Milwaukee-based manufacturer Sellars Absorbent Materials needs more physical space to increase production capacity following the launch of its newest paper towel product. Sellars makes shop towels, wet wipes, disposable wipers and sorbents made with recycled fibers. The company launched in 1985 with a simple goal: creating a more absorbent material to help clean up oil
Milwaukee-based manufacturer Sellars Absorbent Materials needs more physical space to increase production capacity following the launch of its newest paper towel product.
Sellars makes shop towels, wet wipes, disposable wipers and sorbents made with recycled fibers. The company launched in 1985 with a simple goal: creating a more absorbent material to help clean up oil spills and drips in manufacturing plants.
The company’s products are made with a paper processing machine that was created using proprietary technology. The machine, which is almost the length of a football field and two stories high, makes paper products stronger and more absorbent and can even change the color and appearance of a product.
[caption id="attachment_568371" align="alignleft" width="300"] Tom Sellars, CEO[/caption]
“Think of it as a value-added paper process,” said Thomas Sellars, chairman and chief executive officer of Sellars Absorbent Materials. “This is a premium technology that offers performance.”
Technology and innovation have been key drivers of growth for Sellars, which competes against large brand names for customers. A key differentiator of Sellars products is the use of recycled materials. Other paper product brands are typically made from pulp that is sourced from trees that are cut down for that specific purpose.
Making a paper product with recycled fibers can be a challenge because the fibers are much shorter, Sellars explained. This makes the company’s paper processing machine the right tool for the job.
The company takes recycled pulp and makes it into rolls of paper that weighs several tons. That paper then moves through the processing machine at 2,000 feet a minute.
Sellars' newest product, the Bravo paper towel, is manufactured using curbside recycling like boxes and paper waste. The towel took over a decade to develop. Marketing the new Bravo product and adding production capacity to support its launch are immediate goals for Sellars.
“We are competing against large, national brands," said Sellars. "How do you do it? Through technology and innovation. The problem and the opportunity in the consumer kitchen towel space is that the recycled stuff doesn't perform as well, that’s why Bravo is a game changer.”
The company is trying to raise $4.8 million to support these priorities, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. So far, slightly more than $2 million has been raised.
“We have investors who want to be able to reinvest their dividends. We had to raise to accommodate that, and I figured why not raise a little more in case we need some money for growth?” said Sellars.
Over the past few years, the Sellars team has designed and built another mid-sized paper processing machine. At the company’s current 110,000-square-foot headquarters facility, there is no space to put the new machine. Sellars is looking to lease a 60,000-square-foot building near its current headquarters at 6565 N. 60th St.
Sellars declined to share the exact location of the building it plans to lease at this time as the deal has not yet closed.
The company already leases two warehouse buildings in Milwaukee, one along West Hope Avenue and the other along West Calumet Road. Sellars also owns a second manufacturing plant along Industrial Road in Milwaukee, in addition to two distribution centers in Reno, Nevada and Atlanta.
“We’re full," said Sellars. "We are adding more capacity to keep up with high demand."
The company, which has about 200 employees, could grow by between 25 and 30 employees if Sellars closes the deal for its additional building.
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