TOR Minerals International Inc FY2008 Q1 Earnings Results

Tag : pvc granules

TOR Minerals International, Inc. (TOR) is a global specialtychemical company engaged in the business of manufacturing andmarketing mineral products for use as pigments, pigment extendersand flame retardants used in the manufacture of paints, industrialcoatings, plastics, catalysts and solid surface applications. TheCompany has three production facilities: United States operation,Asian Operation and European Operation. The United Statesmanufacturing plant, located in Corpus Christi, Texas, is situatedon the north side of the Corpus Christi Ship Channel and has itsown dock frontage at the plant. It also utilizes the Bulk Terminal,operated by the Port of Corpus Christi Authority, to discharge bulkshipments of synthetic rutile (SR) and Barite from cargo vesselsdirectly into trucks for delivery to its plant. The site has itsown railhead and easy access to major highways linking it to therest of the United States and to Mexico. HITOX, BARTEX and HALTEXare all produced at this location.
Located in Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia, close to the port of Lumut, TORMinerals Malaysia, Sdn. Bhd (TMM) is a processor of local ilmenite,upgrading it to SR. This material is the basic building block forHITOX, but also is used as feed stock for white TiO2 and used as acomponent in welding rod flux. The site also has its own processinglines to manufacture HITOX. The sales team and the qualityassurance laboratory for Asia are located at the offices in Ipoh.Situated within reach of the major shipping port of Rotterdam, TORProcessing and Trade, B.V. (TP&T), located in Hattem, Netherlands,specializes in the manufacturing of premium alumina products(ALUPREM) for use worldwide. Customer applications, qualityassurance laboratory and support facilities for Europe are locatedin Hattem. TOR Minerals' global headquarters in Texas providescustomer service and shipping logistics for TP&T's North Americancustomers.
HITOX
The Company's principal product, HITOX, is a light buff-coloredtitanium dioxide pigment made from SR. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) isused as a primary pigment in paints, coatings, plastics, paper andmany other types of products. TiO2 gives opacity and whiteness toend products. HITOX is a color pigment that can replace some of theother color pigments and some of the white TiO2. HITOX pigments areused by international paint and plastics manufacturers. Usesinclude interior and exterior architectural paints, yellow trafficmarking paints, industrial primers and coatings, roofing granules,polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe and conduit, plastic sheeting andsiding, as well as plastic film. HITOX accounted for approximately53% of the Company