Aexcel Corporation
FOUNDED
ON
INNOVATION
AND
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Aexcel
Corporation
was
founded
in
1963,
as
DeSantis
Coatings
by
Erminio
and
Vincent
DeSantis.
The
company
had
modest
beginnings,
in
Willoughby,
Ohio,
starting
with
only
three
entrepreneurial
spirited
people,
one
high-speed
mixer
and
a
passion.
A
year
later
in
1964
Aexcel
was
able
to
successfully
land
a
contract
with
the
State
of
Ohio,
to
supply
them
with
600,000
gallons
of paint.
That
prominent
contract,
led
the
way
for
them
to
land
many
other
accounts
and
set
the
company
on
their
way
to
building
a successful
company.
Within
four
years,
in
1968,
Aexcel
was
fast
growing
and
even
added
an
additional
10,000-square-foot
to
the
plant,
and
introduced
other
products
including
bridge
and
structural
steel
paints.
Sadly, only a year later in 1969, one of the company founders, Erminio DeSantis passed away, but his dream and passion was living on, as the business soared to success.
With the passion of Erminio living on, in 1973, despite the oil embargo, that cut deeply into the availability of raw materials, Aexcel was able to add an additional 30,000-square-feet, including a new office and laboratory the ever growing plant. In that same year, the company lost another founder, when Vincent DeSantis passed away, just as he was seeing his dream become a reality.
Within
the
next
year,
in
1974,
after
losing
the
original
founders,
a
new
ownership
and
a
management
team
were
established.
The
company
was
headed
by
Joseph
B.
Milgram,
Jr.,
a
chemical
engineer
and
businessman
with
extensive
experience
of
developing new
technologies
for
successful
businesses
in
the
chemical
industry.
In
the
late
1970s
-
Early
1980s,
Aexcel
coped
with
inflation
in
the
U.S.
economy
and
with
the
petrochemical
raw
material
base
in particular.
The
"Rust
Belt
Recession"
of
1981
and
1982
squeezed
many
manufacturing
firms,
including
Aexcel's
customers.
However,
innovations
in
management
practices
and
an
atmosphere
of
teamwork
at
DeSantis,
combined
to
strengthen
the
company
and
allow
it
to
continue
to
grow.
AEXCEL
INNOVATES
AND
ADAPTS
TO
NEW
TECHNOLOGIES
By
the
mid-1980s,
Aexcel
rebounded
nicely
with
the
Rust
Belt
Recovery
and
focused
on
value-adding
coatings
of
superior
performance
at
a
time
when
Midwestern
manufacturers
were
concentrating
on
improving
quality
and
lowering
total
cost.
And shortly, thereafter, in the late 1980s, the Uthane brand of proprietary polyurethane coatings really took off and many products coated with the company's high-performance paints were found in several consumer retail locations.
A FOCUS ON TRAFFIC MARKETING PAINTS DOUBLES SALES AND ESTABLISHES AEXCEL AS A TRUSTED RESOURCE
In this same timeframe, in 1988 the company adopted its new name, Aexcel Corporation. Along with a stronger marketing effort on behalf of our original product line, Traffic Safety Paints, was introduced.
In 1989 the company completed its move into a brand new 70,000-square-foot building on eight acres in Mentor, Ohio. The new plant was designed to incorporate the latest concepts of efficiency, safety, productivity, and concern for the environment. A large warehouse was added shortly thereafter, in order to keep up with the rapid growth we were experiencing.
From 1986-1993 the company had more than doubled its sales. Confirming that the company was headed in the right direction.
Also
in
1993,
Mr.
John
S.
Milgram
was
appointed
president
of
Aexcel
and
led
the
company
as
we
continued
to
work
on
the
development
of
improved
Uthane
technologies
and
was
successful,
in
the
face
of
stiff
competition
from
powder
coatings.
In 1997, Aexcel became a game changing company, providing the Indiana Department of Transportation with 603,000 gallons of on-time and problem-free paints. Making our mark in the industry.
From
1999
-
2001
Aexcel
began
to
restructure,
due
to
the
dot-com
bust's
repercussions
in
Ohio.
Many
of
our
customers
(and
their
customers)
filed
for
bankruptcy
protection
under
Chapter
11
and
our
products
were
eliminated.
Competition
in
traffic
paint
was
intense
as
prices
were
lowered
across
the
board
by
large
companies
seeking
only
to
increase
market
share.
Manufacturers
were
consolidating
plants,
standardizing
products
with
national
suppliers
and
moving
to
lower-labor-cost
locations.
Outsourcing
was
the
word
in
many
markets.
This led to management cutting the company back in size, in 2001, from what it was in 1987 and focused only on core products, best customers and key quality materials.
BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS WITH TOP-NOTCH RAW MATERIAL SUPPLIERS ENSURES HIGH-PERFORMANCE FORMULATIONS
Also,
in
2001
Aexcel
joined
the
industry-leading
purchasing
cooperative,
GuildCPO,
and
worked
diligently
on
improving
quality
and
delivery
to
our
dedicated
customer
group.
The
payoff
has
been
the
growth
in
customers
with
additional
business.
Currently, Aexcel works hard to remain independent for now and into the future, in a competitive and consolidating marketplace. Knowing there is nothing more powerful, to meet this goal than than the objective of keeping satisfied customers. The company's strong emphasis on customer service, teamwork, R&D, and the ability to deliver uniformly high quality, high performance products have placed Aexcel in a position to compete strongly in the markets of today and well into the future.