further geographic diversification, and entry into technological fields that represent natural progressions from our established expertise.”   

Callahan cited the following as fields for current or possible technological expansion:

• Advanced flat die systems, such as EDI’s “layer multiplier” feedblock systems for producing micro-layer film of standard overall thickness but with dozens of layers; technology for producing environmentally friendly foam board that incorporates new types of foaming agent; and tooling designed to process the new bioplastics now entering the marketplace.
• Additional process capabilities. Building on a longstanding specialty of reworking dies, EDI now offers full rework services for blown film dies. The company has also developed die heads for the coextrusion blow molding process.
• New options in slot die coating. In addition to the newly acquired Libery line of fixed-lip dies for very thin, optically clear coatings, EDI offers its Ultracoat® adjustable lip dies. Also new are modular slot die coating systems, for both full-scale production and trial runs, that can literally be rolled into place in existing coating lines, including those normally used for conventional roll coating.