Expanded capabilities bring U.S.-based polymer chemistry, process engineering and equipment design together to help manufacturers move from the laboratory to the production floor
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Aug. 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Edge-Sweets Company (ESCO), a Grand Rapids-based engineering and manufacturing firm with more than 140 years of industrial manufacturing history, is expanding its in-house capabilities to help manufacturers move new materials and establish the processes and equipment required to produce them at commercial scale.
Building on its longstanding expertise in custom polyurethane processing equipment, ESCO has expanded its capabilities to include polymer chemistry, applications development and process engineering, allowing customers to solve technical and manufacturing challenges with a single partner.
“Customers don’t always come to us with a finished formulation,” said Rick Speas, Applications Engineer at ESCO. “Often they know the product they want to manufacture, but the chemistry, processing requirements and production equipment are all evolving at the same time. By bringing chemists and engineers together, we can solve those challenges as one development process instead of several separate ones.”
Equipment design depends on chemistry. Variables such as viscosity, filler content and flow characteristics determine how a production system must be engineered, yet many manufacturers begin exploring production equipment before those parameters have been fully established. The expanded capability brings chemists and engineers together earlier in the development process, helping customers move more efficiently from formulation to full-scale production.
ESCO’s recent collaboration with Colorado-based Flora Materials, a developer of bio-based materials, demonstrates how these capabilities can be applied to an emerging material and its intended commercial application. ESCO supported on the formulation development, rapid prototyping, process engineering, and large-scale sample generation, which was recognized with a Best of NeoCon Sustainability Award, and are now helping the company scale up manufacturing to meet demand.
“Taking a new material from hand-poured samples to a repeatable manufacturing process takes the right combination of chemistry, equipment and people willing to solve problems together,” said Natalie York, CEO and founder of Flora Materials. “ESCO has been that kind of partner for Flora. Their team understands both the material and how it needs to be made, and working with them close to home has helped us continue testing, refining and moving toward production.”
Across its growing portfolio of polymer-development work, ESCO is helping companies address a wide range of material, processing and scale-up challenges. Projects include applications ranging from specialized aviation foam to composite panels made with difficult-to-recycle materials. Through its work with Sustainable Solutionz, for example, ESCO has developed a binder and production approach for composite panels incorporating recovered photopolymer printing plates and recycled feedstocks, while also exploring new applications for ocean-recovered plastics.
“Some of the most rewarding projects are the ones that don’t fit a standard process,” Speas said. “Those applications require chemistry, engineering and manufacturing expertise to evolve together. That’s where we believe we can create the greatest value.”
As manufacturers continue developing more advanced polymer systems, ESCO expects demand for integrated chemistry and engineering support to continue growing and is actively seeking opportunities to collaborate with product developers, chemical suppliers, manufacturers and entrepreneurs bringing new materials to market.
Projects typically begin under a mutual nondisclosure agreement, with intellectual-property ownership and any continuing chemistry-supply arrangements determined individually.
Manufacturers interested in polymer formulation, applications development, process engineering or custom dispensing equipment can contact Rick Speas at [email protected] to learn more.
About Edge-Sweets Company
Edge-Sweets Company (ESCO) is a Grand Rapids, Michigan-based engineering and manufacturing company specializing in polyurethane processing equipment, custom automation and polymer processing technologies. With industrial roots dating to 1883 and more than 140 years of manufacturing history, ESCO designs and builds custom equipment while providing polymer chemistry, applications development and process engineering support for manufacturers developing innovative products. The company serves customers across industries including furniture, bedding, construction, automotive, aerospace, medical and advanced manufacturing.
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