Rowmark history

The Rowmark story begins with a vision. In 1987, Fred Kremer, the CEO of Hancor Inc., a drainage pipe manufacturer located in Findlay, Ohio, had a vision.  Fred saw a growing need for extruded sheet materials in the engraving market.  He established a working relationship with Don and Audrey Morrison of Rowland, Incorporated in New Berlin, Connecticut.  With this partnership in place, he acquired a plastic sheet extrusion line and formed the Hancor Sheet Division. In 1993, Fred purchased the sole sales and marketing rights for the awards and engraving market from Rowland.  He created a new company, established as a separate division of Hancor, and named it Rowmark. With a strong domestic presence, Rowmark set its sights on the growing international market.  In 1996, Rowmark established a distribution warehouse in the Netherlands to respond to increasing European sales.  Rowmark was on its way to becoming the worldwide leader in extruded sheet materials for the engraving market. In 1997, Fred came to a crossroads.  He had a greater vision for what Rowmark could become.  In a display of unwavering belief in the employees of Rowmark and its growth potential, Fred resigned his position as CEO of Hancor and purchased Rowmark outright from Hancor in October that year.  In addition, he purchased a building for Rowmark in the nearby Findlay Tall Timbers Industrial Park.  This new, state-of-the-art facility would give Rowmark the room it needed to grow and prosper.  Until the building was complete, Rowmark would continue to share facilities with Hancor.  Interior construction of the facility continued throughout the fall of 1997 as Fred’s vision took shape.  Then, on December 20, just four months before Rowmark would begin the move into its new home, Fred Kremer and two Rowmark pilots were tragically killed in a plane crash in Findlay.  Despite the difficult loss, the employees of Rowmark rallied around Fred’s plan for the company and pressed on with the intended move.  The Kremer Family, who to this point had not been active with the business, picked up where Fred left off, fully supporting Rowmark and its employees. On September 2, 1998, Rowmark’s new facility in Findlay, Ohio was officially declared open.  With room to add additional extrusion lines and the ability to store an abundance of raw materials, Rowmark was poised to enter a period of extraordinary growth.  The final piece of the puzzle fell into place a day later, when the Kremer Family and Rowmark Board of Directors announce that Duane Jebbett has been named President and COO of Rowmark.  A strong leader and protégé of Fred’s vision, Duane was the perfect person to guide Rowmark into the 21st century. In 2004 and 2005, Rowmark expanded its facility, which now contains more than 75,000 square feet, housing multiple extrusion lines, press, lamination and hot stamp capabilities, 4 storage silos and a warehouse dedicated to raw materials, a finished goods warehouse, and the company’s administrative offices.  In 2003, Rowmark announced the creation of a new custom products division, Premier Material Concepts (PMC). The new division specializes in the manufacturing of customized plastic sheet and roll stock for a wide variety of market applications. PMC offers an extensive range of capabilities including the extrusion of a broad range of materials (such as ABS, Acrylic, HIPS, TPE, TPO, PP, PE & Specialty Compounds), custom thicknesses, co-extrusion abilities, roll winding, surface texturing, custom color matching, fabrication and on-line hot stamping. More details on Premier Material Concepts are available at www.buypmc.com.   The Rowmark Promise At Rowmark, our primary concern is providing the highest quality materials and service to our customers. Therefore, Rowmark will replace, free of charge, any products that do not meet our intended manufacturing or quality standards. If for any reason we do not meet your product or service expectations, just contact your authorized Rowmark distributor or call 1-877-ROWMARK. Outside of the U.S., please call 419-425-8974 or contact us at samples@rowmark.com.