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Axson Establishes U.S. Headquarters

27 April 1998

Axson, World High-Tech Leader, Establishes U.S. Headquarters

    EATON RAPIDS, Mich., April 27 -- An international, advanced-
technology company, has established its North American headquarters in Eaton
Rapids, Mich. -- adding to the state's bright economic and jobs picture.
    Axson North America, Inc. -- based in a modern 44,000-square-foot facility
with a current workforce of 40 -- is a subsidiary of the Axson Group, a global
technology leader.  The company ranks second in the world in the production of
high-tech thermo-set resins, adhesives, and composite materials.
    The privately held Axson Group is headquartered in a 100,000 square-foot
plant St. Ouen-l'Aumone, France, near Paris.  Its focus on the market niche of
advanced materials has made it one of the biggest little companies in the
world, with 300 employees -- but research and manufacturing in three
countries, subsidiaries in eight, distribution facilities in 50, and 6,000
direct customers.
    "Through our Michigan site, we will offer superior technology to
manufacturers throughout the Americas and Asia," said Lionel J. Puget,
president of both the Axson Group and Axson North America.  "We are especially
interested in applying advanced technologies in the construction industries,
which we expect to become a major focus for us within a few years.
    "Perhaps most important for the Michigan economy," he added, "Axson offers
a single source of supply for all resins used in the manufacturing of
automobiles."
    Puget calls the company's technologies and products "materials of
creation" because they are used for industrial design and advanced
applications in almost every field of manufacturing -- automotive, aerospace,
ceramics, defense, electronics, sports & leisure, etc.  They include systems
for rapid prototyping, laminating, tooling, mass casting, protective
encapsulation of electrical parts, and construction.
    Axson's customers include such giants as General Motors, Ford, Boeing,
Mattel, BMW, British Aerospace, Daimler Benz, Eurocopter, Jaguar, Michelin,
Olivetti, Rolls Royce, Saab, Suzuki, and Volvo.
    The Michigan site will manufacture and test the whole range of Axson's 500
products, says Puget, and handle distribution for the U.S., South America, and
Asia.  The products include resins, polyurethanes, epoxies, silicones,
advanced fabrics, machinable modeling boards and pastes, and structural
materials.
    Materials produced by Axson help make Formula One race cars, helicopters,
buildings, bridges, road reinforcements, nuclear submarines, semi-trailer
trucks, yachts, air filtration systems, speedboats, airbags, fine crystal,
toys, tires, surfboards, appliances and computers.
    Axson purchased the Eaton Rapids facility, formerly called Akemi, Inc.,
from Maxco, Inc., a holding company in Lansing, Mich., through an exchange of
stock last year.  Akemi's operations in the advanced-materials field had
previously turned unprofitable.
    "Our size means stability and staying power in Michigan," said Executive
Vice President Alain Grandjean of Axson North America.  "We are rapidly
increasing the number of resin, polyester, and epoxy products manufactured
here, and adding to our line of special adhesives and fibers for the
construction industry."  This year, the Axson Group anticipates revenues of
$40 million, while Axson North America projects an estimated $8 million in
earnings.
    "One important aspect of our business is that approximately 30 percent of
our products are new every year," says Puget.  "We invest heavily in research,
and bring about innovations that manufacturers are literally craving, because
they greatly improve production efficiency.  As partners in the technology of
our customers, we develop materials to match their changing needs.  So, our
technology evolves years before theirs does."
    "Our new American headquarters represents a kind of homecoming," Grandjean
notes.  "We were a U.S. company until about three years ago."
    Axson's roots go back to 1938, with the formation of a U.S. resin-
production firm called Rezolin, which became Hexcel Corp. in 1944.  Lionel
Puget, the head of Hexcel's French subsidiary, which had been created in 1969,
led a management buyout that created Axson in 1994.

SOURCE  Axson North America, Inc.