The history of Performance Materials Corporation (PMC) is traced by the path of two companies in the thermoplastic composite industry who have merged together, Performance Materials and Baycomp Company.
Performance Materials was originally founded as Medical Materials Corporation (MMC) in 1986 by investors who wanted to develop an improved material for medical orthopedic applications for the foot. Existing orthotic materials were plastic, wood and thermoset composites. A continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic composite material (CFRT®) was successfully developed and promoted to the market by MMC. The brand, TL, soon became the premier material offered for prescription foot orthotics.
In 1992, utilizing the basic product technology and applications knowledge in the medical industry, PMC entered into the functional orthopedic brace market replacing products that were made with thermoset composites. The thermoplastic composites were lower cost and allowed for in the field customization.
The company began developing products and promoting to the athletic footwear industry in 1990. Components made from the thermoplastic composite materials were used to make footwear lighter, more resilient and more durable. Today, they are used by the world’s greatest athletes. By 1996, the company was producing components for in-line and hockey skates. In 2000, PMC then made structural components to reinforce bicycle and hockey helmets. Today, PMC is the largest supplier of thermoplastic composite products to these industries.
In 1996, the company was renamed Performance Materials Corporation to reflect the greater depth of applications and markets it served.
Baycomp was founded as a subsidiary to Saint Gobain in 1985, through one of its holdings in Canada, Bay Mills. Baycomp was founded to develop and produce advanced fiber reinforced thermoplastic tape materials. The technology was acquired from Europe to produce a wide array of high performance thermoplastic composite materials.
Baycomp developed many material combinations and sold to various industries including military, oil and gas, automotive, construction and others. Baycomp also developed a product line for the prescription foot orthotic market in 1990 called XT Sprint.
In 2000, the Performance Materials acquired Baycomp from Saint Gobain. The acquisition allowed the company to solidify its position in the high end of the orthopedic market. Baycomp also provided the company with the ability to work with a multitude of thermoplastic polymers opening up new business opportunities.
In 2000, PMC entered the kayak paddle market producing under the brand name of Waterstick. Today, the company provides products which are sold to other kayak paddle brands in the market.
In order to facilitate PMC’s support to companies with development offices in Asia, PMC opened a representative office in Taiwan in 2001. In 2005, motivated to continuously improve customer service, PMC opened a manufacturing facility in China called PMC China.
PMC entered into the Computing market in 2006 producing covers for notebook computers.
PMC continues to develop and invest in the CFRT® materials technology, processes for the conversion of CFRT® materials and increasing capabilities geared to providing engineered solutions using thermoplastic composites. Today, the company continues to expand into markets and applications which benefit from the use of these products and services.