TEKRA ININ THIS ISSUE • WhatWh A Difference A Year Makes • NNewe Weatherable Coating • 3M3M Medical Specialties Products NEWS DISCOUNTDISCO & OPPORTUNITY BUYS

Vol. 1 No.3 - April 2010 NEW PRODUCT LAUNCH New ProTek® Flame Retardant Hardcoat What A Difference Tekra has developed a new, flame retardant hardcoat. Using V-0 rated glossy polycarbonate and a clear hardcoat, Tekra has created ProTek® Flame Retardant. The new coating can be made on 10, 15 A Year Makes! or 20 mil film, and is perfect for hazardous environment industrial controls, as well as certain aerospace applications. The Protek film offers high abrasion & chemical resistance on extremely flame If you’re like me, it is really hard to • Experienced unanticipated retardant pc films. Click here for more product info remember how poor the market interruption of key supply items. conditions were at this time just one TRADE SHOW year ago. The overall low level of When the economy was at a low economic activity combined with point, none of these market changes NEWS tremendous uncertainty made it really had much negative impact. Now, See Tekra At PEMS impossible to do any with the recovery well under way, we TEKRA sort of long term are feeling the effects. Fortunately, it Come visit Tekra at the Printed Electronic/Membrane Switch SPOTLIGHT planning. Instead, we does not appear we are looking at a Symposium in Phoenix, May 18-20 at the Sheraton Downtown. Tekra spent a lot of time and double dip recession so we had best all will be representing the full offerings of Dupont Teijin Films, Tekra’s effort on cost controls, reducing make plans to manage under these High Performance Coated Films, and Dupont MCM Conductive Inks inventory and trying to win as many new conditions and realities. at this very valuable trade event! Click here for more show info orders as possible, but it was pretty slim At the risk of practicing economics pickings! without a license, I do have one piece of The furthest things from my mind in advice….there’s little to be gained in FEATURED 2009 were concerns over capacity and thinking this is all engineered and PRODUCT worrying about how to manage and artificial….that somehow they “rigged communicate with you regarding the game” on us. That’s just not the Tekra is Your Source for 3M™ multiple price increases and the supply case. All companies, big and small, did situation in the coming months. An what they had to do get through 2009 Medical Specialties Products awful lot has changed for the better but and it will take some time for things to I’d like to take this opportunity to share get back into balance. Just look at the Tekra Corporation has application. Tekra can also with you some short term challenges we US GDP Plastics chart below and the teamed up with 3M’s work with you to offer all face and tell you a little bit about what sharp decline in 2009 and the steep Medical Specialties to customized solutions to Tekra is doing to prepare for them. slope up in 2010 represented by the x’s! deliver even more product meet your unique medical By now, you probably have all felt the It’s logical to expect there to be a period solutions to our customers. product challenges; big or impact the rebounding economy has of adjustment before we’re back to 3M Medical Specialties small.small. had on your supplier service levels. business as usual. products offer innovative Over the last 18 months, almost across solutions, technologies and the board, Tekra’s strategic partners services for health care and their tier one suppliers have: product development. Products include medical • Taken steps to insure their grade pressure sensitive profitability by reducing staffing and plastic, non-woven and eliminating excess capacity. foam adhesive tapes, liners, fabricated components, and So whether you are just • Retired older production assets and specialty films and starting out with a brand consolidated operations. adhesives. new medical application or Tekra Corporation’s require assistance to • Increased the scheduling interval dedicated team of medical maintain or modify an between manufacturing runs for So what should we expect in the next sales professionals can existing one, Tekra is here to many products. three to six months? Tekra is planning guide you to choose the help. for the following: Click here for more information on right product for your Continued on Page 2 Medical Adhesives HOME PAGE CONTACTS TECHNICAL RESOURCES PLACE AN ORDER EMAIL EDITOR TEKRA NEWS What A Difference A Year Makes!

1. On average it will take longer to available for last minute orders. We have told our Procurement information to get the products we need. For group to order a little more of you as soon example, some film suppliers are 5. There will be numerous price everything and to place the orders a as possible. quoting deliveries into July for increases and the advance notice little earlier than usual. Thanks for orders placed in March! given will be shorter than usual. We are also working hard on our your business communications with suppliers and and stay in 2. Response time to supply chain To prepare for these new our customers. touch. problems will take longer to resolve. conditions, we are doing a series of TEKRA This letter is part of things differently to put us in the SPOTLIGHT that effort. When 3. Prices are going to trend best position possible to meet your your Tekra upwards. Large suppliers can’t needs. salesperson asks you for a forecast signal their intentions on price but The single most important change for the first time or an update, all indications are pointing to higher is increasing our inventory position: please help us out. The order you energy costs and high backlogs save may be your own! which translate into higher prices. We are carrying roughly 30% We are also automating the price more inventory than we did in increase notification process when 4. Some items won’t be readily 2009. product prices change to get that

TEKRA FEATURED ANNOUNCEMENTS PRODUCT xpedx® to Distribute Dura-Go Film Line Clear, Weatherable Coating For many years, Tekra has been aware of This coating provides protection for The 1700 plus attendees at the Dscoop an unmet market need for a thick, clear, underlying graphics in highly demanding showcase in Dallas were the first to learn of the PET film that offers a good combination of environments and further protects from new exclusive agreement signed by Tekra and scratch and chemical resistance and that scratch, abrasion and chemical attack. xpedx. Effective immediately, xpedx will be the can also endure normal outdoor exposure Tekra Brand A Brand S sole distributor of Tekra’s Dura-Go® film products and weathering. Membrane switch and Weatherable for the commercial HP Indigo marketplace in North durable label applications often call for a 1000 Hours 0.38 0.77 0.92 America. This arrangement has been years in the product with good clarity and can have a making and now will allow HP Indigo users (even desired life span that’s much longer than 2000 Hours 0.56 0.97 2.83 those that traditionally have been running paper) normal PET films. After two years to be serviced via xpedx’s extensive sales and outdoors, most PET films will yellow and Table 1-1: Xenon arc change in yellowness distribution network. begin to crack. Even the best outdoor ink comparison chart “Tekra’s relationship with current Dura-Go formulations can use some help from the The coating is completely transparent so customers is not affected by the addition of xpedx substrate to prevent fading over time. it provides total clarity and perfect image distribution relationship. The growing acceptance Finally there’s an answer! fidelity. of the HP Indigo platform in the commercial Provided on a super-clear polyester film printing industry required Tekra to add a new ProTek® Weatherable Clear Polyester. for enhanced chemical resistance and channel partner. We’re thrilled to be working with tensile strength and actuation life, ProTek xpedx!”, said Mark Mawer, Tekra’s Vice President Providing a Weatherable Clear is a stock product of Sales & Marketing “We’re looking forward to certified 2000 hours available for immediate use. introducing xpedx’s customers to the world of of simulated To insure the highest level of product synthetics” said Mawer. This combination will weathering in a quality, each lot of ProTek Weatherable result in the most complete line of tested and Xenon arc chamber undergoes 84 days of testing before it is approved HP Indigo products available for any for every roll of film, added to Tekra’s sellable inventory. We supplier. ProTek proudly suggest you consider it for your Weatherable most demanding outdoor applications. outperforms its To get more information and samples closest competitors please contact your Tekra Sales Typical ProTek significantly. Representative. Weatherable Application For more information on ProTek Films, click here For more information on Tekra’s Dura-Go films, click here (Table 1-1)

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